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ASTM D 2216 : 2005

Superseded

Superseded

A superseded Standard is one, which is fully replaced by another Standard, which is a new edition of the same Standard.

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Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Determination of Water (Moisture) Content of Soil and Rock by Mass

Available format(s)

Hardcopy , PDF

Superseded date

11-11-2014

Superseded by

ASTM D 2216 : 2010

Language(s)

English

Published date

01-03-2005

€67.30
Excluding VAT

Committee
D 18
DocumentType
Test Method
Pages
7
PublisherName
American Society for Testing and Materials
Status
Superseded
SupersededBy
Supersedes

1.1 These test methods cover the laboratory determination of the water (moisture) content by mass of soil, rock, and similar materials where the reduction in mass by drying is due to loss of water except as noted in , , and . For simplicity, the word "material" shall refer to soil, rock or aggregate whichever is most applicable.

1.2 Some disciplines, such as soil science, need to determine water content on the basis of volume. Such determinations are beyond the scope of this test method.

1.3 The water content of a material is defined in .

1.4 The term "solid material" as used in geotechnical engineering is typically assumed to mean naturally occurring mineral particles of soil and rock that are not readily soluble in water. Therefore, the water content of materials containing extraneous matter (such as cement etc.) may require special treatment or a qualified definition of water content. In addition, some organic materials may be decomposed by oven drying at the standard drying temperature for this method (110°C). Materials containing gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate) or other compounds having significant amounts of hydrated water may present a special problem as this material slowly dehydrates at the standard drying temperature (110°C) and at very low relative humidity, forming a compound (such as calcium sulfate hemihydrate) that is not normally present in natural materials except in some desert soils. In order to reduce the degree of dehydration of gypsum in those materials containing gypsum or to reduce decomposition in highly/fibrous organic soils, it may be desirable to dry the materials at 60C or in a desiccator at room temperature. Thus, when a drying temperature is used which is different from the standard drying temperature as defined by this test method, the resulting water content may be different from the standard water content determined at the standard drying temperature of 110°C.

Note 1

Test Method D 2974 provides an alternate procedure for determining water content of peat materials.

1.5 Materials containing water with substantial amounts of soluble solids (such as salt in the case of marine sediments) when tested by this method will give a mass of solids that includes the previously soluble dissolved solids. These materials require special treatment to remove or account for the presence of precipitated solids in the dry mass of the specimen, or a qualified definition of water content must be used. For example, see Test Method D 4542 regarding information on marine sediments.

1.6 This test standard requires several hours for proper drying of the water content specimen. Test Methods D 4643, D 4944 and D 4959 provide less time-consuming processes for determining water content. See Gilbert for details on the background of Test Method D 4643.

1.7 Two test methods are provided in this standard. The methods differ in the significant digits reported and the size of the specimen (mass) required. The method to be used may be specified by the requesting authority; otherwise Method A shall be performed.

1.7.1 Method AThe water content by mass is recorded to the nearest 1 %. For cases of dispute, Method A is the referee method.

1.7.2 Method BThe water content by mass is recorded to the nearest 0.1 %.

1.8 This standard requires the drying of material in an oven. If the material being dried is contaminated with certain chemicals, health and safety hazards can exist. Therefore, this standard should not be used in determining the water content of contaminated soils unless adequate health and safety precautions are taken.

1.9 UnitsThe values stated in SI units shall be regarded as standard excluding the Alternative Sieve Sizes listed in . No other units of measurement are included in this test method.

1.10 Refer to Practice D 6026 for guidance concerning the use of significant figures that shall determine whether Method, A or B is required. This is especially important if the water content will be used to calculate other relationships such as moist mass to dry mass or vice versa, wet unit weight to dry unit weight or vice versa, and total density to dry density or vice versa. For example, if four significant digits are required in any of the above calculations, then the water content has to be recorded to the nearest 0.1 %. This occurs since 1 plus the water content (not in percent) will have four significant digits regardless of what the value of the water content is; that is, 1 plus 0.1/100 = 1.001, a value with four significant digits. While, if three significant digits are acceptable, then the water content can be recorded to the nearest 1 %.

