PAVEMENT DESIGN EXPERIMENTAL REPORT

MODULE J-01
PENETRATION OF BITUMEN

GROUP K2

Ridha Amalia Idhar 1506789190

Yeni Amalia 1606864651

Dian Ratri Cahyani 1606896981

Rizky Rahardi Pramono 1606897063

Date of Experiment : May 4, 2019

Experimental Assistant : Hanif Nurindra
Date of Approval :
Report Score :
Assistant’s Signature :

LABORATORY OF STRUCTURE AND MATERIAL

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA
DEPOK 2019
I. INTRODUCTION

A. References
PA – 0301 – 76

AASHTO T – 49 – 80

ASTM D – 5 – 97

B. Objectives
Bitumen penetration test is intended to determine the hard or soft penetration of
bitumen (solid or semi solid) by inserting a needle of a certain size, with certain
load and time, into the bitumen at certain temperature.

C. Equipment and Materials

1. Equipment
• Penetration device that can move the needle holder up and down
without creating friction and can measure penetration up to 0.1 mm.
• Needle holder weighing (47.5 + 0.05 grams) that can be easily
removed from penetration tools for lighting.
• Ballast of (50 + 0.05) grams and (100 + 0.05) grams respectively,
used for penetration measurements with a load of 100 grams and 200
grams.
• Penetration needles are made from 440 C quality steel or 54 to 60
HRC with the shape and size according to Figure 3, the tip of the
needle must be shaped to a cut-cone.

Figure 3. Penetration Needle

• Sample plates are made of metal or cylindrical glass with a flat base.
The cup size for penetration measurement is as follows:

Penetration Capacity Diameter Depth

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Below 200 90 ml 55 mm 35 mm

Range 200 – 350 175 ml 70 mm 55 mm

• Soaking tub consists of vessels with contents not less than 10 liters
and can hold certain temperature with accuracy of +0.1 C. The vessel
is equipped with holes on the base plate, located 55 mm above the
bottom of the vessel and no less than 100 mm below the surface of
the water in the vessel.
• Water points for specimen are placed under the penetration device.
The place has a content of not less than 350 ml and high enough for
soaking test specimen without moving.
• Stopwatch with the smallest division of 0.1 seconds scale or less and
the highest error is 0.1 seconds per 60 seconds. For measurement
with an automatic tool, the tool error may not exceed 0.1 seconds.
• Thermometer, according to Figure 4.

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 Figure 4. Thermometer Used for Penetration

2. Materials
• Bitumen
Heat the sample slowly and stir it so that it is sufficiently become
liquid, so then it can be poured. When heating the sample, it should
not exceed 60 C above estimated soft spots and for bitumen should
not exceed 90 C above estimated softness point.
Heating time must not exceed 30 minutes. Gently stir the water
which not included in the sample. After the liquid sample is poured
evenly into the mold, let it cool. The height of the sample inside the
mold is no less from the penetration rate plus 10 mm. Create two
specimens. Lastly, close the specimen to avoid dust and leave it at
room temperature for 1 to 1.5 hours for small specimen, 1.5 to 2
hours for large specimen.

D. Additional Theory
It measures the hardness or softness of bitumen by measuring the depth in
tenths of a millimeter to which a standard loaded needle will penetrate vertically
in 5 seconds. BIS had standardized the equipment and test procedure. The
penetrometer consists of a needle assembly with a total weight of 100g and a
device for releasing and locking in any position. The bitumen is softened to a
pouring consistency, stirred thoroughly and poured into containers at a depth at
least 15 mm in excess of the expected penetration. The test should be conducted
at a specified temperature of 25$^o$ C. It may be noted that penetration value
is largely influenced by any inaccuracy with regards to pouring temperature,
size of the needle, weight placed on the needle and the test temperature. A grade
of 40/50 bitumen means the penetration value is in the range 40 to 50 at standard
test conditions. In hot climates, a lower penetration grade is preferred. The
Figure 1 shows a schematic Penetration Test setup.

