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5.1. Bituminous Surfacing

Role and function bituminous surfacing are an integral component of paved roads and perform a
number of functions that offer many advantages over unsealed roads. These include:
 Provision of a durable, impervious surfacing which seals and protects the pavement layers
from moisture ingress and consequent loss of pavement strength and degradation
 Provision of a skid-resistant surface which can resist the abrasive and disruptive forces of
traffic and the environment
 Prevention of the formation of corrugations, dust and mud which generally permits relatively
safe travel at higher speeds and lower vehicle operating and maintenance costs.

As for all bituminized roads, the pavement strength must be adequate to carry the anticipated
traffic loading. Various types of bituminous surfacing have been used on the Public Highway
Network is:
 Sand Seals
 Surface Dressings (Chip Seal)
 Cape Seals
 Otta Seals
 Asphaltic Concrete (varying thickness)
 Etc.

5.2. Prime coat and Tack coat

Prime coats and tack coats are applications of liquid asphalt applied to base material or lower layers
of the pavement to ensure a bond between the base course and the pavement .

5.2.1. Prime Coats

A prime coat entails spray applications of low viscosity asphalt on a granular base in preparation for
placing an asphalt mixture.

A prime coat performs several important functions:

 Coats and bonds loose mineral particles on the surface of the base
 Hardens or toughens the surface of the base
 Waterproofs the surface of the base by plugging capillary or interconnected voids
 Provides adhesion or bond between the base and the asphalt mixture

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Emulsions that can be used for priming are Slow Setting SS-1, SS-1h, CSS-1 and CSS-1h and almost
always require dilution with water. The dilution rates normally range from 1:1 to 10:1 (water to
emulsion) dependent upon the base material characteristics and method of treatment. The
application rates can vary for a 1:1 diluted emulsion from as low as 2.3 ltr/m2 for high fines and tight
bases and up to 6.8 ltr/m2 for loose sands and very porous surfaces. In very dense material, it may
be necessary to use a higher dilution and make multiple applications at lower rates. This is done to
improve penetration and prevent runoff and pudding of the emulsion.

The prime coat should penetrate 4 to 10 mm. No traffic should be allowed onto a primed surface
until the prime has completely dried. If the prime penetrates too quickly the cause should be
determined. Usually one will find either the base has been inadequately compacted or the prime is
too fluid for the base material. Should the prime be over-applied it can be “bloted” with 6.7 mm
stone chips or coarse natural sand. Crusher dust is not advisable as it tends to stick together and is
more difficult to remove from the road surface.
The effect of the priming depends on:
 The porosity of the base material
 Viscosity of the priming material
 Base temperature
 Moisture content of the base

Picture 5-1: Prime Coat

Typical primes are:
(i) Bitumen primes
 Low viscosity, medium curing cutback bitumen such as MC-30, MC-70, or in rare
circumstances, MC-250.

(ii) Emulsion primes

 Inverted emulsion prime is typically manufactured from MC 30, slightly cut-back
further and then water added.
 Special emulsion primes, e.g. Colprime E from Colas

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Table 5-1: Shows approximate composition of primes (by mass).

The choice of prime depends primarily on the texture and density of the surface being primed Low
viscosity primes are necessary for dense cement or lime stabilized surfaces while higher viscosity
primes are used for untreated, coarse-textured surfaces. Emulsion primes are not recommended for
saline base courses.

Bitumen primes must be heated before use. With the amount of solvent in these primes, heating must
be done with care. Spraying temperatures using a bitumen hand sprayer are indicated in table below.

Table 5-2: Bitumen prime heating before use

Bitumen primes Required temperature before use

MC10/MC30 40-500C
MC70 55-700C

Normal bitumen emulsions (e.g. diluted Anionic Emulsion SS60) are not recommended for priming
particularly stabilized bases, as they do not penetrate the surface and tend to form a skin on the top.

Picture 5-2: Priming with conventional bitumen emulsion

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5.2.2. Tack coat

A tack coat is a very light spray application of diluted asphalt emulsion. It is used to create a bond
between an existing surface and an asphalt latex (cold mix) being placed.

Asphalt emulsions commonly used for tack coats are diluted Slow Setting SS-1, SS-1h, CSS-1 and
CSS-1h. The emulsion is diluted by adding an equal amount of water. To prevent premature
breaking, the water must be added to the emulsion and not the emulsion to the water. Warm water
is preferable for dilution and the diluted material is typically applied at a rate of 0.25-0.70 lit/m2. A
tack coat should be applied only to an area that can be covered by the same day‟s paving. The best
results are obtained when the tack coat is applied while the pavement surface is dry and the surface
temperature is above 25°C. The surface to be tack coated must be clean and free of loose material so
it will adhere. A good tack coat results in a very thin but uniform coating of residual asphalt on the
surface when the emulsion has broken.

Two essential properties of a tack coat are:

i. It must be very thin.
ii. It must uniformly cover the entire surface of the area to be resurfaced.

To accomplish these requirements, the tack asphalt is usually diluted 50:50 with water, and the rate
should be adjusted for an undiluted application rate.

After spraying the tack coat, time must be allowed before the overlay is placed for the complete
breaking of the diluted emulsion (brown to black colour). Traffic should be kept off the tacked area.

Picture 5-3: Tack coat

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5.3. Types of bituminous Binders

Bituminous binders for seals come either in the form of straight penetration grade bitumen, cut-back
bitumen or bitumen emulsions. All of these can be modified with for instance crumbed rubber or
latex to improve their properties. For this manual only un-modified bitumen emulsion binders will
be discussed, but may be expanded later as the emulsion technology in Ethiopia evolves .

5.3.1. Penetration grade and Cutback bitumen

All hard penetration grades bituminous require to be heated to a specified temperature during use so
as to bring down the viscosity to a value at which the coating of the aggregates with the binder film
becomes possible; the aggregates also have to be heated. To overcome this difficulty, cutbacks are
used. A cutback is a bitumen, the viscosity of which has been reduced by volatile diluents. After
evaporation of the solvent, the properties of the original penetration grade bitumen become
operative.

Based on the relative rate of evaporation, there are three types of cut-backs:
 Rapid Cure (RC)
 Medium Cure (MC)
 Slow Cure (SC)

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5.3.2. Emulsion bitumen

An emulsion is a dispersion of small droplets of one liquid in another liquid. Bitumen emulsion are
manufactured by running the base penetration grade bitumen, normally 60/70 or 80/100 pen grade,
through a mill to produce the tiny bitumen droplets, adding the emulsifier (soap) that attaches to the
surface of the droplets and mixing the droplets with water. The emulsifier enables the droplets to
stay in suspension without coalescing for an extended period.

Bitumen emulsions come in three different types:

Figure 5-4: Three types of bitumen emulsion

Figure 7: Three types of bitumen emulsion

Standard bitumen emulsions are normally considered to be of the O/W type, i.e. it has tiny droplets
of bitumen dispersed in the water phase, and contain from 40% to 75% bitumen, 0.1% to 2.5%
emulsifier, 25% to 60% water plus some minor components. The “water-in-oil” or W/O emulsion is
called inverted emulsion, i.e. it has tiny droplets of water dispersed in the bitumen. A type of
inverted emulsion is used as prime.

The advantage of bitumen emulsions is that they can most of the time be used at ambient
temperatures. Low temperature techniques for construction and maintenance reduce emissions,
reduce energy consumption, avoid oxidation of the asphalt, and are less hazardous than techniques
using hot bitumen. They are also more economical and environmentally friendly than cold
techniques using cut back asphalts. The environmental benefit of asphalt emulsion is particularly
positive when used for in place or on-site techniques which avoid the energy usage and emissions
associated with heating, drying, and haulage of aggregate.

