Sanjivani Rural Education Society's

Sanjivani College of Engineering, Kopargaon 423603.

Department of Civil Engineering

Prof. Nitin.B.Aher (ME Env.Engg)

(Assistant Professor),9623611521
ahernitincivil@sanjivani.org.in

Transportation Engineering(CE402) Unit -II Notes

Course Objective:
 To study materials used in highway construction and related tests and
standards.
Course Outcome :
 Predict the materials properties and carry out related tests on the materials used in
highway construction as per standard norms.

Syllabus Unit –I
Pavement Materials and MORTH Standards
Materials used in highway construction and related tests: soil subgrade and CBR Test,
stone aggregates, bituminous binders, bituminous paving mixes, viscosity-based
gradation of bitumen, modified bitumen cutbacks, emulsions, crumbed rubber
modified bitumen, polymer modified bitumen, foamed bitumen, Desirable properties
of bituminous paving mixes, Marshall stability mix design and test (All 5 test
parameters). MORTH Specifications for Road Works. Functions and applications of
Geo-synthetics in roadways.

Materials used in Highway Construction

 A wide variety of materials are used in the construction of roads these are soils
(naturally occurring or processed), aggregates (fine aggregates or coarse
aggregates obtained from rocks), binders like lime, bituminous materials, and
 cement, and miscellaneous materials used as admixtures for improved
performance of roads under heavy loads and traffic roads.
 Soil constitutes the primary material for the foundation, subgrade, or even the
pavement (for low-cost roads with low traffic in rural areas).
 Soil is invariably used after some process of stabilisation such as compaction and
strengthening by adding suitable admixtures for improving the performance of
the road.
 Mineral aggregates obtained from rocks form the major component of the sub-
bases and bases of highway pavements of almost all types.

1. Soil:
 Soils can be studied effectively if they are classified according to certain
principles into a definite system.
 Just as classification or grouping is practised in scientific disciplines such as
chemistry, zoology and botany, it is used in Geotechnical Engineering as well.
 Soil deposits in nature are never homogenous in character; wide variations are
observed in their properties and behaviour.
 Soils that exhibit similar average properties may be grouped as a class.
 Classification of soil is necessary to obtain an appropriate and fairly accurate
idea of the properties and behaviour of a soil type.

The general requirements of an ideal soil classification system are

 It should have a scientific basis.
 It should be relatively simple and objective in approach.
 The number of groupings and properties used as the criteria should be limited.
 The properties considered should be relevant to the purpose of classification.
 A generally accepted uniform soil terminology should be used.
 It should indicate the probable performance of the soil to a satisfactory degree of
accuracy.
 Group boundaries should be drawn as closely as possible where significant
changes in soil properties occur.
2. Stone Aggregates:
 Stone aggregate, or mineral aggregate, as it is called, is the most important
component of the materials used in the construction of roads.
 These aggregates are derived from rocks, which are formed by the cementation of
minerals by the forces of nature.
 Stone aggregates are invariably derived by breaking the naturally occurring rocks
to the required sizes.
 They are used for granular bases, sub-bases, as part of bituminous mixes and
cement concrete; they are also the primary component of a relatively cheaper
road, called water-bound macadam.
 The usual range employed is between 9.5mm and 37.5mm in diameter. - Fine
aggregates are usually sand or crushed stone that are less than 9.55mm in
diameter.
 Typically the most common size of aggregate used in construction is 20mm. A
larger size, 40mm, is more common in mass concrete.

Geological Classification of Rocks

(a) Igneous Rocks:
 These are formed by the cooling, solidification and crystallisation of molten rock
on the earth’s crust at different depths.
 The minerals, their proportions and the rate of cooling of the magma have a
bearing on the strength characteristics of the rock
(b) Sedimentary Rocks:
 Fine material or rock fragments and particles transported by water or wind and
deposited in layers, get hardened in course of time to form sedimentary rocks (the
time required is on geologic scale).
 They consist of a layered structure; the rock beds are stratified, they may be
porous, and have relatively low strength
(c) Metamorphic Rocks:
 These are formed by the modification and re-crystallisation of igneous rocks and
sedimentary rocks by geological and natural agents such as temperature, pressure,
moisture, humidity, and movement of rock beds.

