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Development of Unmodified Binder Specifications for India

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Abstract

This investigation was conducted to critically look at the IS73:2006 specification for bitumen and suggest selection criteria to enhance the confidence of the user about the quality of bitumen to be used in road construction. Towards this effort, 300 samples of bitumen from refineries and construction sites were collected. All the samples were checked for their specification compliance. Measurement of performance grade properties of more than 100 samples at unaged, short-term aged and long-term aged conditions and measurement of rheological properties of 100 samples from 25 to 75 °C through dynamic mechanical analysis for unaged and short-term aged conditions was carried out. Master curves were constructed for all 100 samples using dynamic mechanical analysis and time–temperature superposition principle. Using the master curve model, samples were differentiated based on their temperature and shear susceptibility. Based on such classification, a new specification system was suggested. A sample scheme for choosing a binder grade for a given temperature and traffic scenario was also illustrated.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Bureau of Indian Standards for funding the research project that enabled the collection of a large sample database. All the refineries and construction sites across India are thanked for sending the samples required for research. Indian Meteorological Department, Pune is thanked for sharing the air temperature data. Finally, R&D of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited is gratefully acknowledged for sparing their technical staff and laboratory for repeatability testing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Global Academy of Technology, Bengaluru, 560098, India

    P. S. Reashma

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, India

    M. R. Nivitha, A. Veeraragavan & J. M. Krishnan

  3. Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India

    P. K. Sikdar

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  1. P. S. Reashma
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  2. M. R. Nivitha
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  3. A. Veeraragavan
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  4. P. K. Sikdar
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  5. J. M. Krishnan
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Correspondence to J. M. Krishnan.

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Reashma, P.S., Nivitha, M.R., Veeraragavan, A. et al. Development of Unmodified Binder Specifications for India. Transp. in Dev. Econ. 3, 12 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40890-017-0041-1

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