Bituminous Materials

Bituminous Materials
The term bitumen is a generic name applied to various mixtures

of hydrocarbons
They may be gaseous, liquid, semisolid, or solid
Most common materials within the family of bitumens are
tars, pitches, and asphalts
Destructive distillation is carried out on natural materials
produces tar
Partial evaporation or fractional distillation of tar produces
the solid or semi-solid residue of pitch
Asphalts are dark brown or black solids or semi solids which
are found in the natural state and are also produced by the
refining of petroleum
Some natural deposits of asphalts are found in Kentucky,
Utah, Colorado, and California
95% of asphalt materials used in North America are derived
from the refining of petroleum

Test of Flow of Properties

The viscous or flow properties of bitumens

are of importance, both at the high

temperatures encountered in processing and
application and at the low temperatures to
which bitumens are subjected in service.
Flow properties are complex, and as a result,
tests have been formulated to measure the
consistency of the materials at temperatures
comparable to those encountered during the
service life of the bitumen.

Test of Flow of Properties

The penetration test

Are used to determine the flow characteristics

of asphalts in the range of temperatures used
during application

Flash Point Test

Are conducted to determine the amount a

bitumen will stretch at temperatures below its
softening point

Viscosity Tests

Measures the temperature degrees Celsius at

which a steel ball falls a known distance
through the bitumen

Ductility Test

Viscosity Test

Softening point test

Measures the depth of penetration in tenths of

millimeters of a weight needle into a bitumen
during a period of time at a given temp.

Indicates the temperature to which asphalt

cement can be safely heated without danger
of flash. A brass cup is partially filled with
cement and heated at a prescribed rate. A
small flame is place over the surface of the
sample

Thin Film Oven Test

Test is used to obtain a general indication of

the amount of hardening which may be
expected to occur in an asphalt cement during
the plant operation.

Penetration Test

Types of Bitumens
Tar and Pitch

Most of the tar and pitch used in construction

is made by the distillation of coal.
Tar is used to saturate felt paper and coated
kraft paper to produce a waterproof
membrane.
Coal tar pitch oxidizes quite rapidly when
exposed to ultra violet rays of the sun.

Types of Bitumens
Asphalt
A large percentage of
the asphalt used
results from the
refining of crude oils
There are three main
groups of asphalt
products produced
from straight run
asphalts

Asphalt

Hot asphalt- those soften by heat

Hot asphalt can be used directly or it can be
processed further to produce a harder material
Hot asphalts have good resistance to the
transmission of water and water vapor when they are
applied to dry surfaces and the heating process is
controlled
Hot asphalts bond poorly to damp or wet surfaces,
have relatively poor flexibility, oxidize under the suns
rays and are brittle at low temperatures

Asphalt
Cut back asphalts those dissolved in

mineral solvents

Cutback asphalts are of three types

Straight run asphalt and solvent

Heavily filled cutback made by adding a large
amount of filler and fiber to asphalt cut with
solvent
Primer type cutback asphalt in solution with no
filler or fiber

Asphalt

Emulsion asphalts those

dispensed or suspended in a water
base

Three types
Soap type in which soap is
used as the emulsfier
Clay modified soap type
clay and soap are used as
emulsfier
Clay based type
Advantages
Easy to handle
Addition water is all that is
necessary to decrease
viscosity
Drying involves the loss of
water by evaporation
No heating is required
Good bonding to damp or
wet surfaces

Uses of Bitumens
Waterproof coating and membranes
Used to provide a waterproof coating for walls and to
make waterproof membranes in buildings
Asphalt pavement
Asphalt cutbacks and emulsions have their greatest
use in road construction
Accounts for about 85% of amount produced in North
America
Asphalts in pavements acts as a binder for the
aggregates, in this capacity as a cement, the asphalts
are usually semisolid
Before it can be mixed with the aggregate the asphalt
must be made liquid by heating, and cutting with
solvent or by emulsifying with water

Uses of Bitumens
Liquid paving asphalts
Most of the liquid asphalts used for paving are cutbacks
Three types
Gasoline used as a solvent rapid curing liquid asphalt
Kerosene produces a medium curing asphalt
Heavier fuel oils produce a slow curing asphalt
Types refer to the rate at which solvent is lost, either during
construction or after pavement has been laid
The liquid asphalt to be selected for any given project depends on the
construction conditions
In general a rapid curing grade can be used as a binder for open
graded aggregates that coat quickly during mixing or for surface
treatments
Medium curing grades are required for dense graded aggregates which
require longer mixing time
Slow curing grades are used with aggregates requiring a long mixing
time and for projects where the pavement may have to be torn up and
reworked from time to time

Uses of Bitumens
Asphalt paving cements
The binders for the more expensive asphalt
pavements are usually asphalt cements
These semisolid materials are also separated
into grades having different ranges of
hardness
Asphalt canal liner and bank erosion control

The versatility of asphalt has led to its

employment in many types of hydraulic
structures
Mixes made with the harder asphalts

Uses of Bitumens

Asphalt shingles

Asphalt shingles are made from heavy rag

felt, saturated with asphalt and coated with
high melting point flexible asphalt
Ceramic coated mineral granules are pressed
into the asphalt coating on the exposed face
to provide a fire resistant surface.

Built up roofing

Built up roofing is term applied to a type of

roofing made by building up successive layers
of felt paper and asphalt over a solid roof deck
Five types

Type 1 consists of asphalted felt

paper, asphalt and gravel or slag

Type 2 consists of tarred felt paper

pitch and gravel

Type 3 consists of asbestos felt,

asphalt felt and a smooth flood coat of
asphalt

Type 4- requires heavy slate surfaced

roofing paper as well as asphalt
saturated felts

Type 5 called cold process felts are

cold process felts saturated with cold
asphalt emulsion and the asphalt top
coating is applied cold.

Uses of Bitumens
Rolled roofing
Rolled roofing consists of very heavy asphalt saturated
felt paper, with or without finely crushed slate
embedded in one surface put up in rolls.
Sprayed on asphalt roofing

A new technique for the application of asphalt roofing

involves the use of special equipment for apply the
material
A special gun with three nozzles and a fiber cutting
chamber is used
Glass fibers are fed into the chamber where they are
cut to predetermined lengths and blown out through a
center nozzle

Uses of Bitumens
Asphalt flooring
Asphalt mastic flooring is made by mixing an
emulsifed asphalt with Portland cement, sand and
gravel or crushed stone to form a plastic mixture. This
is spread over the floor screened compacted and
floated to a depth of in.
Asphalt tile are composed of fibers bond together by
a blend of selected asphalt binders
Fiberboard

Insulation boards composed of asphalt impregnated

wood fibers used in built up roofing systems