EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 1

EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN

Harikeerthan R.*, G.G. Tejaswi*.

Under graduate students of Civil Engineering, Dayananda Sagar College of

Engineering, S.M. Hills, K. S. Layout, Bangalore-560078,
e-mail:hari_keerth@yahoo.co.in,tej_heaven@yahoo.com

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL

The economical status and development was taking place gradually till last decade. In
the last decade the development is taking place rapidly and also the economy.
Infrastructure is the worst hit of this development which led the engineers to concentrate
more on pavement performance which led to new inventions and discoveries. Since
Indian continent lies in the tropical region the prediction of weather is difficult and hence
need for pavement layer is very essential. In order to avoid the earlier failure of
pavement, a good quality binder is essential and the quality of the binder can be found
out by finding various properties of binder such as penetration, ductility, softening point
etc. Among these properties viscosity is one of the very important properties of binder .
Binder is a major component on which the performance of pavement mainly depends
on.
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 2

1.2 SCOPE

Viscosity is defined as measure of the resistance of fluid to flow. Higher viscous

material shows higher resistance to flow compared to lower viscous material. With
higher temperature the viscosity of bitumen decreases and vice versa. Due to the
increase in the frequency of the traffic there is a need for good quality pavement. Higher
viscosity results in better binding properties but it becomes very difficult to handle during
the use of the binder. The viscosity can be increased by the addition of admixtures like
polymers etc and hence the viscosity increases and hence better performance of
pavement. Hence it is necessary to have a binder which exhibits viscosity property for
high temperature and traffic and behaves as a fluid during construction process and
preparation of the mix.

1.3 OBJECTIVES

1) Earlier in the year 1978, BIS gave a specification saying that gradation of
bitumen was based on penetration values. There were 2 major disadvantages
a) The test is based on empherical method. So there was no scientific proof
for it.
b) There was no consideration given to use of modified binders

Because of these 2 major disadvantages another specification was given

by BIS in the year 2006. In this specification the gradation is based on
viscosity values
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 3

2) Viscosity of the binder at the application of temperature greater influences the

strength characteristics of resulting paving mixes.
3) High or low viscosity during mixing or compaction as been observed toresult
in lower stability values. There is lkan optimum value of viscosity for each
aggregate gradation of the mix and bitumen of roads.
4) At high temperature the bituminous binder simply lubricates the aggregates
particles instead of providing an uniform film for binding act.
5) At low temperature the binder offers resistance the compaction and the
resulting mix is heterogeneous in character exhibiting low stability value.

2.0 BINDER TESTS

Laboratory test on binders were conducted at Dayananda Sagar College

of Engineering (DSCE), Bangalore, using BCRMB 60, CPMB 40, OPMB 70,
WPMB modified bitumen. All the four binders were tested for viscosity,
determined by using Rotational Viscometer, in addition to this the flash point,
penetration, softening point, ductility and elastic recovery of binders were
determined.

2.1 Conventional Test Results

As we all know that bitumen is a viscio-elastic material, the conventional test

does not really measure the visco-elastic nature of the bitumen. The binders were
subjected to conventional tests like penetration, ductility, softening point, flash and fire
point and elastic recovery; the results are given in the table 2.0. These tests proved to
pass all the criteria given by IS specifications.
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 4

Test Results of the Binders at various Temperatures

Test Description and BCRMB- WPMB CPMB 40 OPMB 70

Criteria 60

Penetration (mm) at 25 deg c IS: 1203-1978 25 38 33 42

Softening Point in deg C IS:1205-1978 63 61 61 59

Ductility (cm) IS: 1208-1978 >75 40 >75 >75

Elastic Recovery in % (Min 50%) at 15 3.3 1.8 5.3 5

deg c IRC SP :53-2002

Flash Point in deg C Min 230 deg C IS: 250 205 210 218
1209-1978

Fire Point in deg C IS: 1209-1978 310 248 260 274

Specific gravity IS: 1202-1978 0.967 0.978 0.982 1.005

Test conducted for the study

2.1 Rotational Viscosity Test

Viscosity tests were conducted on all the four binders using a rotational
viscometer. The Rotational Viscometer determines the asphalt viscosity by measuring
the torque necessary to maintain a constant rotational speed of a cylindrical spindle
submerged in an asphalt specimen. Unlike the capillary viscometers used with the
viscosity-graded method, the rotational viscometer can evaluate modified asphalt
binders. The viscosity of asphalt binders can be measured within the range of 0.01 Pa·s
(0.1 poise) to 200 Pa-s (2000 poise) [7]. All the four binders when measured for
viscosity qualify the superpave specifications of maximum value 3 Pa-s.
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 5

Sample Preparation:

The apparatus is set up as shown in the figure and necessary connections are made.
The apparatus is leveled with the help of foot screws, now the temperature is set to 100
C and the system is made to run. The bitumen which is to be tested is heated to the
pouring consistency. About 10g of this bitumen is weighed and is poured into the mould
given by the manufacturer.

