Another busy month for ASTM with 66 new, revised or otherwise updated standards related to geotechnical and geological engineering (although not as busy as last month). A couple that caught my eye include brand new standards for geospatial data requirements related to abandoned mines, a new standard for sampling of EPS or geofoam, updated standards for mortar and cement, flexural strength of concrete, LA Abrasion test for aggregates, acceptance testing of geosynthetic clay liners, electrical methods for leak detection of geomembranes with earth cover and classification of soils and soil-aggregate mixtures for highway construction purpose (AASHTO classification).

Those involved in the materials testing side of the business should take a close look at the full list as there are also a number of updated standards relating to various asphalt and and aggregate tests, capping of concrete cyllinders and other related testing standards.

For my practice, perhaps the most significant standard that was updated was D 2488 - Standard Practice for Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-Manual Procedure) which we rely on for our field USCS classifications. I'll be curious to see what those changes entail. Click through for the full list.

New Standards

• C1702 - Standard Test Method for Measurement of Heat of Hydration of Hydraulic Cementitious Materials Using Isothermal Conduction Calorimetry is a new standard, now available. C1702-09
• C1715 - Standard Test Method for Evaluation of Water Leakage Performance of Masonry Wall Drainage Systems is a new standard, now available. C1715-09
• D7533/D7533M - Standard Practice for Minimum Geospatial Data for Abandoned Mine Land Problem Area is a new standard, now available. D7533/D7533M-09
• D7534/D7534M-09 - Standard Practice for Minimum Geospatial Data for Abandoned Mine Land Planning Unit is a new standard, now available. D7534/D7534M-09
• D7552 - Standard Test Method for Determining the Complex Shear Modulus (G*) Of Bituminous Mixtures Using Dynamic Shear Rheometer is a new standard, now available. D7552-09
• D7557 - Standard Practice for Sampling of Expanded Polystyrene Geofoam Specimens is a new standard, now available. D7557-09
• E2533 - Standard Guide for Nondestructive Testing of Polymer Matrix Composites Used in Aerospace Applications is a new standard, now available. E2533-09

Revised Standards

• C78 - Standard Test Method for Flexural Strength of Concrete (Using Simple Beam with Third-Point Loading) has been revised to C78-09
• C110 - Standard Test Methods for Physical Testing of Quicklime, Hydrated Lime, and Limestone has been revised to C110-09a
• C231 - Standard Test Method for Air Content of Freshly Mixed Concrete by the Pressure Method has been revised to C231-09a
• C457 - Standard Test Method for Microscopical Determination of Parameters of the Air-Void System in Hardened Concrete has been revised to C457-09
• C535 - Standard Test Method for Resistance to Degradation of Large-Size Coarse Aggregate by Abrasion and Impact in the Los Angeles Machine has been revised to C535-09
• C595/C595M - Standard Specification for Blended Hydraulic Cements has been revised (with designation change) to C595/C595M-09
• C617 - Standard Practice for Capping Cylindrical Concrete Specimens has been revised to C617-09a
• C878/C878M - Standard Test Method for Restrained Expansion of Shrinkage-Compensating Concrete has been revised to C878/C878M-09
• C989 - Standard Specification for Slag Cement for Use in Concrete and Mortars has been revised to C989-09a
• C1077 - Standard Practice for Laboratories Testing Concrete and Concrete Aggregates for Use in Construction and Criteria for Laboratory Evaluation has been revised to C1077-09a
• C1157/C1157 - Standard Performance Specification for Hydraulic Cement has been revised (with designation change) to C1157/C1157-09M-09
• C1581/C1581M - Standard Test Method for Determining Age at Cracking and Induced Tensile Stress Characteristics of Mortar and Concrete under Restrained Shrinkage has been revised (with designation change) to C1581/C1581M-09
• C1581/C1581M - Standard Test Method for Determining Age at Cracking and Induced Tensile Stress Characteristics of Mortar and Concrete under Restrained Shrinkage has been revised to C1581/C1581M-09a
• C1621/C1621M - Standard Test Method for Passing Ability of Self-Consolidating Concrete by J-Ring has been revised to C1621/C1621M-09b
• C1679 - Standard Practice for Measuring Hydration Kinetics of Hydraulic Cementitious Mixtures Using Isothermal Calorimetry has been revised to C1679-09
• D946 - Standard Specification for Penetration-Graded Asphalt Cement for Use in Pavement Construction has been revised to D946-09
• D1074 - Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Bituminous Mixtures has been revised to D1074-09
• D1754/D1754M - Standard Test Method for Effect of Heat and Air on Asphaltic Materials (Thin-Film Oven Test) has been revised (with designation change) to D1754/D1754M-09
• D1856 - Standard Test Method for Recovery of Asphalt From Solution by Abson Method has been revised to D1856-09
• D2488 - Standard Practice for Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-Manual Procedure) has been revised to D2488-09a
• D2940/D2940M - Standard Specification for Graded Aggregate Material For Bases or Subbases for Highways or Airports has been revised (with designation change) to D2940/D2940M-09
• D3282 - Standard Practice for Classification of Soils and Soil-Aggregate Mixtures for Highway Construction Purposes has been revised to D3282-09
• D4013 - Standard Practice for Preparation of Test Specimens of Bituminous Mixtures by Means of Gyratory Shear Compactor has been revised to D4013-09
• D4124 - Standard Test Method for Separation of Asphalt into Four Fractions has been revised (with title change) to D4124-09
• D4867/D4867M - Standard Test Method for Effect of Moisture on Asphalt Concrete Paving Mixtures has been revised to D4867/D4867M-09
• D4922 - Standard Test Method for Determination of Radioactive Iron in Water has been revised to D4922-09
• D4956 - Standard Specification for Retroreflective Sheeting for Traffic Control has been revised to D4956-09
• D6495 - Standard Guide for Acceptance Testing Requirements for Geosynthetic Clay Liners has been revised to D6495-09
• D7007 - Standard Practices for Electrical Methods for Locating Leaks in Geomembranes Covered with Water or Earth Materials has been revised to D7007-09
• D7384 - Standard Practice for Minimum Geospatial Data for a Surface Coal Mining Permit Boundary has been revised (with title change) to D7384-09
• D7443 - Standard Practice for Minimum Geospatial Data for Underground Coal Mining Extents has been revised to D7443-09
• E165 - Standard Practice for Liquid Penetrant Examination for General Industry has been revised (with title change) to E165-09
• E514/E514M - Standard Test Method for Water Penetration and Leakage Through Masonry has been revised (with designation change) to E514/E514M-09
• E1114 - Standard Test Method for Determining the Size of Iridium-192 Industrial Radiographic Sources has been revised to E1114-09
• E1255 - Standard Practice for Radioscopy has been revised to E1255-09
• E1316 - Standard Terminology for Nondestructive Examinations has been revised to E1316-09a
• E1416 - Standard Test Method for Radioscopic Examination of Weldments has been revised to E1416-09
• E1647 - Standard Practice for Determining Contrast Sensitivity in Radioscopy has been revised to E1647-09
• E1734 - Standard Practice for Radioscopic Examination of Castings has been revised to E1734-09
• E1931 - Standard Guide for X-Ray Compton Scatter Tomography has been revised to E1931-09
• E1962 - Standard Practice for Ultrasonic Surface Testing Using Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) Techniques has been revised (with title change) to E1962-09
• G85 - Standard Practice for Modified Salt Spray (Fog) Testing has been revised to G85-09

