C.VASANTHA M.E,PGDEM.

Executive Engineer (R&B)

ROAD MAKING
MATERIALS
 What is Material
Characterization?
 ROAD MAKING MAETERIALS
Principal Highway Materials:
1. Soil
2. Aggregates
3. Bitumen
4. Water
 Characteristics of Soil
SOIL is formed by disintegration of Rocks by action of

Water
Frost
Temperature
Pressure
Plant or Animal life.
 Characteristics of Soil
Characteristics depends upon
Size
Shape
Surface Texture
Chemical Composition
Electrical surface changes.
Moisture content
Dry density
 Characteristics of Soil

Based on Grain size Soils are

classified
Gravel
SAND
Silt
Clay
 Desirable Properties
1. Stability
2. Incompressibility
3. Permeability
4. Strength
5. Ease of compaction
6. Min changes in volume and stability
under adverse conditions.
 Index Properties of Soil
Soil properties on which their identification
and classification is based.
1. Grain size distribution.
2. Liquid Limit
3. Plasticity Index
4. Shrinkage limit
5. Field moisture content.
6. Dry density
 Classification based on Grain size

Gravel 2mm
Sand Coarse 0.6mm
Medium 0. 6 mm-0.2mm
Fine 0.2mm – 0.06mm
Silt Coarse 0.06mm
Medium 0. 02 mm-0.006mm
Fine 0.006mm – 0.002 Coarse
Clay 0.002 -0.0002mm
Evaluation of Soil Strength.

1. Shear test
2. Bearing Test
3. Penetration test
 Granular Materials – CBR
First suggested by Porter in 1938 of the
California Division of Highways.
Porter (1938) presented pavement thickness
charts based on bearing value test (“a
laboratory device to supposedly measure
resistance to displacement of the soil under
wheel loading”) that later become as CBR
test.
 Granular Materials – CBR
But Porter in 1950 said “…the bearing
values are not a direct measure of the
supporting value of material…”
• The California Department of Transportation
slowly phased out the CBR test between 1944
and 1947.
• The story is not yet complete…
General Properties of Road Metal
Aggregates of angular shape, square and sharp with rough
surfaces achieve the best mechanical interlock and make
the strongest surface.
A flaky aggregate or oblong pebbles should always be
avoided.
Most of the road aggregates are crushed or broken natural
rocks.
Based on strength road metal is divided into hand and soft
aggregates. Morrum, Laterite, Kankar etc one soft
aggregates
Stones having higher specific gravity shall be prepared.
A piece of stone should not absorb more than 1% of its
weight of water.
Field Tests for suitability of road
metal
Hardness of a store can be ascertained by scratching it with
the point of a pen-knife, if it produces a deep scratch, the
stone is too soft as a road metal.

Brittleness of a stone can be tested by hitting it with a sharp

blow with a a small hammer of a bout ¼ kg weight. If the
stone breaks readily, specially into several pieces, it is too
brittle for road work.
A good stone should show a bright, clean crystalline
appearance, a dirty brown or pale greenish tinge is generally
indicative of poor quality of stone.
 Laboratory tests are
1. Crushing (< 45% for base course .
< 30% surface course)

1. Abrasion or Hardness(35%)
2. Impact test(30%)
3. Soundness test
4. Flakiness test (25%)
5. Specific gravity 2.6
6. Bitumen adhesion(25%)
 Laboratory tests are
1. Crushing :strength assessed.
2. Abrasion or Hardness: Asses wearing action at the top
3. Impact test: asses toughness or resistance to normal
pressure or load.
4. Soundness test: asses weathering action.
5. Flakiness test: % of flaky and elongated particles and
angularity.
6. Specific gravity: measuring of quality or strength of
material
7. Bitumen adhesion: assess the degree of stripping from
aggregate as water layer on aggregate controls binding
of bitumen and stripping of binder.
 IRC standard sizes for Broken stone
and Chippings for Road work
Size standard or Wholly passing square Wholly retained square
nominal mesh sieve of size mesh sieve of size
90 mm 100 mm 63 mm
63 mm 75 mm 50 mm
50 mm 63 mm 40 mm
40 mm 50 mm 25 mm
32 mm 40 mm 25 mm
25 mm 40 mm 20 mm
20 mm 25 mm 12.5 mm
12 mm 20 mm 10 mm
10 mm 12.5 mm 6.3 mm
6 mm 10 mm 2.36 mm
Sand 2.36 mm 75 mm
Medium coarse 1.70 mm 75 micron
sand or fine 180 micron
grit