Properties of aggregates used the construction of roads:

(i) Strength:
 It is the resistance to crushing which the aggregates used in road construction,
especially in the top layers and wearing course, have to withstand the stresses due
to wheel loads of the traffic in addition to wear and tear.
(ii) Hardness:
 It is the resistance to abrasion of the aggregate at the surface.
 The constant rubbing or abrading action between the tyres of moving vehicles
and the exposed aggregate at the road surface should be resisted adequately.
(iii) Toughness:
 This is the resistance to impact due to moving traffic.
 Heavily loaded trucks and other vehicles cause heavy impact loads on the road
surface while moving at high speeds, and while accelerating and decelerating.
 Even steel-typed vehicles, though moving slow, cause heavy impact on the
aggregates exposed at the surface. Hence, resistance to such impact forces is a
desirable quality.
(iv) Durability:
 It is the resistance to the process of disintegration due to the weathering action of
the forces of nature.
 The property by virtue of which the aggregate withstands weathering is called
soundness.
 This is also a desirable property.
(v) Cementation:
 It is the ability of the aggregate to form its own binding material under traffic,
providing resistance to lateral displacement.
(vi) Appropriate Shape:
 Aggregates maybe either rounded, cubical, angular, flaky, or elongated. Each
shape is appropriate for a certain use.
(vii) Adhesion with Bitumen:
 The aggregates used in bituminous pavements should have less affinity to water
than to bitumen; otherwise, the bituminous coating on the surface of the
aggregate will get stripped off in the presence of water
(viii) Attrition:
 This is mutual rubbing of aggregates under traffic; adequate resistance to attrition
is a desirable property.
(ix) Texture:
 This is a measure of the degree of fineness or smoothness of the surface of the
aggregate.

3. Bituminous Materials:
 Bitumen was used as a bonding and water-proofing agent thousands of years ago.
 However, the use of bitumen for road-making picked up only in the nineteenth
century.
 As the quest for fuels like petroleum to run automobiles grew and the distillation
of crude oil emerged as a major refining industry, the residues known as bitumen
and tar found increasing use in constructing bituminous surfaces, which provided
superior riding surface.
 The definition for the term, bitumen, given by the American Society for Testing
Materials (ASTM) runs thus:“Bitumen is a hydrocarbon material of natural or
pyrogenous origin, which is in a gaseous, liquid, semi-solid, or solid state, and
which is completely soluble in carbon disulphide .”

Important Properties of Bitumen:

 Predominantly hydrocarbons, with small quantities of sulphur, nitrogen and
metals.
 Mostly (up to 99.9%) soluble in carbon disulphide (CS2), and insoluble in water.
 Softens on heating and gets hardened on cooling.
 Highly impermeable to water.
 Chemically inert and unaffected by most acids, alkalis and salts.
 No specific boiling point, melting point or freezing point; a form of ‘softening
point’ is used in their characterisation.
 Although generally hydrophobic (water repellent), they may be made hydrophilic
(water liking) by the addition of a small quantity of surface-active agent.
 Most bitumens are colloidal in nature.

Desirable Properties of Bitumen as a Road Material:

 Workability – Bitumen should be fluid enough at the time of mixing so that the
aggregates are fully coated by the binder. Fluidity is achieved either by heating or
by cutting back with a thin flux or by emulsifying the bitumen.
 Durability – There should be little change in viscosity within the usual range of
temperatures in the locality.
 Volatile constituents in bitumen should not be lost excessively at higher
temperatures to ensure durability.
 It should have enough ductility to avoid brittleness and cracking.
 Strength and adhesion – The bitumen should have good affinity to the aggregates
and should not be stripped off in the continued presence of water.
 Cost-effectiveness.

