IRC: 19-1977

STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS AND CODE OF PRACTICE FOR WATER BOUND MACADAM

(Second Revision)

THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS 1988

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IRC: 19-1977

STANDARD SPECIFICATION
AND

CODE OF PRACTICE
FOR

WATER BOUND MACADAM

(Second Revision)

Published by THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS Jamanagr House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110 011 1988

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Price Rs. 80/(Plus Packing & Postage)

!RC : 19-1977 First published in Reprinted : Reprinted First Revision Second Revision: Reprinted : Reprinted Reprinted Reprinted Reprinted April, 1966 February, 1970 May, 1972 November, 1972 May, 1977 September. 1982 March, 1987 (incorporates amendment No. I & corrected Sieve sizes) May, 1988 March, 1999 October, 2000

(Rights of Publication and of Translation are reserved)

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Printed at Dee Kay Printers, New Delhi (500 copies)

IRC: 19-1977 STANDARD SPECIFICATION AND CODE OF PRACTICE FOR WATER BOUND MACADAM 1. INTRODUCrION 1.1. This standard was originally published in 1966. The revised standard was considered and approved by the Specifications and Standards Committee in their meeting held on the 29th & 30th September, 1972 and by the Executive Committee in their meeting held at Gandhinagar on the 25th November, 1972. Later, it was approved for publication as the finafised standard by the Council in their 79th meeting also held at Gandhinagar on the 25th November, 1972. 1.2. Following the decision of the IRC Council at its meeting held on the 28th August 1976, the tolerances of surface evenness have been revised on the basis of IRC Special Publication 16 Surface Evenness of Highway Pavements. 1.3. The Standard is intended to indicate what is considered to be a good practice for the construction of water bound macadam and surface treated water bound macadam. 2. DESCRIPTION 2.1. Water bound macadam shall consist of clean crushed coarse aggregates mechanically interlocked by rolling, and voids thereof filled with screening and binding material with the assistance of water, laid on a prepared subgrade, sub-base, base or existing pavement as the case may be. Water bound macadam may be used as a sub-base, base course or surfacing course. In each case, it shall be constructed in accordance with the specifications given below and in conformity with the lines, grades and cross-sections shown on the drawings or as otherwise directed. 3. MATERIALS 3.1. Coarse AggregatesGeneral Requirements 3.1.1. Coarse aggregates shall be either crushed or broken stone, crushed slag, overburnt brick metal or naturally occurring aggregates such as kankar or laterite of requisite quality as stated hereinafter, The aggregates shall conform to the physical requirements set forth in Table 1. 3.1.2. Crushed or broken stone: Crushed or brokcn stone shall be hard, durable and generally free from flat, elongated, soft

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IRC 19-1977 and disintegrated particles. It shall also not have excess of dirt or other objectionable matter.
TABLE 1. PHYsICAL REQunIEMENT5 OF Co.s~ssAGORFOATES
WATER BOUND MACADAM FOR

Si. No. 1.

construction Sub base

Type of

Test t

method IS : 2386 (Part IV)

iS 2386 (Part IV) or

Test

Requirement

Los Angeles Abrasion Value

or Aggregate impact Value

Max. 60%

Max. 50%

IS : 5640
IS : 2386 (Part IV) IS 2386 Max. 50%

2.

Base course (a) Los Angeles with Abrasion

bituminous
surfacting

Value

or Aggregate

Impact Value
(b) Flakiness

3.

Surfacing Course

Index (a) Los Angeles Abrasion Value

Or

(Part IV) or IS : 5640 IS 2386 (Part 1~ IS 2386 (Part IV) IS : 2386 (Part IV) or IS : 2386 (Part I)

Max. 40%

Max. 15%

Max. 40%

Aggregate Impact Value (b) Flakiness Index

Note:

Max. 30%
Max. 15%

IS : 5640

Aggregates may satisfy the requiremens of either the Los Angeles test or Aggregate Impact Value Test. Aggregates like brick metal, kankar and laterite which get softened in presence of water, should invariably be tested for impact value under wet conditions in accordance with IS: 5640. The requirement of Flakiness Index shall be enforced only in the case of crushed/broken stone and crushed slag,

t Samples for tests shall be representative of the materials to be

used and collected In accordance with the procedure set forth In IS: 2430.

