How to check consistency of Bituminous material and its significance

To find consistency of bituminous material, penetration test is performed.

Penetration of Bituminous material

The penetration of bituminous material is the distance in tenths of millimeter that a standard needle penetrates vertically into a sample of material.

The sample material is of bitumen. And the test is performed under fixed conditions of temperature 25 C (77F), load  100 gram and time 5 seconds. Other conditions may be used for special testing. In such case, the specific conditions of test shall be reported.

Significance and use

The penetration test is used as a measure of consistency. Higher values of penetration indicate softer consistency.