Grades of Bitumen
 The specifications were revised in the years 1962 and 1992.
 To improve the quality of Bitumen, BIS revised IS-73-1992 specifications based
on Viscosity (Viscosity at 60oC) in July 2006.
 As per these specifications, there are four grades VG-10, VG-20, VG-30 & VG-
40
 The “VG” in Bitumen VG 30 stands for “Viscosity Grade,” which is a standard
used to classify bitumen based on its viscosity at a particular temperature.
 In the case of Bitumen VG 30, the “30” refers to the viscosity of the bitumen at
60 degrees Celsius.
A few more terms relating to bitumen/asphalt :
 Straight-Run Bitumen:
 Bitumen derived from the refining of petroleum for which the viscosity has not
been adjusted by blending with flux oil or by softening with any cut-back oil or
by any other treatment. It generally has high viscosity.
 Asphalt Cement:
 A binder consisting of bitumen, or a mixture of lake asphalt and bitumen or flux
oils, specially prepared as per prescribed quality and consistency for direct use in
paving, usually in the hot condition.
 Oxidised or Blown Bitumen:
 Bitumen obtained by further treatment of straight-run bitumen by running it,
while hot, into a vertical column and blowing air through it. In this process, it
attains a rubbery consistency with a higher softening point than before.
 Cut-Back Bitumen:
 Asphalt/bitumen dissolved in naphtha or kerosene to lower the viscosity and
increase the workability.
 Emulsified Bitumen:
 A mixture in which asphalt cement, in a finely dispersed state, is suspended in
chemically treated water.
 Liquid Bitumen:
 Include cut-backs in naphtha and kerosene, as also emulsified asphalts.
 Flux-Oil:
 A bituminous material, generally liquid, used for softening other bituminous
materials.

Tar:
 Tar is a black or brown to black, viscous, non-crystalline material having binding
property. This is, therefore, the other category of bituminous materials.
 Tar is obtained from the destructive distillation of organic materials such as coal,
petroleum, oil, wood and peat, in the absence of air at about 1000°C.
 It is completely soluble in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). It contains more volatile
constituents than bitumen and is therefore more susceptible to change in
temperature.
 Generally, tar is used for surface dressing on the wearing course since it has good
adhesion in damp conditions.

A comparison of bitumen and tar :

 Aggregates coated with tar exhibit lower stripping action than those coated with
bitumen.
 Tar is more susceptible to temperature than bitumen. It becomes liquid at
relatively lower temperature.
 Tar is not easily dissolved in petroleum solvents; so it can be preferred for paving
parking areas, where oils might drip from vehicles.
 Since more setting time is required for tar, it may be processed at a mixing plant
and carried to the construction site.
 In view of the higher free carbon content, tar is more brittle than bitumen.

Bituminous Mixes:
 Bituminous mixes for paving purposes consist of coarse aggregate, fine aggregate,
filler material, bitumen, and air voids, suitably proportional and blended to
provide a strong, stable and durable pavement.
 The main aim of mix design is to determine the optimum bitumen content that
will hold the mineral aggregates of suitable gradation together as a compact layer
that resists the traffic loads.

Requirements of Bituminous Mixes:

Stability:
 This is the resistance to deformation under traffic loads; it is a function of inter-
particle friction and cohesion offered by the bitumen binder.
Durability:
 This is the resistance to weathering action and abrasion from traffic.
Flexibility:
 This is a measure of the resistance to long-term deformations and shapes of the
road base, sub-base and subgrade; this depends on the flexural or bending
strength of the pavement
Skid Resistance:
 The resistance of the surface of the pavement laid with the bituminous mix to
skidding of the tyres of vehicles is called skid resistance.
Workability:
 This is the ease with which the mix can be placed in position and compacted.
Economy:
 The overall cost in achieving the desired qualities of the mix and the pavement
should be a minimum, consistent with quality.

4. Cement, Cement Mortar and Cement Concrete:

 Cement concrete is a versatile material which has revolutionized civil engineering
construction during the twentieth century.
 A fresh cement concrete mix consists of cement, mineral aggregates (coarse
aggregate and fine aggregate), and water.
 A well-designed cement concrete mix sets and hardens due to the binding
property of the cements, forms a mix with minimum void space and on curing
with water, provides a strong, stable and durable pavement for a highway,
resisting repetitive impact from wheel loads and also withstanding adverse
environmental conditions.
 The most common cement is what is now known as the Ordinary Portland
Cement (OPC).
 Calcareous and silicate compounds are blended and heated to high temperatures
(1500°C) to form clinkers of new chemical compounds, which when ground to
fine particles result in ‘cement’.
 Design of Cement Concrete Mix:
 The relevant standards are:
 “IS: 10262-1998: Indian standard guidelines for concrete mix design” and “IRC:
44-2008 Guidelines for cement concrete mix design for pavements.”
 These are considered out of scope of the present treatment.
Test on Aggregate:
In order to decide the suitability of the aggregate for use in pavement
construction, following tests are carried out:
 Crushing test.
 Abrasion test.
 Impact test.
 Soundness test.
 Shape test.
 Specific gravity and water absorption test.