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The appearance of bitumen emulsion is like a dark brown soup. The viscosity depends on the
bitumen content, the higher the bitumen content, the higher the viscosity (or the thicker the soup).
There are three categories of bitumen emulsion used for road works:
 Anionic emulsion
 Cationic emulsion
 Non-ionic emulsion

Picture 5-5: Oil in water

The emulsifying agents impart minute electrical charges on the emulsion droplets. If the droplet
charge is negative, the emulsion is Anionic. A positively charged emulsion is a Cationic emulsion.
Nonionic emulsions are neutral, and their droplets have no electrical charge. Most asphalt emulsions
used in the paving industry are either Anionic or Cationic. Nonionic emulsions are seldom used.

Bitumen emulsions are classified by the different setting times (time taken for the bitumen droplets to
coalesce (bring together to form one mass) after application and the water to evaporate) and the
stability of the emulsion (ability of the droplets to stay in suspension). Emulsions are graded based on
how quickly the asphalt droplets coalesce, that is, recombines into asphalt cement.

Both Anionic and Cationic emulsions can be:

 Rapid Setting (RS)
 Medium Setting (MS)
 Slow Setting (SS)

The grades of bitumen emulsions are determined by the amount of emulsifier being used in the
manufacturing process. The bitumen emulsion grades are:
 Spray grade
 Pre-mix grade
 Stable grade
 Quick setting grade

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Spray-grade: An emulsion formulated for application by mechanical spray equipment in chip seal
construction where no mixing with aggregate is required.

Pre-mix grade: An emulsion formulated to be more stable than spray grade emulsion and suitable
for mixing with medium or coarse graded aggregate with the amount smaller than
0.075mm not exceeding 2%.

Stable grade: An emulsion formulated for mixing with very fine aggregates, sand and crusher dust.
Mainly used for slow-setting slurry seals and tack coats.

Quick setting grade: An emulsion specially formulated for use with fi ne slurry seal type aggregates,
where quick setting of the mixture is desired.

When the emulsion breaks (i.e. when the separation of the bitumen from the water phase starts) the
colour turns from brown to black. The time it takes for this to happen depend on the type of
emulsion used (Slow Setting, Medium Setting of Rapid Setting). Different processes are involved in
the breaking and curing of emulsions:
 Chemical action (cationic)
 Water evaporation
 Mechanical action (rolling)

Figure 5-6: Curing of slow set emulsion

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Figure 5-7: Curing of cationic emulsion by strong electrostatic/chemical attraction

Emulsions also differ in the amount of bitumen they contain expressed as a percentage of the total
volume. For surfacing applications this percentage is normally in the range of 60–70%.

Different notifications are used for the emulsion classification:

Table 5-3: Classification of commonly available emulsions

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Besides the rapid setting (RS), medium setting (MS) and slow setting (SS), the emulsions are further
classified by numbers and letters related to viscosity of the emulsions and hardness of the base
straight-run bitumen. The letter “C” in front of the emulsion type denotes Cationic while the absence
of “C” denotes Anionic emulsion. The numbers in the classification related to the viscosity. For
example, MS2 is more viscous than MS1. The letter “h” means harder base bitumen and “s” stands
for the softer base bitumen.

In the ASTM classification system, the letters (RS, CMS etc.) denotes the rate of setting. The trailing
number denotes the viscosity of the emulsion, the higher the number the higher the viscosity (higher
bitumen content). The letters s or h denotes the hardness (penetration grade) of the base bitumen
used for the emulsion, but the s is usually omitted when using 80/100 Pen Grade base bitumen. RS1
(or RS1-s) thus means a rapid setting anionic emulsion of low viscosity with a soft base bitumen,
CMS2-h, means a medium setting cationic emulsion of higher viscosity with a hard base bitumen.

 Soft base bitumen is of penetration grade 80/100

 Hard base bitumen is of penetration grade 60/70

In the more commonly used denotation CMS 65 or similar K2- 65 means a medium setting cationic
emulsion with 65% bitumen content.

Typical surfacing applications of the various emulsion grades are shown below:

Table 5-4: Typical emulsion applications

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Table 5-5: Characteristics of anionic and cationic bitumen emulsion binders

Anionic Emulsion (60% bitumen and Cationic Emulsion (65% bitumen and 35% water)
40% water)
i. Have negative charge, adheres to (i) Have positive charge; adheres to negatively charged
positively particles like silica, is acidic in nature, used with wet
charged particles like limestone, aggregates and in cold weather
alkaline in
nature. (ii) Cationic stable breaks35 slower depending on the
evaporation rate. Ideal in high humidity climates.
ii. Works better in low humidity
climates (iii) Slow curing depending on evaporation rate.

iii. The viscosity is lower than that of (iv) May be used at ambient temperatures with aggregates,
cationic emulsion and the rate of which need not be completely dry.
application for a tack coat should (v) Lower costs are incurred due to a considerable saving on
be reduced to approximately 0.7 to fuel for heating purposes.
0.8litres/m2, otherwise the binder (vi) Operating at lower temperatures for cold mixing gives a
tends to flow even at minimum greater margin of safety.
gradients.
(vii) Enables cold mix to be stockpiled for long periods, or
iv. More appropriate for dusty packaged in small containers and stored. This facilitates the
aggregates (Possibly very absorptive treatment of very small areas quickly, cleanly and
e.g. crusher dust from basic rock economically.
origin.) Wetting down stockpile
may also help. (viii) Ideal for most naturally occurring aggregate e.g. river sand
are negatively-charged in aqueous media, and have a
v. Hard non-absorptive stones capacity to absorb cationic emulsifiers.

(ix) In the absence of Cationic Emulsion (65% bitumen and 35%

water) Cationic (60% bitumen and 40% water) can be used
but increasing the emulsion content by 1% (i.e. 65 divided
by 60)

5.4. Hot bitumen seals

Seals requiring hot bitumen are normally not recommended for labour based operations. The
exception to this is Ota Seal which has a number of potential advantages over other sealing options
in that it can be constructed successfully using lower quality aggregates. The Ota Seal also allow for
labour based methods for excavation, screening and spreading of natural aggregates thereby
contributing to employment creation.

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5.4.1. Otta Seal Surface

5.4.1.1. General Description
It is originally designed as a measure to reduce surface maintenance of gravel roads. This surface
treatment provides a cost-effective alternative to more conventional surface treatments. The Otta
Seal consists of spreading a graded material on a thick film of soft binder which is rolled until the
binder has worked itself up through the aggregate. The strength of this pavement results from a
combination of good mechanical interlocking due to the mixture of different aggregate particle sizes
and the bitumen binder. Due to the use of a thick coat of soft binder, there is no need for priming
the surface before spreading the aggregate.

Otta Seals consist essentially of a 16 - 32 mm thick bituminous surfacing constituted of an admixture

of graded aggregates ranging from natural gravel to crushed rock in combination with relatively soft
(low viscosity) binders, with or without a sand seal cover. This type of surfacing contrasts with the
single sized crushed aggregate and relatively hard (high viscosity) binders used in conventional
surface dressings e.g. Chip Seals.

The Otta Seal contrasts with the conventional Surface Dressings where single sized crushed aggregates
are „glued‟ to the base with a relatively hard (high viscosity) binder. Traffic on the seal immediately
after rolling is desirable producing its final appearance after 4 – 8 weeks giving it a “premix” like
appearance.

5.4.1.2. Types of Otta seals

There are various types of Otta Seals in terms of number of layers, type of aggregate grading and
whether or not a cover sand seal is used. Single and double layers were constructed, both on primed
and unprimed base courses.

These various types may, in general, be summarized as follows:

1. Single Otta Seal aggregate grading “open”, “medium” or “dense”
 with sand cover seal
 without sand cover seal

2. Double Otta Seal aggregate grading “open”, “medium” or “dense”

 with sand cover seal
 without sand cover seal

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Some of the factors favoring the use of Otta Seals include situations where:
 Crushed aggregates of adequate quality are beyond economical hauling distances.
 Workmanship may be of indifferent quality;
 Flexibility and durability of the surface require high tolerance to comparatively low quality,
low bearing capacity pavements with high defections;
 There is a low maintenance capability;
 High solar radiation levels prevail.

