MARSHALL STABILITY TEST

(REFERENCE: - ASTM D 1559 & IRC: 111-2009

OBJECTIVES

1. To determine the strength (Marshall Stability Value) and flexibility (flow value) for
the given bitumen mixture.
2. To determine the density-voids analysis for the given bituminous mixture;
3. To determine the suitability of bituminous mixture to meet the specified criteria
for the surface course.

INTRODUCTION

Bruce Marshall, formerly bituminous engineer with Mississippi State

HighwayDepartment, USA formulated Marshall Method for designing bituminous
mixes.

This test is done to determine the Marshall stability of bituminous mixture.

Theprinciple of this test is that Marshall Stability is the resistance to plastic flow of
cylindrical specimens of a bituminous mixture loaded on the lateral surface at 5 cm per
o
minute. It is the load carrying capacity of the mix at 60 C and is measured in kg.

The sample needed is From Marshall stability graph, select proportions of coarse
aggregates, fine aggregates and filler in such a way, so as to fulfill the required
specification. The total weight of the mix should be 1200 gm for one specimen.

CONCEPT AND SIGNIFICANCE

The test procedure is used in designing and evaluating bituminous paving mixes and
iswidely applied in routine test programmes for the paving jobs. The major features of
the Marshall Method of designing mixes are to determine the two important properties
ofstrength and flexibility.

Strength is measured in terms of the “Marshall’s Stability” of the mix which is defined
asthe maximum load carried by a compacted specimen at a standard test temperature
0
of 60 C. This temperature represents the weakest condition for a bituminous pavement
in use.

The flexibility is measured in terms of the “Flow Value” which is measured by the
change in diameter of the sample in the direction of lad application between the start of
loading and the time of maximum load. In this test an attempt is made to
obtainoptimum binder content for the aggregate mix type and traffic intensity.

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EQUIPMENT/APPARATUS

The apparatus for the Marshall Stability test consists of the following:
1. Specimen Mould Assembly comprising mould cylinders 10 cm diameter x 7.5 cm
height, base plate and extension collars. They are designed to be interchanged
witheither end of cylindrical mould. Three mould cylinders are recommended.
2. Specimen extractor for extracting the compacted specimen from the mould.
Asuitable bar is required to transfer load from the extension collar to the upper
proving ring attachment while extracting the specimen
3. Compaction Rammers having a flat circular tamping face 4.5kg sliding weight
constructed to provide a free fall of 45.7cm. Two compaction rammers are
recommended.
4. Compaction pedestal consisting of a 20 x 20 x 45 cm wooden block capped with a
30
x 30 x 2.5 cm MS plate to hold the mould assembly in position during
compaction.Mould holder is provided consisting of spring tension device designed to
hold compaction mould in place on the compaction pedestal.
5. Breaking head. The Breaking head consist of upper and lower cylindrical segmentsor
test heads having an inside radius curvature of 5 cm. The lower segment is mounted
on a base having two perpendicular guide rods which facilitate insertion in the holes
of upper test segments. assembly with provision to fix flow meter
6. Loading Machine motorized, loading machine is provided with a gear system to
liftthe upward direction. Recalibrated proving ring of 5 tone capacity is fixed on the
upper end of the machine, specimen contained in the test head is placed in between
the base and the proving ring. The loading jack produces uniform vertical movement
of 5 cm/ min. Machine is capable of reversing its movement downward also. This
facilitates adequate space for placing test head system. After one specimen has
been tested.
7. Flow Meter. The flow meter consists of guide sieve and a gauge. The activating pinof
the gauge slides inside the guide sleeve with a slide amount f fractional resistance.
Least count of 0.025mm is adequate. The flow value refertop the total vertical
upward movement form the initial position at zero load to value at maximum load.
The dial; gauge at the flow meter should be able to measure accurately the total
vertical movement upward.

In addition to the above the following general equipments are also required

Oven or hot plates

Mixing Apparatus
Water Bath
0
Thermometer of range up to 200 C with sensitively of 2.5 degree Celsius
Miscellaneous Equipments are like container, mixing and handling tools etc.

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 Bitumen Mixer, Digital & Manual Compactor, Moulds and Marshall Stability Test Apparatus

PREPARATION OF TEST SPECIMEN

The coarse aggregates, fine aggregates, and the filler materials should be proportioned so as to
fulfill the requirements of the relevant standards. The required quantity of the mix is taken so
as to produce compacted bituminous mix specimens of thickness 63.5 mm approximately.

