(Module-1)

HIGHWAY MATERIALS
The highway materials consist of soils, aggregates, bituminous materials, and
portland cement.

SOILS
The types of soils based upon how they are formed consist of residual soils, aeolian
soils, glacial soils and sedimentary soils. Soils may also be described as inorganic
or organic soils.
Certain general soil types are of importance to the highway engineer. sand and
gravel are coarse-grained soil types possessing little or no cohesion and with the
particle size ranging from 80mm for coarse gravel to 0.08mm for fine sand. The
term gravel is usually applied to natural pit, river, or bank gravels consisting
largely of rounded particles; crushed gravel or crushed stone, is the term applied
to the products of crushing larger rocks into gravel sizes.
Silt is the term applied to fine-grained soils of low to medium plasticity, the size
being between sand and clay. Clays have very fine grains of 0.002mm or finer and
possess medium to high plasticity. Loam is an agricultural term used to describe a
soil that is generally fairly well graded from coarse to fine. They may be called
sandy loam, silty loam or clay loam, depending on the size of the predominating
soil fraction. Loess is a fine-grained aeolian soil with nearly uniform grain size
and low density. Muck is soft silt or clay, very high in organic content, which is
usually found in river or lake bottoms. Peat is a soil composed of partially
decomposed vegetable matter. Its high water content, woody nature and high
compressibility make it undesirable foundation material.
BASIC SOIL PROPERTIES
Soil engineer is supposed to be familiar with basic soil properties. Soils are quite
complex in nature both physically and chemically unlike other engineering
materials such as steel, wood and concrete. Also soil deposits are extremely
heterogeneous in character.

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2.
3.
4.
5.

Moisture Content
Specific Gravity
Unit Weight
Shearing Resistance
Other Soil Properties
Permeability
Capillarity
Shrinkage
Swelling
Compressibility
Elasticity

SOIL CLASSIFICATION FOR HIGHWAY PURPOSES

The soil classification is a tool which helps in the determination of soil action and
behavior. The objective of soil classification is to predict the sub-grade
performance of a given soil on the basis of a few simple tests performed on the soil
in a disturbed condition.
Mechanical Analysis:
Sieve analysis is performed on soils such as clean sand or a soil that may be
separated from the coarser particles. The sieve No. 200 which has openings 0.074
mm square is used for this purpose.
Atterberg Limits:
Liquid limit (LL) is defined as the minimum moisture content at which the soil
will flow under the application of a very small shear force. The plastic limit (PL)
is defined as the minimum moisture content at which the soil remains in a plastic
condition. The plasticity index (PI) is defined as the difference between the liquid
limit and plastic limit. It is a measure of cohesiveness, with a high value of the PI
indicating a high degree of cohesion.
AASHTO Classification System:
It classifies soils into seven groups based on laboratory determination of particlesize distribution, liquid limit and plasticity index. Evaluation of soils within each
group is made by means of a group index which is a value calculated from an
empirical formula.

Group Index: The group index is calculated from the following formula:
Group index = (F 35)[0.2 + 0.005(LL 40)] + 0.01(F -15)(PI - 10)
Where

F= percentage passing 0.074mm (#200), expressed as

whole
number
LL = liquid limit
PI = plasticity index
The group index should be reported to the nearest whole number. A group index of
0 indicates a good sub-grade material and group index of 20 or greater indicates a
very poor sub-grade material.
SOIL SURVEYS FOR HIGHWAY PURPOSES
The sources of information for highway location, design and construction include
geological and topographic maps and reports, agricultural soil maps and reports,
aerial photographs, and the results of previous soil surveys in the area.
MOISTURE-DENSITY RELATIONSHIPS
Every soil has an optimum moisture content at which the soil attains maximum
density under a given compactive effort. This was stated by R. R. Proctor in 1933
and forms the basis for the modern construction process for sub-grades, bases,
embankments, earthen dams and similar structures.
FROST ACTION IN SOILS
Severe damage to sub-grades, bases and pavements may result from frost action
which means freezing and thawing during the winter and spring seasons.
The sub-grade soil expands during freezing temperatures, because water expands
as it freezes. The phenomena of freezing are called frost heave and it occurs due
to shallow water table and a frost-susceptible soil.
When a sudden rise in temperature or thaw occurs, the accumulated ice may melt
rapidly. As a consequence, excess moisture content may be trapped under the
pavement and sharp reduction in shearing strength may result. So the pavement
and base may then fail under wheel loads. The phenomena of thawing is called
spring breakup.

Certain preventive measures are commonly employed to eliminate or minimize

frost damage. The most common solution to the problem is to remove soils subject
to frost action and replace them with suitable granular backfill to the depth of the
frost line. The other solution may be by lowering the water table by installing
drainage facilities in areas where frost action is likely to happen.

AGGREGATES
The term aggregate refers to granular mineral particles that are widely used for
highway bases, sub-bases, and backfill. Aggregates are also used in combination
with a cementing material to form concretes for bases, sub-bases, wearing surfaces
and drainage structures. The most important properties of aggregates used for
highway construction are given below:Particle Size and Gradation:
Aggregates having different particle sizes in combination with a cementing
material are used for preparing aggregate mix.
Resistance to Wear:
Materials used in the highway pavements should be hard and resist wear due to the
loading from compaction equipment, the polishing effects of traffic, and the
internal abrasive effects of repeated loadings. The most commonly used measure of
the hardness of aggregates is the Los Angeles abrasion test.
Durability or Resistance to Weathering:
The durability of aggregates is measured by a soundness test.The aggregate is
immersed in a saturated solution of sodium or magnesium sulfate for a certain
period. It simulates the weathering of aggregates that occurs in nature.
[

Specific Gravity and Absorption:

The specific gravity of a solid is the ratio of its mass to that of an equal volume of
distilled water at a specific temperature.
Apparent specific gravity, GA =
Where

M D /V N
W

MD = Dry mass of the aggregate

VN = Net volume of the aggregates, excluding the volume of
absorbed water.
W = Density of water

Bulk specific gravity, GB =

Where

M D /V B
W

VB = Total volumes of the aggregates, including the volume of

absorbed water.

