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Performance Evaluation of Asphalt Concrete Mixes Containing Granular
Volcanic Ash
Article in Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering · December 2008
DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2008)20:12(754)
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2. 1
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF ASPHALT CONCRETE MIXES
CONTAINING GRANULAR VOLCANIC ASH
Naji, Jamil A1
. and Asi, Ibrahim M.2
ABSTRACT
Granular volcanic ash material is spread over considerable areas of Yemen including urban
and suburban areas. Due to the inferior properties of this material in its natural state, it can
not be used in base and sub-base layers. It is common practice, when faced with such
material, to replace it with superior properties filling material. Excavated volcanic ash is
disposed off by transporting it to landfill sites. Such practice is becoming increasingly costly
and continuously necessitates allocation of scares and valuable new landfill sites. The
problem in some urban areas is becoming an environmental issue due to the massive build up
of disposed volcanic ash material.
The main objectives of this study are twofold. One to investigate the merits of utilizing waste
volcanic ash as a cheap alternative to aggregate for road construction and consequently this
contributes towards an efficient waste management of this undesirable material and reduce its
environmental impact.
The effects of using granular volcanic ash material, as a partial replacement of conventional
aggregate, on the properties of Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) were studied. Four different
aggregate replacement proportions were used specifically at 0, 10, 20 and 30% of total weight
of dry aggregate. The 0% volcanic ash content mix was used as the reference mix.
Experimental results indicated that for all the mixes containing volcanic ash aggregate, the
properties were within the specification limits of Marshall mix design method. In addition, it
was found that the use of volcanic ash aggregate improved the HMA creep resistance
1
[Corresponding Author] Associate professor, Civil Engineering Department, Sana'a University, P.O. Box
14166, Sana'a, Yemen. Jamil.abdulrabb@gmail.com
2
Associate professor, Civil Engineering Department, Hashemite University, P.O. Box 150459, Zarqa 13115,
Jordon. asi@hu.edu.jo.

3. 2
properties. HMA with a 10% volcanic ash aggregate replacement gave optimum results in
terms of stripping resistance, creep resistance, fatigue and resilient modulus.
Keywords
volcanic ash, asphalt pavements, stability, tensile strength, creep, fatigue life, resilience.
INTRODUCTION
Road construction in Yemen has grown at a substantial rate following the re-unification of
the North and South of the country in 1990. A significant portion of the Country’s Gross
National Product (GNP) goes to road construction. The average government investment on
rural road building, compared to total annual investment plan, has risen from 12.5% in 1997
to more than 23% in 2005. Clearly a major portion of the state investment goes to roads
construction. The country has almost completed the construction of about 8000km of two
ways two lanes paved rural roads. Major portion of these roads are arterials connecting the
main cities in the country.
The use of the good quality conventional crushed aggregate materials in road
construction is becoming increasingly expensive in Yemen due to the increasing demand of
these materials and the scarcity of the good quality materials. Attempts should be made to
explore the utilization of other sources of materials in the most effective and economical
manner.
Many parts of Yemen, particularly in Sana'a region, are covered with natural granular
volcanic ash. Many sites of granular volcanic ash are located in urban and suburban areas.
Owing to its low density, cohesion-less nature, relatively high percentage of voids, and other
undesirable properties, volcanic ash in its natural state cannot be used in road base and sub-
base layers. Therefore, it is considered as a waste/undesirable material. When faced volcanic

4. 3
ash in construction sites, it is common practice to dispose it and replace it with superior
filling material. The excavated waste ash is transported to landfill sites. Such solution is
expensive, and the amount of hauled materials is increasing with time which consequently
necessitates the continuous allocation of new landfill sites. Due to the massive amount of
such materials, the problem in some urban areas is becoming an environmental issue.
Clearly, a better waste management system of such materials is needed. One possible way to
resolving this problem is to recycle this waste material by improving its physical properties
and utilizing it in the construction industry.
The gradation of volcanic ash varies depending on its source location, but in general
the maximum aggregate size of the material ranges between 12 and 18 mm. Since the
volcanic ash contains very little or no fine material, it is cohesion-less in nature. So far this
material has not been practically used in engineering applications. However, if properly
designed, the material can be considered as one of the alternative sources that can be used in
road construction.
Available literature indicates that the use of volcanic ash in road construction is very
limited and therefore, this study can be considered as a pioneer study in this field in Yemen.
Available studies indicated that some sort of stabilization procedure for volcanic ash can be
implemented so that this material can be used as base and subbase layers in the flexible
pavement structures (Naji 2002 and Naji & Ali 2000).
A number of researches were performed to study the effect of using volcanic
aggregate in concrete mixes, especially for producing light weight concrete and light weight
masonry units (Demirdag et al. 2007, Demirdag and Gunduz 2006, Hossain 2006, Alonso et
al. 2001).
In order to improve the performance of HMA to meet the requirements under
prevailing conditions, different researchers have used fillers and special types of aggregates