Reapproved Standards

• D4594 - Standard Test Method for Effects of Temperature on Stability of Geotextiles has been reapproved, available as D4594-96(2009)
• D5261 - Standard Test Method for Measuring Mass per Unit Area of Geotextiles has been reapproved, available as D5261-92(2009)
• D5322 - Standard Practice for Immersion Procedures for Evaluating the Chemical Resistance of Geosynthetics to Liquids has been reapproved, available as D5322-98(2009)
• D5596 - Standard Test Method for Microscopic Evaluation of the Dispersion of Carbon Black in Polyolefin Geosynthetics has been reapproved, available as D5596-03(2009)
• D6241 - Standard Test Method for the Static Puncture Strength of Geotextiles and Geotextile-Related Products Using a 50-mm Probe has been reapproved, available as D6241-04(2009)
• D6637 - Standard Test Method for Determining Tensile Properties of Geogrids by the Single or Multi-Rib Tensile Method has been reapproved, available as D6637-01(2009)
• D6818 - Standard Test Method for Ultimate Tensile Properties of Turf Reinforcement Mats has been reapproved, available as D6818-02(2009)
• D6913 - Standard Test Methods for Particle-Size Distribution (Gradation) of Soils Using Sieve Analysis has been reapproved, available as D6913-04(2009)

Other Changes to Standards

• D70 - Standard Test Method for Density of Semi-Solid Bituminous Materials (Pycnometer Method) has been editorially changed, available as D70-09e1
• D995 - Standard Specification for Mixing Plants for Hot-Mixed, Hot-Laid Bituminous Paving Mixtures (Withdrawn 2009) has been withdrawn, with no replacement. D995-95b(2002)
• D1883 - Standard Test Method for CBR (California Bearing Ratio) of Laboratory-Compacted Soils has been editorially changed, available as D1883-07e2
• D1997 - Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of the Fiber Content of Peat Samples by Dry Mass has been editorially changed, available as D1997-91(2008)e1
• D2589 - Standard Test Method for McNett Wet Classification of Dual Asbestos Fiber has been editorially changed, available as D2589-88(2006)e1
• D3497 - Standard Test Method for Dynamic Modulus of Asphalt Mixtures (Withdrawn 2009) has been withdrawn, with no replacement. D3497-79(2003)
• D3639 - Standard Test Method for Classification of Asbestos by Quebec Standard Test has been editorially changed, available as D3639-92(2006)e1

GeoPrac and ASTM Standards Updates

ASTM standards are an important part of my geotechnical engineering practice, and keeping up with changes can be a challenging thing. Their website offers an ASTM standards tracker service that will email you a weekly update on new, revised or otherwise modified standards for your areas of interest. I try to sift through these weekly updates and provide a monthly update to GeoPrac readers that contains changes to standards (no work items) that may be of interest to them in their practice. I look at updates from the following ASTM comittees:

• C01 - Cement
• C07 - Lime
• C09 - Concrete and Concrete Aggregates
• C15 - Manufactured Masonry Units
• C17 - Fiber-Reinforced Cement Products
• C18 - Dimension Stone
• C27 - Precast Concrete Products
• D04 - Road and Paving Materials
• D18 - Soil and Rock
• D19 - Water
• D35 - Geosynthetics
• E07 - Nondestructive Testing
• E27 - Hazard Potential of Chemicals
• E44 - Solar, Geothermal and Other Alternative Energy Sources
• G01 - Corrosion of Metals

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