TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY

KHWOPA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

An undertaking of Bhaktapur Municipality
Libali, Bhaktapur

A Report on: Transportation Engineering I

Report no: 4
Title: DETERMINATION OF PENETRATION VALUE OF BITUMEN

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

Name: Sushrut Gautam Department of Civil Engineering
Roll no: KCE074BCE089 Khwopa College of Engineering
Group: D2 Libali, Bhaktapur

Date of Submission: 2077/10/29

DETERMINATION OF PENETRATION VALUE OF BITUMEN

OBJECTIVE
To determine the consistency of bituminous material.
To determine the penetration value of Bitumen.

REQUIREMENTS
I. Sample container (Cylindrical metallic dish 55mm in diameter and 35mm depth)
II. Penetrometer
III. Penetration needle
IV. Water bath and Stopwatch
V. Thermometer
VI. Transfer tray
VII. Bitumen

THEORY
Penetration of a bituminous material is the distance in tenths of millimeter that standard needles
will penetrate vertically into a sample understand conditions of temperature, load and time.
Penetration is a measurement of hardness or consistency of bituminous material. It is the
vertical distance traversed or penetrated by the point of a standard needle under specific
condition, load, time and temperature. The distance is measured in one tenth of a millimeter.
This test is used for evaluating consistency of bituminous materials.
Penetration test is a commonly adopted test on bitumen to grade the material in terms of its
hardness. An 80/100 grade bitumen indicates that its penetration value penetration value lies
between 80 to 100. The grading of bitumen helps to assess its suitability for use in different
climatic conditions and types of construction. In warmer regions lower penetration grades like
30/40 are preferred to avoid softening whereas higher penetration grade like 180/200 are used
in colder regions, so that excessive brittleness does not occur. Highest penetration grade is used
in spray application works.

Penetration value = G2 – G1
Where, G1 is Initial reading
G2 is Final reading after penetration

PROCEDURE
1. The bitumen was softened to pouring consistency, stirred well and poured into test
containers. The depth of bitumen was kept at 15mm more than the expected penetration in
container.
2. The sample container was placed in water bath at a temperature of 25 °C for about 1 hour.
3. After sometime, the sample was taken out from the water bath and brought in contact the
needle with surface of bitumen sample.
4. The reading of dial gauge were set at zero when the needle was in contact with the surface
of sample.
5. The needle was released and was allowed to penetrate for 5 seconds and the final reading
was noted.
6. Six measurements were taken and the mean value of these six tests was reported as a
penetration value.
 Fig: Standard Penetrometer Fig: Penetration value test of Bitumen

OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS

Penetrometer dial reading Penetration value Penetration Value
Test no
Initial Final (div) (mm)
1 0 112 112 11.2
2 0 110 110 11.0
3 0 100 100 10.0
4 0 76 76 7.6
5 0 69 69 6.9
6 0 64 64 6.4
Mean Penetration Value 88.5 8.85

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

In this way, it can be concluded that penetration value of bitumen can be determined easily in
lab using standard penetrometer. The mean penetration value of given bitumen sample was
found to be 88.5, so the grade of bitumen is 80/100.
Penetration test is a commonly adopted test on bitumen to grade the material in terms of its
hardness. Grading of bitumen helps to assess its suitability in different climatic conditions and
types of construction. An 80/100 grade bitumen indicates that its penetration value lies between
80 and 100. The grading of bitumen helps to assess its suitability for use in different climatic
conditions and types of construction. For bituminous macadam and penetration macadam IRC
suggests bitumen grade 30/40, 60/70 and 80/100. In warmer regions lower penetration grades
are preferred to avoid softening whereas higher penetration grades like 180/200 are used in
colder regions so that excessive brittleness doesn’t occur. Highest penetration grade is used in
spray application works.
Based on the result obtained, it was found that the penetration value is not uniform. Due to
decrease in temperature while performing the experiment in cold environment, bitumen
gradually became hard over time, so the penetration values were obtained to be in decreasing
order. It is necessary to maintain uniform temperature while performing Penetration test. The
grade of given bitumen sample observed is 80/100, which is standard grade bitumen usually
used for road construction and for the production of asphalt pavements with superior properties.
Errors may arise during the experimentation due to the following reasons:
i. Surrounding temperature not being in range of 27 ± 2°C.
ii. Sample not being free from impurities and dust.
iii. Oscillation of needle and not cleaning of needle before penetration.
While performing experiment, the needle should just touch the surface of bitumen in mould to
obtain the accurate result. The obtained 80/100 grade bitumen is mainly used in the
manufacture of hot mix asphalt for bases and wearing courses.

PRECAUTIONS
1. The sample should be free from dust and other impurities.
2. There should be no oscillation happening while needle penetrates the bitumen.
3. The needle should be cleaned and dried before each penetration.
4. Experiment should be performed carefully and safely.
5. Procedure should be followed as instructed.