Institute of Technology of Cambodia Faculty of Civil engineering

TP2: softening point of bitumen

I. Objective
The purpose of this experiment helps to know the temperature up to which a
bituminous binder should be heated for various road use applications.
II. Theory
The depth of the needle that sink is a principal for classifying the grade
and softness.
III. Equipment of the test

Ball Centering guide Steel ball Dextrin and glycerin Glass container

Stirrer Thermometer Control heating unit Glass plate

IV. The Procedure of bitumen softening point test

• Sample preparation
Heating the sample carefully (prevent it from temperature rising at one point)
stirring it no more than 2 hours. In any case, the temperature should not rise above
110ºC more than the soft point of the asphalt. Avoid air bubbles in the sample.
Inject the sample into the shouldered ring. The shouldered ring must apply with
glycerin and dextrin around it. We need a glass plate to support the shouldered
ring, we applied glycerin and dextrin to the surface of the glass to avoid it from
bitumen from stinking to the glass. We pour the specimen into the shouldered ring.
Leave it cool at room temperature for 30 minutes When the test pieces have
cooled, the extra bitumen can be removed with a slightly heated knife.

1
Institute of Technology of Cambodia Faculty of Civil engineering

Combined glycerin & Apply glycerin & Pour it into the Use the knife to cut
dextrin dextrin on the glass shouldered ring the extra bitumen

• Procedure
1. The process is starting with Installing the equipment. Fill the water bath with
boiled distilled water at a maintained temperature of 5 °C. Fix the rings filled
with bitumen in the support frame and place them in the water bath at 5 °C for
15 minutes. Cool the steel balls to a temperature of 5 °C. ( Shown in Figure
1)
2. Place a steel ball on the top of the rings attached to the ball centering guide.
Place this assembly in a beaker filled with distilled water. The water level
must be at least 50 mm higher than the ball’s top surface. (Shown in Figure 2
)
3. Using forceps, place a steel ball on each of the ball-centering guides
4. Heat the water so that the temperature of water rises at temperature 5 plus
minus 1 per minute. The rate of temperature rise must be constant. Maximum
allowable variation for the period 1 minute after the first 3 minutes + 0.5 °
5. Heat the water continuously, until the sample is sufficiently soft to allow the
steel ball to fall through the ring.
6. Record the temperature, when the asphalt specimen surrounding the steel ball
touched the base plate. ( Shown in Figure 3 )
7. If the difference between the values obtained in the beloved setting exceeds 1
° C, test once More.
8. The average value of the softening point of two balls (to the nearest 0.5 °C) is
the softening point of Bitumen.

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3