5. 4
in their studies for that purpose. In a recent study, Asi and Shalabi (2007) investigated the
possibility of improving the properties of asphalt concrete mixes by replacing different
portions of the limestone aggregate by basalt. The replacement included total replacement of
the limestone by basalt, replacing the coarse aggregate only, and replacing the fine aggregate
only. Results showed that the optimal mix was the mix that had basalt coarse aggregate and
limestone fine aggregate. Other researchers (Richardson 1914; Tunnicliff 1962; Anani and
Al-Abdul Wahhab 1982; Kandhal et al. 1998, Asi and Assa'ad 2005) used different types of
fillers, material passing sieve #200, in their studies. These include dust from the crushing and
screening of aggregates, lime, Portland cement, fly ash and oil shale ash. Although fillers
usually contribute small portion, 5% to 7%, of the total aggregate mix, they have great effect
on the HMA properties. Usually, filers are used to improve bonding between asphalt cement
and aggregate, lower the optimum asphalt content (OAC), increase the density, and increase
the stability (Brown et al. 1989).
In this paper, the possibility of using volcanic ash material as a partial replacement of
conventional aggregate in HMA was investigated and results are presented. Since changes in
mix composition usually influences mix properties, work was oriented to find out how the
inclusion of volcanic ash will affect properties of HMA. Therefore, different levels of
granular volcanic ash were used in the study and optimum volcanic ash content was obtained.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The scope of this research is limited to the following:
o To study the main characteristics of the available granular volcanic ash and to
review available literature on the subject of using granular volcanic ash in road
construction

6. 5
o To study the effect of utilizing granular volcanic ash, as a partial substitute of the
aggregates, on the behavior of HMA.
o To investigate the merits of utilizing waste volcanic ash as a cheap alternative of
aggregate for road construction and consequently to contribute towards an efficient
waste management of this undesirable material and reduce its environmental impact.
MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
A flowchart describing the different levels of the followed experimental program is shown in
Figure 1. The experimental work included one asphalt cement grade, "60/70 pen" AC, one
crushed basalt stone aggregate source, and one granular volcanic ash source. Details of the
experimental program are given in the next paragraphs.
Materials characteristics
Asphalt
In this study, "60/70 pen" AC was used as the binder as it is widely used in Yemen.
Penetration (ASTM D-5), ductility (ASTM D-113), and specific gravity (ASTM D70-82)
tests were performed on the binder and the obtained properties test results are shown in Table
1. The performance grade of the used AC is PG 64-16.
Aggregate and filler
Two types of aggregates were used in this study; basalt aggregate, which is the most available
and frequently used type of aggregate in road construction in Yemen, and granular volcanic
ash aggregate. The volcanic ash was used as a partial replacement of the basalt aggregate.
Four different mixes with varying proportions of volcanic ash were examined. The
proportions of volcanic ash as a percentage of total aggregate dry weight were 0%, 10%, 20%
and 30%. Two different sizes of volcanic ash particles were used. The first size was that

7. 6
passing through sieve No 4 (4.75 mm) and retained on sieve No. 10 (2.0 mm) and the second
size was that passing through sieve No. 16 (1.18 mm) and retained on No 50 (0.3 mm).
These two types were found to form the bulk quantity of volcanic ash in their natural state
and are readily available. Therefore, the use of these types is expected to be the most
economical. The gradation of the aggregate used in this study is shown in Table 2 and the
aggregate nominal maximum size (NMAS) is 19.0 mm.
a) Basalt aggregate
Abrasion loss (ASTM C535-96), impact value (BS 812), specific gravity & absorption
(AASHTO T85) tests were conducted on the basalt material and the results are shown in
Table 3.
b) Granular volcanic ash
The granular volcanic ash was subjected to a series of tests to determine its basic properties.
This included, gradation test (ASTM D421-58), specific gravity (AASHTO T85), resistance
to abrasion (ASTM C535-96) and some other index properties. Also a sample of the grinded
material was subjected to Atterberg limits determination in accordance with AASHTO T89
and T90. The classification of the volcanic ash was found to be well graded gravel (GW) and
(A1-a) in accordance with Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) & AASHTO
classification, respectively. A summery of the volcanic ash index properties and chemical
composition is shown in Tables 4 and 5, respectively.
c) Mineral filler
Dust, material passing sieve # 200, obtained from the crushing and screening of basalt
aggregates was used as mineral filler. The main reason for using this filler is its abundance
availability and its wide use locally. The physical properties of the filler are included in Table
3.