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 Figure 1. Penetration Test Setup

Based on Bina Marga 2010 Division VI, the classification of bitumen based
on penetration test at 25 C, 100 grams, and 5 seconds, is as follows:
Table 1. Requirements for Hard Asphalt based on Penetration from SNI

Jenis Persyaratan
Satuan Metode
Pengujian Pen 40 Pen 60 Pen 80 Pen 120 Pen 200

Penetrasi, 25 0,01 SNI 06- 200 –

°
C, 100 gr, 5 2456- 40 – 59 60 – 79 80 – 99 120 – 150
mm 300
detik 1991
SNI 06- 200 –
Titik Lembek °C 51 – 63 50 – 58 46 – 54 120 – 150
2434- 300
1991
SNI 06- Min. Min. Min.
Titik Nyala °C 218 177
2433-1 200 200 225
991
Daktilitas, SNI 06- Min. Min. Min.
Cm Min. 100 -
25°C 2432-1 100 100 100
991
Kelarutan SNI 06-
% Min.
dalam Trichlor 2438-1 Min. 99 Min. 99 Min. 99 Min. 99
berat 99
Ethylen 991

Penurunan SNI 06-

% Maks. Maks. Maks. Maks.
Berat (dengan 2441- Maks. 1,3
berat 0,8 0,8 1,0 1,3
TFOT) 1991

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 Penetrasi SNI 06-
Min.
setelah % asli 2456- Min. 54 Min. 50 Min. 46 Min. 40
58
penurunan 1991
berat
Daktilitas SNI 06-
setelah Cm 2432- - Min. 50 Min. 75 Min. 100 Min. 100
penurunan 1991
berat
SNI 06- Min. Min. Min.
Berat jenis - -
2488- 1,0 1,0 1,0
1991
Uji bintik
- Standar
Naptha –
Naptha AASHTO
- Negatif
Xylene T. 102

- Hephtane
Xylene

Table 2. Penetration Test at 25 C, 100 grams, and 5 seconds

Name Depth
Pen 40 40 – 59
Pen 60 60 – 79
Pen 80 80 – 99
Pen 120 12 – 150
Pen 200 200 – 300

II. GENERAL PROCEDURES

A. Testing before Weight Loss
a. Place the test object in a small water container and place the water
container into the soaking tub which has been put into set temperature.
Let it be in the tub for 1 to 1.5 hours.
b. Check the needle holder so that the needle can be installed properly
and clean the penetration needle with toluene or another solvent, then

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 dry the needle with a clean cloth and attach it back to the needle
holder.
c. Place a 50-gram ballast over the needle to get a load of the size of 100
+ 0.1 grams.
d. Move the water from the soaking tub under the penetration tool.
e. Lower the needle slowly so that the needle touches the surface of the
test object. Then set the number to 0 on the penetrometer watch, so
that the pointer coincides with it.
f. Remove the needle holder and simultaneously run the stopwatch
during the running time 5 + 0.1 seconds.
g. Rotate the penetrometer watch and read the number on the dial. Round
up to the nearest 0.1 mm.
h. Remove the needle from the needle holder and prepare a penetration
tool for the next job.
i. Do work (a) to (g) above no less than 3 times for objects with the same
test.

B. Testing after Weight Loss

a. Perform inspection of the decrease in weight of oil and asphalt
according to the order of PA – 0304 – 76 Bina Marga standards.
b. Perform the steps as in the examination before losing weight (step A).

III. COMPUTATIONS

a. Data Result
Trial Depth

1 60

2 55

3 60

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 4 56

5 61

b. Data Calculation
∑ 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 =
𝑛
60 + 55 + 60 + 56 + 61 292
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 = = = 58,4
5 5

IV. ANALYSIS

a. Experimental Analysis
Practicum of Road Pavement Material Inspection with the title
'Penetration of Bitumen Materials' was carried out on May 4, 2019, at the
Structural Laboratory and Material FTUI. The purpose of this lab is to
determine the penetration of bitumen by inserting a needle of a certain size, with
a certain load and time into the bitumen at a certain temperature.

