Physical and Mechanical Properties of Bituminous Mixtures Containing Oil Shales

Rutting of bituminous surfaces on the Jordanian highways is a recurring problem. Highway authorities are exploring the use of extracted shale oil and oil shale fillers, which are abundant in Jordan. The main objectives of this research are to investigate the rheological properties of shale oil binders (conventional binder with various percentages of shale oil), in comparison with a conventional binder, and to investigate the ability of mixes to resist deformation. The latter is done by considering three wearing course mixes containing three different samples of oil shale fillers--which contained three different oil percentages--together with a standard mixture containing limestone filler. The Marshall design method and the immersion wheel tracking machine were adopted. It was concluded that the shale oil binders displayed inconsistent physical properties and therefore should be treated before being used. The oil shale fillers have provided mixes with higher ability to resist deformation than the standard mix, as measured by the Marshall quotients and the wheel tracking machine. The higher the percentages of oil in the oil shale fillers, the lower the ability of the mixes to resist deformation.