Bituminous Soil Stabilisation

Bituminous soil stabilisation is an effective method which is being widely used. Bituminous materials are: bitumen,
asphalt and tar. Bitumens are nonaqueous systems of hydrocarbons which are completely soluble in
carbondisulphide.
Non aqueous - Of relating to, or having the characteristics of a liquid other than water, a nonaqueous solvent, made
from, with, or by means of a liquid other than water.
Hydrocarbon - In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and
carbon.
Bitumen is a viscous liquid or solid consisting essentially of hydrocarbons and their derivatives. Here are some of
the properties of bitumen -
➢ Bitumen are colloidal in nature. Colloids include gels, sols (a fluid suspension of a colloidal solid in a liquid),
and emulsions; the particles do not settle, and cannot be separated out by ordinary filtering or centrifuging
like those in a suspension.
➢ They are thermoplastics. A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes
pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling.
➢ They have no specific melting, boiling or freezing point.
➢ Bitumens are insoluble in water.
➢ They are highly impermeable to the passage of water.
Asphalts are materials which is a mixture of dark bituminous pitch with sand or gravel/stone dust (5% bitumen and
95% other rest material). It is also known as bituminous concrete.
Tars are bituminous condensates produced by the destructive distillation (at high temperature and in absence of
oxygen) of organic materials such as coal, oil, lignite, peat and wood.
Bitumen emulsion is a mixture of water, bitumen and emulsifier, classification as below:
o Anionic bitumen emulsion : bitumen particles are electro-negatively charged.
o Cationic bitumen emulsion : bitumen particles are electro-positively charged.
o In case of silica rich aggregates, the surface of the aggregates are electro-negatively charged. Therefore
cationic bitumen emulsion are most commonly used.
Generally emulsion is classified based on setting time:
• Rapid setting emulsion.
• Medium setting emulsion.
• Slow setting emulsion.
Advantages of emulsion:
➢ Emulsion can be used in wet weather even when it is raining.
➢ Emulsion is used in soil stabilization, especially for sand.
➢ No need of hot mixing. generally cold mixing or just slightly warming the ingredients is enough.
➢ Since emulsions are water based, there is less effect on the environment.
➢ It is least energy intensive of all construction material, there is no need of heat.
Bituminous material stabilizes the soil either by binding the particles together or protecting the soil from the
deleterious effects of water (i.e. waterproofing) or both these effects may occur together. The first mechanism takes
place in cohesionless soils and the second one in cohesive soils. Among the bituminous materials, most of bitumen
stabilization has been with asphalt. Therefore, soil stabilised by asphalt may be referred to as soil-asphalt. Asphalts
are produced by three processes:

• Vacuum distillation producing straight-run asphalt

• High-temperature pyrolysis of refinery heavies, producing cracked asphalt
• High- temperature air blowing straight-run asphalt, producing blown asphalt.
As the straight-run asphalt has low softening temperature and low melt viscosity, it is commonly used in soil
stabilization. Asphalt can not be directly added to the soil because it is too viscous. Its fluidity can be increased by
(i) heating, (ii) emulsifying in water (emulsions), or (iii) Mixing with some solvent like gasoline (cutbacks). Both
emulsions and cutbacks are used in soil stabilization. Although soil-asphalt has varied applications, it is mostly used
in bases for highway and airfield pavements.

Nature of Soil
All inorganic soils with which asphalt (emulsion or cutback) can be mixed can be stabilized. Soils satisfying the
following requirements yield the best results:
Liquid limit less than 40%.
Plasticity index less than 18%.
Organic matter of acid origin is detrimental to soil-asphalt. Asphalt stabilization cannot be effective in fine grained
soils with less pH and dissolved salts. It is difficult to handle plastic clays because of mixing problem.
Amount of Asphalt
An increase in asphalt content gives better results. In fine-grained soils addition of asphalt does not increase the
strength but tremendously improves the waterproofing property and thereby yielding a better stabilized soil. Asphalt
also should be added optimally otherwise results in a gooey mixture which cannot be properly compacted.
Mixing
A thorough incorporation of the additive with the soil yields a better stabilized soil
Compaction Conditions
The density of a mixture of soil and asphalt is governed by the volatiles content and amount and type of compaction.
In general lower the volatiles content, the higher the strength.
Cure Conditions
The following behaviour have been reported to be true (Lambe, 1962): (i) the longer the period of cure and warmer
the temperature of cure, the greater the volatiles lost; (ii) the longer the period of immersion, the greater the water
pickup. The strength of a soil-asphalt is inversely proportional to the volatiles content at the time of test.
Construction of Soil-Asphalt
The conventional sequence of construction operation is as follows (Lambe, 1962) : (i) Pulverisation of the soil to be
treated, (ii) Addition of water for proper mixing, (iii) Adding and mixing of the bitumen, (iv) Aeration to the proper
volatiles content for compaction, (v) Compaction, (vi) Finishing, (vii) Aerating and curing, and (viii) Application of
surface cover. The important items to ensure proper stabilization which need control are mixing, compacting, drying
and applying the surface protection. The mixing plants used for soil-cement can be used for soil asphalt also. The
necessary field control tests are moisture content determination before and during processing, bitumen content
determination after mixing and density determination after compaction.