5.4.1.3. Design of Otta seals

Unlike Surface Dressing, there is no formal design procedure for Ota Seal. The design requires good
knowledge and experience with the aggregates and bitumen products to be used in the particular
circumstances.

5.4.1.4. Material Requirements

The binder used for Otta Seals needs to be soft enough to (i) coat all the fines in the aggregate and
(ii) move up through the aggregate voids when kneaded by rolling and traffic. Furthermore it
needs to remain soft for a sufficiently long duration for the entire mixing and kneading process to
take place. Finally, it needs a consistency allowing it to be sprayed as one layer.
As with any other bituminous seal, the binder needs to be viscous enough to provide sufficient
stability after the initial laying and curing and sufficiently durable to cater for the expected traffic
loads.

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To meet these functional criteria it is important to choose a binder soft enough to move up through
the aggregate when subjected to compaction by rollers and traffic, thereby coating all the aggregate.

On the other hand, the binder must be viscous enough to allow it to be spread in one operation.
The most common binder is cutback bitumen in the MC3000 to MC800 range. The hardest type of
bitumen used is the 150/200 penetration grade. Nowadays, also bitumen emulsions are used for Otta
seals.

Aggregate requirements
The aggregate used was natural gravel derived from decomposed granite with the following key
properties:
 maximum particle size 19 mm
 % passing 0.075 mm sieve: up to 14%
 plasticity Index: between Slightly Plastic and 8%
 aggregate Crushing Value: approximately 40%

The preferred maximum particle size is 16 mm, but less than 19 mm can be accepted in the first seal
where a double seal is to be constructed. The material (aggregate) requirements for Ota Seal are
given below:

Table 5-6: Ota Seal material properties and general grading requirements

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Figure 5-8: Otta Seal general grading envelope

Table 5-7: Otta Seal alternative grading envelop

Table5-8: Choice of bitumen for Otta Seal related to traffic

Choice of bitumen for LVSR based on traffic and grading
AADT at the time of Type of bitumen
construction Open grading Medium grading Dense grading
>100 150/200 pen grade 150/200 pen grade in MC3000
the Cold weather MC800 in cold weather
100 150/200 pen grade MC3000 MC800

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Bitumen Spray rates

Table 5-9: Ota Seal bitumen spray rates

Otta seal aggregate application rates

Table 5-10: Ota Seal aggregate application rates

Flakiness
No requirement for flakiness is specified for natural gravel or a mixture of crushed and natural gravel
in Otta Seals. For crushed rock, it is preferable that the weighted Flakiness Index does not exceed 30.
The weighted Flakiness Index is determined on the following fractions: 9.5 – 13.2 mm, 6.7 – 9.5 mm
and 4.75 – 6.7 mm

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Use of natural gravel in Otta seal

In places where there are no commercial aggregate sources, natural gravel can be excavated and
sieved to obtain the required grading within the envelopes as shown above and used for the sealing.

The photos below illustrate Otta sealing operations using natural gravel:

Figure 5-9: Sieving of natural aggregates at the borrow pit

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5.4.1.5. Construction
The haulage cost for bitumen can make up a significant
portion of the total cost of bitumen. To be cost effective the
bitumen distributor must carry at least 5000 liters, which for
a 6 m wide road will cover a section of about 420 m at an
application rate of 2.0 ltr/ m2. This implies that a section of
about 500 must be prepared for sealing.

Picture 5-10: Aggregate spotted along the section prepared for sealing

The construction of Otta Seals is generally similar to the conventional Chip Seal. The binder is
sprayed onto the surface followed by the spreading and rolling of the aggregate. However, the use
of prime is not essential for Otta Seals.

Picture 5-11: Spraying Bitumen by Bitumen Tanker Picture 5-12: Manual spreading of aggregates

Picture 5-13: Spreading of aggregates by “Chippy”

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Extensive rolling commencing immediately after the spreading of the aggregates is essential for the
final quality of the seal. On the day of construction 15 passes over the entire surface area, shoulders
included, with a 12 ton Pneumatic Tyre Roller (PTR) is required. This type of roller has the superior
ability to knead the binder upwards into the voids between the aggregate particles and to apply
pressure over the entire area.

After the initial rolling it may be an

advantage to apply one pass with a
static tandem steel roller to improve the
embedment of the larger aggregate.
During this process any weak aggregate
will be broken down and will
contribute to the production of a dense
matrix texture. The rolling with the 12
ton PTR should continue at the same
rate for the following two days.
Figure 5-14: Compaction

5.4.1.6. Quality Control

A critical element to the success of the Ota Seal is to ensure that the bitumen distributor is spraying
evenly across the spray bar, and that it is spraying at the correct rate. Unsuccessful sealing will result if
the spray rate is too high or too low.

It is essential that follow-up inspections of the Ota Seal are carried out to ensure that any defects that
may have occurred during the sealing operation are corrected. An inspection must be made during
the first 6 - 7 days following sealing, particularly if there is a major change in the weather conditions,
e.g. heavy rain or an extreme change of temperature. A sudden change in traffic loads may also
affect the newly constructed seal.

A maximum speed limit of 40 - 50 km/hour should be enforced immediately afar construction and
sustained for 2 - 3 weeks. During this period aggregates that have been dislodged by traffic must be
broomed back onto the surface. This ensures that the maximum amount of aggregates are embedded
in the binder

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A newly constructed Ota Seal has the appearance of a gravel surface, is dusty and may produce
“flying stones”. As the aggregate beds down this danger is gradually reduced and after 2-3 weeks the
excess aggregate should be swept off and the speed limit restrictions lifted. If natural gravel with high
fines content has been used this period should be prolonged to 6-8 weeks.

Where a double seal or sand cover seal is applied, a minimum period of 8-12 weeks should elapse
between the construction of the first and the second layers. This is to allow as much traffic as possible
to traverse the surface as well as to allow evaporation of the solvent. During this period, the seal
becomes more settled and in the wheel paths, where the aggregate has become embedded by traffic,
a “premix” like appearance should start to appear.

The initial occurrence of bleeding and isolated fatty spots should not be any cause of concern. These
can be blinded off with aggregate and preferably rolled into the surfacing. Signs of slight bleeding
confirm that the aggregate/binder ratio has been optimal.

Picture 5-15: A completed Ota Seal

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5.5. Emulsion Based Seals

Due to the challenges with hot bitumen seals as indicated above, focus has been shifted to use of
bitumen emulsion34 based sealing techniques. The reasons for using emulsion-based seals are that
they provide:
 Cold processes that save energy (eliminating or reducing need for heating the binder)
 Easier handling and storage (low viscosity)
 Safe and environmentally friendly
 Low-cost on-site and in-place techniques
 Pace of construction commensurate with labour based operations

A number of options are available that can be constructed with labour supported by light plant and
equipment. Unless the base has been constructed as an Emulsion Treated Base (ETB), all the seals
require the base to be primed.

5.5.1. Sand seals

5.5.1.1. General
A Sand seal comprises a single or double seal of aggregate (river sand, crusher dust or grit) held
together with a bituminous binder. For a permanent wearing course at least a Double sand seal
would normally be required. A single sand seal can be used as a temporary seal until the permanent
seal can be applied.

A Sand Seal consists of a spray of binder followed by the application of a coarse, clean sand or
crusher dust as aggregate. This surfacing is used on low-volume roads, especially in drier regions, but
can also be used for maintenance resealing, or for temporary bypasses. For new construction two
layers are usually specified, as single layers tend to be not durable. There is an extended curing
period (typically 8 – 12 weeks) between the first and second seal applications to ensure complete loss
of volatiles from the first seal and thus prevent bleeding.

Single Sand Seals can also be used as a maintenance seal on an existing sealed surface or as a cover
seal on Surface Dressing or Ota Seal.

