HIGHWAY ENGINEERING (SAB2832)

by

MISS NORHIDAYAH BT ABDUL HASSAN

(FKA, UTM) C09-228 (ext: 31637)
 HIGHWAY MATERIALS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. MALAYSIAN’S ROAD SYSTEM
3. PAVEMENT LAYERS
Subgrade
Subbase
Road base
Surfacing
4. PAVING MATERIALS
Aggregate
Bitumen
5. PREMIX PLANTS
Drum mix plant
Batch plant
 INTRODUCTION
The needs for roads - from the invention of wheels
in Samaria –3000SM
Among early roads:
 Silk Route
 Persian Empire
 Britain/Europe – log-raft type
 India – bricks with piped surface drainage
systems
 Mesopotamia & Egypt – paved in asphalt and
bricks
 Roman roads – greatest road building era, 3
classes of road structures (levelled earth,
gravelled surface, paved)
 INTRODUCTION
Road builders in the 18th century:
Robert Phillips – suggest a layer of gravel resting
on well-drained base >> compacted by traffic
into solid road surface
Tresaguet – cambered formation, differential
settlement problem
John Metcalf – Blind Jack, built 290 km ++,
cambered road
Thomas Telford – civil eng, built 1600 km ++, flat
formation, camber
John Macadam – true highway engineering
specialist, surveyor, cambered formation, use
angular aggregates, cheaper and easier
 INTRODUCTION

Types of road surface:

Earth road
Gravelled surface
Bituminous road – surface dressing
asphaltic concrete
porous pavement
Concrete road
Interlocking block pavement
 MALAYSIAN ROAD SYSTEM

67,000 km ( 75% paved)

Five categories based on funds for construction and
maintenance for administration purpose:
1. Federal Road – connects entry points and major
cities
2. Toll Road – alternative, design, built & operates
3. State Road – providing intra-state travel
4. Municipal/City Council – including built by developer
5. Other Roads – jalan kampung by district office
from state funds
 MALAYSIAN ROAD SYSTEM

Two classification for geometric design purpose:

Urban - U
Rural – R
Subdivided into six hierachy i.e. R1/U1 anD R1a/U1a to
R6/U6 according to traffic, speed, and access
control
TABLE R/U
Agencies in transportation system
ORGANISATION CHART
 ROAD LAYERS
Flexible pavement usually consist of four layers
of road construction materials, built up on
formation level (sub-grade)