The difference between the apparent and bulk specific gravities accounts for the
water-permeable voids of the aggregates.
Chemical Stability of Aggregates:
Some of the aggregates are good at absorbing water which contributes to film
stripping in the asphalt mix. Film stripping causes decrease of shearing resistance
(cohesion or strength) in the asphalt mix. Aggregates that show this tendency to a
marked detrimental degree are called hydrophilic (water-loving) aggregates.
Conversely, aggregates that show little or no decrease in strength due to film
stripping are called hydrophobic (water-hating) aggregates.
Other Properties of Aggregates:
Specifications for aggregates used in bituminous mixes usually require the the
aggregates to be clean, tough, durable in nature, and free of flat or elongated
pieces, dust, clay balls, and other objectionable material.

Similarly, aggregates used in portland cement mixes must be clean and free of
deleterious substances such as clay lumps, chert, silt and other organic impurities.

BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
Bituminous materials are used extensively for roadway construction, because of
their excellent binding or cementing power and their waterproofing properties, as
well as their relatively low cost. Bituminous materials consist primarily of
bitumen, which, according to ASDTM D8, is a black or dark-coloured solid
composed chiefly of high molecular-weight hydrocarbons. It is soluble in carbon
disulphide. The terms asphalt and bitumen are mostly interchangeable to mean
both natural and manufactured forms of substance. In America the product is called
asphalt and outside America, it is often called bitumen.
Bituminous materials are divided into two broad categories: ASPHALTS and
TARS. Asphalts are residues from the refinery of crude oils. They are also
available as natural deposits called native asphalt. Tars are residues from the
destructive distillation of organic substances such as coal or wood.
Asphalts have no odour, are more resistant to weathering, and less susceptible to
temperature than tars, which have a pungent odour and react to weathering and
temperature. Asphalt is dissloved in petroleum oils whereas tars are not. Therefore,
tars are used to seal asphalt concrete surfaces, such as fog seals, to improve the oil
resistance of asphalt surfaces. Asphalts are black in colour, whereas tars are usually
brown-black in colour.
Cutback Asphalt:
Asphalt cement which is in the state of a semi-solid at room temperature, is mixed
with volatile solvents to transform into liquid form which is called cutback
asphalt. After a cutback asphalt is exposed to air, the volatile solvent evaporates,
and the asphalt in the mixture regains its original form. This is called curing of
cutback asphalt. Depending upon the volatility of the solvent used, the rate of
curing of cutback asphalt can vary from a minutes to several days. Following are
three types of cutback asphalt and the solvent used:
Cutback Asphalt

Solvent

Rapid-curing (RC)

Gasolene or Naptha

Medium-curing (MC)

Kerosene

Slow-curing (SC)

Road oil

Emulsified Asphalt:
Emulsified asphalt is a mixture of asphalt cement, water, and an emulsifying agent.
These three constituents are fed simultaneously into a colloid mill to produce
extremely small globules of asphalt cement which are suspended in the water. The
emulsifying agent imparts the electric charges (cationic or anionic) to the surface
of the asphalt particles, which causes them to repel one another, the asphalt
particles do not join together. The emulsifying asphalt is quite stable and could
have a shelf life of several months.
The two most common types of emulsified asphalts are anionic and cationic,
depending upon the emulsified agent used. The anionic type contains
electronegatively charged asphalt globules, and the cationic type contains
electropositively charged asphalt globules.
The anionic emulsions are effective in coating electropositive aggregates such as
limestone. The cationic emulsion reacts favourably with an electronegative
aggregate such as highly siliceous aggregates.
When an emulsified asphalt is exposed to the air, alone or mixed with an
aggregate, it sets or breaks because the asphalt globules react with the surface
they are in contact with and join together, squeezing out the water between them.
Emulsified asphalt has advantages in construction, particularly when used with
moist aggregates or in wet weather. Emulsified asphalt is in liquid state and has
low viscosity at the ambient temperature. It can be used without additional heat.
Due to these factors, emulsified asphalt is more energy-efficient and less costly
than cutback asphalt.
Three grades for each anionic and cationic emulsified asphalts are available
commercially; rapid-setting (RS), medium-setting (MS) and slow-setting (SS).

Name of Test
Purity of asphalt cement
Solubility
in
trichloroethylene
Water
Consistency
Kinematic Viscosity
Absolute Viscosity
Penetration
Softening Point
(ring-and-ball method)
Ductility
Ductility
Volatility
Distillation of cutback
asphaltic products
Loss on heating
Thin-film oven test
Flash point (Cleveland open
cup)
Flash point (Tag open cup)
Tests for emulsified asphalts

AASHTO
Designatio
n

ASTM
Designatio
n

T44

D4042

T55

D95

T201
T202
T49

D2170
D2171
D5

T53

D36

T51

D113

T78

D402

T47
T179

D6
D1754

T48

D92

T79
T59

D244

Laboratory Tests of Bituminous Materials

Used in Road Construction