Cannon TE-BBR, Instruction & Operation Manual

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38 TE-BBR Instruction and Operation Manual
4. Cure the specimen.
After trimming the filled mold, allow the mold to remain at room temperature for one hour (± 15
minutes) before demolding. This period of time is necessary for the specimen to reach thermal
equilibrium.
Specimen Demolding
Before demolding, prepare the bending beam instrument for operation. Make sure to allow time for
the bath to reach the test temperature and stabilize. The bath should be equilibrated at the test
temperature for at least 30 minutes before running the test.
Load the BBRw software.
1. Cool the specimen.
Caution: Use caution when cooling the specimen as asphalt may be brittle at
lower temperatures. Do not use the TE-BBR test bath to cool the sample.
Immersing the warm mold in the bath could disturb the temperature
equilibration and force a delay in testing.
If cooling is too rapid, the difference in contraction rate between the mold and
the asphalt may result in internal stresses and cracking.
2. Demold the specimen per the following instructions:
a. Remove the specimen from its cooling place and, if needed, wipe it dry. Demolding should
start immediately.
b. Remove the O-rings. Then shear the base plate to the side.
c. Carefully peel off the base plate plastic sheet adhering to the asphalt specimen.
d. Shear off the side bars by applying opposite rotations at the ends of the bars. Then peel off
the side plastic strips and remove the end pieces.
e. Inspect the asphalt specimen to make sure that the sides are uniform and free of any
irregularities.
3. Store the asphalt beams in the test bath. A small beaker or wire frame in a corner of the bath
can be used for this purpose.
4. Record the time the beam is placed in the bath.