Pavement materials: Bitumen

Lecture notes in Transportation Systems

Engineering
3 August 2009
Overview

Bituminous materials or asphalts are extensively

used for roadway construction, primarily because of
their excellent binding characteristics and water
proofing properties and relatively low cost.
Bituminous materials consists of bitumen which is a
black or dark coloured solid or viscous cementitious
substances consists chiefly high molecular weight
hydrocarbons derived from distillation of petroleum
or natural asphalt, has adhesive properties, and is
soluble in carbon disulphide. Tars are residues from
the destructive distillation of organic substances
such as coal, wood, or petroleum and are
temperature sensitive than bitumen. Bitumen will
be dissolved in petroleum oils where unlike tar.
Production of Bitumen

bitumen is the residue or by-product when the

crude petrolium is refined. A wide variety of
refinery processes, such as the straight distillation
process, solvent extraction process etc. may be
used to produce bitumen of different consistency
and other desirable properties. Depending on the
sources and characteristics of the crude oils and on
the properties of bitumen required, more than one
processing method may be employed.
Vacuum steam distillation of petroleum oils

In the vacuum-steam distillation process the crude

oil is heated and is introduced into a large
cylindrical still. Steam is introduced into the still to
aid in the vapourisation of the more volatile
constituents of the petroleum and to minimise
decomposition of the distillates and residues. The
volatile constituents are collected, condensed, and
the various fractions stored for further refining, if
needed. The residues from this distillation are then
fed into a vacuum distillation unit, where residue
pressure and steam will further separate out
heavier gas oils. The bottom fraction from this unit
is the vacuum-steam-refined asphalt cement. The
consistency of asphalt cement from this process
can be controlled by the amount of heavy gas oil
removed. Normally, asphalt produced by this
process is softer. As the asphalt cools down to
room temperature, it becomes a semi solid viscous
material.
Different forms of bitumen
Cutback bitumen
Normal practice is to heat bitumen to reduce its
viscosity. In some situations preference is given to
use liquid binders such as cutback bitumen. In
cutback bitumen suitable solvent is used to lower
the viscosity of the bitumen. From the
environmental point of view also cutback bitumen
is preferred. The solvent from the bituminous
material will evaporate and the bitumen will bind
the aggregate. Cutback bitumen is used for cold
weather bituminous road construction and
maintenance. The distillates used for preparation
of cutback bitumen are naphtha, kerosene, diesel
oil, and furnace oil. There are different types of
cutback bitumen like rapid curing (RC), medium
curing (MC), and slow curing (SC). RC is
recommended for surface dressing and patchwork.
MC is recommended for premix with less quantity
of fine aggregates. SC is used for premix with
appreciable quantity of fine aggregates.
Bitumen Emulsion

Bitumen emulsion is a liquid product in which

bitumen is suspended in a finely divided condition
in an aqueous medium and stabilised by suitable
material. Normally cationic type emulsions are
used in India. The bitumen content in the emulsion
is around 60% and the remaining is water. When
the emulsion is applied on the road it breaks down
resulting in release of water and the mix starts to
set. The time of setting depends upon the grade of
bitumen. The viscosity of bituminous emulsions
can be measured as per IS: 8887-1995. Three
types of bituminous emulsions are available, which
are Rapid setting (RS), Medium setting (MS), and
Slow setting (SC). Bitumen emulsions are ideal
binders for hill road construction. Where heating of
bitumen or aggregates are difficult. Rapid setting
emulsions are used for surface dressing work.
Medium setting emulsions are preferred for premix
jobs and patch repairs work. Slow setting
emulsions are preferred in rainy season.
Bituminous primers

In bituminous primer the distillate is absorbed by

the road surface on which it is spread. The
absorption therefore depends on the porosity of
the surface. Bitumen primers are useful on the
stabilised surfaces and water bound macadam
base courses. Bituminous primers are generally
prepared on road sites by mixing penetration
bitumen with petroleum distillate.
Modified Bitumen

Certain additives or blend of additives called as

bitumen modifiers can improve properties of
Bitumen and bituminous mixes. Bitumen treated
with these modifiers is known as modified bitumen.
Polymer modified bitumen (PMB)/ crumb rubber
modified bitumen (CRMB) should be used only in
wearing course depending upon the requirements
of extreme climatic variations. The detailed
specifications for modified bitumen have been
issued by IRC: SP: 53-1999. It must be noted that
the performance of PMB and CRMB is dependent
on strict control on temperature during
construction. The advantages of using modified
bitumen are as follows
 Lower susceptibility to daily and seasonal
temperature variations
 Higher resistance to deformation at high
pavement temperature
 Better age resistance properties
 Higher fatigue life for mixes
 Better adhesion between aggregates and binder
 Prevention of cracking and reflective cracking
Requirements of Bitumen

The desirable properties of bitumen depend on the

mix type and construction. In general, Bitumen
should posses following desirable properties.

