Transportation Engineering - I

Highway Material
. Dr. Attaullah Shah

Types of Roadway material

Currently, there are two primary types of pavement surfaces
Portland cement concrete (PCC) and hot-mix asphalt concrete
(HMAC).

Below this wearing course are material layers that provide

structural support for the pavement system. These may include
either (a) the aggregate base and sub base layers, or (b) treated
base and sub base layers, and the underlying natural or treated
subgrade. The treated layers may be cement-treated, asphalttreated or lime-treated for additional structural support.

There are various methods by which pavement layers are designed.

For example, HMAC may be designed using the Marshall, Hveem, or
Superpave mix design systems. PCC may be designed using the
American Concrete Institute (ACI) or the Portland Cement
Association (PCA) method.

Hot-Mix Asphalt Concrete

HMAC consists primarily of mineral aggregates, asphalt cement
(or binder), and air.
It is important to have suitable proportions of asphalt cement
and aggregates in HMAC so as to develop mixtures that have
desirable properties associated with good performance.
These performance measures include the resistance to the three
primary HMAC distresses: permanent deformation, fatigue
cracking, and low
temperature cracking.
Permanent deformation refers to the plastic deformation of
HMAC under repeated loads. This permanent deformation can
be in the form of rutting (lateral plastic flow in the wheel paths)
or consolidation (further compaction of the HMAC after
construction).
Aggregate interlock is the primary component that resists
permanent deformation with the asphalt cement playing only a
minor role. Angular, rough-textured aggregates will help reduce
permanent deformation. To a significantly lesser extent, a stiffer
asphalt cement may also provide some minor benefit.

 Cracking can be subdivided into two broad categories: load

associated cracking and non-load associated cracking. Load
associated cracking has traditionally been called fatigue
cracking. In this scenario, repeated stress applications below the
maximum tensile strength of the material eventually lead to
cracking.
Factors associated with the development of fatigue cracking
include the in-situ properties of the structural section, asphalt
cement, temperature, and traffic.
Non-load associated cracking has traditionally been called lowtemperature cracking. During times of rapid cooling and low
temperatures, the stress experienced by the HMAC may exceed
its fracture strength. This leads to immediate cracking.

Aggregates Specification and

test

Traditional aggregate specifications for HMA include the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO) M29 (ASTM D1073) Standard Method of
Test for Fine Aggregate for
Bituminous Paving Mixtures,
ASTM D692 Standard Specification for Coarse Aggregate
for Bituminous Paving Mixtures, and
ASTM D242 Standard Specification for Mineral Filler for
Bituminous Paving Mixtures.
The quality of aggregates depend on the following:
coarse aggregate angularity
fine aggregate angularity
flat, elongated particles, and
clay content

Asphalt Cement Specification and

Tests
Penetration Grading System
ASTM D946 Standard Specification for Penetration-Graded Asphalt
Cement for Use in Pavement Construction
This specification includes five penetration grades ranging from a
hard asphalt graded at 40-50 to a soft asphalt cement graded at
200-300. The sections below discuss the tests used to classify
penetration grades
Following tests conducted to classify the penetration grades:
Penetration Test: AASHTO T49 (ASTM D5) Standard Method of Test for
Penetration of Bituminous Mixtures In this procedure, a needle is typically
loaded with a 100-g weight and allowed to penetrate into an asphalt
cement sample for 5 sec. Prior to conducting the test, the asphalt cement
sample is brought to the testing temperature, typically 258C (778F).
Flash Point Test (ASTM D92) Standard Method of Test for Flash and Fire
Points by Cleveland Open Cup In this procedure, a brass cup partially
filled with asphalt cement is heated at a given rate. A flame is passed over
the surface of this cup periodically and the temperature at which this
flame causes an instantaneous flash is reported as the flash point.

 Ductility Test Ductility is the number of centimeters a standard briquette

of asphalt cement will stretch before breaking.
This property is determined using AASHTO T51 (ASTM D113) Standard
Method of Test for Ductility of Bituminous Mixtures (AASHTO, 2003).
Solubility Test Solubility is the percentage of an asphalt cement sample
that will dissolve in trichloroethylene. This property is determined using
AASHTO T44 (ASTM D2042) Standard Method of Test for Solubility of
Bituminous Materials (AASHTO, 2003).
Thin-Film Oven Test The TFO test is used to approximate the effect of
short-term aging during the mixing process. This test is conducted using
AASHTO T179 (ASTM D1754) Standard Method of Test for Effect of Heat
and Air on Asphalt Materials (Thin-Film Oven Test) (AASHTO, 2003).
Absolute and Kinematic Viscosity Tests: Viscosity can be defined as a
fluids resistance to flow. In the asphalt paving industry, two tests are
used to measure viscosity absolute and kinematic viscosity tests.
Absolute viscosity is determined using AASHTO T202 (ASTM D2171)
Standard Method of Test for Viscosity of Asphalt by Vacuum Capillary
Viscometer (AASHTO, 2003). Kinematic viscosity is determined using
AASHTO T201 (ASTM D2170) Standard Method of Test for Kinematic
Viscosity of Asphalts (Bitumen) (AASHTO, 2003).