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5.5.1.2. Grading of aggregate

The grading of sand may vary to a fair degree, but the specifications below should normally be met.
However, if sand from commercial sources satisfying these specifications is not available or is too
expensive (due to transport costs), good results may be achieved using locally available sources (e.g.
river sand or leached sand on the road side) in which case care should be taken to remove excessive
dust. Surfacing aggregate of the specified size (obtained from a commercial source/quarry or natural
source)

The sand or crusher dust should be clean and coarse. The following grading must be met:

Sieve size (mm) Percentage by mass passing

through sieve
6.70 100
0.300 0-15
0.150 0-2

Table 5-11: Grading requirement for Sand Seal

Sand should be applied at 0.010 – 0.012 m3/m2 per layer.

Example: For spotting of the sand use the following steps to determine the spacing distance along
the road:
 Rate of application of the aggregate=0.012m3/m2
 Width of the road=5m
 Volume of the ½ drum=105 liters

 Volume of aggregates spread from half drum

 the spacing distance

 the area covered by each half drum;

The sand from the half drums are spaced at 2.73m intervals and spread evenly over the entire area
which has been demarcated with stones beforehand.

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Picture 5-16: Spread by shovel

5.5.1.3. Bitumen
Cationic spray grade emulsion (65% bitumen and 35% water or 70% bitumen and 30% water) is
ideal for natural sand seals. In cool weather it is advisable to heat the emulsion to 50°C. The flow
properties of this emulsion are better than that of anionic emulsions. For instance, this grade Cationic
emulsion does not flow as easily as anionic emulsion; therefore, the application rate can be higher.

The emulsion application rate is 1.4 – 1.6 ltr/ m2 depending on the bitumen content of the emulsion
being used.

5.5.1.4. Construction of a Single Sand Seal

Site and Base Preparation
The base must be swept clean of all dust, debris and foreign mater before the sealing commences.
Animal droppings must be carefully removed using a spade and a stiff brush taking care not to
damage the prime. Any defects in the prime must be repaired by reapplying prime and letting it cure.

Sand Seal is well suited for construction by labour and light plant as:
 The binder, in the form of a bituminous emulsion can be applied using a motorized hand
spray;
 The sand aggregate for the single seal can be distributed with shovels and brooms;
 Suitable sand aggregate can often be found near to the construction site and easily be
extracted by labour
 The seal can be compacted by a pedestrian roller

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Applying the binder

An experienced Spray Team should be able to spray 400 ltr or 2 drums of emulsion binder per hour.
The emulsion should be sprayed direct from the 200 ltr drums using the motorized bitumen sprayer.

In cold weather it may be required to heat the emulsion to about . The heatng can be done on
the sprayer if it is equipped with a gas burner, otherwise over a low open fire. During heating the
emulsion should be stirred with a broom stick to ensure even heating throughout the drum. Heating
must be stopped when the drum is feeling hot to the hand.

The entre sand surface should receive 4 passes of the roller. The road should then be opened to
traffic.

5.5.1.5. Quality control

The success of a sand seal depends on the quality and finish of the base. The finished surface will
follow irregularities if in the base surface. For 1 to 2 weeks after application, the sand must be swept
back towards the wheel paths to prevent the surface from bleeding.

For durability a second sand seal should be constructed after traffic has been allowed onto the first
seal for approximately 3 months. Before constructing the second seal, all loose sand from the first
seal should be removed and the steps above repeated.

5.5.1.6. Rolling and aftercare

The rolling of the aggregate is carried out with a pedestrian roller, but the use of a tractor or loaded
truck would add further compaction, especially if there are undulations in the surfacing.

Picture 5-17: Compaction of Natural Sand Sealed Section

The sand should be swept back onto the road with brooms periodically after the application of the
sand seal. Patches where bleeding occurs are blinded off with more sand.
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Crusher dust meeting the grading requirement can be used with anionic emulsion. Example of sand
seal using commercial crusher dust is shown below;

Figure 5-18: Sand Seal with commercial crusher dust

5.5.2. Slurry seals

5.5.2.1. General
A Slurry Seal consists of a homogeneous mixture of pre-mixed materials comprising fine aggregate,
stable-mix grade emulsion (anionic or cationic) or a modified emulsion, water and filler (cement or
lime). The production of slurry can be undertaken in simple concrete mixers and laid by hand, or
more sophisticated purpose-designed machines which mix and spread the slurry.

Slurry Seals can be used for treating various defects on an existing road surface carrying relatively low
traffic for which the following are typical applications:
 Arrest loss of chippings;
 Restore surface texture;
 Reduce unevenness because of bumps, slacks and/or ruts;
 Rectify low activity surface cracking
 New construction as a grout seal following a single Chip Seal or in multiple layers directly on
the base course of low traffic roads;
 A component of a Cape Seal.

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5.5.2.2. Material requirements

Stable grade anionic and cationic emulsions are used to make slurry mixes if they are being laid by
hand. If the crusher dust used in the slurry comes from acidic rocks a cationic emulsion is preferred.

Grading specifications for the crusher dust are shown in Table 5-12. This table shows grading for fine,
general (medium) and coarse slurries. Natural sands should not be used to manufacture slurries
because they usually have low stability. Coarse slurries are used prior to resurfacing to fill depressions
and ruts in the surface of roads, removing irregularities and improving drainage. They are also used if
a slurry seal is constructed on a new pavement.

Table 5-12: Grading of aggregate for slurry sand

Fine slurries are preferred for the single or double slurry layer used in Cape seals. Fine slurries can
also be used to obtain texture uniformity before resealing.

The design mix recommended for slurries by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) is as follows:
 Crusher dust - 0.69 x mixer volume (ltr)
 Emulsion - 0.17 x mixer volume (ltr)
 Water - 0.11 x mixer volume (ltr)
 Cement - 0.02 x mixer volume (ltr)

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5.5.2.3. Construction
(a) Base Preparation
The base must be swept clean of all dust, debris and foreign mater before the sealing commences.
Animal droppings must be carefully removed using a spade and a stiff brush taking care not to
damage the underlying surface. Stake out width of road to be surfaced, marking out the edge of the
road with a 6mm sisal rope.

(b) Mixing the slurry

The slurry is mixed in a concrete mixer to a creamy consistency. Consistency can be tested using the
method in ASTM D3910. If two layers of slurry are to be applied, the flow of the slurry for the
second layer should be greater than that for the first.

The mixing of the slurry is carried out as follows:

 The correct amount of dry aggregate is placed in the rotating concrete mixer.
 The cement is slowly added to the aggregate and thoroughly mixed.
 Some of the water is added.
 The emulsion is added slowly, to prevent splashing.
 The remaining water is carefully added, about 2 ltr at a time.
 The mixture must be inspected after each addition of water, in order to check that the
mixture has the correct, creamy consistency. Care must be taken not to add excess water.

(c) Applying the slurry

 Slurry mixtures laid manually or by machine.
 Steel or wooden rails are placed along the edges of the area to be sealed, so that the placing
and thickness of the slurry layer can be controlled.
 Crusher dust should be used for slurries rather than natural sands, whose rounded particles
often produce unstable mixtures.
 Stable grade cationic or anionic emulsion can be used.
 The water used must not be excessively acidic or alkali.
 Water used with anionic emulsion should have a PH between 7 and 9. Water used with
cationic emulsion should have a PH between 4 and 7.
 Excess water must be avoided.
The construction of the slurry is carried out as follows:
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 The mixture is carried to the location of application using wheel barrows. The wheelbarrows
should not be loaded more than half full.
 Shovels are used to take the slurry from the wheelbarrow and place it between the guide
rails.
 The mix is spread between the guide rails with rubber squeegees. A spreader is worked back
and forth across the rails to ensure the layer has a consistent depth.

Picture5-19: Laying the slurry seal

5.5.2.4. Weather constraints

A slurry seal should only be constructed in good weather when rain is not imminent. The slurry
should not be applied when the road surface temperature is below 7 °C, as colder weather affects the
time taken by the emulsion to break and may cause segregation of the aggregate and movement of
emulsion to the surface.

5.5.2.5. Traffic control

The emulsion should normally be allowed to break for 2 to 3 hours and the slurry layer allowed to
dry out before traffic is allowed onto it. However, this depends on humidity and temperature and
should be determined by inspection. The second slurry layer can be applied on the first layer after
traffic has been allowed onto the first layer for at least 24 hours.