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IRC: 19-1977 3.1.3. Crushed slag: Crushed slag shall be manufactured from air-cooled blast furnace slag. It shall be of angular shape, reasonably uniform in quality and density, and generally free from any thin, elongated and soft pieces, dirt or other objectionable matter. Crushed slagofshall weighinless than per 3 and the percentage glassynot material it shall not1120 be inkg excess m of 20. Water absorption [IS : 2386 (Part III)] of slag shall not exceed 10 per cent. 3.1.4. Overburut brick metal : Brick metal shall be made out of overburnt bricks or brick bats and be free from dust and other foreign matter. 3.1.5. Kankar: Kankar shall be tough having a blue almost opalescent fracture. It shall not contain any clay in the cavities between nodules. 3.1.6. Laterite: Laterite shall be hard, compact, heavy and of dark colour. Light coloured sandy laterities as also those containing a good bit of ochreous clay shall not be utilised.

3.2.

Coarse AggregatesSize and Grading Requirements

3.2.1. As far as possible, coarse aggregates shall conform to one of the gradings given in Table 2. Grading 1 is more suitable for sub.base courses, but it is not tenable for a compacted layer thickness of less than 90 mm. 3.2.2. The size of aggregates to be used in a given case would depend on the type of aggregates available and compacted thickness of the layer. The use of grading I shall, however, be restricted to sub-base courses only. 3,2.3. For crushable type aggregates like brick metal, kankar and laterite, the gradings given in Table 2 are not so relevant and need not be strictly enforced but the material should generally be within the size range indicated. 3

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IRC :19-1977
TABLE

2. Sizs

AND GRADING REQUIRFMENT5 OP AGGREGATES ma WBM

CoARsE Per cent by weight passing the sieve

100 90100

Grading No.

Size range

Sieve designation (IS : 460) 125mm 90mm 63 mm 45 mm 22.4 mm 90mm 63mm 53 mm 45mm lL4mm 63 mm 53 mm 45 mm 22.4 mm 11.2mm

I,

90mmto45mm

2560 015
05

2.

63 mm to 45 mm

90100

100

2575 015 05
100

3.

53 mm to 22.4 mm

95100 6590 010 0S

3.3.

ScreenIngs

3.3.1. Screenings to fill voids in the coarse aggregates shall generally be of the same material as the coarse aggregates. However, from economic considerations, predominantly non-plastic material such as kankar nodules, moorum or gravel (other than river-borne rounded aggregate) may also be utilised for this purpose provided that the liquid limit and plasticity index of such material is below 20 and 6 respectively and the fraction passing 75 micron sieve does not exceed 10 per cent. 3.3.2. As far as possible, screenings shall conform to the gradings shown in Table 3. Screenings oftype A in Table 3 shall be used in conjunction with coarse aggregates of grading I in Table 2, and of type B with coarse aggregates of grading 3. With coarse aggregates of grading 2, either type A or type B screenings may be used. For screenings like moorum and gravel, the gradings given in Table 3 shall not be regarded as binding. 3.3.3. The use of screenings may be dispensed with in the case of crushable type coarse aggregates such as brick metal, kankar and late rite.

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11W: 19-1~fl TABLE 3. Gradingj Classifica.. tion A

RECIUIRFMENTS OP ScREININOS FOR WATER BOUND MACADAM
GRADING

screenings

Size of

Sieve designation (IS : 460) 13.2 mm 11.2 mm 5.6mm

Per cent by weight

passing the sieve

13.2 mm

180 micron

100 95100 1535

010

11.2mm

11.2mm 5.6 mm
l80mlcron

100 90100 1535

3.4.

Binding Material

3.4.1. Binding material to prevent ravelling of water bound macadam shall consist of a fine grained material passing 100 per cent through 425 micron sieve and possessing P.!. value of 49 when the WBM is to be used as a surfacing course, and upto 6 when the WBM is being adopted as a sub-base/base course with bituminous surfacing. If limestone formations are available nearby, limestone dust or kankar nodules may be usefully employed for this purpose. 3.4.2. Application of binding material may not be necessary where the screenings consist of crushable type material like moorum or gravel. However, for WBM used as a surfacing course, where the P.!. of crushable type screenings is less than 4, application of a small amount of binding material having P.!. of 49 would be required at the top. The quantity of screenings could be reduced slightly on this account. 3.5. Quantities of Material

3.5.1. Approximate quantities of coarse aggregate and screenings required for 100 mm compacted thickness of WBM subbase course are shown in Table 4. Likewise, rough quantities of materials for WBM base or surfacing course for a compacted thickness of ~5 mm are given in Table 5. 3.5.2. The quantity of binding material where it is to be used (see para 3.4.), will depend on the type of screenings and function of WBM. Generally, the quantity required for 75 mm compacted thickness will be 0.060.09 m8/lOm2 in the case of WBM 5

