Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1

OBJECTIVE .......................................................................................................................... 2

THEORY ............................................................................................................................... 2

APPARATUS ........................................................................................................................ 3

PROCEDURE ....................................................................................................................... 4

RESULTS ............................................................................................................................. 5

CALCULATION ..................................................................................................................... 5

DISCUSSION........................................................................................................................ 6

CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 7

RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................... 8

REFERENCE ........................................................................................................................ 9

i
 INTRODUCTION

Bituminous materials is unlike some substances (e.g. water which changes from solid
to liquid at 0 °C) which do not have a definite melting point. Instead, as the temperature rises,
these materials slowly change from brittle or very thick and slow-flowing materials to softer
and less viscous liquids. For this reason, the determination of 'softening point' must be made
by a fixed, arbitrary and closely defined method if results are to be comparable. Being very
simple in concept and equipment, the Ring and-Ball Test has remained a valuable consistency
test for control in refining operations, particularly in the production of air-blown bitumen. It is
also an indirect measure of viscosity or, rather, the temperature at which a given viscosity is
evident. The softening point value has particular significance for materials which are to be
used as thick films, such as joint and crack fillers and roofing materials. A high softening point
ensures that they will not flow in service. For a bitumen of a given penetration (determined at
25 °C), the higher the softening point the lower the temperature sensitivity Research has
shown that, for conventional paving grade bitumen, the Ring and-Ball softening point
temperature is the same as that which would give a penetration of 800 d-mm. This, together
with the penetration at 25 °C, can be used to compute the Penetration Index.

1
 OBJECTIVE

The objective of the experiment :

 To determine the softening point of bitumen within the range 30℃ to 157℃ by means
of the Ring-and-Balls apparatus

THEORY

As the temperature rises, bitumen starts to soft, and attains certain fluidity sufficient
enough for this to be applied on the road surface. The temperature plays an important role in
the hardness or the softness of the bitumen so we have to find out the minimum temperature
at which bitumen attains sufficient fluidity.

2
 APPARATUS

1. Beaker /Pouring plate

2. Brass Ring
3. Steel Ball
4. Bath
5. Ring Holder and assembly
6. Thermometer

3
 PROCEDURE

i) The bitumen sample was heated with care, stirring frequently to prevent local
overheating, until it has become sufficiently fluid to pour. The stir was stired it
carefully to avoid incorporation of air bubbles .

ii) If the test is repeated later, do not reheat this sample; use a fresh sample in
clean container to prepare new test specimens.

iii) The two brass rings was heated (but not the pouring plate) to approximate
pouring temperature, place them on the pouring plate treated with one of the
release agents.

iv) The hot bitumen was poured into the ring and cooled at the room temperature
for about 30 minutes. The sample is the levelled.

v) The ring then placed on the ring holder. The temperature in the water bath is
maintained at 5 ± 1 for minutes and the sample is kept in water bath level of not
less than 102mm and not more than 108 mm from the bottom of the bath.

vi) The forceps was used to place the ball in each ball-centering guide. Then apply
heat at a rate of 5°C per minute and make sure it is increasing uniformly.

vii) Each ring and ball temperature shown was recorded by the thermometer when
the specimen surrounding the ball fell touches the bottom plate as shown in
Figure !(If the difference between the two temperatures exceeds 2°C, repeat the
test. ).

viii) The temperatures when the bitumen sagged and the bitumen softens are taken
noted

Figure 1 : End of Testing

4
 RESULTS

Test No. Temperature °C AVERAGE (°C)

Sample (1) 41 41.5
Sample (2) 42

CALCULATION

Data Softening Point

42 + 41
= 41.5 °C
2

5
 DISCUSSION

Softening Point test experiment was carried out to to determine the softening point of
bitumen within the range 30°C to 157°C by means of the Ring-and-Ball apparatus. To conduct
this experiment, Ring-and-Ball apparatus has been used. In this report we are only discussing
on the temperature from the softening point test of two sample of bitumen.

