GUIDELINES FOR MIX DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION

AND QUALITY CONTROL OF FOAM BITUMINOUS

MIXES


DRAFT







DECMBER 2013
2
0
0
1










ABBREVIATIONS

AASHTO - American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials
BC - Bituminous Concrete
DBM - Dense Bituminous Macadam
RAP - Recycled Asphalt Pavement
FB - Foamed Bitumen
FBS - Foamed Bituminous stablised






























GUIDELINES FOR MIX DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND
QUALITY CONTROL OF FOAMED BITUMINOUS MIXES

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Pavements deteriorate with time with increased use and also due to fatigue of
the materials. Conventionally, an overlay is provided over deteriorated
pavements to increase the structural condition of the pavements. This process
requires virgin materials viz., aggregates and binder and considering the large
network of roads in the country, use of virgin materials for the maintenance of
the pavements is to be relooked. For construction of 40 mm overlay of
bituminous concrete (BC) per km of two lane road, approximately 240 cum of
aggregate and 27 tonnes of bitumen are required. Similarly for construction of
an overlay with 75 mm thick dense bituminous macadam (DBM) and 40 mm
thick bituminous concrete, for a two lane road approximately 700 cum of
aggregates and 80 tons of bitumen are required, per km. By recycling of the
existing bituminous pavement layers, such huge quantities of valuable material
can be saved and life of the pavement layers can be enhanced. Considering the
material and construction costs alone, it is estimated that by using recycled
materials, savings ranging from 14 to 34 % can be achieved.

1.2 Recycling of existing pavements for rehabilitation of roads has gained
considerable importance due to depletion of aggregates and high cost of
transportation of road construction material. Large scale rehabilitation demands
have seen the adoption of cold in place recycling as the preferred technique
which is both technically and financially viable. Around the world, the
experience and choice of technology for cold in place recycling varies largely
due to different pavement composition, traffic conditions, availability of virgin
aggregates, type of bitumen and emulsion. With the development of specialised
equipments over the last two decades and from the experience gained from field
trials, cold in place recycling with foamed bitumen have gained popularity over
other methods of cold recycling due to less curing time, speedy construction,
stockpiling of the FB mix, energy savings and better performance.

1.3 A wide range of mix design procedures exist for foamed bituminous (FB)
mixtures. Each of them differ in terms of gradations, method for determination
of percentage of foamed binder content, type and content of active filler,
moisture content and the methodologies associated with size of sample, mixing,
curing and compaction. The mix design procedures are also strongly dependent
on the type and quality of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) available. Since
different countries have different pavement cross-section with the mix
constitution varying considerably, it is obvious that the mix design procedure
also varies. However it should be emphasized that the overall framework
towards the design of foamed bituminous mix remains more or less the same.
The overall objective of the FB mix design procedure is to determine the
appropriate quantities of foamed bitumen, RAP material, virgin aggregates,
active filler, moisture content and foamed bitumen at optimum temperature and
foaming water content, such that the mix laid and compacted in the field should
withstand traffic load and perform over its service life for which it is designed.
Most of the mix design methods for FB mixtures use indirect tensile strength
test (ITS) in different variations.

1.4 Recycling of pavement with foamed bitumen has been adopted worldwide and
is in use for over a decade. However in India, it is relatively new and very few
field trials have been carried out. The major component of FB mixture is RAP,
which is a site specific material. Different countries have evolved widely
varying mix design procedures depending on the quality of RAP available. For
instance, the RAP from South Africa and Australia consists mostly of natural
aggregates and cracked cement stabilised layers as they have thin bituminous
wearing course whereas in United states, the RAP material have higher
percentage of aggregates coated with binder. Hence, it is expected that the same
mix design procedure cannot be adopted for all regions. Very little work has
been carried out related to cold mix design procedure for Indian conditions. The
RAP material in India has a significant amount of bitumen present in it.

1.5 Since no guidelines are available for the mix design of FB mixes for Indian
conditions, a pavement engineer has an option to choose from existing mix
design procedures followed in various countries, which may or may not suit to
Indian conditions. Therefore, there is a need to formulate separate guidelines for
the country which suits to our condition and can be easily implemented for
execution of cold in place recycling with foamed bitumen.

