FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

LABORATORY

LABORATORY INSTRUCTION SHEETS

COURSE CODE BNP

EXPERIMENT CODE EXPERIMENT 1

EXPERIMENT TITLE SOFTENING POINT

DATE

GROUP NO.

(1)
LECTURER/ INSTRUCTOR
(2)

DATE OF REPORT SUBMISSION

RECEIVED DATE AND STAMP

COMMENTS:

TOTAL MARK (FROM RUBRIC

ASSESSMENT)
 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

LABORATORY RUBRIC ASSESSMENT

1. CLO: Organize comprehensive design and execution procedures for highway as well as
highway and traffic laboratory and in situ measurements with practical considerations (PLO2-
P,P5; Project);

(PLO2- P4) 10%

Level of Achievement

Excellen
Very Weak Weak Modest Good
Elements t
1 2 3 4 Level Weight Score
5
Equipment
/ Tools
Major Minor No mistakes Students are
Mishand-
mistakes mistakes while using comfortable P1 P4 /20
ling the
Choose the while using while using equipment/ with the
equipment/
suitable equipment/ equipment / tools, but not equipment/
tools
equipment/ tools tools comfortable tool s
tool s
Experiment

Display a good Most of the

All Major Some Procedures P4 5 /25
handling and procedures
procedure procedures procedures are followed
understanding are followed
s are are missing are missing correctly
of Experiment correctly
missing
Measurement
Most data All data are
Measure and All data Most data are correctly taken but
taken, no minor data All data are P4 5 /25
taking data are are missing
missing are incorrect correctly
with efficiency missing or or incorrect
data taken
incorrect

Respond to
Able to
Q&A respond and
Minimum Limited Able to Unable to
Respond and ability to ability to answer respond and respond
constructivel P3 3 /15
answer to the respond answer and answer and answer
question and answer sometimes y most of the constructivel to the
accordingly. to the do not match time. y at all question
question. the question. times. accordingly.
Disciplines

Show the good

discipline by
follows the Major flaws Minor flaws Minor flaws Conform to Conform to
rules below; to criteria, to criteria, 5 to dress code dress code, all criteria
10 minutes minutes late and safety minor flaw P2 3 /15
-Dress Code late to safety

-Lab
Regulations &
Safety
 STUDENT CODE OF ETHICS
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

I hereby declare that I have prepared this report with my own efforts. I also admit to not accept

or provide any assistance in preparing this report and anything that is in it is true.

1) Group Leader __________________________________ (Signature)

Name : __________________________________
Matrix No. : __________________________________

2) Group Member 1 ___________________________________ (Signature)

Name : ___________________________________
Matrix No : ___________________________________

3) Group Member 2 __________________________________ (Signature)

Name : __________________________________
Matrix No. : __________________________________

4) Group Member 3 __________________________________ (Signature)

Name : __________________________________
Matrix No. : __________________________________
1.0 OBJECTIVES

To determine the softening point of bitumen within the range 30 to 157 C by means of The
Ring-and-Ball apparatus.

2.0 LEARNING OUTCOMES

3.0 INTRODUCTION
Unlike some substances (e.g. water which changes from solid to liquid at 0 C bituminous
materials do nothave a definite melting point. Instead, as the temperature rises, these materials
slowly change from brittle orvery 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 becomparable.

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
bitumens. 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 bitumens, 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.

4.0 INSTRUMENTS /APPARATUS / CHEMICAL / REAGENTS

Apparatus for the Bitumen Softening Point Test (Millard, 1993)
RESULTS AND CALCULATION

TableA.1 : Softening Point Test (ASTM D36)

Number of test Softening Point (0C)

2
Average

Table A.2 : Value of Penetration Index (PI)

PI Bitumen type
Checked by : Date :

5.0 PROCEDURE
1. Specimen are prepared exactly as specified (ASTM D36-95) in precisely dimensioned brass
rings and maintained at a temperature of not less than 100C below the expected softening
point for at least 30 minutes before the test.
 2. The rings and assembly and two ball bearings are placed in a liquid bath filled to a depth of
105 3 mm and the whole maintained at a temperature of 5 10C for 15 minutes. [Freshly
boiled distilled water is used for bitumen with a softening point of 800C or below and glycerin
is used for softening point greater.

6.0 RESULTS
 Rigid adherence to the prescribed preparation of specimens and heating is absolutely
essential for reproducibility of the results. The mean temperature of the two specimens (which
shall not differ by more than 1o (C) is recorded as the softening point. This temperature is to be
used in conjunction with the penetration value to obtained the Penentration Index (PI)

7.0 DISCUSSION

a) Report the source and type of bitumen.

 b) Report the bath liquid in the test and quote the mean softening point of your specimen.
Comment on the value obtained.
c) If the two test temperature differ by more than 10C, offer an explanation .

8.0 REFERENCES

1. ASTM (1998). ASTM D36-95 Standard test method for softening point of bitumen (Ring and
Ball Apparatus). 1998 Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume 04.04, American Society for
Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1187
2. Millard, R.S. (1993). Road building in the tropics. Transport Research Laboratory State-of-
the-art Review 9, HMSO, London