11 March 2018

Subject: Kandhal Q and A Series on “Asphalt in India” (Part 3) – Quality of bitumen

emulsions supplied on highway projects in India

Dear Highway Colleagues:

I had solicited questions from you on “Asphalt in India” so that I can attempt to answer them.
This is Kandhal Q and A Series on “Asphalt in India” (Part 3) – Quality of bitumen
emulsions supplied on highway projects in India. Many questions have been lumped together
to make this Q and A comprehensive.

Question
Why quality of bitumen emulsions supplied on highway projects in India is a concern?
Answer
Bitumen emulsions are very important for the performance of flexible pavements. For example,
if the quality of rapid setting (RS) emulsion used for tack coat is poor, the pavement would not
work as a monolith (one unit). If the tack coat between DBM (dense bitumen macadam) and 40
mm BC (bituminous concrete) is poor, the bituminous pavement would perform like it is only 40
mm thick. This would result in premature development of fatigue cracks in the BC.

Similarly, if a wrong or substandard slow setting (SS) bitumen emulsion is used as a prime coat
on WMM (wet mix macadam), it would not penetrate it and would simply sit on its surface. That
is just wastage of money because actually there is no priming.

Question

What are the potential quality concerns?

Answer

Production of good bitumen emulsion is a complex process. However, every Tom, Dick and
Harry is manufacturing emulsion in India at the present time to save money. Many of them are
technically incompetent. There are also unscrupulous suppliers who resort to undesirable
practices to save money because their customers are largely ignorant about the basics of
emulsions. We will talk about the undesirable practices later.

Question

Then what the customers (government engineers and contractors) are supposed to do?

1
Answer

Customers should have some basic knowledge of bitumen emulsions (which is not a rocket
science) and should also do some minimal testing as discussed in this Q and A.

Question

Let’s start. What are the different types of bitumen emulsions and their uses in highway
construction?

Answer

Most bitumen emulsions are mixtures of water (continuous phase) and very fine droplets of
bitumen suspended in it. Thus, they are “bitumen in water” systems. Emulsions set when water is
lost largely through evaporation. They turn from dark brown to black in colour when set, leaving
the neat bitumen residue. Primarily, there are three types of emulsions:

1. Rapid Setting (RS) Emulsions: They set rapidly after application. Such emulsions are
needed for tack coat and surface dressing (chip seal).
2. Medium Setting (MS) Emulsions: They allow mixing with aggregate before setting.
They are used for preparing cold bituminous mixes (aggregate + emulsion) which do not
have excessive fines.
3. Slow Setting (SS) Emulsions: They are required for prime coat on WMM, allowing long
time to penetrate before setting. They are also used in preparing cold mixes which may
have excessive fines (example, dense graded cold mixes and slurry seals).

For prime coat the slow setting (SS) emulsion must meet IS:8887 which is an “inverted”
emulsion. Inverted emulsion unlike conventional emulsion is water entrapped in cutback
bitumen rather than “bitumen in water”. Inverted SS emulsions penetrate the WMM
better than conventional SS emulsions (as per ASTM D 2397). Inverted emulsions cannot
be diluted with water. Some unscrupulous manufacturers unlawfully supply the
conventional SS emulsion for prime coat because it is (a) cheaper and (b) can be diluted
with water although it is a “third class” material for prime coat (it simply does not
penetrate).

It should be mentioned here that the best material for prime coat is Cutback Bitumen
MC-30. It really penetrates WMM deeper and faster. Although MC-30 is included in both
MORTH and IRC standards for prime coat, it is not widely used because it is expensive
and is not specified. Indian Military Airfield Flexible Pavement Construction Manual
(prepared by the writer) specifies MC-30 only for prime coat.

Question

2
Manufacturer may supply a slow setting (SS) emulsion for tack coat (even diluted) whereas
a rapid setting (RS) emulsion is required. How the customer can distinguish between rapid
setting (RS) emulsion and slow setting(SS) emulsion in the field?

Answer

A crude field check can be made to determine whether the supplied emulsion is RS, MS or SS
type. Mix about 5 grams of emulsion with about 100 grams of moist 5 mm or 10 mm size
aggregate. If the mix can be made with almost 100% coating, it is MS or SS type. If the emulsion
sets (breaks) without coating the aggregate, it is RS type. To differentiate between MS and SS
types, mix about 5 grams of supplied emulsion with about 100 grams of stone dust (used in hot
mix plant). If the mix can be made with about 100% coating, it is SS type; otherwise it is MS
type.

Question

Indian Standard IS:8887 specifies minimum bitumen residue content for each type of
bitumen emulsion, although roughly emulsions are 2/3 bitumen and 1/3 water. How can the
customer determine the bitumen residue percentage in the supplied emulsion, especially
when dilution is suspected?