8. 7
Experimental work
Mix design
Although Marshall mix design is being phased out in favor of SuperPave even in some
developing countries, this research have utilized Marshall procedure (ASTM D1559) due to
lack of relevant testing facilities in Yemen (namely, Superpave Gyratory Compactor).
Four mix designs, with different granular volcanic ash composition of 0%, 10%, 20% and
30% of total aggregate weight were used in this study. The 0% ash content mix design was
used as a reference mix. Seventy-five blows on each side of the 4 inch specimens were
applied in accordance with Marshall requirement for heavy traffic. The mixing and
compaction temperatures were 160±2° C and 145±2° C, respectively.
Five AC percentages were used in each mix design. Three samples (replicates) were
prepared at each AC percentage. Prepared samples were subjected to bulk specific gravity,
and stability-flow tests. Then the density-voids analysis was performed and obtained results
were graphically analyzed.
For each level of volcanic ash content, OAC that produced 4% air void was obtained
and used to determine the corresponding Marshall Stability, Flow, Voids filled with asphalt
(VFA) and Voids in Mineral Aggregate (VMA). These values were checked to verify that
they were within the specification limits given in the Asphalt Institute Manual Series MS-2
(1997).
Evaluation criteria
The four mixes, at their optimal asphalt contents, were evaluated using a number of different
tests to predict field performance namely Marshall Stability, Flow, VFA, and VMA. Al-Kadi
(2002) stated that evaluation criteria using conventional evaluation procedures are not
sufficient to provide critical evaluation of paving mixtures. Therefore, the use of more

9. 8
advanced paving mix tests is necessary to evaluate important mix characteristics. This
includes water sensitivity, fatigue life, creep resistance and dynamic modulus. Thus, the
results from these tests were used as additional evaluation criteria.
For each level of ash content and at its OAC, enough samples were prepared to study
the pervious mentioned properties.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The following paragraphs present the effect of the volcanic ash inclusion on the different
properties of the HMA.
a) Effect of volcanic ash content on the optimum asphalt content (OAC)
The effect of volcanic ash on the OAC needed for the mixture was studied. Results
are presented in Figure 2. It is `clear from the figure that the OAC increases with increasing
volcanic ash content. This can be attributed to the fact that granular volcanic ash contains
some vesicles (voids) which were created by the expanding of the gas bubbles during the
eruption of magma (USGS 2000). These vesicles tend to store part of the asphalt resulting in
more required asphalt.
Statistical analysis using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software was
performed to study whether or not there are statistically significant differences between the
OAC means, i.e. to check if the difference in the obtained OAC values is due to experimental
error or due to the inclusion of the volcanic ash. One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
for the single factor model was used for this analysis. The appropriate procedure for testing
the differences of treatment means (µ's
) is to check the following hypothesis, (Montgomery
1991):
H0 : µ1 = µ2 = ………. = µn (1)

