Asphaltic Concrete Mix

Bituminous Concrete Mix

Or Hot-mix

Maxwell Jackson Msc.

 What is Asphalt?
• According to ASTM, asphalt is a dark brown to
black cementitious material in which the
predominating constituents are bitumens that
occur in nature or are obtained in petroleum
processing.
• Asphalt is present in varying proportions in
most crude petroleums.

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 What is Bitumen?
• According to ASTM, bitumen is a class of black
or dark coloured ( solid, semisolid, or viscous)
cementitious substances, natural or
manufactured, composed primarily of high
molecular mass hydrocarbons, of which
asphalts, tars and pitches are typical.

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 Asphalt Cement

• Asphalt cement (also called paving asphalt) is very

sticky and highly viscous, especially prepared with
quality and consistency required in the manufacture
of asphaltic concrete mix.
• Asphalt cement possesses excellent binding
properties and adheres very well to aggregate
particles. In addition, it has superior waterproof
qualities. Pavement built using asphaltic concrete
mix is waterproof and resistant to many types of
chemical attack.
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 Hot-mix
• Hot-mixed asphalt or asphaltic concrete mix
consists of a combination of aggregates
uniformly mixed and coated with asphalt
cement or bitumen.
• To dry the aggregates and obtain sufficient
fluidity of the asphalt cement for proper
mixing and workability, both must be heated
prior to mixing- hence the term HOT-Mix.

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• The aggregates and asphalt cement are
combined in an asphalt mixing plant in which
they are heated, proportioned, and mixed to
produce the desired paving mixture.
• The hot-mix is then transported to the paving
site and spread with a paving machine.

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 Petroleum Asphalts
Refining and distillation of petroleum results in
various types of asphalt or asphaltic material.
Distillation is a process in which various fractions
(products) are separated out of the crude by raising
its temperature in stages.
• Gasoline is distilled at a temperature of 100 – 400 ºF
(37-204ºC) whereas asphalts are distilled at
temperature above 900 ºF (482ºC)
• Petroleum refining processes are divided into two
groups:
• Fractional distillation
• Destructive distillationMaxwell
(cracking)
Jackson Msc.
 Fractional distillation
• Fractional distillation involves the separation
of crude oil into various materials without
significant changes in chemical composition of
each material.
• The various materials are removed at
successively higher temperature.

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 Destructive distillation
• Destructive distillation involves the application of
intense heat as high as 1100º F (593º) and
pressure as high as 735psi, which causes chemical
changes in composition.
• This method is used when larger amounts of
lighter fractions are required.
• Asphaltic materials obtained from destructive
distillation process is not widely used in pavement
construction, as it is more susceptible to weather
changes than is asphalt produced from fractional
distillation. Maxwell Jackson Msc.
• Petroleum asphalts are classified into four
types

• Asphalt cement
• Cutback asphalts
• Emulsified asphalts
• Air-blown
 

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 Cutback Asphalt
• When  asphalt  cement  is  dissolved in volatile
petroleum solvents (called diluents),  the
 resulting  liquid  is  known  as cutback asphalt.
• The idea behind cutback asphalt is that upon
exposure to air the solvents evaporate and the
asphalt cement is left to perform its function.

Maxwell Jackson Msc.

 Types of Cutbacks
• The classification of the cutback is based on the rate
of evaporation of the distillate that is in the mixture.

• Rapid-curing   cutback   (RC) asphalt is asphalt

blended with gasoline or naphtha (highly volatile).
The diluents in rapid curing asphalt evaporate
quickly.
Medium-curing cutback (MC) asphalt is obtained by
blending asphalt cement with kerosene   (medium
volatility). It hardens faster than the slow curing and
slower than the rapid curing type.
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• Slow-curing cutback (SC) asphalt is asphalt
cement blended with oils of low volatility,
such as diesel oil.  
• Its viscosity value is low and it hardens very
slowly.

Maxwell Jackson Msc.

 Emulsified asphalt
• Emulsified asphalt is a suspension of small asphalt
cement globules in water, which is assisted by an
emulsifying agent (such as soap). 
• Emulsions have lower viscosities than heated
asphalt and can thus be used in low temperature
applications. 
• After an emulsion is applied the water evaporates
away and only the asphalt cement is left. 

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• Emulsifying asphalt may be:
• Anionic –asphalt gobules are negatively
charged
• Cationic – asphalt gobules are positively
charged
• Nonionic – asphalt globules are neutral

Maxwell Jackson Msc.