bebendul kamber
lapisan haus
lapisan pengikat

penahan tapak jalan

bebendul

sub-tapak
aras formasi

subgred
 Sub-grade
Part of the embankment or existing ground, top
surface of sub-grade > formation level
Function: Load distribution, to drain subsurface water
and temporary road for construction
Unsuitable materials:
1. Running silt, logs, stumps, toxic material, slurry or
mud, or
2. Any material
 Consisting of highly organic clay and silt;
 Having LL > 80% and/or PI > 55%; (PI= LL-PL)
 Susceptible to spontaneous combustion;
 Has LOI (loss of ignite) > 2.5%;
 Containing roots and grass.
Materials that are soft or unstable due to too wet or
dry– not classified as unsuitable
 Sub-grade (cont…)
Properties of good sub-grade:
Stable
Consistent strength
Able to drain water
Factors affecting soil strength:
Soil type (gravel is better than peat)
Moisture content (better not too high bebs!)
Method and compactive effort
Tests on soil for sub-grade:
Liquid Limit (LL) and Plastic Limit (PL)
Compaction
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
 CBR
Purpose – determine bearing capacity of material
compared to standard crushed aggregate
Two major processes – compaction test (determine MDD
and OMC), and CBR test (determine CBR at 95%
compaction/MDD)
Compaction: mold 2.3L, hammer 4.5 kg, 62 blows/layer, 5
layers, 5 different moisture content, obtain Bulk
Density >>> Dry density >>> plot DD vs. MC
CBR:
Sample preparation: 3 mold at OMC, vary no. of blows
(15, 35, 65) to obtain 95% compaction
CBR test: gauge reading for top and bottom (load and
penetration-interval 0.25mm), plot Load vs.
Penetration graph, calculate CBR at 2.5mm and
5.0mm, choose the highest value
 Sub-base
Function:
1. Assist in load spreading
2. Drainage layer
3. Temporary road/platform for construction
4. Protection to the exposed subgrade (weather)
5. Separator (subgrade and road base material)
Should be laid across to side drain – drainage & edge
support
Materials:
1. Sandy laterite – CBR > 20%
2. Crushed aggregate – CBR > 30%
3. Cement stabilised – CBR > 60%
Quality tests – CBR, LL, PI, ACV, LAAV, Grading
 Road Base
Function: Main load spreading layer
Material – crushed aggregate 50mm to dust
Five types of road base:
1. Dry Bound Macadam (natural interlock)
2. Wet Mix Macadam (aggregate + water bound)
3. Bituminous bound road base (aggregate + filler
+ antistripping agent + bitumen)
4. Cement Stabilised (aggregate + cement bound)
5. Composite (combination 1 & 3 or 1 & 4)
Quality tests – CBR, LL, ACV, FI, Soundness,
Grading
 Surfacing
Two layers –binder course and wearing course
Cambered for drainage.
Material – crushed aggregate + Bitumen (binder) + filler
1. Binder Course :
Function: Distribute load over road base, provide
good shape (surface) to lay wearing course
Example: ACB28, BMB20
2. Wearing Course:
Function: Provide durable skid-resistance surface,
protect pavement, withstand abrasion and traffic
stresses, provide good and safe running surface,
drainage
Example: ACW20, BMW14
 ROAD PAVING MATERIALS
Consist mainly of aggregate, small amount of binder
and filler.
1. Aggregate – carry traffic load, main
interlocking structure (macro and
microstructure)
2. Bitumen (Binder) – bind aggregates producing
strong, durable & stable mixture
3. Filler – fill small voids, durable mixture,
increase viscosity of binder, reduces binder
run-off
 Aggregate
- Natural or artificial
- 3 major classes of natural aggregate:
- igneous (alkali/acid) due to crystallization process
- sedimentary due to sedimentation of insoluble material (organic or
inorganic)
- metamorphic (heat & pressure – metamorphism process, changing
the mineral and texture)
 Types of Aggregate
Artificial aggregate – slag waste from ore to produce
iron, steel, etc.
For road construction, aggregate classified according
to size:
1. Coarse (large) – ( > 2.36mm) crushed
aggregate
2. Fine (small) – (2.36mm – 75 micron (0.075mm))
fine crushed aggregate, sand (river, mining)
3. Filler – (< 75 micron) fine materials such as
cement, lime, crushed aggregate dust
 Aggregate Properties
Important properties of aggregates are:
1. Strength – crushing, impact, during construction
(plants/machineries & traffic load)
2. Durability – resistance to disintegration under weathering
3. Good shape & surface texture – interlocking, resistance to
sliding (macro/microstructure), affect strength (cannot too
flaky or elongated)
4. Deleterious substance (pureness) – affect bonding, affect
mix quality
5. Affinity against bitumen – properly coated by binder
6. Low water absorption – avoid stripping, drying time, mixing
process
7. Resistance to polish – rounded under traffic movement,
enough skid resistance
8. Gradation – size distribution, quality & pavement strength
 Aggregate Tests
Tests to evaluate aggregates properties:

ACV/TFV – resistance to crushing under gradually applied

compressive load
(ACV- percent crushed agg. under 400kN compressive load)
(TFV- Load applied to get 10% crushed aggregate)

AIV – resistance to sudden shock or impact (percent crushed agg.

under impact load)

LAAV – measure agg. strength under combination action of

abrasion or attrition, impact, and grinding (percent crushed
agg.)

Soundness – resistance to disintegration due to cycle of wetting

and drying, heating and cooling (weathering) – sodium,
magnesium sulphate

Flakiness/Elongation – shape tests for flakiness and elongation

 Aggregate Tests
Tests to evaluate aggregates properties:

SG &WA – bulk density, pores, and water absorption (agg. in

water C, saturated surface agg. B, dry agg. A)
SG – the higher the better agg. strength
WA- higher WA shows higher pores – more binder needed

Coating & Stripping – determine the stripping susceptibility under

water existence (hydrophobic- easy to be coated with
bitumen, hydrophilic- vice versa), estimate the agg area >/<
95% coated with bitumen.

PSV – conducted for Wearing Course layer, resistance to polishing

of a pneumatic tire (affect skid resistance)

Sieve analysis – determine aggregate particle size distribution,

according to gradation limit, (different type of mix used –
ACW14, ACB20), wet or dry sieve, percent passing, percent
retain, plot the percent passing and make sure within the
gradation limit (lower and upper limit)
 Bitumen
Two types of binder – misconception (diff. origin,
chem. composition, physical characteristics.)

