How to calculate how many cubes per ton of asphalt?

Today, the transport network is one of the indicators of the level of economic development. High-quality road surface contributes to increased traffic and reduces transportation costs, and in urban infrastructure increases the capacity of congested streets. For more than a hundred years as road pavement used asphalt.

Asphalt composition

This material can have a natural or artificial origin. In the first case, asphalt is a mixture of mineral materials with bitumen, the content of which can be up to 75%. Material of artificial origin, also called asphalt concrete, is produced from a mixture of sand, gravel, mineral or polymeric additives, bitumen. The content of the latter in it is usually 5-15%. Currently, in the construction of road surfaces, asphalt of natural origin is practically not used.

Why do you need to know how many cubes per ton of asphalt?

When designing a pavement , the volume of the required material is determined based on the asphalted area and the thickness of the layer. But asphalt plants release the mixture in terms of mass - tons. To purchase the right amount, you need to determine how many cubes are in one ton of asphalt. An error in the calculation can be costly. If the quantity of asphalt concrete is insufficient, the material will have to be ordered additionally. And this is not only extra transportation costs, but also an unnecessary joint on the surface. If excess of the ordered mixture, excess material remains unused.

In addition to the technical side of the issue, how many cubic meters per ton of asphalt, you need to know and for the calculation of estimates for construction.

Classification of asphalt mixtures

To answer the question "How many cubes per ton of asphalt?", It is necessary to know the density of the asphalt-concrete mixture. Depending on the filler and additives used, the density of asphalt can vary significantly. The classification of asphalt-concrete mixtures takes into account the size and content of the filler.

Depending on the size of the filler, asphaltic concrete is divided into:

• Coarse, with grain size up to 40 mm.
• Fine-grained, fraction up to 20 mm.
• Sandy, the maximum size is up to 10 mm.

According to the content of the filler, the types of mixture are distinguished:

• A - from 50 to 60% (crushed stone only);
• B - from 40 to 50% (crushed stone or gravel);
• B - from 30 to 40% (crushed stone or gravel);
• Г - sand from screenings of crushing;
• D - natural sand.

Transfer of cubic meters to tons of asphalt

In addition to the main characteristics, the bitumen content and brand, the composition of mineral or polymer additives, the temperature of the mixture influence the specific gravity of the asphalt. The specificity of local materials used in asphalt plants in each region is also taken into account. Therefore, the most correct decision is to call the nearest asphalt plant and ask "1 cube of asphalt - how many tons?".

Despite the variety of asphalt grades, the following density values are given in BCH 14-95 "Instructions for the construction of road asphalt concrete pavements".

Fine-grained mixture:

• Type "A" - 2 385 kg / m.cub;
• Type "B" - 2 370 kg / m.cub;
• Type "B" - 2 343 kg / m.cub.

Given these values, in order to calculate how many cubes per ton of asphalt, one ton is divided into the density of the mixture. For a fine-grained mixture of type "A" in one ton is 0.41 cubic meters of asphalt.

Use of old asphalt

In addition to the construction of a new road surface, there is often a need for dismantling the existing asphalt layer. Dismantling is carried out by special equipment by the method of milling. This material can be used to fill the lower layers of pavement, used to prepare a new asphalt mix or simply exported to a landfill for recycling. In any case, you need to know the mass of the asphalt removed. Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine exactly how many cubes are in a ton of asphalt of the old coating, because of the heterogeneity of the surfaces and the differences in the dimensions of the milling drum. In the averaged calculations, a conversion factor of 2.2 t / m3 is used.