How to grade bitumen

Bitumen used for paving grades are categorized according to viscosity (degree of fluidity) gradings. The higher the grade, the stiffer the bitumen gets.

Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear or tensile stress. In everyday terms (and for fluids only), viscosity is "thickness" or "internal friction". Thus, water is "thin", having a lower viscosity, while honey is "thick", having a higher viscosity. Put simply, the less viscous the fluid is, the greater its ease of movement (fluidity).


The test procedures used for paving grades of bitumen are as follows:

• Penetration Test;  used to determine the consistency of bitumen by measuring the distance that a standard needle will penetrate vertically into a sample
• Viscosity Test; is a more scientific measure of consistency than Penetration. Various tests are used to measure the resistance to flow of bitumen and to thereby define its consistency.
• Flash Point: used to measure the temperature to which a sample of bitumen may be safely heated by establishing the temperature at which a small flame causes the vapour above the sample to ignite or flash.
• Ductility: gives an indication of the extent to which a sample of the material can be stretched before breaking. A standard briquette of bitumen, placed in a mould in a water bath heated to 15°C, is pulled apart, usually at a speed of 5 cm per minute. The length of the thread of bitumen at the moment when it breaks, expressed in centimetres, is the ductility of the sample.
• Solubility and the Presence of Insolubles: indicates the degree of contamination of the bitumen by other matter and therefore the presence of pure bitumen. The Australian test measures the percentage of matter that is insoluble in toluene.
• Effect of Heat and Air: is determined to simulate the conditions obtained when the bitumen is used to manufacture hot-mix. In the Rolling Thin Film Oven Test a moving film of bitumen is heated in an oven at 163°C for 60 minutes. The viscosity is measured before and after treatment.
• Softening Point: a measurement of the temperature at which a sample of bitumen held in a ring in a water bath allows a steel ball of specified weight to fall to a point at a specified distance below it.

The chart below shows typical applications for paving grade of BP bitumens:

Applications for Bp class
Bitumen class	Sprayed Sealing	Asphalt
		Light	Medium	Heavy	Extra Heavy
Class 170	ok	ok
Class 320		ok	ok	ok
Class 600				ok	ok

AASHTO M 226 and ASTM D 3381 Viscosity Grades

Standard	Grading based on Original Asphalt (AC)						Grading based on Aged Residue (AR)
AASHTO M 226	AC-2.5	AC-5	AC-10	AC-20	AC-30	AC-40	AR-10	AR-20	AR-40	AR-80	AR-160
ASTM D 3381	AC-2.5	AC-5	AC-10	AC-20	AC-30	AC-40	AR-1000	AR-2000	AR-4000	AR-8000	AR-16000

Following table is the specification for performance grade bitumen

PROPERTY	GRADES				STANDARD
	PG 76-10		PG 82-10
	Min	Max	Min	Max
Flash Point, COC, °C	230	-	230	-	T48
Viscosity @ 135°C, Pa·s	135°C	3.0	135°C	-	ASTM D4402
Dynamic Shear @ 70°C, G*/sin d, kPa	1.00	-	-	-	-
After RTFO	-	-	-	-	-
Dynamic Shear @ 70°C, G*/sin d, kPa	2.20	-	-	-	-
Mass Loss, %	-	1%	-	1%	-
After PAV @ 100°C	-	-	-	-	-
Dynamic Shear @ 28°C, G*·sin d, kPa	-	5000	-	-	-
Creep Stiffness @ -12°C, S, MPa	-	300	-	-	-
Creep Stiffness @ -12°C, M-value	0.300	-	-	-	-

what do we know about bitumen

what is bitumen? 
Bitumen or Tar is a dark black,greasy, viscous material that is a naturally-occurring organic byproduct of decomposed organic materials ,Bitumen is  the heaviest, thickest form of PETROLEUM.

How is bitumen produced?
Crude oil is to be introduced to an oil refinery, the crude oil being processed is separated into different parts on the basis with respect to their boiling range. The final bitumen product can be produced to technical specification either directly in the refining process or by blending bitumens with different physical properties.

What is the bitumen used for?

it been used widely for roads, roofs, water proofing..

Heavy duty pavings, Urban roads paving, rural roads paving, main roads paving, industrial uses.

Heavy duty paving is used in Airports, ports and railways require paving solutions that can withstand extremely heavy loads and high pavement stress. These pavements are subject to sustained loads, often in channels such as loading bays which can lead to rutting.

Industrial applications for bitumen are extremely varied; core applications include roofing, flooring and sealing on both an industrial and DIY level.

Report on how to design high way on a hilly area

Introduction

Romans was the people who started building long length roads, roads that connected to Europe, who saw the ability to move quickly as essential for both military and civil reasons. The Roman approach to road design is essentially the same as that in current use. The roads were constructed of several different layers, increasing in strength from the bottom. The lowest layer was normally rubble, intermediate layers were made of lime bound concrete and the upper layer was a flag or lime grouted stone slabs. The thickness of the layers was varied according to the local ground conditions.

            Highway designs vary widely and can range from a two-lane road without margins to a multi-lane, grade separated freeway. In law the word highway is often used as a legal term to denote any public road, ranging from freeways to dirt tracks. An interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network" or a "highway transportation system".

