The procedure, as recommended in various standards, is for determining the quantity of water required to
produce a cement paste of standard consistency. The standard consistency is attained when the 10 mm
plunger of the apparatus penetrates the material to a pre-determined depth under free-fall. A new sample
is prepared and tested with initial and final needles in accordance with the procedure described in various
specifications. Vicat Apparatus consists of a frame bearing a movable rod with a cap at top and a vicat
mould in the form of the frustum of a cone, (80+5)/70 + 5mm dia at the base,(70mm+5mm) /60 mm at the
top and 40 mm high, and with a glass base plate of minimum 2.5 mm thickness with various models of
Vicat apparatus
