Open Journal of Civil Engineering, 2021, 11, 255-289 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ojce ISSN Online: 2164-3172 ISSN Print: 2164-3164 DOI: 10.4236/ojce.2021.113016 Jul. 30, 2021 255 Open Journal of Civil Engineering Effect of Filler and Binder Contents on Air Voids in Hot-Mix Asphalt for Road Pavement Construction Isooba John, Mugume Rodgers Bangi, Muhwezi Lawrence Civil and Building Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda Abstract Filler and binder make up a small proportion of bituminous mixtures, hence they are considered as important ingredients of mixtures. Sometimes due to equipment error during production, some mixtures retain extra or a reduced amount of filler or binder as compared to the design mix formula. It is thought that the poor performance of bituminous mixtures is a result of in- adequate proportioning of materials and the use of inappropriate compaction tools. This study was intended to appreciate the influence of contents of filler and binder in relation to durability in asphalt mixtures. Filler used was crushed stone passing 0.075 mm sieve, while the binder was 35/50 penetra- tion grade. Several trial mixes were prepared following Ugandan specifica- tions for Road and Bridge Works, and the Asphalt Institute in MS-2. Marshall design method was used, studying volumetric properties with an average sta- bility value of 22.3 kN, average flow value of 3.7 mm, VA of 4.4%, VFB of 69.3%, and VMA of 14.2%. Also, compaction of mixtures to assess its per- formance at optimum filler and binder contents was done. Compaction was done using an Automatic Impact Hammer, a Vibrating Hammer, and a Su- perpave Gyratory compactor aimed at simulating secondary compaction by traffic and assessing the retained air voids which was 3.3%, 1.3%, and 0.7% respectively. Generally, in bituminous mixtures when a vibrating hammer or a gyratory compactor is recommended for compaction, coarser mixes would be the best choice. Keywords Aggregate Gradation, Dense Bituminous Macadam, Marshall Properties 1. Introduction Dense bituminous macadam (DBM) is a binder course used for roads with a How to cite this paper: John, I., Bangi, M.R. and Lawrence, M. (2021) Effect of Filler and Binder Contents on Air Voids in Hot-Mix Asphalt for Road Pavement Con- struction. Open Journal of Civil Engineer- ing, 11, 255-289. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojce.2021.113016 Received: June 12, 2021 Accepted: July 27, 2021 Published: July 30, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access