            This report consists of a highway which connects two highways A to B, through a declining hilly area, and this area needs to be cut and fill. Consist of a sag curve and crest curve. The minimum gradient through the road is 7%. And the first 50m is 0% and straight.

Speed parameter and route selection

 Route selection

Human beings are natural effort minimizes, notably when it involves moving around. When given the opportunity, they will always try to choose the shortest path to go from one place to another. Transportation, as an economic activity, replicates this process of minimization, notably by trying to minimize the friction of distance between locations. Shorter times and lower costs are looked upon by individuals as well as by multinational corporations. For an individual, it is often only a matter of convenience, but for a corporation it is of strategic importance as a direct monetary cost is involved.

The Road we have designed is 864 meters in length.

 Speed parameter


Speed or velocity, it measure how much of distance a particle or vehicle moves in a period of time. In human there are three thing which influence driver choice of speed; Personal; which means how tired he she is or how occupies he/she is,  Vehicle; the type of vehicle he/she is driving, External; this is things outside the vehicle, like how the road is, how the weather is.

The design speed of this road is 80 Km/H from A to B of 864 meters.

 Design calculations

 Horizontal curvature and alignment

Design speed of road, V =  80 Km/h,                         e = 0.07 Max,              f=0.26

R_min     =                 V²              .           

                   127 ( e_max + f_max)              

R_min     =                 80²              .           

                   127 ( 0.07 + 0.26)                       

R_min     =       157.5 M



Rate of rotation
   LSD    =       (n.e)     x    VD


                     0.025         3.6
  LSD    =       (0.03 x 0.06)     x    80


                          0.025                  3.6
       LSD    =       80 M




Plan transition length
       LT      =          2/3 x LSD


       LT      =          2/3 x 80


       LT      =          53 M




Chainage at TP leading
       ChTP1             =          130+81 = 160 Tan 52


            =          132.97 M
       ChTP1             =          132.97+145  = 277.97


            =          278 M

Vertical Alignment

Crest curve

A         =          0 – (-7)

            =          7

K = 24,            V =  80 Km/h

Min crest =      7 x 24 = 168 m

Ha       =          912 + 0                        =912
Hb       =          912 – 0.07x 168/2       = 906.12

Hc       =          (912 +906.12)/2          = 909.06

Hd       =          (909.6 + 912)/2           = 910.53

Cha      =          140 – 168/2                 =56 m

Chb     =          140+168/2                   =224 m



   Hp     =          Ha +[(p/100) X] + [ (-A/200L) X2]


          =          912 + 0 - 0.0033


           =          911.99


Table 1 ; Crest curve in every 20 m intervals

Chainge	x	ha	(p/100)	x	A/200L	x2	Hr
56	4	912	0	4	-0.00021	16	912.00
60	24	912	0	24	-0.00021	576	911.88
80	44	912	0	44	-0.00021	1936	911.60
100	64	912	0	64	-0.00021	4096	911.15
120	84	912	0	84	-0.00021	7056	910.53	ok
140	104	912	0	104	-0.00021	10816	909.75
160	124	912	0	124	-0.00021	15376	908.80
180	144	912	0	144	-0.00021	20736	907.68
200	164	912	0	164	-0.00021	26896	906.40	ok

sag curve

A         =          -7 – (3)

            =          -10

sag       =          200 m adopt

Ha       =          865.7  + 0.07x100       = 872.7
Hb       =          865.7  + 0.03x 100      = 868.7

Hc       =          (872.7  +868.7)/2        = 869.92

Hd       =          (869.92+ 865.7 )/2      = 867.92

Cha      =          768 – 200/2                 =668 m

Chb     =          768+200/2                   =868 m
 Chd   =          768

Table 2 ; Crest curve in every 20 m intervals

Chainge	x	ha	(p/100)	x	A/200L	x2	Hr
668	20	872.7	0.07	20	-0.00025	400	871.40
688	40	872.7	0.07	40	-0.00025	1600	870.30
708	60	872.7	0.07	60	-0.00025	3600	869.40
728	80	872.7	0.07	80	-0.00025	6400	868.70
748	100	872.7	0.07	100	-0.00025	10000	868.20
768	120	872.7	0.07	120	-0.00025	14400	867.90	ok
788	140	872.7	0.07	140	-0.00025	19600	867.80
808	160	872.7	0.07	160	-0.00025	25600	867.90
828	180	872.7	0.07	180	-0.00025	32400	868.20
848	200	872.7	0.07	200	-0.00025	40000	868.70	ok

Earth work volume calculation 

From the graph there is around 74 fill in section and 3 cut section.

Cut and fill ratio         =     1 : 24.6

Volume of fill is;

=          74 – 3  = 71 nos

=          71 x 12 x 20

=          17,040 M³ of soil for fill

Volume of cut is;

=          3nos

=          3 x 12 x 20

=          720 M³  of soil to be cut

 Reference

[1] Traffic and Highway engineering, Nicholas J garber, lester A Hoel, 3^rd edition.

[2] Highway Engineering, Martin Rogers

[3] http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch2en/meth2en/ch2m2en_2ed.html