1. Take 1200 gm of coarse aggregates, fine aggregates and filler material (as per
gradingrequirement given in table) to produce the desired thickness.
2. The aggregates are heated to a temperature of 175° to 190°C the compaction mould
assembly and rammer are cleaned and kept pre-heated to a temperature of 100°C to
145°C.
3. The bitumen is heated to a temperature of 121°C to 138°C and the required amount of
first trial of bitumen is added to the heated aggregate and thoroughly mixed using a
mechanical mixer or by hand mixing with trowel.
4. The mixing temperature for 110 grade bitumen may be around 154°C and that
for60/70 grade about 160°C.
5. The total quantity of mix is placed in a mould and compacted by rammer with 75 blows.
Invert the sample, and compact the other face with the same number of blows.
6. The compacting temperature should be about 138°C for 80/100 grade bitumen and
149°C for 60/70 grade.
7. After compaction, invert the mould. With the collar of the bottom, remove the base and
extract the sample by pushing it out the extractor.
8. The compacted specimen should have a thickness of 63.5 mm.
9. Allow the sample to stand for a few hours to cool.
10. Obtain the sample’s mass in air and submerged, to measure density of specimen, so as
to allow, calculation of the voids properties.

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NOTES:
1. At least 2 specimens (but preferably 3 or 4 specimen) for each combination of
aggregate and bitumen should be prepared.
2. For surface course with 12 mm aggregate, the expected optimum bitumen
content may be about 6.5 %.Therefore specimen should be made at 5.5 %, 6.0%,
6.5 %, 7.0 % and 7.5 % bitumen content.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE-7 OF IRC: 111-2009

AGGREGATE GRADING AND BITUMEN CONTENT

Specification D.B.M. S.D.B.C. B.C.

Grading 1 2 1 2 1 2
Nominal max aggregate size 37.5 mm 26.5 mm 13.2 mm 9.5 mm 19 mm 13.2 mm
Layer thickness 75-100 50-75 40 25 50 25/40
S.No IS Sieve Size Cumulative Percent Passing By Weight of Total Aggregate
1 45 mm 100
2 37.5 mm 95-100 100
3 26.5 mm 63-93 90-100 100
4 19 mm -- 71-95 100 90-100 100
5 13.2 mm 55-75 56-80 90-100 100 59-79 90-100
6 9.5 mm -- -- 70-90 90-100 52-72 70-88
7 4.75 mm 38-54 38-54 35-51 35-51 35-55 53-71
8 2.36 mm 28-42 28-42 24-39 24-39 28-44 42-58
9 1.18 mm -- -- 15-30 15-30 20-34 34-48
10 600 microns -- -- -- -- 15-27 26-38
11 300 microns 7-21 7-21 9-19 9-19 10-20 18-28
12 150 microns -- -- -- -- 5-13 12-20
13 75 microns 2-8 2-8 3-8 3-8 2-8 4-10
14 Binder Content (Min) 4.0 % 4.5 % 4.5 % 5.0 % 5.2 % 5.4 %

TABLE-6 OF IRC: 111-2009: GRADING REQUIREMENT OF MINERAL FILLER

S.No IS Sieve Cumulative Percent Passing By Weight Of Total Aggregate

1 600 microns 100
2 300 microns 95 - 100
3 75 microns 85 - 100

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TEST PROCEDURE
1. In conducting the stability test, the specimen are heated at a temperature of
0 0
60±1 C (37.8 ± 1 C for specimens in which tar has been used in place
bitumen),either in a water bath for 30-40 minutes or in an oven for a minimum
of 2 hours.
2. Remove the specimens from the water bath (or oven) and place the lower
segment of the breaking head. Then place the upper segment of the breaking
head on the specimen and place the complete assembly in position of the
Marshall testing machine.
3. Place the flow meter (dial gauge) over one of the post and adjust into read zero.
4. Apply a load at a rate of 50 mm per minute until the maximum load reading is
obtained.
5. Record the maximum load in Newton (N). At the same instant obtain the flow as
recorded on the flow meter in unit of mm.
6. The total time between removing the specimen from the bath and completion of
the test should not exceed 30 seconds.