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1RC :19-1977
TABLE 4.
APPRoxIMATE QUANTITIrs Op Co~as~ AGGREGATES AND SCREENINGS REQUIRED FOR 100 mm COMPACTED THIcKNEsS OF WUM SUB-BAsE Couase ma 10 m

Coarse Aggregates Classification Size Loose range quantity Stone screen ~ Gradlng( tion &
size 1 2 90 to 45 mm 3 4 5

Screenings Crushable type such as moorum or gravel Grading/ classification &

size 6

classifica-

Loose
quantity

Loose quantity

Gradjag 1

1,21 to
1.43 m~

Type A 13.2 mm

0,27 to 0,30 m

Not uniform

0.30 to 0.32 m

TAll.! 5. APPRoXIMATE

QUANTITIES OP COARSE AOGRE0ATES AND ScREENINGs REQUIRED FOR 75 mm CoMPAcTED THicK- 1 NESS OF WBM BASE COURSE~SURPACINO Couasa ma 10 m

Coarse Aggregates Classification Size range Loose quantity

Screenings Crushable type

Stone screenings Grading

classifi.
cation

such as tnoorum or gravel For Grading/

classification

WBM

For

& size

base

WBM
surfacing

cases

All

course

course 5 0.12 to 0.15 & 6

& size
7

2 45 mm -do-

4
Lo

Gradjag 2 -do~

0.10 to Not 0.22 to 0.12 m uniform 0.24 m 0.20 to 0.16 to -do-do0.22m 0.18m Grad53 to -do-do0.18 to 0.14 to -do-doing 3 22.4 mm 0.21 m 0.17 m Quantities in col. 6 are 80 per cent of those in col. 5 as a larger quantity of binding material will need to be used when the WBM is to act as a surfacing course (see para 3.52.) See pars 3.4.2. 1.07 m -doType A 13.2 mm Type B 11.2mm

63 to

0.91

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IRC: 19.1977 sub-base/base course and 0.10-0.15 m8f10 m2 when the WBM is to function as a surfacing course. For 100 mm thickness, the quantity needed respectively will be 0.080.l0 m3/10 m2 and 0.120.16 m3/ 10 m2. 3.5.3. The above mentioned quantities should be taken as a guide only, for estimation of quantities for construction etc. 4. CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE 4.1. Preparation of Foundation for Receiving the WBM Course

4.1.1, The subgrade, sub-base or base to receive the water bound macadam course shall be prepared to the required grade and camber and cleaned of all dust, dirt and other extraneous matter. Any ruts or soft yielding places that have appeared due to improper drainage, service under traffic or other reasons shall be corrected and rolled until firm. 4.1.2. Where the water bound macadam is to be laid on an existing unsurfaced road, the surface shall be scarified and reshaped to the required grade and camber as necessary. Weak places shall be strengthened, corrugations removed and depressions and potholes made good with suitable material before spreading the coarse aggregates for WBM. 4.1.3. Where the existing road surface is black-topped, 50 mm x 50 mm furrows shall be cut in the existing surface at 1 metre intervals at 45 degree to the centre live of the carriageway before proceeding with the laying of coarse aggregates. 4.1.4. In all cases, the foundation shall be kept well-drained during the construction operations. 4.2. Provision of Lateral Confinement of Aggregates

4.2.1. Before starting with WBM construction, necessary arrangements shall be made for the lateral confinement of aggregates. One method is to construct side shoulders in advance to a thickness corresponding to the compacted layer of the WBM course. After shoulders are ready, their inside edges may be trimmed vertical and the included area cleaned of all spilled material thereby setting the stage for spread of coarse aggregates. The practice of constructing WBM in a trench section excavated in the finished formation must be completely avoided.
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ZRC :19-1977

4.3.