Procedure:

The bitumen inside the mould is placed in heater after the set temperature is achieved.
The spindle (S27) is attached to the head of the viscometer. Then the rotational speed
is set to 20rpm. Now the spindle is lowered such that the spindle is submerged in the
bitumen. The spindle is made to rotate and the percentage torque and viscosity in
centipoise is noted for every increment of five degrees C. The graph is plotted by
tacking viscosity in abscissa and temperature in ordinate.

Figure 1.0: Rotational Viscometer

EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 6

Table 1.0. showing the test results obtained on four types of bitumen

WPMB

Sl no Temperature Percent Viscosity in Viscosity in

Torque Centipoises Pascal-
second

1. 100 27.3 6380 6.380

2. 105 15.4 3850 3.850

3. 110 10.0 2500 2.500

4. 115 6.7 1680 1.680

5. 120 5.0 1250 1.250

6. 125 3.9 980 0.980

7. 130 3.1 780 0.780

8. 135 2.2 550 0.550

9. 140 1.6 400 0.400

10. 145 1.2 300 0.300

11. 150 0.8 200 0.200

EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 7
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 8

CPMB-40

Sl no Temperature Percent Viscosity in Viscosity in

Torque Centipoises Pascal-
second

106. 100 18.5 4630 4.630

107. 105 14.0 3500 3.500

108. 110 10.3 2580 2.580

109. 115 7.6 1900 1.900

110 120 5.7 1430 1.430

111. 125 4.5 1130 1.130

112. 130 3.3 830 0.830

113. 135 2.5 630 0.630

114. 140 2.0 450 0.450

118. 145 1.3 330 0.330

119. 150 0.9 230 0.230

EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 9
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 10

CRMB-60

Sl Temperature Percent Viscosity in Viscosity in

no Torque Centipoises Pascal-
second

1. 100 29.3 7330 7.330

2. 105 18.0 4500 4.500

3. 110 12.3 3080 3.080

4. 115 8.8 2200 2.200

5. 120 6.4 1600 1.600

6. 125 4.8 1200 1.200

7. 130 3.5 880 0.880

8. 135 2.6 650 0.650

9. 140 2.0 500 0.500

10. 145 1.4 350 0.350

11. 150 1.0 250 0.250

EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 11
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 12

OPMB-70

Sl Temperature º C Percent Viscosity in Viscosity in

no Torque Centipoises Pascal-
second

1. 100 21.5 5380 5.380

2. 105 14.3 3580 3.580

3. 110 10.5 2630 2.630

4. 115 7.5 1880 1.880

5. 120 5.2 1300 1.300

6. 125 3.9 980 0.980

7. 130 2.8 700 0.700

8. 135 2.1 530 0.530

9. 140 1.6 400 0.400

10. 145 1.2 300 0.300

11. 150 1.0 250 0.250

EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 13

The following graph was obtained when all the above graphs were combined.
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 14

CONCLUSION:

We know that the viscosity at 135º C is to be taken into consideration to ascertain the
quality of the binder (As per ASTM 4402). From the above tables it can be seen that
bitumen OPMB70 has got the least viscosity and bitumen BCRMB60 has got the
maximum viscosity. Also the variation of the viscosity with temperature for various
bitumen is also very minute.Hence it can be concluded that binder OPMB70 is the best
for constuction since it has the least viscosity and hence would be easier to handle
during the use of the binder. Also at higher viscosities, after the coating of aggregates it
would become brittle which may inturn lead to early failure of the pavement.With higher
viscous binders the binding properties would increase but for designing a pavement
various factors like design life, traffic density, forecasting of traffic etc should also be
taken into consideration. Keeping all these factors in view and also by observing the
values obtained from the table it can be said that binder OPMB70 is best suited for
construction of the pavement.
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 15

AKNOWLEDGEMENT

The work reported herein was conducted as a research studies at Dayananda Sagar
College of Engineering, Bangalore. Under the guidance of B.V. Kiran Kumar,
assistant professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, DSCE. The authors acknowledge the
valuble guidance and support extended by our guide prof. B.V. Kiran Kumar. The
authors would also like to acknowledge M/s Tinna Overseas Ltd., Newdelhi and M/s
K.K. Waste Plastic management Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore. M/s Osnar Chemicals Ltd.,
Mumbai, Novophalt Chemicals Ltd., Kolkata for providing with the samples.

REFERENCE:

• HIGHWAY ENGINEERING BY S.K.KHANNA and C.E.G.JUSTO (1971)

PUBLISHED BY NEM CHAND AND BROS, ROORKEE.

• TRAFFIC ENGINEERING AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING BY

KHADIALI(1978)

PUBLISHED BY KHANNA PUBLISHERS.

• AASHTO T 316

• ASTM 4402

• INDIAN ROAD CONGRESS-15:2002-Standard Specifications and code of

practice for construction of concrete roads.
• INDIAN ROAD CONGRESS -73:1980-Geometric design standards for Rural
Highways.
EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON MODIFIED BITUMEN 16