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5.5.3. Cape Seals

5.5.3.1. General Description
A Cape Seal consists of a Single Surface Dressing using 13 or 19 mm aggregate, which is penetrated
with a binder followed by a slurry seal. If 19 mm aggregate is used, 2 layers of slurry are applied. The
first layer of a Cape seal is designed and constructed using the same procedure used for a Single
Surface Dressing. A slurry seal is applied in between the seal aggregates to the top of the surface
dressing.

The Cape Seal is a very robust seal capable of carrying high traffic. Its high binder content makes it
quite costly and it may therefore not be an economical solution for low traffic roads.

5.5.3.2. Material Requirements

Materials required for the construction of the Cape seal are:
 Surfacing aggregate of the specified size (obtained from a commercial source/ quarry)
 Bituminous binder in the form of a bitumen emulsion (either Anionic spray grade emulsion
(60/40) or Cationic spray grade emulsion (65/35)
 Slurry aggregate of the specified grading (obtained from a commercial source/ quarry)
 Slurry binder in the form of an Anionic stable grade emulsion (60/40)

5.5.3.3. Aggregate quality

The chippings must have a maximum Los Angeles Abrasion (LAA) value of 30 after 500 revolutions.
The ACV is an indication of chipping strength and allowable values usually lie in the range of 20 to
35. Medium to heavily trafficked roads must have chippings with a maximum ACV of 20. On lightly
trafficked roads it may be acceptable to have an ACV up to 35 but it is preferable to have chippings
with a maximum ACV of 20.

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5.5.3.4. Aggregate grading

Specifications for Surface Dressing aggregates nominal sizes 14 and 20 mm apply.

Table 5-13: Aggregate grading for traffic > 100 vpd

Table 5-14: Aggregate grading limiting for traffic < 100 vpd

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5.5.3.5. Aggregate application rate

For planning and tendering purposes the following aggregate application rates can be used:

 14 mm aggregates 0.010 m3/m2

 20 mm aggregates 0.013 m3/m2

The aggregate application rate in m3/m2 can be estimated by three different methods:
 By dividing the theoretical ALD by 1000. For Cape Seal this figure must be reduced by 10-
15% to cater for the spacing between the aggregates.

Figure 5-20: Nomograph for determination of ALD

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 By using the grading analysis of a representative sample of chippings to determine the median
size of the sample (the particle size indicated by the sieve through which 50% of the sample
passes) and the flakiness index of the aggregates. By drawing a line from the Median Size on
the left to the Flakiness Index on the right, the ALD is read of the scale in the middle.

 An estimate of the aggregate application rate for Surface Dressing can also be obtained from
the equation:

5.5.3.6. Binder application rate

The total binder application is determined using the same method as for Surface Dressing, but must
be reduced by some 10-15% as the stones will not be lying shoulder to shoulder as is the case with a
Surface Dressing. This reduction in the rate of application is acceptable in the Cape Seal as the voids
will be taken up by the slurry seal. All that is required of the binder is that there must be sufficient
residual bitumen to hold the aggregate in place and also bind the slurry seal to the aggregate. If the
residual bitumen is excessive the surface will bleed.

5.5.3.7. Construction
a) Site and Base Preparation
The base must be swept clean of all dust, debris and foreign mater before the sealing commences.
Animal droppings must be carefully removed using a spade and a stiff brush taking care not to
damage the prime. Any defects in the prime must be repaired by reapplying prime and letting it cure.
Stake out width of road to be surfaced, marking out the edge of the road with a 6mm sisal rope.
Use reinforced paper for the construction joints at the beginning and end of each spray.

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b) Applying the tack coat

An experienced Spray Team should be able to spray 400 ltr or 2 drums of emulsion binder per hour.
The sweeping operation, if required, needs to be balanced with the correct number of labourers to
ensure the spray operation is not delayed by the sweeping team.

The emulsion should be sprayed direct from the 200 ltr drums using the motorized bitumen sprayer.
In cold weather it may be required to heat the emulsion to about 500C. The heating can be done on
the sprayer if it is equipped with a gas burner, otherwise over a low open fire. During heating the
emulsion should be stirred with a broom stick to ensure even heating throughout the drum. Heating
must be stopped when the drum is feeling hot to the hand. The heating of emulsion specifically
applies when using cationic emulsion. Anionic emulsion can be applied in the warm summer months
without heating, but it is advisable to heat it in cool winter weather.

Because of the low viscosity of the emulsion (compared with penetration bitumen) it is not possible
to spray emulsion at more than 0.6-0.7 ltr/m2 without the binder tending to flow (even on the
“flatest” surfaces). Therefore, to overcome this problem, the tack coat is sprayed at 0.6-0.7 ltr/m2
and the balance of the calculated tack coat application is applied as the penetration spray, where the
aggregate will inhibit any untoward flow of the binder.

c) Applying the aggregates

For a Cape Seal the aggregates must not be shoulder-to-shoulder as for Surface Dressing
aggregates, but must be spaced apart by one third to one quarter of the nominal size of
the aggregate being used as indicated in Figure 27.

Figure 5-21: Cape Seal aggregates should be spaced by +/-5 mm

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d) Applying the penetration spray

Once the aggregate has been uniformly applied and is well seated, the remainder of the bitumen
emulsion that was not applied in the tack coat is now sprayed as a penetration spray. The same
precautions regarding joints and protection of kerbs, drains etc apply as was the case for the tack
coat.

It is advisable to apply the penetration spray as soon as possible after the tack coat has been sprayed.
If, however, the surface is left open for any period before applying the penetration spray the
following must be attended to:
 Any dust, dirt or sand blown into the surface voids must be removed/blown out with a
compressor, and
 The surface must be rolled once to reseat any aggregate that may have been unseated /
disturbed by unauthorized traffic.

e) Mixing and applying the Slurry

For this Cape Seal design a General or Medium Slurry is preferred. Before the slurry is applied, all
dust and debris must be removed from the voids between the aggregates using brooms or a
compressor to blow the dirt out. Animal droppings must be carefully removed using suitable tools
able to reach into the voids without dislodging the aggregates.

The slurry is best applied using rubber squeegees in one or two applications depending on the size of
the aggregates. The squeegees are effective for working the slurry down in between the aggregates to
fill all the voids. For the finishing touch a wet hessian drag is dragged over the surface.

Picture 5-22: Applying slurry on a 19 mm Cape Seal

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Picture 5-23: Completed Cape Seal

Picture 5-24: New Cape Seal surface texture

5.5.3.8. Weather constraints

Spray applications should only be applied during the day and only in good weather conditions and
when rain is not imminent. The road surface temperature should be above 100C.

Care should be taken when spraying on a windy day as the spray may be carried some distance and
damage property or passing vehicles down-wind of the operation.

The slurry seal should only be constructed in good weather when rain is not imminent. The slurry
should not be applied when the road surface temperature is below 7°C, as colder weather affects the
time taken by the emulsion to break and may cause segregation of the aggregate and movement of
emulsion to the surface.

5.5.3.9. Traffic control

The emulsion should normally be allowed to break for 2 to 3 hours and the slurry layer allowed to
dry out before traffic is allowed onto it. However, this depends on humidity and temperature and
should be determined by inspection. The second slurry layer can be applied on the first layer after
traffic has been allowed onto the first layer for at least 24 hours.

Traffic accommodation, if required, will require that the entre lane or area being sealed is closed to
traffic. If needed, flagmen will be required to assist with stop-go traffic control depending on the area
in which the work is being undertaken and the volume of traffic experienced.

Traffic accommodation needs to be well managed as it places the entre workman team at risk.
Training in the correct operation of traffic accommodation at road works is vital for the safety of the
workmen team as well as allowing safe, free flowing traffic.

