UNIT – III

FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
DESIGN

Presented by
Ankit Kumar
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Eng
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DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

 UNIT – 2 - FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT DESIGN

INTRODUCTION
Flexible pavements will transmit wheel load stresses to the lower layers by grain-to- grain
transfer through the points of contact in the granular structure. The wheel load acting on
the pavement will be distributed to a wider area, and the stress decreases with the depth.
Taking advantage of these stress distribution characteristic flexible pavements normally
has many layers. Hence, the design of flexible pavement uses the concept of layered
system. Based on this, flexible pavement may be constructed in a number of layers and the
top layer has to be of best quality to sustain maximum compressive stress, in addition to
wear and tear. The lower layers will experience lesser magnitude of stress and less quality
material can be used.

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Fig No. 1 Flexible pavements
composition

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DESIRABLE PROPERTIES OF M AT ERIALS

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BITUMINOUS MATERIALS

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.
Production of Bitumen

Bitumen is the residue or by-product when the crude petroleum 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.
D I F FE RE NT F O R M S O F B I T UM E N 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. 5
 The distillates used for preparation of cutback bitumen are naphtha, kerosene, diesel
oil, and furnace oil.
From the environmental point of view also cutback bitumen is preferred.
There are different types of cutback bitumen like
Rapid curing (RC),
Medium curing (MC), and
Slow curing (SC)
BITUMEN EMULSION
Bitumen emulsion is a liquid product in which bitumen is suspended in a finely
divided condition in an aqueous medium and stabilized by suitable material.
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.

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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 stabilized surfaces and water bound
macadam base courses.
Bituminous primers are generally prepared on road sites by mixing
penetration bitumen with petroleum distillate.

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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

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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 .

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 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.
Penetration test
Ductility test
Softening point test
Specific gravity test
Viscosity test
Flash and Fire point test
Float test

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.
Water content test
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 Loss on heating test
PENETRATION TEST
It measures the hardness or softness of bitumen by measuring the depth in tenths of a
millimetre 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 below shows a schematic Penetration Test setup
.

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 Fig. Penetration test
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 .

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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 levelled 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.
In flexible pavement design, it is necessary that binder should form a

thin ductile film around aggregates so that physical aggregates is

improved

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 Figure below shows ductility moulds to be filled with bitumen

Fig. 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 glycerine at a given temperature .

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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.
The Figure shows Softening Point test setup.

Fig. Softening point test 15

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.

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Low or high viscosity during compaction or mixing has been observed to result
in lower stability values.
At high viscosity, it resists 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.

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 Fig. Viscosity test
FLASH AND FIRE POINT TEST
At high temperatures depending upon the grades of bitumen materials leave
out volatiles(sudden change leading to violent behaviour of material).
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
.

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WATER CONTENT, but for bitumen having penetration values 150-200 up to 2%
loss in weighTEST
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 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 weightt
is allowed.
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 The fire point is defined as the lowest temperature under specified test
conditions at which the bituminous material gets ignited and burns.
The flash point tells the critical temperature at and above which suitable
precautions are required to be taken to eliminate the danger of fire during
heating
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. 20
TYPES OF GRADING OF AGGREGATES
Dense-or well-graded aggregate – Has gradation close to the maximum density grading
curve.
Gap-graded aggregate – Has only a small percentage of particles in the mid-size range.
Uniformly graded aggregate – Composed mostly of particles of the same size.
Open-graded aggregate – Contains only a small percentage of small-size particles.
DENSE GRADED AGGREGATE
A dense gradation refers to a sample that is approximately of equal amounts of various sizes
of aggregate.
By having a dense gradation, most of the air voids between the materials are filled with
particles.
A dense gradation will result in an even curve on the gradation graph.
a)Wide range of sizes.
b)Grain-to-grain contact.
c)Low void content.
d)Low permeability.
e)High stability.
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AGGREGATE GRADATION
The particle size distribution of an aggregate as determined by sieve analysis is termed
as gradation of aggregates.
If all the particles of an aggregate are of uniform size, the compacted mass will
contain more voids whereas aggregate comprising particles of various sizes will give a
mass with lesser voids.
The particle size distribution of a mass of aggregate should be such that the smaller
particles fill the voids between the larger particles.
The proper grading of an aggregate produces dense concrete and needs less quantity
of fine aggregate and cement waste, therefore, it is essential that coarse and fine
aggregates be well graded to produce quality concrete.
Grading limits and maximum aggregate size are specified because these properties
affect the amount of aggregate used as well as cement and water requirements,
workability and durability of concrete.
In general, if the water-cement ratio is chosen correctly, a wide range in grading can
be used without a major effect on strength.

