Basic road construction materials such as soils, aggregates, bitumen and
Portland cement – types, sources, functions, requirements, properties,
tests and specifications for use in various layers of road.
Properties of subgrade layers; different types and role played by them in
flexible/rigid pavement construction, Mechanical response of soil and the
different consititutive models. A critical look at the different laboratory
procedures for evaluating the mechanical properties of soils.
Bituminous binders – different types, modified binders, characteristics
and applications in road construction, issues in constitutive modelling of
binders. Aging of bitumen. Introduction to linearized viscoelastic, nonlinear
viscoelastic material characterization.
Bituminous mixtures, types, requirements, properties, tests for
characterization, behaviour during fatigue, creep loading conditions. Influence of aggregate, binder type on bituminous mixtures’ mechanical
properties. Portland cement and cement concrete for use in road works.