RECORD OF OBSERVATIONS

1. Mass of aggregates in mixing pan = 1200 gm

2. Mass of bitumen added ………………………………… gm
3. Bitumen content …………………………………………… %
0
4. Heating Temperature Aggregates ………………… C
0
Bitumen ……………………. C
0
Mixing ………………………. C
5. Compacting temperature ……………………………… 0C
6. Number of blows with hammer per face ……… Nos
7. Mass of specimen in air ‘Wm” ………………………. gm
8. Mass submerged ‘Ww’ ……………………………….. gm
9. Diameter of Specimen …………………………………. cm
10. Thickness of specimen …………………………………. cm
3
11. Volume of specimen ‘Vm’ ……………………………….. cm

NOTE:

1. The measured stability of a specimen multiplied by the ration for the thickness of
specimen is equal to the corrected stability for a 63.5 mm specimen.
2. Volume-thickness relationship is based on a specimen diameter of 10 cm.

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S. No. Determinations Trial-1 Trial-2

1 Weight of Compacted Specimen ,Wm in gm

3
2 Volume of Compacted Specimen, Vm.r2.h in cm
W
m
3
3 Density of Compacted Specimen, d , g/cm
Vm
4 Specific Gravity of Bitumen, Gb 0.99 0.99
5 Specific Gravity of Aggregate, Ga 2.70 2.70
Theoretical (Apparent) Specific Gravity of the Mix
W W
1 W2 W3 W4Wb Or , G t agr Wb
W
6 Gt W agr

W1 W2 W3 W4 b
W
b

G
G
agr b
G G G G G
1 2 3 4 b

W
m
7 Bulk Specific Gravity of the Mix Gm WmWw

G
t Gm
8 Percent Air Voids in Mix ,Vv Gt 100
W
b

G
b
9 Percent Volume of Bitumen Vb W1 W 2 W3 W4 Wb

G
m

11 Percent Voids in Mineral Aggregates, VMA Vv Vb

Vb
12 Percent Voids Filled With Bitumen, VFB 100
VMA
13 Measured Stability in ,kN or Newton (N) or Kg
14 Flow Value , mm
PHASE DIAGRAM OF A BITUMINOUS MIX
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 CORRECTION FACTOR
It is possible while making the specimen the thickness slightly vary from the standard
specification of 63.5 mm. Therefore, measured stability values need to be corrected to those
which would have been obtained if the specimens had been exactly 63.5 mm. This is done
bymultiplying each measured stability value by an appropriated correlation factors as given
in Table below.

Volume of Specimen in Cubic Approximate Thickness of Correction Factors

Centimeter Specimen In mm
457 – 470 57.1 1.19
471 – 482 58.7 1.14
483 – 495 60.3 1.09
496 – 508 61.9 1.04
509 – 522 63.5 1.00
523 – 535 65.1 0.96
536 – 546 66.7 0.93
547 – 559 68.3 0.89
560 – 573 69.9 0.86

REQUIREMENTS OF DENSE GRADED BITUMINOUS MIX USING VG/MODIFIED BITUMEN

REF: TABLE-8 OF IRC: 111-2009

Properties Viscosity Modified Bitumen Test Method

Graded (VG) Hot Climate Cold Climate
Bitumen
Compaction Level (No. of blows) 75 blows on each face of the specimen
Minimum Stability (kN at 60°C) 9.0 (900 Kg) 12.0 (1200 Kg) 10.0 (1000 Kg) AASHTO T245
Marshall flow (mm) 2–4 2.5 – 4 3.5 – 5 AASHTO T245
Marshall Quotient (Stability/flow) 2–5 2.5 – 5 2.5 – 5
% Air Voids 3–5 3–5 3–5 MS-2 & ASTM
D2041
% Voids filled with bitumen (VFB) 65 – 75 65 – 75 65 – 75 MS – 2
Tensile strength ratio 80 % Minimum AASHTO T283
Coating of aggregate particle with 95 % 95 % IS: 6241
bitumen Minimum Minimum
% Voids in Mineral Aggregate, VMA
Nominal Max Particle Size (mm) Min % VMA related to designed % air voids
3 4 5
9.5 14 15 16
13.2 13 14 15
19.0 12 13 14
26.5 11 12 13
37.5 10 11 12

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BITUMEN CONTENT AND VARIOUS DESIGN PARAMETERS