SpreadIng Coarse Aggregates

4.3.1. The coarse aggregates shall be spread uniformly and evenly upon the prepared base in required quantities from stockpiles along the side of the road or directly from vehicles. In no case shall these be dumped in heaps directly on the area where these are to be laid nor shall their hauling over a partly completed base be permitted. The aggregates shall be spread to proper pro. file by using templates placed across the road about 6 metre apart. Where possible, approved mechanical devices shall be used to spread the aggregates uniformly so as to minimise the need for their manipulation by hand. 4,3.2. The WEM course shall normally be constructed in layers of not more than 75 mm compacted thickness. However, for aggregates of grading No. 1 in Table 2, the compacted thickness of layer may go up to 100 mm. Each layer shall be tested by depth blocks. No segregation of large or fine particles shall be allowed; the coarse aggregates as spread shall be of uniform gradation with no pockets of fine material. 4.3.3. The coarse aggregates shall normally not be spread in lengths exceeding three days average work ahead of the rolling and bonding of the preceeding section. 4.4. Rolling

4.4.1. After the laying of coarse aggregates, these shall be compacted to full width by rolling with either three wheel power roller of 6 to 10 tonnes capacity or an equivalent vibratory roller. The weight of the roller shall depend on the type of the coarse aggregates. 4.4.2. The rolling shall begin from edges with roller running forward and backward until the edge have been firmly compacted. The roller shall then progress gradually from edges to the centre, parallel to the cenire line ci the road and lapping uniformly each precding rear wheel track by one ball width and shall continue until the entire area of the course has been rolled by the rear wheel. Rolling shall continue until the road metal is thoroughly keyed and the creeping of stone ahead of the roller is no longer visible. Slight sprinkling of water may be done, if required.

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IRC :19-1977

4.4.3. On superelevated portions of the road, rolling shall commence from the lower edge and progress gradually towards the upper edge of the pavement. 4.4.4. Rolling shall not be done when the subgrade is soft or yielding nor when it causes a wave-like motion in the base course or subgrade. If irregularities develop during rolling which exceed 12 mm when tested with a 3~metre straight edge, the surface shall be loosened and aggregates added or removed as required before rolling again so as to achieve an uniform surface conforming to the desired cross section and grade. The surface shall also be checked transversely by template for camber, and any irregularities corrected in the manner described above. In no case shall the use of screenings to make up depressions be permitted. 4.5. Application of Screenings 4.5.1. After coarse aggregates have been rolled as per para 4.4, screenings to fill the interstices shall be applied gradually over the surface. Dry rolling shall be done when the screenings are being spread so that the jarring effect of roller causes them to settle into the voids of the coarse aggregates. The screenings shall not be dumped in piles but applied uniformly in successive thin layers either by the spreading motion of hand shovels, mechanical spreaders, or directly from trucks. Trucks plying over the base course to spread screenings shall be equipped with pneumatic tyres and so operated as not to disturb the coarse aggregates. 45.2. The screenings shall be applied at a slow rate in three or more applications as necessary. This shall be accompanied by rolling or brooming. Either mechanical brooms/hand brooms or both may be used. In no case shall the screenings be applied so fast and thick as to form cakes or ridges on the surface making the filling of voids difficult or preventing the direct bearing of roller on the coarse aggregates. The spreading, rolling and brooming of screenings shall be taken up on sections which can be completed within one days operation. Damp and wet screenings shaH not be used in any circumstances. 4.6. Sprinkling and Grouting 4.6.1. After application of screenings, the surface shall be copiously sprinkled with water, swept and rolled. Hand brooms shall be used to sweep the wet screenings into the voids, and to distribute them evenly. The sprinkling, sweeping and rolling operations shall be continued and additional screenings applied where necessary until the coarse aggregates are well-bonded and 9

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IRC :19-1977 firmly set and a grout of screenings and water forms ahead of the wheels of the roller. Care shall be taken that the base or subgrade does not get damaged due to addition of excessive quantites of water during the construction. 4.7. Application of Binding Material

4.7.1. After the application ofscreenings as per paras 4.5. and 4.6., binding material where it is required to be used (see para 3.4.), shall be applied at an uniform and slow rate in two or more successive thin layers. After each application of binding material, the surface shall be copiously sprinkled with water and the resulting slurry swept in with hand brooms/mechanical brooms or both so as to fill the voids properly. This shall be followed by rolling with a 6.10 tonne roller during which water shall be applied to the wheels to wash down the binding material that may get stuck to them. The spreading of binding material, sprinkling of water, sweeping with brooms and rolling shall continue until the slurry of binding material and water forms a wave ahead of the wheels of moving, roller. 4.8. Setting and Drying

4.8.1. After final compaction of the course, the road shall be allowed to cure overnight. Next morning, hungry spots shall be filled with screenings or binding material, Iigtly sprinkled with water if necessary, and rolled. No traffic shall be allowed till the
macadam sets.

