This document discusses seasonal limitations of bituminous pavement construction. It notes that bitumen expansion occurs in summer due to high temperatures, which can cause thermal cracking, while contraction in winter from cold temperatures can result in frost heave and block cracking. The rainy season also poses issues as moisture can cause rutting, permanent deformation and stripping due to disbonding of the bitumen film. Different types of bitumen used are also outlined. Equations for mix design considering properties like thermal coefficient are provided to help address limitations from temperature variations between seasons.

1. Seasonal limitations of
bituminous pavement construction
Highway
construction practice
Bhavya S. Jaiswal
Btech civil, Mtech Transportation Engineering

2. Content of the presentation
▪ What bituminous pavement is ?
▪ Different types of bitumen used in the road construction.
▪ What are the seasonal problems for the bitumen
▪ Limitations for the Summer season
▪ Limitations for the Winter season
▪ Limitations for the Rainy season
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

3. What bituminous pavement is ?
Base course 100-300mm
Sub-base course 100-300mm
Compacted Subgrade 150-300mm
Natural subgrade
What bituminous pavement is ?
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

4. Different types of bitumen used in the road construction.
As the flexible pavement for the construction of road, various types of
bitumen could be used. Such major types of the same are as shown below:
1. Cutback bitumen
2. Bitumen emulsion
3. Bituminous primer
4. Modified bitumen
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

5. What are the seasonal problems for the bitumen
▪ The seasonal problems for bitumen is directly related to the
Temperature variation and the other factors can be precipitation,
groundwater, cloud cover, and wind speed.
▪ as we know, the expansion of the bitumen/Asphalt is observed in the
summer season due to rise in the temperature.
▪ Similarly, the contraction of the bitumen due to fall in the
temperature is observed during the winter season.
▪ But in our country, the rainy season is also there so we must give the
provisions to prevent the water entry into the pavement layers.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

6. Limitations for the Summer season
▪ Following are the major distresses due to the rise in the temperature:
▪ It leads to the cracks which are known as a Thermal cracks.
▪ Surface energy and contact angle decrease with increasing
temperature.
▪ Bitumen’s flow through cracks is influenced by its thermal expansion.
generally, the bitumen mixture used for the pavement construction
is highly concentrated disperse system consisting of mineral filler with a
certain grain-size distribution and the medium, bitumen binder.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

7. Limitations for the Summer season
Thermal cracking
▪ Thermal fatigue cracking are formed when the
daily temperature cycles cause reoccurring
tensile stress at the bottom of the Hot Mixed
Asphalt (HMA) layer.
▪ So, daily temperature variations are taken as a
direct impact of environmental factors on
flexible pavements.
▪ Such cracks are occurred in the perpendicular
direction to the traffic flow, so they are also
known as Transvers cracks.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

8. Limitations for the Summer season
▪ To tackle is condition the bitumen mix design is done with respect
to this property of the bitumen.These equations are…
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

9. Limitations for the Summer season
1. 𝑃𝑐 = 𝑉
𝑚𝑃𝑚 + VnPn +… ViPi
Moisture equation
Where,
𝑃𝑐 =sum of the components of the composition according to the
volume
Pm,Pn,Pi = components of the composition
Vm,Vn,Vi = volumes of those parameters
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

10. Limitations for the Summer season
2. 𝑉
𝑐 = 𝑉𝑓 + 𝑉𝑏 + 𝑉
𝑝 = 1
Volume Equation
Where,
𝑉
𝑐 = volume of the composition
𝑉𝑓=volume of filler
𝑉𝑏=volume of bitumen
𝑉
𝑝=volume of pores
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

11. Limitations for the Summer season
3. 𝛽𝑐 = 𝑉𝑓𝛽𝑓 + 𝑉𝑏𝛽𝑏
Thermal coefficient
Where,
𝛽𝑐=Thermal coefficient for the bitumen composition
𝛽𝑓=Thermal coefficient for fillers
𝛽𝑏=Thermal coefficient for bitumen
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

12. Limitations for the Winter season
▪ Roads that experience fall in temperature, snow and ice usually
require significant winter maintenance.
▪ A properly designed roadway serves space for snowplows to pile off
the snow or incorporates openings along the shoulder for snow to be
pushed off from the roadway.
▪ If such measures are not provided than the snow removal can
become extremely difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.
▪ Due to this, the distresses in the pavement occurs… these distresses
are majorly Frost Heave and Block Cracking.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

13. Limitations for the Winter season
▪ Understanding the properties and the occurrence of the Frost
Heaving and Block cracking
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

14. Frost Heave
▪ This can also be said as a type of
rutting because in rutting, water
takes place but in the frost heave
condition the Ice takes place as a
reason to failure.
▪ The frost heave is due to Results
from accumulation of moisture in the
soil during the freezing period.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

15. Block Cracking
▪ Such cracks are not because of the
loading but they are due to
shrinkage of the asphalt concrete
and daily temperature cycling.
▪ Such cracks can be clearly
identified as a block shape and they
occurs over a large area of the
pavement.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

16. Limitations for the Rainy season
▪ Surface runoff can enter a pavement’s structure from its sides and
through cracks and potholes.
▪ Groundwater level varies in different seasons and can be influenced
by precipitation, flooding, and, in coastal areas, by storm surge and
sea level rise.
▪ Due to this moisture allocation the degree of saturation increases
and , the resilient modulus of subgrade materials decreases
significantly.
▪ Various distresses occurred in the flexible pavement which are
directly related to the precipitation.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

17. Limitations for the Rainy season
▪ The major distresses due to such conditions are Rutting, Permanent
deformation, stripping.
▪ Generally, Rainfall will drain away from a pavement by uncontrolled
runoff or via drainage infrastructures such as gullies, drains, and
pipes, etc.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

18. Rutting
▪ Also termed as a permeant deformation of
the pavement.
▪ Surface depression in the wheel path.
Pavement uplift (shearing) may occur along
the sides of the rut.
▪ Ruts are particularly evident after a rain
when they are filled with water.
▪ There are two basic types of rutting: mix
rutting and subgrade rutting.
▪ Ruts filled with water can cause vehicle
hydroplaning, can be hazardous because
ruts tend to pull a vehicle towards the rut
path as it is pull across the rut.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

19. Stripping
▪ The separation of asphalt binder film
from aggregate is termed as stripping.
▪ In other words, Dis-bonding of bitumen
film from the surface of the aggregate
in the presence of water is usually known
as stripping.
▪ It is also due to unlikely weather
condition and moisture content
variation.
▪ Higher the saturation, higher occurrence
of stripping.
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal

20. References
▪ Main infrastructure: https://www.maininfrastructure.com/blog/seasonal-
changes-asphalt/
▪ Pavement Interactive: https://pavementinteractive.org/
▪ Design and Construction of Pavements in Cold Regions: State of the Practice:
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:48ae457b-
1aa7-47e5-87f1-eaa14e3d6454
▪ Flexible Pavements and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Review and
Implications:
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:42f8b403-
1da1-4c90-b2c0-def06cf68e6e
Prepared by: Bhavya S. Jaiswal