Lab Report Ring and Ball, Skid Test

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

CETB 411 HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING LABORATORY

EXPERIMENT 3.7 : Ring and Ball Test

PREPARED BY : SECTION 03

NO. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

NAME Group Members : Nurfarah Izzati binti Ahmad Yusoff Muhammad Azim bin Ab. Rahaman Nurul Asyikin Binti Mustafa Bakari Nurshakirah Binti Hafiz Saleha Binti Anuar

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF : MR. MOHD ZAKWAN BIN RAMLI

SEMESTER 1 2016/2017

ID NO. CE 093891 CE 091734 CE 093818 CE 090633 CE 094152

INTRODUCTION This test method covers the determination of the softening point of bitumen where the softening point is defined as the mean of the temperatures at which the bituminous materials softened and sagged downward under the weight of steel ball. Bitumens are viscoelastic materials without sharply defined melting points; they gradually become softer and less viscous as the temperature rises. For this reason, softening points must be determined by an arbitrary and closely defined method if results are to be reproducible. The softening point is useful in the classification of bitumens, as one element in establishing the uniformity of shipments or sources of supply, and is indicative of the tendency of the material to flow at elevated temperatures encountered in service.

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this experiment are : 

To determine the softening point of bitumen by means of the Ring-and-Ball apparatus.

APPARATUS The apparatus used in this experiment are :     

Ring and ball testing equipment Thermometer Brass ring Steel ball Base plate

Procedure 1. Hot asphalt is poured into the ring and cooled at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then, the sample is levelled 2. The ring is placed on the ring holder and suspended in a bath/ beaker that is filled with distilled water at 5 C. The temperature is maintained for 15 minutes 3. The ball is placed in each ball-centering guide using forceps 4. The bath is heated and stirred at a controlled rate of 5 C while make sure that the increasing is uniform and the temperature is being recorded 5. When the bitumen is softened and sinks with the ball, the temperature is recorded

ROAD SKID RESISTANCE

CONCLUSION : The objective of this experiment which is to determine the skid resistance value of road pavement surface has been successfully met. Based on the obtained result, additional water on the surface will causes the surface friction reduce as more as 60% of the actual friction. The higher the grip provided by the surface, the higher the friction will be, there will fewer tendencies for a vehicle to skid and consequently lower readings on the Portable Skid Resistance Tester. Therefore, water on road pavement should be minimize as it cannot take shear and reduce the friction of the surface. From the obtained result, we can determine that minor gradient of slope is an advantage to avoid ponding on the road pavement and will direct the water into the drainage.

During the experiment, error do occur and affect the result of the test. Error such as wrong setting or wrong way of using the apparatus and the apparatus condition is not satisfying will affect the test result. In order to improve the data accuracy, test apparatus should be used in a proper way and regular checking of the apparatus condition is needed as it play the major results of determining the skid resistance of the surface. Skid resistance is paramount importance towards the road safety. Hence, a road should have a surface that gives a better grip between tyre and road surface.