1.6 The guidelines are formulated based on the experience gained from cold in
place recycling with foamed bitumen project executed on the National Highway
No. 5, Chennai - Tada road section. Wirtgen cold recycling technology manual
and TG2, Technical Guidelines: Bitumen Stabilised materials, Guidelines for
the design and construction of bitumen emulsion and foamed bitumen stabilised
materials, issued by the Asphalt Academy, South Africa were followed for
design of foamed bitumen mix in this project. The information and data
collected from the experimental investigation carried out on FB mixes at IIT
Madras adopting South African and Caltrans mix design procedure were also
considered for formulating the guidelines.




2. SCOPE

2.1 These guidelines will apply to flexible pavements for Expressways,
National Highways, State Highways, Major District Roads and other
categories of roads predominantly carrying motorized vehicles.

2.2 The guidelines will apply to the rehabilitation of damaged bituminous layers by
recycling the existing bituminous layers and treating with foamed bitumen. The
scope of this guideline for mix design is applicable to both in place and in plant
cold recycling with foamed bitumen. However, for construction and quality
control the guidelines is applicable to only cold in place recycling with foamed
bitumen.

2.3 Pavement condition survey and structural adequacy of the pavement should be
assessed to identify the type of distress occurred. Accordingly the decision for
rehabilitation of pavement with cold in place recycling with foamed bitumen be
taken. It is mentioned that distress such as rutting and all types of cracking in the
bituminous layers can be eliminated by cold in place recycling. The minimum
and maximum depth of recycling is limited to 50 mm and 300 mm respectively.
The recycling of the pavement also include base and sub base layers along with
bituminous layers.

2.4 For design of strengthening measures or overlays for existing pavements, the
design procedure described in IRC:81-1997(6) "Tentative Guidelines for
Strengthening of Flexible Road Pavements Using Benkelman Beam Deflection
Technique" can be used . Falling Weight Deflectometer can also be used on the basis
of the results of research scheme R-81(17,18) for design of overlays using the
analytical concept enshrined in the guidelines and available in the web site of Indian
roads Congress.

2.5 At this stage the data collected in respect of cold recycling with foamed bitumen in
India is very less. The guidelines may require revision from time to time in the
light of future experience and developments in the field. Towards this end, it is
suggested that all the organisations intending to use the guidelines, should keep a
detailed record of year of recycling carried out with foamed bitumen,
pavement composition and wearing course laid on top of FBS layer, traffic,
pavement performance, overlay history after recycling, climatic conditions,
etc.

3. MIX DESIGN
3.1 Few published guidelines and reports with procedures for project selection, mix design,
structural design, and construction are available for cold in-place recycling with foamed
bitumen. Currently available reports and guidelines are Foamed Asphalt mixes, Mix
design procedure report by Muthen (1999), Pavement Recycling guidelines for In-place
Recycling with Emulsion and Foamed Bitumen published by World Road Association
(PIARC), (2003). Development of Mix Design Procedure for Cold In-Place Recycling
with Foamed Asphalt report by Kim and Lee. (2006), Full Depth Pavement
Reclamation with Foamed Asphalt in California: Guidelines for Project Selection, Design
and Construction published by Caltrans (2009), Technical Guidelines: Bitumen
Stabilized materials, Guidelines for the design and construction of bitumen emulsion and
foamed bitumen stabilized materials, published by Asphalt Academy (2009), Pretoria,
South Africa, Review of Foamed Bitumen Stabilization Mix Design Methods,
Technical Report published by Austroads (2011), Sydney , Australia and Wirtgen Cold
Recycling Manual, Second edition published by Wirtgen (2012), Windhagen, Germany.
However the overall framework of the mix design procedure is more or less the same in
each guideline. The outline of the mix design procedure followed by reports and
guidelines is given in Figure 1.





Determine Gradation of RAP and check grading envelope.
If grading requirement is not met, improve grading by adding virgin
aggregates. Find PI of the material.
Determine Binder type and select foaming temperature and foamed
water content.
Determine OMC and MDD of the untreated material.

Mix foamed bitumen in various ranges with RAP,
active filler and water.




















Figure 1: Foamed bituminous mix design flow chart

3.2 Overview of South African and Caltrans mix design procedure and key
differences
Since the guideline is prepared based on the experimental work carried out using
South African and Caltrans mix design procedure, a brief overview of both the
mix design procedure along with their key differences are described in the
succeeding paragraphs.
Determine type and content of Active filler.