Crushing test :
 The strength of coarse aggregates is assessed by aggregates crushing test.
 The aggregate crushing value provides a relative measure of resistance to
crushing under a gradually applied compressive load.
 To achieve a high quality of pavement, aggregate possessing low aggregate
crushing value should be preferred.
 The aggregate crushing value should not exceed 45% for aggregate used for
concrete other than for wearing surfaces, and 30 % for concrete for wearing
surfaces, such as runways, and roads for pavements
Abrasion test :
 Abrasion test is carried out to test the hardness property of aggregates.
 The principle of Los Angeles abrasion test is to find the percentage wear due to
relative rubbing action between the aggregate and steel balls used as abrasive
charge.
 The maximum abrasion value for the Cement Concrete Pavement (wearing
surface) is 30% and The maximum abrasion value for the Cement Concrete
Pavement (other than wearing surface) is 50%.

Impact test :
 The impact test is a type of quality control test for highway pavements that is
used to determine the suitability of aggregates for use in highway pavement
construction.
 Aggregates used in road construction should be strong enough to resist abrasion
and crushing and also the impact load.
 Impact Value should not be less than 45% for aggregates used for concrete other
than wearing surface and 30% for concrete used in wearing surface.

Soundness test :
 Soundness test determines the disintegration of aggregates due to weathering.
 This includes freezing, thawing, marine condition etc. However, the weak and
porous aggregate shows a change in weight during this soundness test.
 Aggregates are the significant factor that contributes adequate strength to
concrete or in road construction.
 Loss with Sodium Sulphate - 5 cycles Loss with Magnesium Sulphate - 5 cycles
Max. 12%.

Shape test :
 Shape tests on Aggregates( Flakiness Index and Elongation Index Test) The
shape test of aggregates determines the shape and size of particle.
 Size & shape of aggregates directly has impact on strength of concrete, bond
strength, workability of concrete, cement requirement and cost required for
concrete.
 An aggregate is classified as being elongated if it has a length (greatest dimension)
of more than 1.8 of its mean sieve size
Specific gravity and water absorption test:
 The specific gravity test helps in the identification of stone. Water absorption
gives an idea of strength of aggregate.
 Aggregates having more water absorption are more porous in nature and are
generally considered unsuitable unless they are found to be acceptable based on
strength, impact and hardness tests.
 Aggregate with high specific gravity has good strength. The normal value of
specific gravity is 2.5 to 3.0.
 The water absorption should not exceed 0.6%.

Test on Bitumen
 Penetration test.
 Ductility test.
 Softening point test.
 Specific gravity test.
 Viscosity test.
 Flash and Fire point test.
 Float test.
 Water content test.

Penetration test :
 It measures the hardness or softness of bitumen by measuring the depth in tenths
of a millimeter to which a standard loaded needle will penetrate vertically in 5
seconds.
 The bitumen is softened to a pouring consistency, stirred thoroughly and poured
into containers at a depth at least 15 mm in excess of the expected penetration.
 Penetration value of different types of bitumen used in road construction range
between 20mm to 225mm.

Ductility test :
 Ductility is the property of bitumen that permits it to undergo great deformation
or elongation.
 Ductility is defined as the distance in cm, to which a standard sample or briquette
of the material will be elongated without breaking.
 The bitumen sample is heated and poured in the mould assembly placed on a
plate.
 The sides of the moulds are removed, the clips are hooked on the machine and the
machine is operated.
 The distance up to the point of breaking of thread is the ductility value which is
reported in cm. The ductility value gets affected by factors such as pouring
temperature, test temperature, rate of pulling etc.
 A minimum ductility value of 75 cm has been specified by the BIS.

