American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTM
Standards and Codes

ASTM Updates for March, 2012

American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTMThis post contains a list of new, revised and otherwise updated ASTM standards that pertain to the geotechnical engineering, materials testing and related fields. Standard C39/C39M for testing the compressive strength of concrete cyllinders was updated, as was C42/42m for obtaining and testing drilled cores and sawed beams of concrete.  The month of March also saw several geosynthetic standards being updated or added, including new standards for selecting the test method for geomembrane seams, and for testing the flexural rigidity of geogrids and other geosynthetics.  There are also a few updated standards related to asphalt mix design and sampling of asphalt.  Click through for updated ASTM Standards relating to geoprofessionals.

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American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTM
Standards and Codes

ASTM Updates October 2010

American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTMTime again for a summary of changes to ASTM standards that may be of interest to geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists and those in geoconstruction and even lab testing or CQA. This month there is a new standard for a new type of geomembrane, revisions to standards relating to ultrasonic testing and general nondestructive testing terminology, evaluation of particle shape in aggregates, and re-approval of standards relating to non-asbestos fiber-cement based products. Click through for more.

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American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTM
Standards and Codes

ASTM Updates August 2009

American Society of Testing Materials Logo - ASTMAnother 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.

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Project Related

Geosynthetics at De-Icing Facitility

GeoSynthetica was kind enough to track down an interesting case study in the use of geosynthetics at a new de-icing facility at Cleveland’s Hopkins International Airport. Ethylene Glycol and Propylene Glycol are commonly used de-icing chemicals. Most de-icing is done at the gate to avoid flight delays, but it also increases the chance of environmental contamination. In the design of a new dedicated de-icing facility at the airport, geosynthetic clay liners (GCL), Geocells, geotextiles and geocomposites were all used to handle chemical-laden runoff as well as regular runoff during the non-icy times of year. Also there is a problem with high water table and a resulting detrimental effect on the pavement subgrade. This is where the aggregate-filled geocells were used. Read on for the link. (Photo by Spiritwood Images)

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