10. 9
H1 : at least two means are not equal (2)
For testing the previous hypothesis, ANOVA utilizes F test in which the estimate of
between-groups variance (SSR) is compared with the estimate of within-groups variance
(SSE) i.e., F = SSR/SSE. If the SSR is considerably larger than SSE, then the value of the F
ratio will be higher, which indicates that the differences between the means are unlikely to be
due to chance, (Bryman and Cramer 1990).
The F ratio considered high if its significance level (S.L.) is less than the selected
S.L., which is usually selected to be 5%. Thus, the S.L. should be less than 0.05 in order to
achieve significant effect of any factor.
Results from ANOVA, Table 6, indicate that OAC means are significantly different
from each other and this differnce is due to the different percentages of volcanic ash.
b) Effect of volcanic ash content on stability and flow
As expected, the inclusion of the granular volcanic ash has influenced the behavior of the
asphalt mixes. Figure 3 shows the relationship between Marshal Stability and volcanic ash
content. The general trend shows that as the ash content increases the stability slightly
decreases. This might be attributed to the porous nature of volcanic ash which led to lower
strength compared with basalt aggregate.
Although the stability slightly decreased with increasing the ash content, the stability
of mixes at volcanic ash contents up to 20% were within the limits of Marshall criteria for
heavy traffic, i.e., above 8 KN (1800 Lb). Statistical analysis using one way ANOVA was
used to check whether or not the differences between stability means, of the studied volcanic
ash contents, are statistically different. Results form ANOVA revealed that stability means
are significantly different at 5% S.L.

11. 10
The flow property of the mixture, as shown in Figure 4, increases slightly with the
increase in the amount of volcanic ash, and this may be due to the increased amount of the
asphalt content with the increase of the ash content. Although the flow increased with the
increase of the ash content, the flow at all levels of volcanic ash contents was also within the
limits of Marshall Criteria for heavy traffic, i.e. 2 to 3.5mm.
c) Effect of volcanic ash content on unit weight
Figure 5 illustrates the effect of granular volcanic ash content on sample unit weight. The
densities of the HMA samples containing granular volcanic ash were lower than those made
without the addition of volcanic ash and this is ascribed to the lower specific gravity of the
volcanic ash compared with that of basalt aggregates.
d) Effect of volcanic ash content on VMA and VFA
Studying VMA is important because it represents the space that is available to accommodate
the effective volume of asphalt and the volume of air voids necessary in the mixture.
Therefore, minimum VMA is necessary to achieve an adequate asphalt film thickness, which
results in a durable asphalt pavement. Increasing density of aggregate gradation to a point
where below minimum VMA values are obtained leads to thin films of asphalt and low
durability mix. Thus, economizing in asphalt content by lowering VMA is actually counter-
productive and detrimental to pavement quality (Asphalt Institute 2001).
In this study, effect of volcanic ash addition on VMA percentage was evaluated and
results are shown in Figure 6. It can be seen that VMA increases with increase in the
percentage of granular volcanic ash content. This effect might be attributed to the presence of
vesicles in volcanic ash particles. These vesicles tend to increase the VMA in the mixture. All
obtained values of VMA were within the limits of Marshall criteria given in Asphalt Institute

12. 11
Manual series MS-2 (1997) for the used gradation, i.e. 19 mm nominal maximum particle
size gradation.
Figure 7 shows the relationship between the volcanic ash content and the percentage
of VFA. As indicated by the graph, the VFA decreases with increase in the ash content. The
reason for such decrease may be attributed to the increase in VMA with volcanic ash content
at a higher rate than that of OAC.
It is important to indicate that all obtained values were within the specification limits
given in the Asphalt Institute Manual Series MS-2 (1997).
Statistical analysis using one way ANOVA indicates that VFA means are
significantly different at 5% S.L.
e) Water sensitivity test (Lottman test, AASHTO T-283-89)
The resistance to stripping (water susceptibility) of the asphalt concrete mixes containing
granular volcanic ash was evaluated by measuring the loss of the indirect tensile strength
(ITS) after immersion in water for 24 hrs at 60°C, in accordance with AASHTO T-283 test
procedure. To obtain samples having air voids close to 7% and since no Gyratory Compactor
was available, samples were compacted by applying forty-five blows on each sample side
using the Marshall compactor. The obtained results, Figure 8, indicate that the average loss in
strength due to water damage was increased by the increase in the quantity of the granular
volcanic ash. Factors that might have influenced this trend are the relatively high
permeability of volcanic ash particles and the low unit weight of samples containing granular
volcanic ash compared to control samples.
The loss in ITS value at 10% volcanic ash content was within the allowable limit, i.e.,
20% loss in ITS (Cominsky et al. 1994). At percentages higher than 10% volcanic ash
content, the loss in ITS was higher than the allowable limit. Therefore, it is necessary either