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TYPES OF GRADING OF AGGREGATES
Dense-or well-graded aggregate – Has gradation close to the maximum density grading curve.
Gap-graded aggregate – Has only a small percentage of particles in the mid-size range.
Uniformly graded aggregate – Composed mostly of particles of the same size.
Open-graded aggregate – Contains only a small percentage of small-size particles.
DENSE GRADED AGGREGATE
A dense gradation refers to a sample that is approximately of equal amounts of various sizes
of aggregate.
By having a dense gradation, most of the air voids between the materials are filled with
particles.
A dense gradation will result in an even curve on the gradation graph.
a)Wide range of sizes.
b)Grain-to-grain contact.
c)Low void content.
d)Low permeability.
e)High stability.

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 f) Difficult to compact.
GAP GRADED AGGREGATE
Gap-graded aggregate contains only a small percentage of aggregate particles in the
mid-size range.
The curve is flat in the mid-size range.
Some PCC mix designs use gap graded aggregate to provide a more economical mix
since less sand can be used for a given workability.
When gap-graded aggregate are specified, certain particle sizes of aggregate are omitted from
the size continuum.
Gap-graded aggregate are used to obtain uniform textures in exposed aggregate
concrete.
GAP GRADED AGGREGATE
Close control of mix proportions is necessary to avoid segregation.
a)Missing middle sizes.
b)No grain-to-grain contact.
c)Moderate void content.
d)Moderate permeability.
e)Low stability.
f)Easy to compact.
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OPEN GRADED AGGREGATE
In this type of gradation of aggregates, only a small percentage of aggregate
particles are in the small range.
This results in more air voids because there are not enough small particles
to fill in the voids between the larger particles.
The curve is near vertical in the mid-size range, and flat and near-zero in the
small- size range.
UNIFORM GRADED AGGREGATE
It refers to a gradation that contains most of the particles in a very narrow size
range.
In essence, all the particles are the same size.
The curve is steep and only occupies the narrow size range specified.
a)Narrow range of sizes.
b)Grain-to-grain contact.
c)High void content.
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d)High permeability.
e)Low stability.
f)Difficult to compact.

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Fig. 7 Examples for Gradation of aggregate

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PRINCIPLES OF BITUMINOUS MIX DESIGN
a

The bituminous mix design aims to determine the proportion of bitumen,

filler, fine aggregates, and coarse aggregates to produce a mix which is
workable, strong, durable and economical.
Constituents of a mix
Coarse aggregates: Offer compressive and shear strength and shows good
interlocking properties. E.g. Granite
Fine aggregates: Fills the voids in the coarse aggregate and stiffens the
binder. E.g. Sand, Rock dust
Filler: Fills the voids, stiffens the binder and offers permeability. E.g. Rock
dust, cement, lime
Binder: Fills the voids, cause particle adhesion nd gluing and offers
impermeability. E.g. Bitumen, Asphalt, Tar

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OBJECTIVES OF MIX DESIGN
The objective of the mix design is to produce a bituminous mix by proportioning
various components so as to have:
Sufficient bitumen to ensure a durable pavement,
Sufficient strength to resist shear deformation under traffic at higher
temperature,
Sufficient air voids in the compacted bitumen to allow for additional
compaction by traffic,
Sufficient workability to permit easy placement without segregation,
Sufficient flexibility to avoid premature cracking due to repeated bending by
traffic and
Sufficient flexibility at low temperature to prevent shrinkage cracks.

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PROPERTIES OF MIX DESIGN
The desirable properties of a bituminous mix can be summarized as follows:
Stability to meet traffic demand
Bitumen content to ensure proper binding and water proofing
Voids to accommodate compaction due to traffic
Flexibility to meet traffic loads, esp. in cold season
Sufficient workability for construction
Economical mix
The Marshall mix design method consists of 6 basic steps:

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THANKS