Design of Hot-Mix Asphalt

Concrete
Mix design method named after Marshall. AASHTO adopted this
mix design procedure as AASHTO R-12 Standard
Recommended Practice for Bituminous Mixture Design Using
the Marshall and Hveem Procedures
Step 1. Aggregate Evaluation
Step 2. Asphalt Cement Evaluation
Step 3. Preparation of Marshall Specimens
Prepare the Marshall specimens in accordance to the
requirements set in AASHTO R-12. Compact three
replicate specimens at five asphalt contents.
Step 4. Marshall Stability and Flow
Step 5. Density and Void Analysis
Step 6. Tabulating and Plotting Test Results
Step 7. Optimum Asphalt Content Determination

Emulsified and Cutback Asphalts

Asphalt cement can be emulsified with an emulsifying agent and
water to form asphalt emulsions or dissolved in suitable
petroleum solvents to form cutback asphalts.
Cutback asphalts consist primarily of asphalt cement and a
solvent. The speed at which they cure is related to the volatility
of the solvent (diluent) used.
Cutbacks made with highly volatile solvents will cure faster as
the solvent will evaporate more quickly. Conversely, cutbacks
made with less volatile solvents will cure slower as the solvent
will evaporate slower.
The standard practice for selecting cutback asphalts is covered
in ASTM D2399 Standard Practice for Selection of Cutback
Asphalts (ASTM, 2003)
Asphalt Emulsions Asphalt emulsions consist primarily of
asphalt cement, water, and an emulsifying agent. They should
be stable enough for pumping, mixing, and prolonged storage.

Pavement Distresses and

Performance
These distresses could be developed due to traffic load
repetitions, temperature, moisture, aging, construction practice,
or combinations.
Fatigue Cracking: are a series of longitudinal and
interconnected cracks caused by the repeated applications of
wheel loads. This type of cracking generally starts as short
longitudinal cracks in the wheel path and progress to an alligator
cracking pattern (interconnected cracks) as shown in Figure.
This type of distress will
eventually lead to
a loss of the structural integrity
of pavement system.
Rutting: Rutting is defined as permanent deformation
in the wheel path as shown in Figure.Rutting can occur
due to: (a) unstable HMA, (b) densification of HMA, (c) deep
settlement in the subgrade.

Traffic Flow
Complex: between vehicles and
drivers, among vehicles
Stochastic: variability in outcome,
cannot predict with certainty
Theories and models
Macroscopic: aggregate, steady state
Microscopic: disaggregate, dynamics
Human factor: driver behavior

Speed (v)
Rate of motion
Individual speed

Average speed
Time mean speed
Arithmetic mean

vt

Space mean speed

Harmonic mean

L
L
, vavg
T
T

n
L

nL
vs

ti ti
i n i

vt vs

Individual Speed
(1)

700 600
v1
50 ft/sec
2.0 0.0
50 * 3600 / 5280 34.09 (mi/hr or mph)

Vehicle

Spot
Speed

Time of
Location (ft) Speed
Passing (sec) 600
700 (ft/sec)
1

0.0

2.0

50.0

4.4

6.7

45.0

6.0

8.0

50.0

11.4

14.3

35.0

15.0

17.5

40.0

17.5

20.0

40.0

21.1

23.3

45.0

23.3

25.0

60.0

Time Mean Speed

Mile
post

Observation Period

vt

50 45 50 35 40 40 45 60
45.6 (ft/sec)
8

Observation Distance

Space Mean Speed

Observation Period

100 * 8
vs
44.2(ft/sec) 30.1(mi/hr)
2 2.3 2 2.9 2.5 2.5 2.2 1.7

Volume (q)
Number of vehicles passing a point
during a given time interval
Typically quantified by Rate of Flow
(vehicles per hour)

8
1152 (veh/hr or vph)
25 / 3600

Volume (q)

Density (k)
Number of vehicles occupying a
given length of roadway
Typically measured as vehicles per
mile (vpm),
or vehicles per
mile per lane
(vpmpl)

Density (k)

Density (k)

q(veh/hr) v(mi/hr) * k(veh/mi)

1152 (veh/hr) 30.1(mi/hr) * k
k 1152 / 30.1 38.22(veh/mi)

Spacing (s)
Front bumper to front bumper
distance between successive
vehicles

S2-3

S1-2

Headway (h)
Time between successive vehicles
passing a fixed point

T=0 sec T=3sec

h1-2=3sec

Spacing and Headway

spacing

headway

Spacing and Headway

What are the individual headways and the average headway measured at
location A during the 25 sec period?

Spacing and Headway

What are the individual headways and the average headway measured at
location A during the 25 sec period?

Time of
Location (ft)
Passing (sec) 600
700

Vehicle

0.0

2.0

4.4

6.7

6.0

8.0

11.4

14.3

15.0

17.5

17.5

20.0

21.1

23.3

23.3

25.0

h1-2
h2-3

Lane Occupancy
Ratio of roadway occupied by
vehicles

L2

L3

LO

L1

Clearance (c) and Gap (g)

Front bumper to back bumper
distance and time
Clearance (ft) or Gap (sec)

g avg havg

Lavg
vavg

cavg g avg * vavg

Spacing (ft) or headway (sec)