Do you know bitumen?
Bitumen is a highly viscous, petroleum-based hydrocarbon that can be found in pitch lakes and oil sands. Nearly ninety percent of all the bitumen is used in road construction and it has gone from being a material to being a specialty.
Paving bitumen is usually produced by refining crude oil. Different qualities of bitumen can be manufactured for different applications, however most refined bitumen is used in paving asphalt and roofing tiles. The flexibility of bitumen makes it multifunctional. It is also durable, hard-wearing, safe to use, fast to install, easy to maintain and reusable. In other words, a perfect material to build durable pavements of. How come the roads are still not in good condition?
Paving bitumens are categorised according to their specific physical qualities, including consistency, adhesion, viscosity, hardness and brittleness at a specified temperature. Selecting the right paving bitumen also depends on the surrounding conditions, such as the climate and the amount of traffic.
This means there are plenty of choices to make to before the pavement is constructed. It also means that there are many things that can go wrong. By knowing the characteristics of the bitumen, different mixes and the possibilities of bitumen modification, you will be one step closer to better outcome.