Manufacture specimen by Marshall or Gyratory compaction

Cure specimen dry and wet.

Select optimum foamed bitumen content.

Test mechanical properties of the mix on dry and wet specimens (ITS,
Shear parameters, Modulus)

3.2.1 South African mix design procedure (Asphalt Academy 2009)
The mix design procedure for Bituminous Stabilised Material (BSM) involves three
levels of testing on the mix. In South Africa foamed bituminous mix called as BSM.
Table 1 shows the details of the parameters involved. While BSM1 material has
high shear strength and can be used as a base layer for design traffic greater than 6
million equivalent standard axles, BSM2 material has moderately high shear
strength and can be used for a base layer for design traffic less than 6 MESA. The
BSM3 material can be used as a base layer for design traffic less than 1 MESA.
Based on the results of the mechanical tests, different levels are classified and these
details can be found in Asphalt Academy (2009).

Table 1: Details on levels of testing for BSM (Asphalt Academy 2009)

Level Mechanical
Test
Specimen
size
Compaction Curing Purpose
Level
1
ITS
dry
,
ITS
wet
and
TSR
100 mm
dia and 63
mm height
Vibratory
hammer or
Marshall
72 hrs at 40C
for ITS
dry
, and
then specimen
soaked in water
for 24 hrs for
ITS
wet

Foamed
bitumen content
optimization:
Active filler
type and content
determination

Level
2
ITS
equilibrium

and
ITS
soaked

150 mm
dia and
127 mm
height
Vibratory
hammer
20 hrs at 30C
unsealed and 48
hrs at 40C
sealed for
ITS
equilibrium
and
then specimen
soaked in water
for 24 hrs for
ITS
soaked


Foamed
bitumen content
optimisation
Level
3
Triaxial 150 mm
dia and
300 mm
height
Vibratory
hammer
72 hrs at 40C
dry curing
Shear
properties:
Moisture
resistance

3.2.2 Overview of Caltrans mix design procedure (Caltrans 2009)
The technology of cold mix recycling with foamed bitumen was introduced in
California department of transportation (Caltrans) in 2000. Since then, a number of
road projects have been rehabilitated with this technology. The pavement
composition in California has thick bituminous layers over thin aggregate base and
sub-base. The Caltrans guidelines for Cold mix design have two mix design
procedures: Level-1 and Level-2. Level-1 testing requires a minimum of 72
numbers of ITS tests on 100 mm diameter and 63.5 mm height specimen by
standard Marshall compaction. The curing of the specimen varies with the purpose
of test carried out such as the determination of optimum foamed bitumen content
and active filler content. The ITS
dry
and ITS
wet
test of the South African test method
is referred in the Caltrans manual as ITS
unsoaked
and ITS
soaked
respectively and is
same in terms of temperature and hours of curing as given in Table 1. The tensile
strength retained and temperature sensitivity tests are optional and if this is
included, an additional 24 numbers of ITS tests are required. Level-2 testing
requires a minimum of 36 ITS tests.

3.2.3 Key differences between Asphalt Academy and Caltrans procedure
3.2.3.1 Gradation
Figure 2 shows the grading requirements of foamed bituminous mixes for Asphalt
Academy and Caltrans procedure. Here AA denotes Asphalt Academy in Figure 2.
It is observed that Asphalt Academy grading requirements is uniform and finer as
compared to Caltrans.

Fig 2: Grading requirements for foamed bituminous mixes (Asphalt Academy 2009,
Caltrans 2009)

