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.