The fraction passing 2.36 mm sieve and retained on 75 micron sieve are considered
as fine aggregate.
 Use of low grade aggregates & Soil
aggregate mixtures in Road pavement
construction
Low aggregates are those which lose
strength generally more than 15% upon
wetting when measured in terms of AIV
Common types: laterite, kanker, shale,
morrum, soft gravel, brick aggregate, soft
stone. PI should be less than 6%,CBR
less than 20.
 Locally available materials

1. Road stones
2. Slag
3. Low grade aggregates
4. Soil gravel mixtures
 LEAN CEMENT CONCRETE
FLY ASH CONCRETE
This can be used for sub base and base
course designing with CBR method taking
equivalency factor 1.5

Thickness of semi rigid layer so obtained

shall thereafter be checked for adequacy
by calculating its ultimate load carrying
capacity using Meyerhof’s equations.
 Size & Grading Requirements of Course
Aggregate for W.B.M IRC 19-1972
Grading Size range Sieve Percent by weight
No. designation passing the sieve

1 90 mm to 40 mm 100 mm 100
Jhama Brick aggregate 80 mm 65 – 85
63 mm 25 – 60
40 mm 0 – 15
20 mm 0–5

2 63 mm to 4 mm 80 mm 100
Soft stones – limestone, flint, 63 mm 90 – 100
kankar, quartzite, laterite and 50 mm 35 – 70
also vitrified brick ballast, etc. 40 mm 0 – 15
20 mm 0–5

3 50 mm to 20 mm 63 mm 100
Hard stone – 50 mm 95 – 100
Granite, trap, ballast, diorite etc. 40 mm 35 – 70
20 mm 0 – 10
10 mm 0–5
 Specification for LCC

Sub base course under cement concrete

pavement should be as per IRC-15
Cement Specify requirements of IS 269
Fly ash specify requirements of IS 3812
Lime reactivity >40kg/m22
Fineness <2800cm2/gm
Aggregate confirmation IS 383
Size shall not be more than 40mm
and shall not be < 20mm
 Grading Requirements for screenings for
W.B.M IRC 19-1972
Grading/ Size of Sieve Percent by weight
Certification Screenings Designation passing the sieve
A 12.5 mm 12.5 mm 100
10.0 mm 90 – 100
*4.75 mm 10 – 30
*150 micron 0.8
B 10. 0 mm 10.0 mm 100
4.75 mm 85-100
150 micron 10-30

*4.75 mm is No. 480 (ISI) and 150 micron is No.15 (ISI). In case of soft aggregates such as
kanker, laterite, the use of screenings may be eliminated.

Screenings of Type A in the table should be used in conjunction with coarse aggregates of
grading No. 1, and of Type B with coarse aggregates of grading No.3. With coarse aggregates of
grading No. 2, either Type A or Type B screenings may be used.

The use of screenings may be dispensed with in the case of crushable type soft coarse
aggregates such as brick metal, kankar and laterite.
 Denomination
Paving bitumen from Assam petroleum
denoted as A type and designated as
grades A35, A90 etc….

Paving bitumen from other sources

denoted as S-type and designated as
grades S35,S90….etc..
 Bituminous Materials:
• Bitumen is a petroleum product obtained by the
distillation of petroleum crude.
• Tar is obtained by the destructive distillation of coal or
wood.
• When bitumen contains some inert material or minerals,
it is some times called Asphalt. Ashpalt is found as
deposits in the form of natural asphalt or rock asphalt.
• The viscosity of bitumen is reduced sometimes by a
volatile diluents and is called cut-back bitumen.
• When bitumen is suspended in a finely divided condition
in an aqueous medium and stabilized with an emulsifier,
the material is known as emulsion.
 Tests on Bitumen
• Penetration test
• Flash & fire point test
• Tests on Cut-back, Emulsion and tar
• Ductility test
• Specific gravity test
• Solubility test
• Viscosity test
• Softening pint test
• Joint filler & sealer.
 Requirement of Bitumen
The properties of bitumen depend on the mix type and the
construction method.
1. Mixing
2. Attainment of desired stability of the mix.
3. Avoid cracking by maintaining stability.
4. Maintain flexibility under adverse conditions.
5. Have sufficient adhesion with aggregates.
Can be solved by
1. Should have adequate viscosity.
2. Should not be highly susceptible.
3. Should not strip off from aggregates.
 About Bitumen……
Bitumen is so useful in the road making and
road maintenance industries because of its basic
thermoplastic nature, i.e. it is stiff/solid when
cold and liquid when hot,
The basic properties of bitumen can be modified by the
addition of flux oils or volatile oils to produce bitumen of
various grades.
These grades are specified by their viscosity,
(penetration), and their softening point, this information,
along with other physical characteristics is specified in,
 Bituminous Concrete

BC shall be used as a wearing course.