3.2.3.2 Determination of optimum and mixing moisture content
In the Asphalt Academy procedure, the determination of optimum moisture content
(OMC) is carried out on the untreated material without any addition of active filler
using Modified AASHTO compaction (AASHTO:T180-10 (2010)). Here, 75% of
OMC (called as mixing moisture content MMC) is added before treating the
material with foamed bitumen and the remaining 25% of OMC is added after
treatment with foamed bitumen for making samples. The Marshall compaction
method is followed in the absence of vibratory hammer compactor. In the Caltrans
procedure, the OMC of the untreated material with addition of active filler is
determined using Modified AASHTO compaction (AASHTO:T180-10 (2010)). The
OMC determined is used as starting moisture content for determination of MMC. It
should be noted that MMC is same as compaction moisture content and determined
after addition of active filler in the Caltrans procure whereas in Asphalt Academy
procedure OMC is same as compaction moisture content. The compaction moisture
content is the water content referred for mixing the material in field.
3.2.3.3 Determination of active filler
As per the Asphalt Academy procedure, the effectiveness, type and need of active
filler in the mix are a trial and error process. Using the ITS
wet
test results of cured
and soaked 100 mm diameter specimen and the retained cohesion from the triaxial
test, the type and active filler are determined. Asphalt Academy (2009) also
prescribes the maximum quantity of cement and lime as 1% and 1.5% respectively.
In the Caltrans procedure, the optimum active filler type and content is determined
by conducting ITS
sealed
(24 hrs curing in sealed plastic bag at 25C) test on 100 mm
diameter specimen. The quantity of cement is varied up to a maximum of 2% and
the hydrated lime is varied up to a maximum of 3%. The percentage of the active
filler at which the maximum improvement of the ITS
sealed
value over the untreated
sample is obtained is chosen. In the Asphalt Academy (2009) procedure the
determination of active filler is carried out before the determination of optimum
foamed bitumen content whereas in the Caltrans procedure the active filler
determination is carried out after the determination of optimum foamed bitumen
content values.
3.2.3.4 Determination of optimum foamed bitumen content
In the Asphalt Academy procedure, for determination of optimum foamed bitumen
content, the sample is prepared by mixing RAP, virgin aggregates (if any), OMC,
active filler content and varying foamed bitumen content from 1.7 to 2.5%. The size
of the specimen, compaction and curing is governed by the level of testing given in
Table 1. For level 1 the optimum binder content is determined by ensuring that
ITS
dry
and ITS
wet
is sufficiently high. Once the optimum foamed binder content is
determined in Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 tests are carried out as per design traffic.
In the Caltrans procedure, the optimum foamed bitumen content is determined by
conducting ITS
wet
test on 100 mm diameter specimen with varying quantity of
foamed bitumen content with a maximum limit up to 4% by dry mass of mix and
one sample is also casted without the addition of foamed bitumen as untreated
control sample. The mix manufactured is composed of RAP, virgin aggregates (if
any), MMC, and varying percentages of foamed bitumen content. It is to be noted
here that active filler is not added in the mix. The percentage of the foamed bitumen
at which the maximum improvement of the ITS
wet
value of 100 kPa over the
untreated sample is obtained first is chosen.
3.3 Sampling
The first step in the mix design procedure is to collect samples from the field. To achieve
representative sample, on-site milling is most suitable method. If this is not possible, cores
should be taken and crushed in laboratory. The samples should be taken up to the depth
where recycling is proposed. Where the layer thickness varies along the length of the project,
the subsequent stretches should be identified and separate samples to be taken, as each stretch
with a different composition will have different design mix. None of the guidelines give
details about the quantity and the number of samples to be taken for the project.
Some of the guidelines suggest taking a minimum of four samples for a project. It is
recommended that one sample per two km to be taken on each side for project
length of any size. The project length should be divided into 10 km stretch, and for
each 10 km stretch a mix design should be carried out irrespective of the fact that
the pavement crust composition is same throughout the length of the project. This
means that 10 samples of RAP are to be taken from 10 km stretch for carrying out a
mix design. For small size projects, a minimum of at least four samples are to be
taken. From one location 50 kgs of material is to be taken for conducting gradation
tests.
3.4 Gradation
Grading of the RAP material is determined to know whether the material is suitable for
treating it with foamed bitumen or not. Once the samples are collected, the wet sieve analysis
of the RAP material should be carried out as per method prescribed in California Test 202
Method of test or sieve analysis of fine and coarse aggregate. Washing of aggregates is
important as the percentage of material passing 0.075 mm is the deciding criteria for addition
of virgin aggregate to the RAP material. The grading of all the samples collected from the
field are plotted on the graph and compared for variation. For establishing homogenous
section, the maximum variation should be 10 percent from the mean for the aggregate size
passing 4.75 mm sieve and above and 5 percent for the aggregate size passing 4.75 mm
sieve and below. For calculating the variation in the percentage passing of aggregates for all
the samples extracted, the average of percentage passing of aggregate on the sieve size should
be determined and subtracted from the maximum and minimum values of the percentage
passing on that sieve size. Example calculation is shown at Table 1.
Table 1: Gradation of milled RAP material to show variation
Sieve Size
(mm)
Percentage passing (%)
Variation from the mean
(%)
KM
32.500
KM
36.300
KM
45.300
KM
53.000
50
100 100 100 100
0
37.5
100 100 100 100
0
26.5
100 100 100 100
0
19
98.4 98.1 98.5 99.5
+0.6 to -0.8
13.2
87.5 88.5 87.7 94.9
+2.1 to -5.3
9.6
77.4 78.9 75.7 88.4
+4.4 to -8.3
6.7
65.0 62.4 61.3 73.2
+4.2 to -7.7
4.75
56.2 50.7 48.5 59.8
+5.3 to -6.0
2.36
35.9 31.2 32.4 37.6
+3.1 to -3.3
1.18
25.1 18.3 19.9 22.8
+3.2 to -3.6
0.600
16.2 10.9 10.6 11.0
+1.6 to -4.1
0.425
6.7 4.7 8.4 7.9
+2.2 to -1.5
0.300
5.9 3.7 6.1 5.4
+1.6 to -6.8
0.150
4.2 1.9 4.1 3.0
+1.4 to -2.8
0.075
3.4 1.6 2.5 1.1
+1.1 to -1.3

