STATE PRACTICES IN THE USE OF BITUMINOUS CONCRETE

FIFTY HIGHWAY AGENCIES COOPERATED IN FURNISHING THE INFORMATION ON BITUMINOUS CONCRETE PRACTICE TO SERVE AS A BASIS UPON WHICH TO PATTERN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT TO BE TESTED DURING THE AASHO ROAD TEST. TWO SEPARATE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE SENT OUT. BOTH QUESTIONNAIRES DEALT WITH BITUMINOUS CONCRETE, INCLUDING TAR AND ASPHALTIC CONCRETES. IN PREPARING THE QUESTIONNAIRES IT WAS ASSUMED THAT BITUMINOUS CONCRETE AS GENERALLY USED CONSISTS OF A MIXTURE OF COARSE AGGREGATE, FINE AGGREGATE, MINERAL FILLER AND ASPHALT CEMENT. SUCH A MATERIAL IS PLANT- MIXED, LAID WITH A SPREADING AND FINISHING MACHINE, AND IMMEDIATELY COMPACTED WITH ROLLERS. WITH ONE OR TWO POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS, ALL OF THE REPORTING AGENCIES MAKE SOME USE OF SUCH A MATERIAL. HOWEVER, CONSIDERABLE VARIATION OCCURS IN THE NUMBER OF REFINEMENTS THAT ARE INTRODUCED AND THE DEGREE OF CONTROL THAT IS EXCERCISED. PRACTICE IS TAILORED GENERALLY TO MEET THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS OF THE CONSTRUCTING AGENCIES. FOR EXAMPLE, A BITUMINOUS-CONCRETE MIXTURE THAT IS TO BE SUBJECTED TO THE HEAVY TRAFFIC AND SEVERE MOISTURE CONDITIONS OF ONE AREA MUST MEET MUCH HIGHER DESIGN STANDARDS AND MUST BE MUCH MORE VIGOROUSLY CONTROLLED DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS THAN A MIXTURE THAT MUST MEET ONLY THE MODERATE TRAFFIC DEMANDS AND THE FAVORABLE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF ANOTHER AREA. THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED IN THE QUESTIONNAIRES MAY BE PLACED IN TWO GROUPS, ONE DEALING WITH STANDARD SPECIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, AND THE OTHER DEALING WITH GENERAL PRACTICE NOT OUTLINED IN DETAIL IN THE SPECIFICATIONS. THIS LATTER GROUP OF QUESTIONS COVERED PROCEDURES THAT ARE NOT NORMALLY COVERED BY SPECIFICATIONS SUCH AS DESIGN PROCEDURES, AND PRINCIPAL USAGE WHERE SPECIFICATIONS PERMIT ALTERNATE USAGE OR ARE SUFFICIENTLY BROAD TO ALLOW IMPORTANT VARIATIONS IN USAGE.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbbulletin/160/160-001.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 160, pp 1-107, 9 FIG, 72 TAB, 3 APP Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Chastain Sr, W E
  • Burke, John E
• Publication Date: 1957

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Bituminous paving mixtures
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Bulletin
  • Issue Number: 160
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asphalt cement; Asphalt concrete; Coarse aggregates; Compaction; Design; Fine aggregates; Flexible pavements; Mineral fillers; Paving; Plant mix; Questionnaires; Rollers; Specifications; Standards; Tar
• Identifier Terms: AASHO Road Test
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00210891
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 13 1994 12:00AM