Thickness will be decided based on its
functional requirement for the traffic plying
on the highway.
Contents Bitumen 60/70 grade
Coarse aggregate 2.36mm
Fine aggregate 2.36mm to 0.075mm
Filler -stone dust, cement drated, lime,
flyash.
 Bituminous Mixture Design
“It was decided that stability alone was not
a satisfactory tool for evaluating the ability
of a pavement to resist displacement under
repetitive wheel loads”
Till 1980’s all the states in USA followed
Marshall mixture design, currently NONE
of them use this method.
We need measurements like this
for Indian Asphalt!
 THE ADDITION OF POLYMERS MAY
MODIFY BITUMEN

What is polymer?.
The term "polymer" does not automatically mean a synthetic material.
It basically means a combination of a large number of similar small
molecules or "monomers" into large molecules or "polymers".
The polymer will have different properties to the monomer.
There are a large number of naturally occurring polymers,
these can be organic or mineral substances.
Such natural examples of polymers include
hair, rubber, diamonds and sulpher .
 With polymer…..
The polymer additives do not chemically combine or change the
chemical nature of the bitumen being modified, apart from being
present in and throughout the bitumen.

It changes the physical nature of bitumen, and they are able to

modify such physical properties as the softening point and the
brittleness of the bitumen.

Elastic recovery/ductility can also be improved.

The polymer usually influences the bitumen characteristics is by

dissolving into certain component fractions of the bitumen itself,
spreading out its long chain polymer molecules to create an inter-
connecting matrix of the polymer through the bitumen.
 Synthetic Polymer

These are polymers that have been manufactured in a

chemical process to combine particular molecules in a
way that would not occur naturally.

The new polymers being the result of research and

development by the large petro-chemical industries.

The polymers give new material by mixing" /

"blending" with the base bitumen.
 NATURAL RUBBER

Rubberised asphalt, mainly surface course

(wearing course) but also binder course (base
course)

Rubber is a natural polymer and its action in a

bituminous mix is similar to that of the synthetic
TR's.
 POSSIBLE PROBLEMS

1. The storage of the bitumen,

2. Mixing temperatures,
3. The length of time the material is held at
elevated temperatures before laying.
4. It is difficult to be specific
 Bitumen…
Cut back bitumen : is defined as the bitumen ,the
viscosity of which has been reduced by volatile
diluent.
Bituminous binders for laying surface overlays are
used either straight run bitumen, road tar,
cutback or emulsion.
The choice of particular binder depends upon the
type of construction ,availability of materials and
equipment and climatic conditions.
 Bitumen mix
HOT MIX :The bitumen and Tar require
heating to bring them to proper viscosity of
their use.
COLD MIX : Cut back and Emulsion do
not normally require heating therefore
mixed with aggregate at atmospheric
temperature.
 Temperatures …
The temperature of binder at the time of
mixing shall be in the range of 1530C –
1630C
At no time the difference in temperature
between the aggregate and binder exceed
140C.
Viscosity of heated bitumen shall be
between 150 -300 centistokes.
 Contd……
The temperature of the mix at the time of
laying shall not exceed 1600C and shall
not be less than 1200C.
Rolling operation shall be completed in
every respect before the temperature of
mix falls below 1000C.
For field density for every 500m2
compacted surface .
 Soil lime mixes in Road construction

Properties of Lime Soil mixes are

Dependent: 1. Soil type
2. Lime type
3. Lime percentage
4. Fineness of Lime
5. Lime purity
The PI value should be atleast 10%.
Retained 425mm seive.
Uniformity coefficient shouldn’t be less than 5.
 Clayey Soils& Lime
Clayey soils including heavy clays morrums and
other soils met in alluvial planes can be
effectively treated with lime ,since the gain in
strength is based on pozollanic reactions
between lime and clay minerals ,it is essential
that any soil selected for stabilization should
have enough clay minerals.
Purity of lime is expressed as the percentage of
Calcium oxide present in lime.
 Recycling of Bitumen
A bituminous material is thermoplastic, meaning,
when it is hot it is able to be worked.

when it is cold it is solid, well, for practical

purposes.  