If the variation is within the limits, it is confirmed that the entire stretch is homogenous and
RAP from any location can be taken for mix design. If the variation is more than 10 percent,
then the road section can be subdivided into smaller stretches were variation is within 10
percent. The grading requirements of FBM are given in Table 2. The same grading is adopted
for the Indian conditions as given in the South African procedure. Less suitable range is given
to accommodate variation in the RAP material. Approximately 200 kgs of material which is
to be recycled, is required for conducting tests from a location for mix design.
Table 2: Grading requirements for Foamed Bituminous Mixtures
Sieve Size (mm) Percentage passing %
Ideal Less suitable
50 100 -
37.5 87-100 -
26.5 77-100 100
19 66-99 99-100
13.2 57-87 87-100
9.5 49-74 74-100
6.7 40-62 62-100
4.75 35-56 56-95
2.36 25-42 42-78
1.18 18-33 33-65
0.6 14-28 28-54
0.425 12-26 26-50
0.3 10-24 24-43
0.15 7-17 17-30
0.075 4-10 10-20

If the grading of the material is not found suitable, fresh aggregates should be added with
missing fraction to improve the grading, so that the blended gradation meets the grading
requirements of FBM as shown in Table 2. For Indian conditions with heavily trafficked road
and hot climatic conditions especially in plain areas, 15-20% fine aggregate should be added
to RAP to provide a angular sand skeleton to improve the shear resistance of the mix, even if
the gradation of the RAP meets the requirement as per Table 2. On the blended material
representative proportioning is carried out. This is done to address the problem of variability
in the RAP. The process is reproduced below with the help of an example given below in
Table 3.

Table 3: Representative proportioning of blended material
Sieve analysis Quantity of material to be included for every 10 Kg of sample
Sieve
size
(mm)
Percentage
passing
(from sieve
analysis
on blended
sample)

Passing 4.75 mm Passing 13.2 mm
and retained on 4.75
mm
Passing 19 mm
and retained on 13.2
mm
19.0 98.43 58.12/100 x
10000=5812 gm
((90.69-58.12)/100 x
10000)=3257 gm
((100-90.69)/100
x10000)=931 gm 13.2 90.69
4.75 58.12

