EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF BITUMEN USING CORN COB ASH (CCA) IN BITUMINOUS MIX

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of Corn Cob Ash on Hot mix Asphalt Bituminous Mixture and compare the mechanistic properties with conventional hot mix asphalt through the laboratory testing programs. Hot mix Asphalt (HMA) is mainly used for construction and maintenance of bituminous roads in India. In the present study HMA is partially replaced with Corn Cob ash for the construction of flexible pavement. The conventional method of road construction involves the burning of bitumen to a higher temperature and mixing it with aggregates and then laying the pavement. So, our study is to partially replace that HMA with Corn Cob Ash (CCA). Corn Cob is the central cylindrical core on which the corn seeds are present. It is one of the agricultural waste products and it has many advantages in many industries as filters, fodder for live stock, bedding purposes for animals etc. Corn Cob Ash when used in Experimental study of partial replacement of Cement have yielded good results by increasing compressive strength, decreasing water cement ratio and it is environmental friendly also. Hence our aim is to check whether the properties of it would be suited as a partial replacement for bitumen binder. In this study an attempt is made to compare the Marshall properties and check its suitability for Partial replacement of bitumen for bituminous Concrete (BC) Grade-2.The adopted mixing temperature for HMA was 160ºC and for conventional mix the bitumen was taken at a rate of increment of 0.5% starting with 4%, 4.5%, 5%, 5.5% and 6%. Then for the optimum of conventional bitumen mix and then for optimum bitumen content (OBC) the replacement of Corn Cob Ash was done at a rate of increment of 2% beginning with 5%, 7%, 9%, 11%, 13%. The outcomes showed that the addition of Corn Cob Ash has matched with bitumen and gave the strength desired to that of the conventional bitumen mix. Hence this study highlights the scope of using Corn
Cob Ash as a partial replacement for bitumen and making bitumen economical.