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5.5.4. Penetration seal (Modified Otta Seal)

5.5.4.1. General description
The penetration seal was developed to provide a more labour friendly alternative to the “Otta” seal.
A Penetration seal comprises a graded aggregate held in position with a bituminous binder. The
binder is applied in two applications in the form of a tack coat followed by a penetration
application.

It comprises placing a graded38 aggregate on a bituminous emulsion tack coat at the predetermined
application rate and then penetrating the aggregate layer with a bituminous emulsion. The thickness
of this seal layer is based on the Average Least Dimension (ALD) of the large fraction of the
aggregate.

It is well suited for construction by labour using light plant as:

 The binder, in the form of a bituminous emulsion can be applied using a motorized hand
spray ;
 The stone aggregate can be distributed either with shovels or with the aid of a manual chip
spreader, and;
 The seal can be compacted with a pedestrian roller.

Apart from being more labour-based than the Otta seal the penetration seal has the following
advantages:
 It requires the application of lower quantities of aggregate and binder than the Otta seal as it
forms a thinner layer;
 It does not require a tanker to apply hot bitumen;
 It does not pose a threat of damage to vehicles and possible claims due to loose aggregate;
 It does not require the aggregate to be broomed back on the road over an extended period
of time, which is a decidedly expensive operation.

5.5.4.2. Design
The amount of emulsion for the Penetration Seal depends on the amount of aggregate applied. The
amount of aggregate in turn is determined by the ALD. The same methods used for Surface Dressing
to determine the ALD of the aggregates and binder application rate is used for the Modified Ota Seal.

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The penetration seal normally consists of a graded aggregate of 10 mm and smaller. The grading
should fall within the grading envelope in table below but tends towards the lower limit of the
envelope.

The grading of the aggregate shall be within the limits specified below:

Table 5-15: Aggregate grading limits for Penetration Seal

5.5.4.3. Material Requirements

Materials required for the construction of a single seal are:
 Surfacing aggregate of the specified grading (obtained from a commercial source/quarry),
 60% stable grade anionic bituminous emulsion binder

For planning and tendering purposes, the following application rates can be used:
 Anionic stable grade SS60 ⁄
 Graded aggregate

5.5.4.4. Aggregate quality

The Modified Ota Seal emulates the performance of the Ota Seal. However, it cannot tolerate as
much fines as the Ota Seal and the 0/6 crusher dust should be fairly clean. Aggregates from crushing
plants that crush mainly for concrete aggregates are sometimes extremely flaky and dusty and are not
suitable for the Cold Mix Asphalt although the aggregate strength may be satisfactory. Aggregates
must therefore be tested for grading and strength before any order is placed.

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The specifications for the coarse 6/10 aggregates similar to those for the Ota Seal can be used:

Table 5-16: Coarse aggregate specifications for Modified Ota Seal

5.5.4.5. Construction
i. Site and base preparation
The base must be swept clean of all dust, debris and foreign mater before the sealing commences.
Animal droppings must be carefully removed using a spade and a stiff brush taking care not to
damage the prime. Any defects in the prime must be repaired by reapplying prime and letting it cure.

Stake out the width of road to be surfaced, marking out the edge of the road with a 6mm rope. Use
reinforced paper for the construction joints at the beginning and end of each spray.

ii. Applying the binder

An experienced Spray Team should be able to spray 400 ltr or 2 drums of emulsion binder per hour.
The sweeping operation, if required, needs to be balanced with the correct number of labourers to
ensure the spray operation is not delayed by the sweeping team. The emulsion should be sprayed
direct from the 200 ltr drums using the motorized bitumen sprayer.

In cold weather it may be required to heat the emulsion to about . The heatng can be done on
the sprayer if it is equipped with a gas burner, otherwise over a low open fire. During heating the
emulsion should be stirred with a broom stick to ensure even heating throughout the drum. Heating
must be stopped when the drum is feeling hot to the hand. Anionic emulsion can be applied in the
warm summer months without heating, but it is advisable to heat it in cold winter weather.

Because of the low viscosity of the emulsion (compared with penetration bitumen) it is not possible
to spray emulsion at more than 0.6–0.7ltr/m2 without the binder tending to flow (even on the
“flatest” surfaces). Therefore, to overcome this problem, the tack coat is sprayed at 0.6–0.7 ltr/m2
and the balance of the calculated tack coat application is applied as the penetration spray, where the
aggregate will inhibit any untoward flow of the binder.

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iii. Spotting and spreading of aggregates

Spotting is a technique used on labour based sealing operations to aid in the achievement of uniform
aggregate application rate. A half drum (volume 105 ltr or 0.105 m3) open in both ends and with
lifting handles is used for the spotting.

Picture 5-25: Spotting of aggregates

Once the aggregate application rate is known, the spotting distance or distance between the
aggregate heaps can be calculated.
Example:
 Aggregate application rate = 0.0083 m3/m2

 Area covered by a half drum ⁄

 Lane width to be sealed = 2.75m (in case of half width construction)

This is called but aser wqar lkhbrt
 Spotting distance = 12.65 m2 / 2.75 m = 4.6m

A heap of aggregate must be placed at 4.6m intervals along the road. The heaps should be placed
on 1.5 m x 1.5 m sheets of heavy duty plastic to avoid wastage and contamination. The section to
be covered by each heap must be demarcated using chalk lines or larger stones. The aggregates
must be spread as uniformly as possible within the demarcated section using shovels and brooms.

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Picture 5-26: Aggregates spotted on plastic sheets

When placing the aggregates on the sprayed surface, a shovel of aggregate is taken and pitched into
the air and in the process the shovel twisted rapidly. In so doing the chips are sprayed uniformly over
the area to be covered and the stones will fall onto the wet tack coat while the dust, if any, will fall
onto the top of the stone or, if there is a breeze, will be blown across the road away from the
surface.

Labourers should be assigned to spread two heaps each. After covering the area so that it can be
walked on without picking up bitumen, extra aggregates must be thrown onto remaining bare spot.
Finally the surface should be broomed to obtain a uniform coverage and to remove double layers of
stone.

Picture 5-27: Spreading aggregates with a Chippy

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5.5.4.6. Weather constraints

Spray applications should only be applied during the day and only in good weather conditions and
when rain is not imminent. The road surface temperature should be above 100C. Spraying in the late
afternoon is not advisable as the reduction in air temperature by dusk will influences the setting and
curing of the prime or binder. Care should be taken when spraying on a windy day as the spray may
be carried some distance and damage property or passing vehicles down-wind of the operation.

5.5.4.7. Traffic control

Provision of bypasses is costly and is seldom done on labour based construction projects. Due to the
risk from traffic adjacent to the works, measures must be taken to warn and protect both road users
and the road workers. Road signs must be placed on both sides of the road works in order to warn
traffic coming from both directions of the obstruction ahead. The warning signs should alert traffic to
the presence of men working, a closed lane, loose chippings and speed restrictions at the site. These
signs must be placed ahead of the road works to give advance warning of the danger to traffic, along
the length of the road works to protect the site from traffic, and at the end of the road works in
order to indicate that there is no further restriction to traffic. Traffic cones should be used to mark
the boundary of the work site. Traffic control measures are necessary if there is only one lane
remaining open so that only one vehicle can pass the work site at a time. Either a temporary traffic
light system should be used, or a traffic operator using a reversible „stop/go‟ sign.

Traffic accommodation needs to be well managed as it places the entire workforce at risk.
Temporary speed bumps may be needed to slow down passing traffic. Training in the correct
operation of traffic accommodation at road works is vital for the safety of the workmen team as well
as allowing safe, free flowing traffic.

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5.6. Cold mix asphalt

5.6.1. General Description
Cold Mix Asphalt is a pre-mix of continuously graded aggregate and cationic mix grade emulsion. It
can be mixed and placed by labour using only simple hand tools and purpose made implements, thus
eliminating the need for sophisticated and expensive construction plant except for a suitably sized
Pedestrian roller type Bomag 75 or similar.

The seal is therefore eminently suited to labour based sealing of low volume roads. It does not
require highly skilled supervisors and the techniques for mixing and constructing the seal is easily
learnt by the labourers.