The material obtained from the representative proportioning by the given method above
should be used for preparation of making samples for carrying out all the tests. There may be
a case, where there is no need of addition of fresh aggregate. In such cases also,
representative proportioning should be carried out to address the problem of variability.
3.5 Atterbergs limit
The Plasticity Index (PI) of the RAP material / Blended material (if fines are added to RAP
material to improve its grading) is determined to know whether it is necessary to pre-treat the
material or blend the material with filler to address any deficiencies. The PI of the blended
material should be determined as per method prescribed in IS:2720 (Part-V). The shear
strength of the material is drastically reduced with increase in PI. Hence it should be ensured
that the PI of the material to be treated with foamed bitumen should be equal to or less than
10. If the PI of the material is found to exceed this limit it should be treated with hydrated
lime to reduce its plasticity, and again retested for PI value for confirmation. Addition of
hydrated lime maximum up to 1.5% by mass of the material is recommended. The percentage
of addition of filler to improve its plasticity should always be less than percentage of bitumen
content.
3.6 Hygroscopic or initial moisture content
Hygroscopic or initial moisture content test is carried out to know the existing moisture
content present in the material and subtract it from OMC at the time of adding water to the
mix. The hygroscopic or initial moisture content is defined as the moisture which adheres to
the soil particles and does not evaporates at atmospheric temperatures. The initial moisture
content of the material should be determined as per method prescribed in IS:2720 (Part-II)
3.7 Determination of foaming characteristics of bitumen
Foamed bitumen is characterised by two parameters and they are Expansion Ratio (ER) and
Half-life time (HLT). Expansion ratio of foamed bitumen is the ratio between the maximum
volume achieved in the foamed state and the final volume of the binder after the foam has
decayed. Half life time is the time measured in seconds for the foamed bitumen to subside
from the maximum volume to the half of the maximum volume. The measurement of ER and
HLT are highly dependent upon the individual estimation and judgement because of rapid
foaming and settling of bitumen and the manual timings recorded by stop watch. Hence, the
measurements made for determining ER and HLT are empirical. Wirtgen WLB 10 S foaming
equipment should be used for foaming and determining ER and HLT as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Wirtgen WLB 10 S foaming equipment
The minimum limits for expansion ratio and half life time of bitumen is recommended as 8
and 6 sec respectively. The foaming characteristics of the grades of bitumen available for
foaming is carried out at temperature starting from 160
o
C with varying foaming water content
from 2% to 6% with increment of 1%. 500 grams mass of bitumen is taken for each
observation. Three observations are taken for each set. If the criteria of minimum limits of
expansion ratio and half life time are satisfied at 160C at particular foaming water content,
the same is adopted. If the requirement of expansion ratio and half life is not met, the
experiment is repeated at 170C and then at 180C with varying foaming water content from
2% to 6% till the expansion ratio and half life time is met. Bitumen with lower viscosity
foams more than bitumen with higher viscosity. Not much experiments and data have been
collected for foaming capability of VG 30. Hence VG 10 grade binder to be used for foaming
till further research is carried out on other grades of bitumen.
3.8 Optimum moisture content and Maximum dry density of untreated material
Analysis is done on the untreated material (without adding foamed bitumen) using Modified
Proctors compaction test as per IS:2720 (Part-VIII). It is to be noted that some of the
guidelines recommend addition of active filler before determination of OMC and MDD and
other do not prefer to add it. It is stated that while executing the work on ground the layer of
cement is spread on the top of the pavement and then further recycling process is carried.
Hence the same process should be adopted in the laboratory to create similar conditions that
prevail in site. It is clarified that active filler is to be added and further OMC and MDD on the
untreated material to be carried out. Six samples at different water content starting from 2%
to 12% with increment of 2% water content are prepared. Dry density at each water content is
determined and a graph is plotted between dry density and water content to find out OMC
and MDD.
3.9 Determination of Active filler
A lot of research is underway to study the effect of active filler on the mechanical properties
of FBM. Till date the effectiveness, type and need of active filler in the mix, is impossible to
predict, unless experimentation during mix design is done. This involves additional tests and
is time consuming. Addition of active filler imparts early strength to the mix and early traffic
can be allowed. Studies have shown that that the use of 1% cement as active filler have
yielded satisfactory results on the performance of FBM. The South African procedure also
recommends the use of 1% cement as active filler. Studies and research have shown that that
increase in percentage of cement beyond 1% imparts stiffness to the mix and reduces
flexibility making it prone to cracks. Addition of cement less than 1% does not contribute
much to the strength of the material, hence as a general practice 1% cement OPC 53 grade
should be used as active filler.
3.10 OMC and MDD of the treated material
For determining the OMC and MDD of the foamed bituminous mix, analysis is done on the
treated material (after addition of foamed bitumen) using Modified proctor compaction test as
per IS: 2720 (Part-VIII). The OMC of the foamed bitumen treated material is determined by
first adding 60% of the OMC of the untreated material which has already been determined
initially as per clause 3.8 stated above, and then injecting a constant percentage of 2 percent
foamed bitumen with the foaming equipment and increasing the amount of water in nominal
1% increments. The 60% of the OMC of the untreated material is also known as optimum
mixing moisture content (OMMC) of the FBM. At least five samples at different water
content starting from 60% of OMC to 1% increment are prepared. Dry density at each water
content is determined and a graph is plotted between dry density and water content to find out
OMC and MDD of the FBM. This OMC and MDD determined on the treated material is used
in field. It is to be noted that the initial moisture content of the RAP /blended material at site
is to be determined and the same is to be subtracted from the OMC determined on the treated
material for addition of water in field. The MDD determined on the treated material is taken
as the reference dry density.
3.11 Preparation of sample
After the preparation of representative samples, determination of hygroscopic or initial
moisture content, selection of the binder for foaming, foaming temperature, foaming water
content, selection of type and percentage content of active filler and determination of
optimum moisture content on treated sample and all the ingredients should be put into a
WLM 30 pug mill mixer (Figure 2) in appropriate quantities as determined previously. 10
Kgs of material should be taken to prepare one sample for particular bitumen content. From
each sample six numbers of 101.60 mm diameter specimens were manufactured for testing
ITS
dry
and ITS
wet
values. The sample should be prepared by injecting foamed bitumen by
WLB 10 S foaming equipment in WLM 30 pug mill mixer at foaming binder content of 1.5,
2 and 2.5 percent, as shown in figure 2. OMC determined on treated material should be added
before adding foamed bitumen. The material should be mixed for 20 to 30 seconds. The mix
should be immediately immediately transferred into plastic bag and sealed to prevent any loss
of moisture before compaction.

