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.