Answer

Conduct the following simple laboratory method of determining the bitumen residue by
evaporation:

Place 50 +/- 0.1 g of bitumen emulsion in a tared 1000-ml glass beaker plus glass rod. [Tared
mass = B]. Place in an oven at 163 +/- 3 ℃ for 2 hours. Remove the beaker and stir the rod
thoroughly. Put them back in the oven for another one hour, remove, and let them cool to room
temperature. Determine the mass (A). Calculate as follows:

Percent Bitumen Residue = 2 (A - B)

Where, A = mass of beaker, glass rod and bitumen residue after evaporation
B = tared mass of beaker and rod only

Question

What the customers should watch out when emulsion is supplied by unscrupulous
suppliers?

Answer

3
If it is suspected that SS emulsion has been supplied in lieu of RS emulsion for tack coat,
conduct the mix test discussed earlier using 5 or 10 mm size aggregate. If the emulsion breaks
before it can be mixed with aggregate, it is RS type, the right emulsion.

If it is suspected that a diluted emulsion has been supplied, how to check it? Determine the
bitumen residue by evaporation discussed earlier. If it is lower than the minimum specified in the
corresponding Indian Standard IS:8887, the emulsion is diluted.

For prime coat, if it is suspected that the manufacturer has supplied undesirable slow setting (SS)
emulsion meeting ASTM D 2397 (bitumen in water) wrongfully rather than slow setting (SS)
emulsion meeting IS:8887 (water in cutback bitumen), it can be differentiated very simply as
follows. First, the former being a conventional emulsion (bitumen in water) is brownish in color
and the latter being inverted emulsion (water in bitumen) is black. Second, take a glass beaker;
fill it partly with water; and then pour about equal amount of the supplied SS-1 emulsion on it. If
the emulsion in the top does not mix with water and stays at top, it is the right type of emulsion,
that is, IS:8887 SS-1.

Question

When rapid setting (RS) emulsion is used as tack coat, it is “tracked” by the rubber tyres of
trucks supplying hot mix asphalt to the paver. It is a real problem. How it can be handled?

Answer

The Bureau of Indian Standards (the writer is a member) is in the process of approving a new
“trackless” RS emulsion for tack coat, which will minimize this problem. This emulsion
essentially uses a harder bitumen as residue. This BIS standard is expected to be approved this
year (2018).

If you would like to learn a lot more about bitumen emulsions, please read Chapter 1 of the first
ever textbook cum reference book, “Bituminous Road Construction in India” authored by me and
published by Prentice Hall of India (PHI) in 2016. This book is priced Rs. 525 only. Contact PHI
at customerservice@phindia.com or call them at 011-4303 1100. You can also order it on
www.amazon.in for Rs. 470.

Regards,
Prof. Prithvi Singh Kandhal
Jaipur
pkandhal@gmail.com

“American roads are good not because America is rich, but America is rich because
American roads are good.” - John F. Kennedy

4
About the Writer
Prof. Prithvi Singh Kandhal is Associate Director Emeritus of the National Center for Asphalt
Technology (NCAT) based at Auburn University, Alabama, U.S.A. NCAT is the largest asphalt
(bitumen) road technology center in the world.

Prior to joining NCAT in 1988, Prof. Kandhal served as Chief Asphalt Road Engineer of the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for 17 years. He is the first person born outside
North America, who has held the following three national and international very prestigious
positions in the asphalt road technology area:

 President, Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (with members from all

continents in the world)
 Chairman, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International Committee
on Road Paving Standards (responsible for over 200 standards used worldwide)
 Chairman, US Transportation Research Board Committee on Asphalt Roads

Prof. Kandhal has published over 120 technical papers and has co-authored the first ever
textbook on asphalt road technology, which is used by more than 25 universities in the U.S. He
has travelled to various countries in Europe, South America, Middle East, China, Vietnam,
Japan, Singapore, and Australia to provide training and consulting services in asphalt (bitumen)
technology.

Prof. Kandhal has been a practicing highway engineer in India for over 20 years and in the US
for 30 years. Recently he has drafted many standards for the Indian Roads Congress including
specifications for dense graded bituminous mixes, stone matrix asphalt, and readymade pothole
patching mix. He was also instrumental single-handedly in introducing viscosity grading of
bitumen in India in lieu of penetration grading in 2005. He has now published in July 2016 the
first ever textbook cum reference book, “Bituminous Road Construction in India”.

In August 2011, Prof. Kandhal was inducted on the “Wall of Honour” established at the largest
asphalt road research center in the United States. In April 2012, he received the “Lifetime
Achievement Award in Asphalt Road Technology” from the International Association of Asphalt
Paving Technologists during their annual banquet held in Austin, Texas, USA.