Determination of the flash point of petroleum products in an open crucible by the Cleveland Method
In 2020, a large-scale equipment upgrade is taking place in the stationary laboratories of the FAA ROSDORNIA within the framework of the national project "Safe and High-quality Roads". The new equipment will be used in the framework of quality monitoring (audit) for testing road construction materials for compliance with the requirements of existing regulatory and technical documents. We tell you about the installations and devices in detail.
The flash point of bitumen vapor and ignition of petroleum products characterizes the fire resistance of the material, the indicator is of great importance for ensuring safety during work. The device that is used for this is an automatic device for determining the flash point of petroleum products in an open crucible using the Cleveland Method. The test is carried out in accordance with GOST 33141-2014 "Public roads. Bitumen oil road viscous. Method for determining flash temperatures. A method using an open crucible of Cleveland".
Bitumen is poured into a special heating container – a crucible – and heated with an electric heater. Then, starting from a temperature not less than 28 ° C below the expected flash point of bitumen, electric spark ignition is used. So – with each increase in the sample temperature by 2 ± 0.5 ° C. The flash point is taken to be the value at which, with the appearance of a fire source, the ignition of petroleum product vapors occurs over an open crucible: a bluish flame appears. After determining the flash point, the crucible is automatically closed with a lid to ensure fire safety.
The device itself consists of a control unit and a heating unit, which in turn consists of an analyzer tube, a product temperature sensor, a spark gap and an ionization ring, a reflector, the crucible itself and the crucible lid.
The device provides automatic fixation and memorization of the flash point with automatic correction for atmospheric pressure; automatic maintenance of the product heating rate and spark ignition power; there is no need to connect to a gas source. The built-in fan for cooling the heater allows you to proceed to the next test faster. It is also possible to view the test results, as well as print them via the serial port.