Viscosity Test of Bitumen

DETERMINATION OF INDUSTRIAL VISCOSITY

Aim

To determine the industrial viscosity of bitumen, road tar, and cutback bitumen.

The industrial viscosity is measured by determining the time taken by 50-cm3 volume of
material to flow from a cup through a specified orifice in standard conditions of
temperature and a specified temperature.

Important Terms related to Industrial Viscosity of Bitumen

Industrial viscosity: It is the property of a fluid by virtue of which it is able to resist the flow
caused by internal friction.

Apparatus

Tar viscometer is used for determining industrial viscosity of bitumen whose parts are
discussed below:

 Cup: It is also known as a 10-mm cup and has a specified orifice and valve. It is made
up of hard brass tube.
It has an external brass collar at the upper open end of the cylindrical cup. The collar
helps in supporting the cup in the sleeve of the water bath.
While a phosphor-bronze plate, which is circular in shape is screwed into the cylinder
and made conical. It has centrally located extensions made up of same material and
cylindrical in shape. The plate helps in the drainage of tar after use.
The extension is drilled and polished to form an orifice of 10 mm diameter. If the
upper rim of the orifice is not perfectly circular, then the valve cannot be properly
seated.
Internal Diameter of cup = 40.0 ± 0.5 mm
External Diameter of cup = 42.0 ± 0.5 mm
Diameter of orifice = 10.000 ± 0.025 mm
Length of jet = 5.000 ± 0.025 mm
[For CUTBACK BITUMEN, 4-mm cup is used instead of 10-mm. Dia of the orifice is
reduced to 4.000 ± 0.025 mm.]

 Water bath: It is cylindrical in shape and is made of a copper sheet. Heating of the
bath is done electrically. Ensure that local heating is avoided. The water bath is
placed on three equidistant legs riveted to the wall of the bath. The legs are of such
length that a 100-mm cylinder can be placed below the cup orifice.
Diameter of water bath = 160 mm
Depth of water bath = 105 mm

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 Viscosity Test of Bitumen

 Valve: It is in the shape of a sphere and is made up of phosphor-bronze. It is

attached to a metal rod provided with a levelling peg at upper part and hemisphere
by which valve is held. It helps in closing the orifice attached to the 10-mm cup.

 Sleeve: It is in the form of a stout brass tube, which is bronzed into a central hole cut
in the bottom of the water bath. It helps in receiving the cup so that the cup remains
in position. It has an easing sliding fit.
Internal Diameter of sleeve = 45 mm
Height of sleeve = 105 mm

 Stirrer: It has 4 vertical vanes. The upper and lower portions of the stirrer can be
turned in opposite directions. The stirrer is mounted on a cylinder slipping on the
sleeve through an easy sliding fit. The cylinder is cut between the vanes so that heat
can be transferred from water in the bath to the tar in the cup. To prevent the water
from the water bath from entering the tar cup on raising the stirring system, vertical
grooves are provided on the inner surface of the cylinder.

 Curved shield: It is fixed at the upper edge of the cylinder. It is extended to a

distance within 5 mm of the walls of the water bath. An insulating handle to
facilitate rotation of stirrer, a swivelled support for the valve, and support for
thermometer are present on this curved shield.

 Receiver: It is a measuring cylinder with graduations at 20, 25, and 75 ml capacities.

Its total capacity is 100 ml.
Internal Diameter ≯ 29 mm

 2-Thermometer- Two standard thermometers are required- one is placed in the

water bath and another in the cup. The range of both the thermometers should be
from 0 to 44 °C. The least count is 0.2 °C.

Other accessory apparatus include:

 Timing device like stopwatch or stop clock- It should be able to measure up to 0.5
seconds.

Materials

 Bitumen sample to be tested

 Non-corroding Solvent, e.g. Phenol-free light tar oil

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 Viscosity Test of Bitumen

Precaution

Following precautions should be taken while performing the viscosity of bitumen test to
obtain accurate results:

- Rotate the stirrer when the sample is heated in tar cup

- The temperature should be strictly adhered to during the entire test
- Test temperature should not be lower than 20 °C and it should be in the multiples of
5 °C
- Care should be taken while using the tar cup during its cleaning- it should be cleaned
gently
- Non-corroding solvents should be used such as light tar oils free from phenols
- Do not use duster for cleaning as it may lead to abrasion of the metal
- The orifice at the top of the tar cup should be checked for its diameter frequently
with a gauge
- Calibration of thermometer should be done periodically

Procedure

 Adjust the tar viscometer in such a way that the top of the tar cup is levelled.
 Heat the water bath to the specified temperature of the test and maintain it at the
same temperature throughout the test duration. Tolerance of ± 0.1 °C is allowed.
[The specified test temperatures are 35°C, 45°C, 55°C, and 65°C.]
 Rotate the stirrer gently at frequent intervals. Continuous rotation is preferred.
 Clean the orifice of the tar cup of viscometer with a suitable solvent and allow it to
dry completely.
 Heat the bitumen sample to a temperature of about 20°C above the specified test
temperature and allow it to cool. Meanwhile, rotate the stirrer continuously.
 Allow the sample to cool up to a temperature slightly above than the specified test
temperature.
 Pour the tar into the tar cup then after till the levelling peg on the valve is just
immersed. During this, the valve rod should be kept vertical.
 Take 20 ml of mineral oil or 1 % by weight solution of soft soap and pour it into the
graduated receiver.
 Place the graduated receiver under the orifice of tar cup.
 Place the second thermometer in the tar.
 Continue stirring the tar until the temperature falls within ± 0.1 °C of the specified
test temperature.
 Then, suspend the thermometer co-axially to the cup with its bulb at the geometric
centre of the tar approximately.

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 Viscosity Test of Bitumen

 Allow the assembly of the apparatus to stand for 5 minutes. During this time, the
thermometer reading should remain within 0.5 °C of the specified test temperature.
 Remove the thermometer.
 Also, remove the excess of tar, if any quickly. This ensures that the final level is on
the centre line of the levelling peg when the valve is vertical.
 Suspend the valve on the valve support by lifting it.
 Start the stopwatch or stop-clock or any other time recording device when the
reading on the cylinder is 25 ml.
 Note the time in seconds when the reading on the cylinder is 75 ml by stopping the
stopwatch.
 Repeat the test for a few times with the same material and note down the results.

Report

The time at which the reading of the cylinder reaches 75 ml from 25 ml is to be noted down
for all the three samples along with the specified test temperature.

Whether the sample is tested as received or dried before testing is also reported. If drying is
done, then the method of drying is also noted.

If the sample is tested as received, then water is present in it. And the presence of water has
a notable effect on viscosity.

Observation Table

(A sample observation table is drawn below)

Specified test Test Number

temperature = __°C 1 2 3
Time in sec

Industrial Viscosity of the sample = Average value of 1, 2 and 3.

Result

The time taken by 50 ml of tar to flow out is recorded to the nearest whole number as the
viscosity of the tar sample.

The time taken by the three tar samples should lie within ±4 % of the mean value of the
three readings.

While using CUTBACK BITUMEN, the tolerance in the difference in readings is tabulated
below:

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 Viscosity Test of Bitumen

Viscosity Repeatability
< 20 sec 2 sec
20-40 sec 2 sec
> 40 sec 5 % of the mean

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