A bituminous mixture consists mainly of

aggregate and bitumen.
 Contd….
The surface course will have deteriorated most but only at
the surface where the bitumen will have undergone
some oxidisation, but material in the matrix of an
impervious layer will be substantially the same in
physical properties as at the time it was laid.
that the most change in the physical properties of a
bitumen binder will occur during the mixing process and
the time of hot storage prior to laying
But if able to reheat the cold material in a controlled
procedure, so that it was heated through but not
overheated, that bituminous material would be practically
as good as new
 Contd…
However in re-heating / re-mixing an existing bituminous
material one should have accurate assumption of what
the original reclaimed material was/is, 
i.e. is the bituminous mixture for recycling a hot rolled
asphalt (HRA) with a stiff 50pen binder that can be
reheated to a 160/180 degrees centigrade with little
damage or hardening to the binder and associated fume
production, 
OR
was/is the material a bituminous mixture with a "soft",
low viscosity binder, that must have a lower temperature
mixing procedure to avoid damage to the binder, and
prevent fume production as the volatile oils are driven off
by overheating.
Of course it follows that a "softer" material will cost you less to
recycle as it needs less heat to attain its workable temperature, but
it would be unwise to recycle a stockpiled "soft" material on to a high
stressed site.
 PROCESS

1. Recycle Breakout Material

and Plannings.
2. Dig up old pavement
3. Heat and Mix
4. Relay as Base,  
5. Put down new 6mm as a
wearing course
 Contd….
Pavement recycling can be incorporated
into various types of roading works
including maintenance patching,
rehabilitations, area wide pavement
treatments, seal smoothings, seal
extensions or anywhere there is an
existing pavement that has failed or
requires improving.
 Repave
With Repave the immediate surface of the carriageway is scarified and
heated to approximately 20mm. depth, and then it is reprofiled

Material in excess of that required for the final line and level may be removed.

Fresh hot rolled asphalt material is laid on the top, and this and the scarified
material are compacted together, using a highly specialised machine of
considerable length, giving you a layer of new material over a layer of heated
and scarified material.
Precoated chippings are applied to the new surface prior to rolling as for a
conventional Hot mix wearing course.

The process will provide a new running surface to replace a surface which no
longer has the required texture or anti-skid properties, but the existing
wearing course material is itself in good condition, and capable of being part
of the new surface.

Because of the size of the Repave machine the process is only really suitable
and economical on fairly long lengths of carriageway with considerable
overall width and the slightest of bends, the remix machine is of a similar size.
 Remix
The Remix process is similar to Repave, the main difference from Repave being that
the existing in-situ material after heating to 140 - 180 °C, and scarifying, is
completely mixed with an appropriate amount of fresh material inside the machine.
The new material that is mixed with the existing material from the road is designed
so that the resultant blend will be suitable for the site conditions and comply with
the appropriate specification.
The newly mixed material is laid on a hot, scarified, level surface by the machine and
precoated chippings are laid in the mat in a normal manner.

It is more economical to replace / overlay smaller areas of wearing course with new
bituminous material and a normal paving machine.
 COST AND PERFORMANCE
The cost of recycled material MUST be no greater than the
cost of conventional material, and the performance of the
recycled product MUST be equal to that of conventional /
new materials or it is very difficult for an engineer with a
limited budget to make out a case for specifying recycled
material to the customer or authority employing him.

With the recent introduction of Land Fill Tax there is now quite
a large cost incentive to recycle a greater amount of
suitable material, rather than pay for it to be taken to tip.

However there can be considerable cost of transport,

stockpiling, crushing and blending, to facilitate the
processing of reclaimed material off site to make it suitable
for inclusion in highway works.
The supplier of recycled material should
also have a suitable level of laboratory
backup to ensure the quality of his
product.
 SITE SPECIFIC MATERIAL
SPECIFICATIONS
Many organisations have specifications for
recycled material which allows the use of
suitably processed reclaimed material (which
may or may not meet existing IRC Standards)
into low stressed situations, e.g. lightly trafficked
rural roads, residential estate roads and
footways.

This initiative is to be encouraged with the proviso

that materials approved for sites experiencing
lesser traffic loadings do not find there way on to
sites with more demanding traffic conditions with
claims that it is "an approved material".
Current binders available for
pavement recycling are:
Lime
Cement
Cement blends
KOBM Binder™
Durabind™
 Benefits of Pavement Recycling
 Recycling of an existing deteriorating pavement by stabilisation
utilises the existing pavement materials and has the following
significant benefits:
 Transforms a failing pavement into a structurally sound
pavement with minimal effort. 

 Significantly reduces the need to cut to waste the failed

pavement material. 
 Significantly reduces the amount of imported material required
to rebuild the pavement. 
 Conserves aggregate resources. 
 Greatly reduces the necessary truck traffic movements.
 Minimises inconvenience to the public by the speed and
efficiency of the process. 
 Able to complete significantly more area pavement rehabilitating
than conventional "dig out" methods in the same time period.
“One of the most complex civil
engineering structure to be designed
and built is the pavement …However,
an ordinary building is built with more
care than a heavily trafficked 4 lane
expressway …
No one dies because of a cracked road.
You slow down your car and get across
the bump…”