National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 1426:2024. It supersedes BS EN 1426:2015, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee PTI/13, Petroleum Testing and Terminology.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 30 November 2024.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 16 September 2024.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (EN 1426:2024) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 336 “Bitumens and bituminous binders”, the secretariat of which is held by AFNOR.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by May 2025, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by May 2025.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes EN 1426:2015.

EN 1426:2024 includes the following significant changes with respect to EN 1426:2015:

Clause 1, Scope, has been updated;
Clause 2, Normative references, has been updated;
Clause 5, Apparatus, has been updated and revised, so that:
- the specifications of the penetrometer (5.1) have been further detailed and a substructure of 5.1 has been introduced;
- the specifications of the penetration needle and ferrule (5.2) have been further detailed and a substructure has been introduced;
- the specifications of the test sample container (5.3) have been further detailed to include containers of different volumes for which a substructure has been introduced;
- the transfer equipment (5.5) now consists of a transfer bath and a transfer dish;
Clause 6, Calibration and verification, has been added containing the revised and expanded specifications of former subclause 5.8;
Clause 7, Sampling, has been updated and further detailed regarding, e.g. filling the test sample container, duration between test sample preparation and start of testing and the specification of the ambient temperature;
Clause 8, Procedure, has been updated and revised to include, e.g. the updated apparatus and automatic surface detection;
the former subclause 7.1, Preparation of the needle holder and needles, has been split up into new subclause 8.1, Preparation of the penetrometer, and new subclause 8.2, Preparation of the penetration needles, and the specifications of former subclause 5.2.2 on the continuous check of penetration needles have been move there;
Clause 11, Test report, has been updated;
Figures 1 and 2 have been updated;
the Bibliography has been updated.

Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

1 Scope

This document specifies a method for the determination of the needle penetration of bitumens and bituminous binders.

The standard procedure for the determination of the needle penetration (consistency) is described for penetrations up to (330 × 0,1) mm at a temperature of 25 °C. The method also allows for penetrations up to (500 × 0,1) mm using a longer needle.

WARNING — — The use of this document can involve hazardous materials, operations and equipment. This document does not purport to address all of the safety problems associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this document to establish appropriate safety and health practices and to determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Principle

5 Apparatus

5.1 Penetrometer

5.2 Penetration needle and ferrule

5.3 Test sample container

5.4 Constant temperature bath (water bath)

5.5

5.6

5.7

5.8

5.9

6 Calibration and verification

7 Sampling

7.1

7.2

7.3

7.4

7.5

8 Procedure

8.1 Preparation of the penetrometer

8.2 Preparation of the penetration needles

8.3 Tests in the constant temperature bath

8.4 Tests outside the constant temperature bath

8.5 Determination of the penetration

8.6 Maximum range of valid determinations

8.7 Follow-up of the determination

9 Expression of results

10 Precision

10.1 Repeatability, r

10.2 Reproducibility, R

11 Test report

12 Figures

Bibliography

BS EN 1426:2024

Bitumens and bituminous binders. Determination of needle penetration

Current

Published:

30 Nov 2024