 The bitumen should not be highly temperature

susceptible: during the hottest weather the mix
should not become too soft or unstable, and
during cold weather the mix should not become
too brittle causing cracks.
  The viscosity of the bitumen at the time of
mixing and compaction should be adequate.
This can be achieved by use of cutbacks or
emulsions of suitable grades or by heating the
bitumen and aggregates prior to mixing.
 There should be adequate affinity and adhesion
between the bitumen and aggregates used in
the mix.
Tests on bitumen

There are a number of tests to assess the

properties of bituminous materials. The following
tests are usually conducted to evaluate different
properties of bituminous materials.
1.Penetration test
2.Ductility test
3.Softening point test
4.Specific gravity test
5.Viscosity test
6.Flash and Fire point test
7.Float test
8.Water content test
9.Loss on heating 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. BIS had standardised the
equipment and test procedure. The penetrometer
consists of a needle assembly with a total weight of
100g and a device for releasing and locking in any
position. 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. The test should be
conducted at a specified temperature of 25 C. It
may be noted that penetration value is largely
influenced by any inaccuracy with regards to
pouring temperature, size of the needle, weight
placed on the needle and the test temperature. A
grade of 40/50 bitumen means the penetration
value is in the range 40 to 50 at standard test
conditions. In hot climates, a lower penetration
grade is preferred. The Figure 4.1 shows a
schematic Penetration Test setup.

Figure 1: Penetration Test Setup

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. Dimension of the
briquette thus formed is exactly 1 cm square. The
bitumen sample is heated and poured in the mould
assembly placed on a plate. These samples with
moulds are cooled in the air and then in water bath
at 27 C temperature. The excess bitumen is cut
and the surface is leveled using a hot knife. Then
the mould with assembly containing sample is kept
in water bath of the ductility machine for about 90
minutes. 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. Figure 4.2 shows ductility moulds to be filled
with bitumen.
 Figure 2: Ductility Test

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. Figure 4.3 shows Softening Point test
setup.

Figure 3: Softening Point Test Setup

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. Orifice type viscometers are used to
indirectly find the viscosity of liquid binders like
cutbacks and emulsions. The viscosity expressed in
seconds is the time taken by the 50 ml bitumen
material to pass through the orifice of a cup, under
standard test conditions and specified
temperature. Viscosity of a cutback can be
measured with either 4.0 mm orifice at 25 C or 10
mm orifice at 25 or 40 C.

Figure 4: Viscosity Test

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.
Float test

Normally the consistency of bituminous material

can be measured either by penetration test or
viscosity test. But for certain range of
consistencies, these tests are not applicable and
Float test is used. The apparatus consists of an
aluminum float and a brass collar filled with
bitumen to be tested. The specimen in the mould
is cooled to a temperature of 5 C and screwed in
to float. The total test assembly is floated in the
water bath at 50 C and the time required for water
to pass its way through the specimen plug is noted
in seconds and is expressed as the float value.
Water content test

It is desirable that the bitumen contains minimum

water content to prevent foaming of the bitumen
when it is heated above the boiling point of water.
The water in a bitumen is determined by mixing
known weight of specimen in a pure petroleum
distillate free from water, heating and distilling of
the water. The weight of the water condensed and
collected is expressed as percentage by weight of
the original sample. The allowable maximum water
content should not be more than 0.2% by weight.
Loss on heating test

When the bitumen is heated it loses the volatility

and gets hardened. About 50gm of the sample is
weighed and heated to a temperature of 163 C for
5hours in a specified oven designed for this test.
The sample specimen is weighed again after the
heating period and loss in weight is expressed as
percentage by weight of the original sample.
Bitumen used in pavement mixes should not
indicate more than 1% loss in weight, but for
bitumen having penetration values 150-200 up to
2% loss in weight is allowed.
Table 1: Tests for Bitumen with IS codes
Type of test Test Method
Penetration Test IS: 1203-1978
Ductility test IS: 1208-1978
Softening Point test IS: 1205-1978
Specific gravity test IS: 1202-1978
Viscosity test IS: 1206-1978
Flash and Fire Point test IS: 1209-1978
Float Test IS: 1210-1978
Determination of water content IS: 1211-1978
Determination of Loss on heating IS:1212-1978

Summary
Requirements of bitumen as a binding material and
its differrent forms were discussed. Various tests
are conducted on bitumen to assess its
consistency, gradation, viscosity, temperature
susceptibility, and safety. Standard test procedures
on bitumen were also covered in this chapter.
Problems

The minimum ductility value specified by BIS for

bitumen is
1.50 cm
2.25 cm
3.75 cm
4.100 cm

The allowable maximum water content in bitumen

should not be more than

1. by weight
2. by weight
3. by weight
4. by weight
Solutions

The minimum ductility value specified by BIS for

bitumen is
 1.50 cm
2.25 cm
3.75 cm
4.100 cm

The allowable maximum water content in bitumen

should not be more than

1. by weight
2. by weight
3. by weight
4. by weight
Bibliography

Prof. Tom V. Mathew 2009-08-03