GATE CE 2016 Set 1 — Question 31
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Transportation Engineering → Bitumen & Mix Design → Marshall Mix Design
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Question
During a forensic investigation of pavement failure, an engineer reconstructed the graphs and , using partial and damaged old reports.
Theoretically plausible correct graphs according to the 'Marshall mixture design output' are
Correct answer
(B) P, Q, S
Solution
In the Marshall method of mix design, the following properties are plotted against bitumen content to determine the optimum binder content:
1.Marshall Stability (Graph ): It initially increases with bitumen content, reaches a maximum, and then decreases as the binder starts to push the aggregates apart. Graph correctly represents this convex relationship.
2.Flow (Graph ): It increases monotonically with an increase in bitumen content as the mix becomes more plastic. Graph correctly represents this.
3.Air Voids () (Graph ): The percentage of air voids decreases monotonically as the bitumen content increases because the binder fills the available voids. Graph correctly represents this.
4.Voids Filled with Bitumen (VFB) (Graph ): As bitumen content increases, it fills more of the voids between aggregates, so VFB must increase monotonically. Graph shows a decrease, which is theoretically incorrect.
Since graphs and are theoretically plausible, the correct option is (B).Continue learning with Success Tracker
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