13. 12
to improve the stripping resistance of the mixes containing more than 10% granular volcanic
ash by adding antistripping agent, like lime or cement, or by limiting the granular volcanic
ash content to 10%.
f) Dynamic creep
The Dynamic Creep Test is a test that applies a repeated pulsed uniaxial stress/load to an
asphalt specimen and measures the resulting deformations in the same axis using Linear
Variable Displacement Transformers (LVDTs). Repeated uniaxial load strain test was
performed in accordance with the protocol developed by US, NCHRP 9-19 Superpave
Models Draft Test Method W2 -Unconfined (Witczak et al. 2001). The applied stress on the
specimens was haversine in shape. The loading pulse repetition of 1000 milliseconds (ms) (1
sec.) and pulse width of 100 ms (0.1 sec.) was selected. The deviator stress during each
loading pulse was 69 kPa, and the constant stress that was used to prevent lifting off the test
specimen during the rest period was 11 kPa. The test was performed at 25°C. The
specimen’s skin and core temperatures during the test were monitored by two thermocouples
which were inserted in a dummy specimen and located near the specimen under test. The test
was continued until the maximum axial strain limit reached 10000 micro-strains, or until
10000 cycles, whichever occurred first.
Four inch specimens, compacted using the Marshall compactor at the OAC for each
mix, were used in this test. Figure 9 shows typical relationship between number of load
repetitions and the percentage of accumulated strain for the tested samples at the different
volcanic ash contents (i.e. 0%, 10%, 20%, & 30%). The figure indicates that as the volcanic
ash content increases the accumulated strain decreases. This suggests that volcanic ash affects
the creep properties of the mixture in a positive manner and this might be attributed to the

14. 13
rough texture properties of volcanic ash particles which resulted in an improvement of the
interlocking properties of the aggregate in the mix (Asi & Shalabi 2007).
In addition, creep stiffness analysis indicated that creep stiffness increased with the
increase of the volcanic ash content. As indicated in Equation 3, creep stiffness is the ratio
between the deviator stress and the axial accumulated/permanent strain. Creep stiffness gives
indication about resistance of the HMA to creep.
Eca = σd / ∈pa (3)
where,
Eca is the axial creep stiffness (MPa)
σd is the deviator stress (kPa)
∈pa is the axial accumulated/permanent strain (micro-strain or %).
One way ANOVA for the single factor model was used for the analysis of the creep
stiffness means. Results indicate that at 5% S.L., creep stiffness means are significantly
different form each other and this differnce is due to the variation of the volcanic ash
percentage.
g) Fatigue resistance
Fatigue is considered one of the significant distress modes in pavements that are associated
with repeated traffic loads. The fatigue resistance of an asphalt concrete mix is its ability to
withstand repeated loading without fracture. Fatigue in asphalt concrete pavements starts at
the bottom of the asphalt concrete layer and propagates to the surface of the pavement.
In this research, fatigue tests were conducted using universal hydraulic testing
equipment and a haversine loading pulse having a 0.25 sec loading time and 1.25 sec rest
time. Tests were performed at 25ºC in an environmental chamber where the temperature of
the specimens was maintained within ±1ºC of the set temperature. Controlled-stress repeated
indirect tensile loading was used in the fatigue study. For comparison reasons, the applied
repeated loading was varied to create nearly the same initial tensile strain for all the test

15. 14
samples. Six 4"x2.5" Marshall compacted cylindrical samples for each volcanic ash content
were tested. Loading was continued until complete failure (splitting) of the test sample.
Fatigue life, which is the number of load repetitions until failure was recorded for each
sample.
Figure 10 shows the effect of volcanic ash content on fatigue life. The figure indicates
that fatigue life was improved at 10% addition of volcanic ash. However, considerable
decrease in fatigue life was noticed at higher volcanic ash contents. The reason behind the
increase in fatigue life at 10% volcanic ash content may be due to the rough surface texture of
the granular volcanic ash particles which resulted in an improvement in the interlocking of
the aggregate. When the percentage of the granular volcanic ash increased, the lower strength
of the granular volcanic ash was more effective than its rough texture. A previous study,
conducted on basalt and lime aggregate, reported close results (Asi & Shalabi 2007).
h) Resilient modulus test (MR).
Resilient Modulus of HMA is conducted by applying pulsed compressive loads with a
haversine waveform. The load is applied vertically in the vertical diametral plane of the
cylindrical specimen of the asphalt concrete mix. The resulting total recoverable diametral
deformation (Horizontal) is then measured from an axes 90° from the applied force. A
resilient Poisson’s ratio is calculated by dividing the measured recoverable vertical
deformation by the horizontal deformation. The total resilient modulus is calculated using the
total recoverable deformation which includes both the instantaneous recoverable and the
time-dependent continuing recoverable deformation during the unloading and rest-period
portion of one cycle (ASTM D-4123). The test would usually be used to gauge the relative
performance of HMA for road pavement design and to evaluate the relative quality of

