PAVEMENT MATERIALS
Module 3, Lecture 1
BITUMEN BASICS
NIKHIL SABOO
CIVIL ENGINEERING
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Text’s, information’s, graphs and images have
been taken from different text books, journal
articles, reports, and public domain search.
They are greatly acknowledged.
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WHAT ARE WE GOING TO LEARN?
• BITUMEN- A BINDING AGENT
• PRODUCTION OF BITUMEN
• CHEMISTRY OF BITUMEN
• PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
• INTRODUCTION TO VISCOELASTICITY
• RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
• GRADING OF BITUMEN
• MODIFIED BITUMEN
• BITUMEN EMULSION
• CUTBACK BITUMEN
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WHAT ARE WE GOING TO LEARN?
• BITUMEN- A BINDING AGENT
• PRODUCTION OF BITUMEN
• CHEMISTRY OF BITUMEN
• PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
• INTRODUCTION TO VISCOELASTICITY
• RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
• GRADING OF BITUMEN
• MODIFIED BITUMEN
• BITUMEN EMULSION
• CUTBACK BITUMEN
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BITUMEN- A BINDING AGENT
• Shell Bitumen Handbook: The term originated in the ancient and sacred language
of Hindus in India (“Jatu”)
• Terminology: Bitumen (European/Asian countries); Asphalt/Asphalt Binder (North
American countries)
• Definition: “A tar like mixture of hydrocarbons derived from petroleum, naturally
or by distillation, and used for road surfacing and roofing” (Oxford Press, 1996)
• Bitumen is a crude oil product: Most places where you
find crude oil are sea beds.
• Mankind’s one of the oldest engineering material
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Some Interesting Papers to Read!!
• Krishnan JM, Rajagopal KR, Review of the uses and
modeling of bitumen from ancient to modern times, Appl.
Mech. Rev. 56 (2003) 149–214.
• Roberts FL, Mohammad LN, Wang LB, History of hot mix
asphalt mixture design in the United States, Perspect. Civ. Eng.
Commem. 150th Anniv. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng. (2003) 291–305.
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BITUMEN- A BINDING AGENT
• Bitumen/Asphalt binder used in this lecture will be referred to the residual
product obtained from fractional distillation of crude oil in petroleum refinery.
• Other Binders
• Tar: Coal or wood are carbonized or destructively distilled in the absence of
oxygen: High temperature susceptibility, health hazards like eye and skin
irritation.
• Petroleum Pitches: aromatic residues from thermal
cracking, coking or oxidation of few petroleum
fractions.
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BITUMEN- A BINDING AGENT
• Other Binders
• Natural/Lake Bitumen: Trinidad lake asphalt; Gilsonite; Rock asphalt
• Very hard to be used directly: 54% binder, 36% mineral matter, 10% organic
matter).
• Used during the last two decades of 19th century.
• Manufactured bitumen: Use of bitumen as a binding agent and engineering
product took a leap after the beginning of 20th century.
• >100 million tons per year:
• 85% Roads; 10% Roofing; 5% sealing and insulating
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HJ oil group
BITUMEN- A BINDING AGENT
• Mixtures of bitumen
• Cutback and fluxed bitumen: Viscosity of bitumen is reduced by adding a
solvent, normally derived from petroleum, example: kerosene, gas oil, naptha
etc.
• Bitumen emulsion: Bitumen particles dispersed in aqueous medium.
• Modified bitumen: To change performance properties of straight run
bitumen
The constructor Civil blog.org
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PRODUCTION OF BITUMEN
• Bitumen is one of the components produced from distillation of crude oil.
• Bitumen yield is a function of the parent crude oil
• Can be quantified arbitrarily using the API gravity value of crude oil
• API = 141.5/SG – 131.5
• API ↓ Bitumen Yield ↑
• Fractional distillation separates crude oil into streams
varying in boiling point.
• Carried out in tall fractionating columns where punctured
steel trays allows vapor to rise and condense.
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PRODUCTION OF BITUMEN
Source: Blownasphalt.com
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Thank You
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