PRACTICAL TEST PROCEDURES FOR MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BITUMINOUS MATERIALS

The bituminous paving industry is moving from the era of empirically- based recipe specifications to one involving measurement of mechanical properties. The Bitutest project based at the University of Nottingham involving nine companies, 14 highway authorities and the DoT is developing suitable low cost, practical tests to measure these properties. This is being achieved using the Nottingham Asphalt Tester, which can be configured to measure elastic stiffness, resistance to rutting and resistance to cracking, all key parameters for bituminous materials in pavement construction. The development of procedures for mixture design, assessment of durability and for the preparation and handling of test specimens form part of the project. (A)