16. 15
materials (ASTM 2003). Resilient Modulus value varies with temperature and speed/time of
loading due to the AC visco-elastic behavior (Kamal et al. 2005).
In this study, 4" X 2.5" cylindrical samples were prepared at OAC for resilient
modulus testing. Eight replicates for each mix were tested under the diametral resilient
modulus (MR) test. The test was performed by applying a pulse width of 0.1 sec and a pulse
repetition of 1.0 sec at 25°C test temperature.
Effect of volcanic ash content on resilient modulus values are presented in Figure 11.
The figure indicates that replacement of part of aggregate by granular volcanic ash (up to 20%
ash content) has increased the diametral resilient modulus. However, MR value decreased at
higher ash contents. The rough surface texture of the granular volcanic ash particles which
resulted in an improvement of the interlocking of the aggregate was the reason behind the
increase in the MR values at the low volcanic ash contents. At higher volcanic ash contents,
the effect of the lower strength of the granular volcanic ash was more effective than its rough
texture, resulting in the decrease of the MR values.
Statistical analysis was performed to study the significance of replacing aggregate by
volcanic ash in changing the MR values. ANOVA analysis indicated that there is significant
difference in the means of the MR values at different volcanic ash contents. This indicates
that the differences in MR values are due to treatments rather than experimental errors.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In this research, the effects of using granular volcanic ash material, as a partial replacement
of conventional basalt aggregate, on the properties of HMA were studied. Four different
aggregate replacement proportions were used specifically at 0, 10, 20 and 30% of total weight
of dry aggregate. Effectiveness of the replacement was judged mainly by the improvements
in stripping resistance, resilient modulus, fatigue life, and creep resistance of the tested

17. 16
samples. The following can be concluded regarding the use of granular volcanic ash in
HMA:
o Experimental results proved that partial replacement of basalt aggregates by granular
volcanic ash is technically feasible.
o The use of volcanic ash in road construction will serve two purposes. One to reduce the
construction cost, and two the contribution towards an efficient waste management of this
undesirable material.
o Except for stability at 30% volcanic ash content, the used volcanic ash percentages didn't
move the volumetric properties of the HMA outside Marshall mix design specification
limits.
o Obtained loss of indirect tensile strength results indicated that using up to 10% granular
volcanic ash will generate mixes that have appropriate stripping resistance.
o Mixes containing volcanic ash aggregate are expected to perform well in terms of creep
resistance.
o The use of up to 10% volcanic ash aggregate in asphalt concrete mixes will improve both
the resilient modulus and fatigue life.
o The asphalt concrete mix that has basalt aggregate, 10% volcanic ash aggregate, and
basalt dust mineral filler was found to be the optimal mix, i.e., it has the best mechanical
properties among all the included mixes.
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18. 17
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Terms", < http://volcanoes.usgs.gov > (Jan. 10, 2006).
Witczak, M., Schwartz, C., and Von Quintus, H. (2001). "NCHRP Project 9-19: Superpave
Support and Performance Models Management." Interim Report, Federal Highway
Administration and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program.

20. 19
Table 1: Basic properties of the used asphalt cement
Property Value
Penetration 60/70
Specific gravity 1.03
Ductility cm 150.00
Table 2: Used aggregate gradation in the study
Specification Limits
(% Pass)
Sieve Size
(mm)
Lower Upper
Used Gradation
(% Pass)
25.000 100 100 100.0
19.000 90 100 95.0
12.500 70 90 80.5
9.500 58 78 68.0
4.750 35 55 45.5
2.360 20 40 30.5
1.180 12 33 23.0
0.300 6 16 11.0
0.150 4 12 8.5
0.075 2 8 5.0

