11/1/2022

Highway Practical
Ductility test

Ahmad Omar Ahmad

GROUP : B-A2
Table of Content
TABLE OF CONTENT 1

INTRODUCTION 2

OBJECTIVE 3

SIGNIFICANCE 3

RECORDING 3

TEST APPARATUS 4

PRECAUTION 5

SAMPLE PREPARATION 6

TEST CONDITION 6

TEST PROCEDURE 7

CONCLUSION 8

REFRENENCES 9

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Introduction
Ductility of bitumen is its property to elongate under traffic load
without getting cracked in road construction works. Ductility test
on bitumen measures the distance in centimeters to which it
elongates before breaking, The Ductility Test of Bitumen is one of
the important tests of bitumen which is essential before using it in
road construction. The Ductility Test of Bitumen was used to
measure the adhesive and elastic properties of any bitumen
sample, Apparatus required, theory, procedure, precautions,
observations, reporting and recommended values of bitumen
ductility is discussed in this report.

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Objective
• To determine the ductility of cutback bitumen, blown type
bitumen, or any other bituminous products.
• In this ductility test of bitumen, the amount by which
the bitumen will stretch at a temperature below the softening
point is determined.

Significance
• The ductility test of the bitumen sample is one of the important
tests of bitumen to be conducted before road construction.
• Ductility measures the adhesive property of the bitumen too
along with its elasticity.
• The bituminous binder used in the pavement should be ductile
enough to take up the deformations acting upon it without
exceeding the deflection limit. Ductile bitumen can form a thin
ductile film around the aggregate particles. Thus, it does not
crack at low temperatures. However, the films of brittle bitumen
are not ductile and cracks may easily develop in lower
temperatures.

Recording
➢ Test temperature =25 Celsius
➢ Tension = 5 cm/min
➢ Ductility value = 112.5 cm

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Test apparatus
1. A rectangular tank with copper or steel lining is filled with
water so that the specimen remains submerged in the water
2. A built-in heater which is used in a cooler climate
3. Pump to maintain a uniform temperature by circulating water
4. Clutch for regulating and adjusting suitable speed while testing
5. Briquette mold- 3 in no.: The material is brass and it is 8-
shaped. Its parts are described below:
• Baseplate
• Two Clips- There are two holes in the clips. These holes are
used to fix the mold in the testing machine. One clip is
attached to the fixed end while the other is to the moving end.
• Two Sides
6. Dimensions of the Briquette mold are mentioned below:
7. Total length = 75 mm ± 0.5 mm
8. Distance between the 2 clips = 30 mm ± 0.3 mm
9. Thickness of the clip = 10 mm ± 0.1 mm
10. Width of the clip = 20 mm ± 0.2 mm
11. Water bath: It should contain a minimum of 10 liters of
water. Bitumen specimen should be immersed to at least 100
mm depth. Moreover, the specimen should be supported over a
perforated shelf which should be above 50 mm from the
bottom of the bath.
12. Thermometer or Temperature indicator– To measure the
temperature of water in the ductility apparatus. Its range
should be from 0 to 44 °C.

Other accessory apparatus includes:

• Knife
• Heating oven
• Beaker
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Precaution
• Following precautions should be taken while performing the
ductility practical to obtain accurate results:
• The briquette mold should not have a crack at any side
• The base plate of the briquette mold on which the sample is to
be laid should be completely flat
• The sample should not be overheated
• While filling the mold with the sample, care should be
exercised so that the parts of the briquette are not displaced
• Care should be taken that no air bubble is entrapped within the
sample while preparing the mold
• The temperature of the water bath should not exceed 27 °C
• The pull rate of the ductility testing machine should not exceed
50 mm/min
• It should be ensured that the specimen is completely immersed
in the water during the time of testing. The water depth above
and below the specimen should be at least 25 mm.
• Initial readings should also be noted carefully if the pointer is
not at zero
• The final reading should be carefully noted for all the three
sample specimens at the time of the breaking of the bitumen
thread.

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Sample preparation
1. Assemble the mold on a brass plate. Thoroughly coat the surface
of the plate and interior surfaces of the sides a and a’ of the
mold with a thin layer of a mixture of glycerin and dextrin or
other materials to prevent the material from sticking. The plate
should be perfectly flat and level.
2. Carefully heat the sample to prevent local over heating until it
has become sufficiently fluid to pour.
3. Pour the material into the mold, take care not disarrange the
parts and thus distort the briquette. In filling, pour the material
in a thin stream back and forth end to end of the mold until the
mold is more than level full.
4. Let the mold containing the material cool to room temperature
for a period of 30 to 40 minutes, then place it in the water bath
maintained at 25 Celsius for 30 minutes.
5. Then cut off the excess bitumen with a hot knife or spatula to
make the mold just level full.
6. Place the brass plate and mold, with briquet specimen, in the
water bath and keep at 25 o C for a period of 85 to 95 minutes.

Test condition
the test shall be made at a temperature of 25 ± 0.5 Celsius (77 ±
0.9 Fahrenheit) and with a speed of 5 cm per minute plus or
minus 5.0 %.

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Test procedure
1. Melt the bituminous test material completely at a temperature
of 75°C to 100° C above the approximate softening point until
it becomes thoroughly fluid.
2. Strain the fluid through IS sieve 30.
3. After stirring the fluid, pour it in the mold assembly and place
it on a brass plate. In order to prevent the material under test
from sticking, coat the surface of the plate and interior
surfaces of the sides of the mold with mercury or by a mixture
of equal parts of glycerin and dextrin.
4. After about 30-40 minutes, keep the plate assembly along with
the sample in a water bath. Maintain the temperature of the
water bath at 27° C for half an hour.
5. Remove the sample and mold assembly from the water bath
and trim the specimen by levelling the surface using a hot
knife.
6. Replace the mold assembly in water bath for 80 to 90 minutes.
7. Remove the sides of the mold.
8. Hook the clips carefully on the machine without causing any
initial strain.
9. Adjust the pointer to read zero.
10. Start the machine and pull clips horizontally at a speed of 50
mm per minute.
11. Note the distance at which the bitumen thread of specimen
breaks.

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Conclusion
By performing the ductility test of bitumen, we can determine
whether the given bitumen sample meets the specification
requirements for ductility as given in the standards.

The ductility value found by the practical is compared to the

standard value and thus It can be concluded whether the sample
meets the ductility criteria.

According to the specification, the ductility vlue does not lie within
any of the grade, the test was incomplete because minimum
amount of three values should have been recorded, here, it can
assumed that the bitumen used could be (AC-2.5 , AC-5 or B40-
70) grade , generally the bitumen tested can be used in cold
climate because its low viscosity.

Ductility is one of the measures of the quality of bitumen along

with other measures such as penetration value and so on.
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Refrenences
• https://theconstructor.org/practical-guide/ductility-of-bitumen/
• https://civiconcepts.com/blog/ductility-test-of-bitumen

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