Figure 2: Mixing of materials in WLM 30 pug mill mixer for sample preparation

3.12 Manufacture of 100 mm dia specimen
Six numbers of 101.6 mm diameter specimens and 63.5 mm in height, were manufactured
from each sample prepared at foamed bitumen content of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5% by applying
standard Marshall compaction effort as shown in Figure 3. Approximately 1075 to 1120 gms
of mix material should be taken to achieve a compacted height of 63.5 mm 1.5 mm. The
mixture is compacted by applying 75 blows with the Marshall compaction hammer on either
side.


Figure 3: Compaction of 101.6 mm diameter specimen



3.13 Curing of specimen
Dry and wet curing of specimens should be carried out on prepared samples as shown in
Figure 4 and 5 respectively. For dry curing all the six specimens should be kept at 40
o
C for
72 hours in a draft oven. After 72 hrs the specimens should be taken out and checked for
constant mass. Three specimens should be tested for ITS
dry
after cooling them at 25
o
C. The
remaining three specimens should be immersed in water for 24 hours at 25
o
C and after
surface drying, tested for ITS
wet
.

Figure 4: Dry curing of specimen at 40
o
C Figure 5 Wet curing of specimen in water
3.14 Optimization of foamed bitumen content
The ITS test was carried out on dry and wet specimen after dry and wet curing as per ASTM
D 6931 (2012), for optimisation of foamed bitumen content. Figure 6 shows ITS test
conducted on 101.6 mm diameter sample. The average ITS test results values in wet and dry
condition with varying foamed bitumen content should be tabulated as shown in Table 4
along with their Coefficient of Variation (CV) expressed in percentage and Tensile Strength
Ratio (TSR).

Figure 6: ITS test on 101.6 mm diameter specimen
The foamed bitumen content at which the highest

ITS
wet
value is achieved is chosen as the optimum
foamed bitumen content. However it should be ensured that the ITS
dry
values at optimum foamed
bitumen content should be greater than 225 kPa, ITS
wet
values at optimum foamed bitumen content
should be greater than 100 kPa and TSR should be greater than 50 %. The CV should be less than
10%. In case CV is more than 10%, the ITS tests should be repeated or odd test results not to be
considered.

Table 4: Average ITS test results in dry and wet condition
Foamed
bitumen
content (%)
Av.ITS
dry

(kPa)
CV (%) Av. ITS
wet

(kPa)
CV (%) TSR (%) Dry density
(gm/cc)
1.5 255.79 6.88 204.06 7.48 80 2.054
2.0 265.45 3.49 212.32 6.57 80 2.083
2.5 200.90 2.71 170.22 3.04 85 2.048

4. STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT WITH FOAMED
BITUMINOUS STABILISED LAYER
4.1 For structural design of flexible pavements the method and guidelines as mentioned as per
clause 10.4 of IRC: 37-2012 Guidelines for design of flexible pavements to be referred.