The first thing to do is to take a bitumen sample that has been poured into
a can and soak it in a tub of water for 30 minutes at a standard room temperature,
which is 25 ° C. Ice cubes can be added to the tub to speed up the process of
decreasing the asphalt temperature. Furthermore, the dial calibrated to zero to
ease the penetration reading on the asphalt. Before penetrating, the needle must
be cleaned from the remnants of asphalt attached because it can increase friction
on the asphalt. The tip of the needle is placed just above the surface of the layer.
Penetration is done by removing the needle holder while running the stopwatch
for 5 seconds. Re-penetration is carried out at 4 different points, with inter-point
distance and the edge of the wall not less than 1 cm. The asphalt sample was
then weighed.

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 Two days later, the asphalt sample was put into the oven for
approximately 5 hours to remove the oil content. After that, 5 times the
penetration was done in the test sample. All data obtained will be compared
with other group data.

b. Result Analysis
All data from both types of experiments are used for processing.
Variations in the data obtained are closely related to the distance between the
point and the edge of the can, because it can affect the depth of needle
penetration. After the asphalt passes the heating stage due to the oven, the oil
content will decrease so that it will affect its physical characteristics. Asphalt is
difficult to penetrate if the oil content is getting smaller and becomes brittle, and
vice versa. The data obtained is in the interval 40 – 59, or Pen 40. Asphalt type
Pen 40 cannot be used as a hot asphalt mixture.

c. Error Analysis
The possible error can be caused by several factors, such as:

1. Lack of dexterity in waiting for a stopwatch to reach 5 seconds, which

affects the penetration value.
2. Error when reading the scale on the dial so that the value obtained is not
in accordance with the actual one.
3. The needle used is not cleaned properly so that there is still residual
asphalt attached, which causes greater friction in the asphalt sample.
4. There are several points that are accidentally penetrated, thus affecting
the magnitude of penetration at other points.
5. The distance between the point and the can is less than 1 cm so that it
affects the other penetration values.

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 d. HSE Analysis
When doing practicum, the practitioner must still pay attention to
Occupational Health and Safety (K3). In this experiment, almost nothing
was found that could endanger the safety of the practitioner. However, the
practitioner is required to use a lab coat and shoes to protect the limbs while
doing activities in the laboratory.

V. APPLICATION
Bitumen penetration grade 40/50 bitumen means the penetration value is in
the range 40 to 50 at standard test conditions which commonly used as a
Paving Grade. Bitumen is applicable for the production of hot mix asphalt
for bases and pavements and for road construction. Bitumen penetration
grade 40/50 is semi-hard penetration grade bitumen used as a paving grade
bitumen which is suitable for road construction and repair. It is also used to
produce asphalt pavements with the below technical specification. This
grade of bitumen is mainly used in the manufacturing of hot mix asphalt for
bases and wearing courses. Bitumen 40/50 is one of the most used bitumen
grades and it’s a basic material for all other bituminous products.

VI. CONCLUSION
• The average value of asphalt penetration in 5 trials before being in the oven
and after being in the oven for 58.4, therefore it is included in the hard
asphalt.
• According to RSNI S-01-2003 rules, asphalt sample is classified in Pen 40.
• Asphalt type Pen 40 cannot be used as a hot asphalt mixture based on RSNI
– 01 – 2003.

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VII. REFERENCES
• American Society for Testing and materials. “Standard Test Method of
Bituminous Material”, No. ASTM D5 – 06.
• Pustran – Balitbang PU. “Metode Pengujian Penetrasi Bahan-Bahan
Bitumen”. SNI 06-2456-1991.

VIII. APPENDIX

Figure 2. The Machine and Asphalt during Testing

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