5.6.2. Design
The design of the Cold Mix Asphalt is based on experience and small trials for every new
source of aggregates to determine the optimum mix ratio.

5.6.3. Aggregate grading

Percentage passing
Sieve size
(mm) Minimum Recommended Maximum
14 100 100 100
10 85 96 100
6.3 62 70 78
4.0 46 52 60
2.0 28 34 40
1.0 16 21 26
0.425 7 10 13
0.3 5 7.5 10
0.15 2 4 6
0.075 1 2 3
Table5-17: Recommended grading for Cold Mix Asphalt

The relatively tight grading envelope is to ensure a dense mix. It is particularly important to be as
close as possible to the upper limit for the finer fractions from 0.3 to 2 mm whereas excessive
amounts of dust may cause balling during the mixing

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5.6.4. Mix proportions

For planning and tendering purposes the following mix proportions can be used:

Table 5-18: Typical mix proportions for Cold Mix Asphalt

Maxi batch volume 40 ltr

6/10 stone 12 ltr

0/6 crusher dust 28 ltr
0/2 sand ( clean building sand ) 0-3 ltr if required to achieve desired
grading
K3 65 Cationic emulsion 6 ltr
Water 1 ltr if aggregates are dry

This batch volume will produce about 1.9 m2 at 20mm loose thickness (14 mm compacted).

5.6.5. Aggregate quality

The Cold Mix Asphalt emulates the performance of the Ota Seal. However, it cannot tolerate as
much fines as the Ota Seal and the 0/6 crusher dust should be fairly clean.

Aggregates from crushing plants that crush mainly for concrete aggregates are sometimes extremely
flaky and dusty and are not suitable for the Cold Mix Asphalt although the aggregate strength may
be satisfactory. Aggregates must therefore be tested for grading and strength before any order is
placed.

The specifications for the coarse 6/10 aggregates similar to those for the Ota Seal can be used:
AADT at time of construction
Aggregate strength
requirements
Min. dry 10% FACT 90KN 110KN
Min wet/Dry strength ratio 0.60 0.75
Maximum flakiness Index 30%
Table 5-19: Coarse aggregate specifications for Cold Mix Asphalt

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5.6.6. Emulsion Binder

A slow setting cationic mix grade emulsion K3-65 has been found to give the best results. The
addition of a small amount of non-ionic stabilizer and calcium chloride allows for relatively
high fines content without causing balling. The slow setting K3-65 emulsion also gives ample time for
spreading and leveling the asphalt before the emulsion breaks and the mix becomes sticky and
difficult to spread.

5.6.6.1. Tack coat

Anionic Stable Grade SS60 diluted 1:8 with clean water is used for a thin tack coat prior to sealing.
The tack coat should be dry before sealing starts to avoid pick-up of bitumen during the sealing.

5.6.6.2. Trial mix

For every new source of aggregate to be used, small trial mixes should be carried out to establish the
optimal mix proportions.

For very porous aggregates, the amount of emulsion must be increased. The increase may be
established in a laboratory, but practical trials will give a good indication of the required amount of
emulsion to be used. The ready mix should have a wet look and all aggregates should be properly
covered.

5.6.7. Construction
5.6.7.1. Site and base preparation
The base must be swept clean of all dust, debris and foreign mater before the sealing commences.
Animal droppings must be carefully removed using a spade and a stiff brush taking care not to
damage the prime. Any defects in the prime must be repaired by reapplying prime and letting it cure.

Stake out the width of road to be surfaced, marking out the edge of the road with a 6mm rope.

The asphalt should be laid in strips usually not wider than 1.20 m at a tme. If the base does not have
a perfect camber, i.e. it has a slight dome shape or bulge in between the guide rails, the asphalt will
be too thin on top of the bulge if wider strips are set out. This should be checked using the straight
edge before sealing work starts.

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The strips should be marked out such that the joints do not come in the wheel paths. The number
and width of the strips depends on the width of the lane. The strips should also not be too narrow as
this will increase the number of longitudinal joints.

A 3.0 m wide lane is then constructed in 3 strips of 1 m width.

Picture 5-28: Setting out and marking the strips

Example:
One 40 ltr batch will cover about 1.9 m2 in 20 mm loose thickness. For a 1.0 m wide strip, one batch
will cover about 1.9 m. A spacing of 3.8 m between the pans will give adequate working space for
the mixing teams who will cover two successive lengths of 1.9 m moving their pans into position for
every 1.9 m length, before they move on down the production line to the first available 3.8 m section
as illustrated in Figure below

Figure 5-29: Example of tray spacing and movement

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The guide rails are set out for the first strip and secured with nails, starting at the edge of the road.

5.6.7.2. Applying the tack coat

Anionic stable grade emulsion SS60 is diluted 1:8 with clean
water in a suitable container and applied to the primed
surface in between the guide rails using watering cans or a
bucket and a mug. The tack coat shall be spread to a very
light application using brooms and allowed to set and dry
before the sealing operations commence.

5.6.7.3. Batching and mixing the asphalt

The batching and mixing may be done with Concrete Mixers, but using the purpose made mixing
pans is preferred. The following problems have been experienced with concrete mixers:
 They are basically stationary or difficult to move around and can constitute a
capacity constraint
 Caking of fines inside the drum can easily occur and is difficult to clean out. Lengthy
stoppages may result as a consequence.

Concrete mixers are also more difficult to transport to and from site, use fuel and are noisy, whereas
a stack of mixing pans is easy to transport at the back of a pick-up, they are easy to keep clean, do
not consume fuel and don‟t make noise. Using mixing pans it is also very easy to scale the
production up and down as required by adding or reducing the number of pans used.

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In the following therefore only the procedure using mixing pans will be explained.

Picture 5-30: Mixing pan for Cold Mix Asphalt

Following the establishment of the optimal mix recipe, batching boxes or containers should be
marked with the exact volumes of the various ingredients to be added to the mix.

The mixing sequence is as follows:

 Coarse and fine aggregates are first measured up and poured into the mixing pan. If the
aggregates are completely dry some water is added to evenly moist all the aggregates when
mixed thoroughly together.
 The aggregates are then spread out evenly in the pan and the emulsion slowly poured over
the aggregates when at the same tme the mixing starts.
 The mixing continues until all the aggregates are properly covered with emulsion, taking care
not to leave any un-mixed material in the corners of the pan. The mixing may take up to a
minute before the mix is ready.

The mix volume should be limited to 40 ltr of aggregates, possibly with the addition of some sand if
needed to improve the grading. If the mix volume gets bigger, it becomes much harder for the
labourers to mix and the mix may not be done properly. The added advantage of keeping the
volume at 40ltr is that two labourers can then easily lift or top the pan as shown in picture below,
for discharge of the ready mix in between the guide rails without first loading it into wheel barrows.

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5.6.7.4. Spreading and leveling the asphalt

As explained above, the most rational setup is with the mixing pans just adjacent to the strip to be
sealed and spaced out so that the teams do not interfere with each other. This saves the double
handling of loading and carting the asphalt in wheel barrows. The use of the slow set emulsion
allows ample time for spreading and leveling the asphalt. The asphalt is first spread as evenly as
possible with steel spreaders, making sure that no gaps are left against the guide rails.

Rakes must not be used for spreading as this will segregate the coarse aggregates from the fines.
Behind the spreader the asphalt is immediately leveled with a screed using a sawing motion. The
screeding team picks up the asphalt that has fallen outside the guide rails and make sure no gaps are
left on the surface.

The guide rails ensure that the asphalt is applied in even thickness resulting in a smooth finished
surface. Contrary to other thin seals, the asphalt can even out minor irregularities in the base. Within
minutes of the leveling the emulsion starts to break and the colour changes from dark brown to
black. The asphalt is then left for the emulsion to break through the whole layer before compaction
can start, usually after about half an hour depending on the weather and ambient temperature

Picture 5-31: Spread and screed the prepared LBS Asphalt mix within the guides.