21. 20
Table 3: Basic properties of basalt aggregates and mineral filler
Table 4: Volcanic ash properties
Property Value
Specific gravity 1.98
Liquid Limit N.P*
Plasticity index N.P*
Organic matters Non
Sulphate content Non
Passing # 200 sieve 0%
Clay content Non
Unified classification GW**
AASHTO classification A-1-a
Coefficient of Uniformity 5.60
Coefficient of curvature 1.15
Wearing percentage % 27.00
*
Non Plastic ** Well graded gravel
Aggregate Type
Property
Basalt Coarse
aggregate
Basalt Fine
aggregate
Mineral filler
Specific gravity 2.789 2.88 2.965
Absorption, % 4.250 - -
Impact value, % 5.000 - -
Abrasion loss, % (Los Angeles) 18.000 - -

22. 21
Table 5: Chemical composition of volcanic ash "reprinted with permission"
Component Percentage
Silicaon Dioxide (SiO2) 47.20
Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) 1.70
Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) 19.20
Ferric Oxide (Fe2O3) 11.60
Manganese Oxide (MnO) 0.80
Magnesium Oxide (MgO) 4.20
Calcium Oxide (CaO) 8.10
Sodium Oxide (Na2O) 4.80
Potassium Oxide (K2O) 1.20
Phosphorus Pent Oxide (P2O5) 0.50
Lithium Oxide (LiO) 0.50
TOTAL 99.80
Source: (Hosain, M., 1999)
Table 6: Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) for the obtained OAC results
Source of variation Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Level
Between Group (SSR) 2.151 3 .717 224.023 0.000
Within Group (SSE) 0.026 8 .003
Total (SST) 2.176 11

23. 22
LIST OF FIGURES:
Figure 1: Followed experimental program
Figure 2: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on the optimum asphalt content
Figure 3: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on the mixes Marshall Stability
Figure 4: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on Marshall Flow
Figure 5: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on the density of the mixes
Figure 6: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on voids in mineral aggregate (VMA)
Figure 7: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on voids filled with asphalt (VFA).
Figure 8: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on the loss of tensile strength
Figure 9: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on creep deformation
Figure 10: Effect of volcanic ash content on fatigue life
Figure 11: Effect of volcanic ash content on resilient modulus (MR)

24. 23
Figure 1: Followed experimental program
Evaluation Criteria:
o Marshall criteria (e.g. stability, flow, VMA, VFA, …etc)
o Indirect tensile strength,
o Fatigue performance
o Dynamic creep
o Resilient Modulus
Conclusions and Recommendations
Control mix:
(0% granular volcanic
ash)
Mix design (four mix design were performed)
Mixes at 10, 20 and
30% granular volcanic
ash contents
Basic properties of collected materials
Results, Analysis and Discussion
Material’s collection:
o Asphalt cement
o Basalt aggregate (coarse and fine)
o Granular volcanic ash
o Mineral filler

25. 24
0
2
4
6
8
0 10 20 30
Volcanic Ash Content (%)
Optimum
Asphalt
Content
(%)
Figure 2: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on the optimum asphalt content
0
3
6
9
12
0 10 20 30
Volcanic Ash Content (%)
Stability
(KN)
Figure 3: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on the mixes Marshall Stability

26. 25
8
10
12
0 10 20 30
Volcanic Ash Content (%)
Flow
(0.25
mm)
.
Figure 4: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on Marshall Flow
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0 10 20 30
Volcanic Ash Content (%)
Unit
Weight
(gm/cm3)
.
Figure 5: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on the density of the mixes

27. 26
0
10
20
0 10 20 30
Volcanic Ash Content (%)
VMA
(%)
Figure 6: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on voids in mineral aggregate (VMA)
Figure 7: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on voids filled with asphalt (VFA).
60
70
80
0 10 20 30
Volcanic Ash Content (%)
VFA
(%)

28. 27
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 10 20 30
Volcanic Ash Content (%)
Tensile
Strength
Ratio
(%)
Figure 8: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on the loss of tensile strength
0% Volcanic Ash
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
10 100 1000 10000
No. of load repetitions
Accumulated
Strain
(%)
10% Volcanic Ash
20% Volcanic Ash
30% Volcanic Ash
Figure 9: Effect of granular volcanic ash content on creep deformation

29. 28
0
10000
20000
30000
0 10 20 30
Volcanic Ash Content (%)
No.
of
Repetition
to
Failure
.
Figure 10: Effect of volcanic ash content on fatigue life
0
400
800
1200
0 10 20 30
Volcanic Ash Content (%)
M
R
(Mpa)
Figure 11: Effect of volcanic ash content on resilient modulus (MR)
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