Effect of Utilization of Waste Marble on Indirect Tensile Strength Properties of Bituminous Concrete Mixes

Generally, the aggregate material passing the No. 200 sieve has been called filler. The amount of filler material is specified as percentage of weight of the mix and becomes part of the bituminous mix design. The mechanical properties of properly compacted pavements are dependent on the interlocking of the aggregate and the consistency of the binder. For the present study bituminous concrete grade II as per Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRT&H) (IV revision), binders 60/70 and PMB SBS 70 were used. Aggregates, binders and marble dust were tested for their basic properties to ascertain their suitability for further tests. Marshall properties, viz., stability, bulk density, air voids, flow, viscosity modifying admixture (VMA) and voids filled with binder (VFB) were determined both for neat and modified bituminous concrete mixes to find optimum binder content and optimum filler content. It was found that mixes with 10% marble filler replacement exhibited optimum results, both neat and modified bituminous concrete mixes. However, mixes with marble fine aggregate and filler replacement showed better Marshall results as compared to conventional mixes. As the next part of investigations, degradation tests were conducted on bituminous concrete mixes with 10% marble filler and marble (fine aggregate and filler) replacement. All of which indicated breakage within standard limits. Modified bituminous concrete mixes exhibited lower breakage as compared to neat bituminous concrete mixes. To determine the temperature susceptibility, bituminous concrete mixes were subjected to indirect tensile strength tests at 25 degrees celsius and 40 degrees celsius temperature.