4.8.2. In the case of water bound macadam base course to be provided with bituminous surfacing, the latter shall be laid only after the WBM course is completely dry and before allowing any traffic on it, 4.9. Plying of Construction Traffic

4.9.1. In general, construction traffic may ply over completed portions of the WBM course provided vehicles move over its full width avoiding any rutting or uneven compaction. However, the Engineer-in-Charge shall have full authority to stop the passage of construction traffic when in his opinion this is leading to excessive damage. 5. SURFACE EVENNESS OF WBM COURSE 5.1. The surface evenness of completed WBM course in longitudinal and transverse directions shall be within the tolerances indicated in Table 6. 10

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IRC :19-1977
TABLr

6,

PERMrrrED

TouRA?~cFs OF

SURFACE

WBM Couasrs

EvENNESs FOR

SI, No,

Size range of coarse aggregates

Longitudinal profile measured with a 3 metre straight edge Maximum number of undula tions permitted in any 300 metre length,

Cross profile Max. permissible variation from specified profile under a camber template

Max. permissible undulaiion

exceeding

mm
I. 2.

12mm 30

10mm

mm
12 8

90-45mm
63-45 mm or 53-22.4 mm

15
12

30

5.2, The longitudinal profile shall be checked with a 3 metre long straight edge at the middle of each traffic lane along a line parallel to the centre line of the road. The transverse profile shall be checked with a series of three camber boards at intervals of 10 metre. For detailed guidance in this respect, reference may be made to IRC Special Publication 11 Handbook of Quality Control br Construction of Roads and Runways (Second Revision). 6. RECTIFICATION OF DEFECTIVE
CONSTRUcTION

6.1. Where the surface irregularity of the WBM courses exceeds the tolerances given in Table 6 or where the course iotherwise defective due to subgrade soil mixing with the aggre gates the layer to its full thickness shall be scarified over the affected area, reshaped with added material, or removed and replaced with fresh material as applicable, and recompacted in accordance with para 4. The area treated in the aforesaid manner shall not be less than 10 m~. In no case shall depressions be filled up with screenings or binding material. 7. CONSTRUCTION OF WBM OVER
NARROW WIDTHS

7.1. Where the WBM course is to be constructed in narrow widths for widening an existing pavement, the following sequence of operations should be adopted
(i) The existing shoulders should be excavated to their full

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IRC: 19-1977

depth and width upto the subgrade level except where the widening specifications envisage laying of a stabilised-soil sub-base using in situ operations in which case the same should be removed only upto the sub-base level. (ii) Before proceeding with the laying of WBM course, the shoulders should be rebuilt in layers in reduced width depending on the extent of widening. The compacted thickness of each layer should correspond to the compacted layer of WBM course to be laid adjacent to it. After compaction, the inside edges of shoulders should be trimmed vertical and the included are a cleared of all spilled material; and (iii) The construction of WBM layer should then follow the usual manner.
in

8. MAINTENANCE OF WBM WEARING COURSES 8.1. The successful performance of WBM as a surfacing course depends to a large extent on timely maintenance. Maintenance measures for this can be considered under three heads: periodic patching of pct-holes along with removal of ruts and depression; blinding of the surface; and surface renewal. Patching of Pot-boles Along with Removal of Ruts and Depressions 8.2.1. Pot-holes, ruts and other depressions should be drained of water and cut to regular shape with vertical sides. All the loose and disintegrated material shall be removed and the exposed surfaces swept clean. The holes/depressions shall then be filled with salvaged coarse aggregates mixed with sufficient quantity of fresh aggregates and recompacted as normal WBM to operations described in para 4 so that the patched area merges with the adjoining surface. Where the area so treated is small, hand rammers may be used for compaction instead of rollers. 8.3. BlindIng of Surface 8.2.

8.3.1. Blinding of the surface shall be resorted to periodically as soon as the blinding material applied earlier has been eroded away due to a traffic or weather action and the surface has started showing signs of ravelling. Blinding operations shall consist of application of binding material in thin layers and grouting in accordance with the procedure given in para 4.7.

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IRC: 19-1977

8.4. 8.4.1.

Surface Renewal WBM wearing course shall be renewed when the

surface is worn out, is corrugated and badly ravelled or has a profusion of potholes and depression which cannot be treated econo-

mically with patching or blinding operations. 8.4.2. For renewal, the existing surface shall be scarified to a depth of 50-75 mm and the resulting material removed to berms for screening to salvage the usable coarse aggregates. The exposed pavement shall be scarified again at high spots so as to ensure proper grade and camber. The salvaged coarse aggregates mixed with sufficient quantity of fresh aggregates (usually between one half to one third of the quantity of salvaged aggregates) shall then be used to construct a new WBM course in accordance with para 4.

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