Softening point test :

 Softening point denotes the temperature at which the bitumen attains a particular
degree of softening under the specifications of test.
 The test is conducted by using Ring and Ball apparatus. A brass ring containing
test sample of bitumen is suspended in liquid like water or glycerin at a given
temperature.
 A steel ball is placed upon the bitumen sample and the liquid medium is heated at
a rate of 5 C per minute.
 Temperature is noted when the softened bitumen touches the metal plate which is
at a specified distance below.
 Generally, higher softening point indicates lower temperature susceptibility and
is preferred in hot climates.
 Softening point of bitumen to be used for road construction at a place where the
maximum temperature is 40°C should be greater than the 40°C.

Specific gravity test :

 In paving jobs, to classify a binder, density property is of great use.
 In most cases bitumen is weighed, but when used with aggregates, the bitumen is
converted to volume using density values.
 The density of bitumen is greatly influenced by its chemical composition.
Increase in aromatic type mineral impurities cause an increase in specific gravity.
 The specific gravity of bitumen is defined as the ratio of mass of given volume of
bitumen of known content to the mass of equal volume of water at 27 C.
 The specific gravity can be measured using either pycnometer or preparing a cube
specimen of bitumen in semi solid or solid state. The specific gravity of bitumen
varies from 0.97 to 1.02.

Viscosity test:
 Viscosity denotes the fluid property of bituminous material and it is a measure of
resistance to flow.
 At the application temperature, this characteristic greatly influences the strength
of resulting paving mixes.
 Low or high viscosity during compaction or mixing has been observed to result
in lower stability values.
 At high viscosity, it resist the compactive effort and thereby resulting mix is
heterogeneous, hence low stability values.
 And at low viscosity instead of providing a uniform film over aggregates, it will
lubricate the aggregate particles.

Flash and fire point test :

 At high temperatures depending upon the grades of bitumen materials leave out
volatiles.
 And these volatiles catches fire which is very hazardous and therefore it is
essential to qualify this temperature for each bitumen grade.
 BIS defined the flash point as the temperature at which the vapour of bitumen
momentarily catches fire in the form of flash under specified test conditions.
 The fire point is defined as the lowest temperature under specified test conditions
at which the bituminous material gets ignited and burns.

Marshall stability test:

The basic Marshall test consists essentially of crushing a cylinder of bituminous
material between two semi-circular test heads and recording the maximum load
achieved (i.e. the stability) and the deflection at which the maximum load occurs (i.e.
the flow).
Geosynthetics for Road work :
 Geosynthetic is a popular product in the Engineering world.
 This product, which is derived from a polymeric material, is normally used on
significant components of a structure to achieve engineering purposes.
 The prefix “geo” denotes that this product has a lot to do with certain geological
materials like rocks, soil, and earth.
 A geosynthetic product comes with several functions, namely reinforcement,
separation, drainage, containment, barrier, the management of surface erosion,
including any other function a geosynthetic material is supposed to have.
 The use of this material can mostly be observed in the Civil Engineering
profession, transportation, geological environment, marine, hydraulics, roads,
railways, retaining walls, canals, and other structures that require the need of this
material for certain engineering purposes.
 Mind you, with the development of other associated products, the use of
geosynthetic materials can supersede the areas mentioned above.

Functions and applications of Geo-synthetics in roadways:

 The main functions performed by geosynthetics are filtration, drainage,
separation, reinforcement, provision of a fluid barrier, and environmental
protection.
 Some geosynthetics are used to separate distinct materials, such as different types
of soil, so that both can remain completely intact.
 Geosynthetics have been successfully used to fulfill a number of functions that
contribute significantly to the good performance of roadways.
 They include the functions of separation, filtration, reinforcement, stiffening,
drainage, barrier, and protection. One or more of these multiple functions have
been used in at least six important roadway applications.
 The applications include the migration of reflective cracking in asphalt overlays,
separation, stabilization of road bases, stabilization of road soft subgrades, and
lateral drainage.
 On highways, geosynthetics are placed on the weak base floor before the
geosynthetic granular substrate is placed. Geosynthetics protect the structural
integrity of the slab and prevent the granular sub-base material from slipping into
the weak substrate.
 Improve road construction.
 Develop safe, long-lasting slopes.
 Control evaporation.
 Preserve water.
 Protect the environment.
 Control surface erosion.
 Enhance longevity, resilience and safety of critical infrastructure.

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