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Picture 5-32: Spreading and leveling the asphalt

5.6.8. Compaction
 The first pass with the pedestrian roller is done in static mode. With careful maneuvering, the
guide rails may be left in place for the first pass of the roller. This will ensure a neat edge of
the strip when the guide rails are removed for the subsequent passes.
 Compaction should be done from the edge towards the centre and always in the longitudinal
direction of the road.
 Wherever possible at least half the roller drum should be supported on compacted asphalt.
Wrong rolling can result in the building in of undulations in the surface of the asphalt.
 After about three subsequent passes, the first one in light vibration mode, the initial 20 mm
loose layer has been compacted to a final thickness of approximately 14mm.
 Once rolling has been completed and before proceeding with the construction of the
adjacent asphalt strip the edges of the compacted asphalt, against which the new strip will be
laid, must be neatly trimmed and squared and any loose material removed.

Picture 5-33: Compaction with half the drum onto the already compacted asphalt

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For construction of the adjacent strip, 20 mm guide rails are placed and secured on the base as for
the first strip. A 6 mm thick steel flat bar is placed on top of the compacted asphalt as shown in
Figure 5-34 and Picture 54.

Picture 5-34: Construction the adjacent strip of asphalt

5.6.9. Constructing a thicker layer

In certain cases it may be desirable to construct a thicker layer, for example:
 If the base finish is not perfect
 In junctions
 In steep gradients
This can easily be done just by using, say, 25 x 25 mm guide rails which will give a compacted
thickness of +/- 19 mm. The difference in the thickness from wet to compacted is about the same as
for the thinner layer, so the 6 mm flat bar can still be used for the adjacent strip.

Picture 5-35: Compacted asphalt +/- 19 mm thick

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Picture 5-36: A completed daily group task

5.6.10. Weather constraints

The asphalt should only be mixed and placed during the day and only in good weather conditions
when rain is not imminent. The road surface temperature should be above 10 0C. The cold mix is not
adversely affected if the ground is slightly moist, but it cannot tolerate rain before the emulsion has
set as this will wash out the emulsion.

5.6.11. Traffic control

Once complete, light traffic may be allowed onto the new surfacing after 2-3 hours, but it is
advisable to close the lane until the next morning.

Turning motions by heavy vehicles should preferably be avoided for the first couple of days.
However, it is fairly easy to rectify minor damages by vehicle tyres when the emulsion is still fresh.

Traffic accommodation, if required, will require that the entre lane or area being sealed is closed to
traffic. If needed, flagmen will be required to assist with stop-go traffic control depending on the area
in which the work is being undertaken and the volume of traffic experienced.

Traffic accommodation needs to be well managed as it places the entre workman team at risk.
Training in the correct operation of traffic accommodation at road works is vital for the safety of the
workmen team as well as allowing safe, free flowing traffic.

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5.6.12. Quality control

The quality control of the Cold Mix Asphalt sealing operations is greatly simplified compared to the
other thin seal options. The mix recipe eliminates the problem of achieving correct and uniform
application of binder and aggregates and the method of construction is quickly learnt to perfection
by the work force.

Supervisors will with some experience be able to effectively supervise several asphalt teams, each led
by a Team Leader who has been trained on site.

The quality control involves the following:

 Checking and preparing the base
 Ensuring that the correct bitumen products are used
 Ensuring that the batching and mixing is done correctly. Batching boxes and measurement
containers will ensure correct mix proportions
 Attention to detail with joints
 Making sure the tools and equipment are kept clean and in good working order at all times.

Construction joints, both transverse and longitudinal, are potential weak spots. The joints therefore
require special attention as shown in the following:
 The joint face shall be squared up and trimmed neatly. All loose material shall
be removed.
 Emulsion shall be applied to all joint faces by means of a watering can or by a soft brush by
dipping the brush and squirting emulsion on the joint face. This will ensure good bonding
with the fresh material applied against the joint face.
 For longitudinal joints, placing the 6 mm flat bar about 10-15 mm from the edge of the
compacted asphalt will ensure a tight joint with no gaps after compaction.
 After the first pass the material lying on top of the already compacted asphalt shall be
carefully removed with a spade.
 If the joint is open after compaction, a small amount of emulsion shall be poured carefully
into the gaps and crusher dust applied on top.

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Picture 5-36: Open joint

Picture 5-37: Construction joints properly sealed by emulsion and crusher dust

5.7. Batching and mixing

5.7.1. General description
The material can be mixed either by hand in steel pans or with a concrete mixer. Ensure that the
appropriate mix is correct as established by the laboratory, i.e. the percentage of emulsion, cement
and/or lime to be added to the gravel or aggregate. Assuming that the laboratory has determined
that the ETB will consist of the following:
 2% of 60% Anionic Stable grade Emulsion/m3
 1% of Cement/m3
 1.5% of Lime/m3
 Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) of the gravel is 6%
 Dry density of the gravel is 2000kg/m

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5.7.2. The equivalent compacted mass of gravel

As the materials measured in 20 liter cans or wheelbarrows will be loose, an allowance is made for
the bulking of the material. If the material is completely dry, a factor of 1.37 can be used (this
condition is unlikely). If the material is at optimum moisture content, a factor of 1.5 can be used (this
condition is also unlikely).

Therefore it is recommended that an average factor of

The equivalent mass of gravel material in the 20litre can or wheelbarrow is calculated as shown in
Table 5-20.

Table 5-20: Total mass per batch

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5.7.3. Quantities of emulsion cement and lime

The quantities of emulsion, cement, and lime required are determined as shown in the Table 5-4
below:
Table 5-21: Quantities of emulsion, cement, and lime

5.7.4. Quantity of water

The required Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) = 6%
The required 60% Anionic Stable Grade Emulsion = 2%
It should be noted that the 60% emulsion contains a mixture of 60% emulsion and 40% water.

Therefore the 2% emulsion contains:



Therefore the actual water content to be added = 6.0 – 0.8 = 5.2%.

This amount of water can be added in two stages:

i) First add 2.2% of water to the dry mixture of gravel, cement and lime.
ii) Then add the remaining 3.0% to dilute the emulsion, which is later added to the mixed
gravel, cement and lime.

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The required volume of water as per the batching is shown in Table 5-22:

5.8. Quality control measures

Quality Control measures for sealing works as outlined below should be put in place through
conducting specific tests on materials, components and workmanship standards to ensure the final
product complies with the project specifications:
(i) Good quality hand tools and appropriate equipment as specified should be used
(ii) Testing the quality of the seal aggregates
(iii) The engineer must check and give approval/acceptance of the following surfacing
operations:
 Bitumen and aggregate supplied, and pre-coating, if applicable
 Prime coating, if applicable.
 Binder spread rates.
 Aggregate spread rates
 Brooming and rolling.
 Construction setting out/levels, joints, transverse and longitudinal
 General quality of workmanship
 Traffic management

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For approval of the bitumen and aggregates the following tests may have to be carried out at a
reputable laboratory:

5.8.1. Hardness and durability of Seal aggregates

 Los Angeles Abrasion Value (LAA)
 Aggregate Crushing Value (ACV)
 Aggregate Impact Value (AIV)
 10% Fines (aggregate crushing) Value (10% FACT)
 Sodium Sulphate Soundness

5.8.2. Shapes of seal aggregates

 Flakiness Index (FI)
 Average Least Dimension (ALD)
 Elongation index (EI)

5.8.3. Size and grading

 Nominal size
 Sieve analysis (Particle Size Distribution)
 Plasticity Index (PI)

5.8.4. Binders and primes

Penetration grade and cut-back bitumen
 Penetration at 25 °C.
 Ring and ball softening point
 Viscosity
 Distillation to 190, 225, 260 and 316°C

5.8.5. Emulsions
 Saybolt Furol viscosity.
 Storage stability.
 Coating ability.
 Distillation and tests on the residue.

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5.9. Tools and equipment used

The following plant and equipment is required for priming by labour based methods:

End of this chapter!!!!

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Thank you!!!

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