Statistical Evaluation of Validity of KS Asphalt Penetration Grade System

In this study, the Korean Industrial Standard(KS) penetration grade system was examined to evaluate its statistical validity. It was found from this limited study that the system has no gap between each grade, the binder falling out of limit trespasses into other binder grade. Therefore, many products can have similar property level with an adjacent grade even though the mean value is within the specification limit. It was also found out that the equal range setup of each grade, such as 20 for 40-60, 60-80, 80-100, has no statistical foundation. Since KS penetration grade is defined without gap between each grade, the producer must maintain the coefficient of variation below the level by the ASTM system to satisfy the normal quality control limit of products. Due to its lack of a gap between grades, higher percentage of products will be duplicated even if the mean is at the median of the specification limits due to material's quality uncertainty. Especially if the mean moves toward the upper limit, a half or more of the binder grade will be overlapped with the upper binder grade. Therefore, KS penetration specification should be immediately modified by statistically valid methodologies.