Since the softening point of bitumen material does not take place at any definite
temperature, but involves gradual change in consistency with increasing temperature, any
procedure that is adopted for determining the softening point must be arbitrary nature. The
procedure in common use in highway materials laboratories is known as the ring and ball
method and may be applied to semi solid and solid material. The ring and ball method is also
used to determine the penetration index and in conjunction with penetration and loading time.
The softening point is taken to be the temperature at which bitumen material touches the
bottom of the container.

The ring and ball test has remained a valuable consistency test for control in refining
operations, particularly in the production of air-blown bitumen. It is also an indirect measure of
viscosity or, rather, the temperature at which a given viscosity is evident. The softening point
value has particular significance for materials which are to be used as thick films, such as joint
and crack fillers and roofing materials. A high softening point ensures that they will not flow in
service. For a bitumen of a given penetration (determined at 25℃), the higher the softening
point of the lower the temperature sensitively.

The experiment has been performed successfully and the softening point came out to
be 46.4°C. Based on the results that we obtained from the experiment, the temperature of
bitumen to become soft for Test number 1 is 41°C while for the Test number 2, the temperature
is also 42°C. Besides that, the average temperature of softening point that we calculated is
41.5°C. The objective also achieved which is to determine the softening point of bitumen within
the range 30°C to 157°C by means of the Ring-and-Ball apparatus .The theoretical value of
the optimum temperature of bitumen softening point is between 48°C to 52°C according to
Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) standard. The temperature than we recorded is not according to
the theoretical standard.

While doing the experiment, some safety measures have to be follow. Be alert and
make sure your hand doesn’t touch the hot burner while taking the reading as it may cause
minor severe burn. After the experiment, the apparatus are washed using hazards chemical.
Ensure that you wash the apparatus in a fume chamber with your gloves on.

6
 CONCLUSION

In this experiment, the softening point of bitumen within the range 30℃ to 157℃ by
means of the Ring-and-Ball apparatus is 41.5℃. The objective of this experiment is achieved.
During conducting the experiment, there are some errors that occurred which will affect the
final result. In order to prevent this from happening, there are methods to improve the
experiment’s result. Before doing the experiment, make sure the Ring holder does not hold
the Ball guide in stationary. Adjust the ring until the ball can pass through freely. In addition,
to get good results, ensure you conduct the experiment in room temperature condition. The
purpose of this test in the industry is to estimate viscoelastic properties of both asphalt and a
paving mixture especially in road design. This is to test the consistency of bitumen.

7
 RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the calculated results from the data that we have collected in the Softening
Point Test experiment,there might be due to the errors that we might have encountered during
the conduction of the experiment as stated in the discussion. In order to increase the accuracy
of the results, here are some recommendations that we can suggest so that errors can be
minimized when we deal with the Softening Point Test experiment again.

The students should understand the experiment first before conduct the experiment in
the laboratory and it is important for students to know how the application operates in order to
avoid any offense to collect data. The other recommendation is eye protection, such as safety
glasses and/or face shields, shall be worn when handling hot bitumen or PMBs. eyes must
directly to the meniscus at the manometer ruler during taking the pressure drop value in order
to avoid parallax error.

Next recommendation is the heat-resistant gloves, with close-fitting cuffs, and other
suitable protective clothing, shall be worn when handling hot bitumen or PMBs.There shall be
no smoking while handling hot bitumen or PMBs. While the material is still cold, loosen the lid
of the sample container (invert the can and warm the lid, if necessary), or punch a hole in the
lid. After finish the experiment, keep the sample because it can be reused again

8
 REFERENCE

1) https://www.coursehero.com/file/p38ci4c/CONCLUSION-To-conclude-the-final-
temperature-of-the-softening-point-is-4875/
2) https://pavementinteractive.org/reference-desk/testing/binder-tests/softening-point/
3) https://www.civilengineerspk.com/transportation-engineering-experiments/exp-12-
softening-point-of-bitumen/