Are we really getting viscosity graded (VG) paving bitumen in India?

It is very unfortunate that many Indian highway engineers still do not know that it is illegal and unethical to specify, produce, and use penetration graded paving bitumens such as 60/70 and 80/100. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) revised IS:73 Specification for Paving bitumen in July 2006. The revised specification IS:73:2006 outlawed the old (more than 100 year old) penetration grades such as 60/70 and 80/100 and adopted new viscosity grades (VG) such as VG-30 in lieu of 60/70 and VG-10 in lieu of 80/100. [Prof. Prithvi Singh Kandhal was instrumental in introducing the viscosity grading of paving bitumen in India in 2005 with the assistance of 10 Jan Path, New Delhi.] The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) issued Circular No. RW/NH-33041/3/2001-S&R (R)-Vol. III on 04/08/2008 to all the state PWDs, NHAI etc. reminding them to implement the new bitumen viscosity grades as soon as possible. According to the circular, the user must substitute VG-30 in lieu of 60/70, substitute VG-10 in lieu of 80/100, and substitute VG-40 in lieu of 30/40 or 40/50 grades. Is that really hard to do? Just changing the nomenclature in tender notices or project reports is not a rocket science! If the user would like to know more about viscosity grades (VG), please read the following IRC paper; it can also be downloaded at the link provided. Kandhal, P.S. An Overview of the Viscosity Grading System Adopted in India for Paving Bitumen. Indian Roads Congress, Indian Highways, April 2007 http://www.scribd.com/doc/19380488/An-Overview-of-the-Viscosity-GradingSystem-Adopted-in-India-for-Paving-Bitumen The BIS has further revised IS:73:2006 Specification for Paving Bitumen in April 2013. The revised IS:73-2013 has the following significant changes. Instead of specifying a penetration range for each VG grade, only minimum penetration values have now been specified. For example: minimum penetration of 80 for VG-10 and 45 for VG-30. Instead of specifying the minimum absolute viscosity at 60 C, viscosity range has been specified for each VG grade. For example: 800-1200 poises for VG-10 and 2400-3600 poises for VG-30. These revisions were warranted and justified as explained in the IRC paper above. Progressive user agency (be it PWD, contractor, consultant, testing laboratory or university) must purchase the viscosity testing equipment as soon as possible to monitor the grade and quality of the VG bitumen supplied by the oil companies. Research study completed by IIT Madras for BIS in 2011 determined that a significant percentage of VG-30 bitumen samples obtained across India were actually either VG-20 or VG-10; that is, softer viscosity grades which may cause premature rutting/bleeding in the asphalt pavements. Therefore, the user agencies must test at least the absolute viscosity at 60 C to ensure right VG grade is being supplied to the project. Only the vacuum capillary viscometer (and not the Brookfield viscometer) can be used for determining the absolute viscosity at 60 C. Brookfield viscometer can

be used to determine the kinematic viscosity at 135 C in addition to kinematic capillary viscometer. Click at the following link to access Prof. Kandhals technical note on equipment details and testing procedure: http://www.scribd.com/doc/19384126/Bitumen-Viscosity-Testing-Equipmentand-Test-Procedures