Bitumen – viscous liquid/solid, black or brown in

color, having adhesive qualities, consisting
essentially of hydrocarbons, derived from
petroleum or occurring naturally and soluble in
petroleum solvent

Tar – black-brown, adhesive quality, a product of

coal (destruction distillation) - (insoluble in
petroleum solvent, high temperature
susceptibility, heavier, health hazards, distinct
odor)
 Bitumen (cont…)
Bitumen used widely in paving works include:
Natural/rock – in geological strata, (lake - soft,
rock pores - hard)
Petroleum – products of distillation of crude oil
(most commonly used bituminous paving
materials today)
Oldest engineering material – shipbuilding, mortar
for building and bricks, waterproofing,
mummification
Earliest pavement in US – Pennsylvania Ave 1876,
Trinidad lake asphalt
 Types of Bitumen

Malaysia use bitumen/asphalt from crude oil

distillation
Four types of asphalt, only three used in paving
works:
1. Asphalt Cement – residual or straight-run
2. Cutback Asphalt – blended with petroleum
solvent
3. Asphalt Emulsion – mixed with water and
emulsifying agent
4. Blown Asphalt (oxidized) – hot air
 Asphalt Cements
 At ambient temp., black, sticky, semisolid and
highly viscous
 Strong and durable cement with excellent adhesive
and waterproofing characteristics
 Highly resistant to action of most acids, alkalies
and salts
 Largest use – production of Hot Mix Asphalt
 Can readily be liquefied by applying heat for mixing
with aggregate to produce HMA, after cooling will
becomes very strong paving material and able to
sustain heavy traffic loads
 Classified through penetration or viscosity test
 Grade according to Penetration 40 to 300,
Viscosity 5 to 40.
cri-sam4814-2004 24
 Cutback Asphalts
- Liquid asphalt manufactured by adding
petroleum solvent to asphalt cement (50-80%)
- This will reduce the viscosity for lower
application temperatures (prime coat, patching,
cold mix)
- Application to aggregate or pavement causes
solvent to evaporate, leaving residue on the
surface
- Divided into three types according to rate of
curing:
RC (Rapid curing) – bitumen + petrol
MC (Medium curing) – bitumen + kerosene
SC (Slow curing) – bitumen + diesel
 Emulsified Asphalt (Emulsion)
- Mixture of bitumen (55 - 65%), water and emulsifying agent
passed under pressure through a colloid mill
- Emulsions are made to reduce the viscosity for lower
application temperatures
- Two most commonly used emulsions:
i. Anionic – electro negatively charges bitumen droplets.
Compatible with positive charge aggregate such as
limestone.
ii. Cationic – electro positively charges bitumen droplets.
Compatible with negative charge aggregates (most
siliceous aggregates) such as sandstone, quartz, gravel
 Bitumen droplet

Anionic
Bitumen droplet

Water
Bitumen +
droplet emulsifier

Cationic
 Emulsion
- When mixed or sprayed, it sets or breaks because
bitumen/asphalt droplets reacts with the surface of
aggregate and squeezing out the water between
them
- Evaporation of water
- Electrochemical process - primary mechanism for
cationic
- Further graded according to setting rate – RS (Rapid
setting), MS (Medium setting), SS (Slow setting)
- Setting rate is controlled by the type and amount of the
emulsifying agent
- Emulsion are increasingly being used compare to
cutback due to:
1. Environmental regulations
2. Waste of high energy products
3. Safety
4. Lower application temperature
 Bitumen Tests

Tests to determine bitumen quality:

Penetration – consistency test, hardness
Softening Point – consistency, temp at which phase
change occurs
Ductility – elongation before breaking
Flash Point – safety, max safe operating temp
Viscosity – consistency test, resistance to flow
Loss on heating-volatility
TFOT – short term aging
Solubility – purity (trichloroethylene)
 PREMIX PLANT

Hot mix plant to proportion, heat, and blend

aggregate and bitumen to produce hot mix
(premix)
Aggregate – two to four stockpiles
Bitumen – penetration grade
Filler – lime, OPC etc.
Two types of plant:
Drum mix
Batch plant
 Drum mix
-Aggregate is dried, heated and mixed with bitumen in the
drum
-Production starts with the cold feed bins (to proportion the
aggregate)
-Aggregate moves up an incline conveyor over the weigh bridge,
which continually weighs the aggregate passing over the belt
-The weight reading is the foundation of the
aggregate/bitumen blending system
-The asphalt metering and delivery system must be interlocked
with the aggregate weigh system to assure that the precise
bitumen content is achieved
-Heating and mixing of the aggregates and bitumen is done in
drum mix
-Mix is discharged into a hot conveyor that carries the mix to
surge silo or storage tank before loadout
-Production rate 300 ton/hour
 Batch Plant
-Aggregate is removed from storage, or stockpiles, in
controlled amounts and passed through a dryer where
it is heated and dried
-Then passes over a screening unit (separates the
material into different sizes and deposits them into
bins for hot storage)
-The aggregate and mineral, when used, are then
withdrawn in controlled amounts, to make up one
batch for mixing
-The entire combination of aggregate is dumped into a
mixing chamber called a pugmill
-The asphalt, which has also been weighed, is
thoroughly mixed with the aggregate in the pugmill
-After mixing, the material is emptied from the
pugmill in one batch then transferred to silo.
 STANDARDS
 American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
 American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM)
 Malaysian Standard (JKR/SPJ)
 British Standards (BS)