This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

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ASTM D 5311/D5311M : 2013 Standard Test Method for Load Controlled Cyclic Triaxial Strength of Soil (Withdrawn 2022)
ASTM D 698 : 2012 : EDT 2 Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Standard Effort (12 400 ft-lbf/ft<sup>3</sup> (600 kN-m/m<sup>3</sup>))
ASTM D 4221 : 2018 Standard Test Method for Dispersive Characteristics of Clay Soil by Double Hydrometer
ASTM D 6393 : 2014 Standard Test Method for Bulk Solids Characterization by Carr Indices
ASTM D 854 : 2014 Standard Test Methods for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water Pycnometer (Withdrawn 2023)
ASTM D 2974 : 2014 Standard Test Methods for Moisture, Ash, and Organic Matter of Peat and Other Organic Soils
ASTM D 1140 : 2017 Standard Test Methods for Determining the Amount of Material Finer than 75-μm (No. 200) Sieve in Soils by Washing
ASTM G 158 : 1998 : R2016 Standard Guide for Three Methods of Assessing Buried Steel Tanks
ASTM D 4793 : 2009 : R2017 Standard Test Method for Sequential Batch Extraction of Waste with Water
ASTM D 4647/D4647M : 2013 Standard Test Methods for Identification and Classification of Dispersive Clay Soils by the Pinhole Test
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ASTM D 4959 : 2016 Standard Test Method for Determination of Water Content of Soil By Direct Heating
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ASTM D 6941 : 2019 Standard Practice for Measuring Fluidization Segregation Tendencies of Powders
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ASTM D 3967 : 2016 Standard Test Method for Splitting Tensile Strength of Intact Rock Core Specimens
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ASTM D 6528 : 2017 Standard Test Method for Consolidated Undrained Direct Simple Shear Testing of Fine Grain Soils
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ASTM D 5918 : 2013 : EDT 1 Standard Test Methods for Frost Heave and Thaw Weakening Susceptibility of Soils (Withdrawn 2022)
ASTM D 6773 : 2016 Standard Test Method for Bulk Solids Using Schulze Ring Shear Tester
ASTM D 7070 : 2016 Standard Test Methods for Creep of Rock Core Under Constant Stress and Temperature
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ASTM D 4644 : 2016 Standard Test Method for Slake Durability of Shales and Other Similar Weak Rocks
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ASTM D 558 : 2011 Standard Test Methods for Moisture-Density (Unit Weight) Relations of Soil-Cement Mixtures
ASTM D 5030/D5030M : 2013 : REV A Standard Test Methods for Density of Soil and Rock in Place by the Water Replacement Method in a Test Pit
ASTM E 1109 : 2019 Standard Test Method for Determining the Bulk Density of Solid Waste Fractions
ASTM D 4843 : 1988 : R2016 Standard Test Method for Wetting and Drying Test of Solid Wastes
ASTM D 6572 : 2013 : EDT 2 Standard Test Methods for Determining Dispersive Characteristics of Clayey Soils by the Crumb Test
ASTM D 7181 : 2011 Method for Consolidated Drained Triaxial Compression Test for Soils
ASTM D 4829 : 2011 Standard Test Method for Expansion Index of Soils
ASTM D 2167 : 2015 Standard Test Method for Density and Unit Weight of Soil in Place by the Rubber Balloon Method (Withdrawn 2024)
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ASTM D 8167/D8167M : 2018 : REV A Standard Test Method for In-Place Bulk Density of Soil and Soil-Aggregate by a Low-Activity Nuclear Method (Shallow Depth)
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ASTM D 7743 : 2012 Standard Test Method for Measuring the Minimum Fluidization Velocities of Free Flowing Powders
ASTM D 5080 : 2017 Standard Test Method for Rapid Determination of Percent Compaction
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ASTM D 5084 : 2016 : REV A Standard Test Methods for Measurement of Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Porous Materials Using a Flexible Wall Permeameter
ASTM D 1586/D1586M : 2018 Standard Test Method for Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Split-Barrel Sampling of Soils
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ASTM D 559/D559M : 2015 Standard Test Methods for Wetting and Drying Compacted Soil-Cement Mixtures
ASTM D 4914/D4914M : 2016 Standard Test Methods for Density of Soil and Rock in Place by the Sand Replacement Method in a Test Pit
ASTM E 2399/E2399M : 2019 Standard Test Method for Maximum Media Density for Dead Load Analysis of Vegetative (Green) Roof Systems
ASTM D 1634 : 2017 Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Soil-Cement Using Portions of Beams Broken in Flexure (Modified Cube Method)
ASTM D 6539 : 2013 Standard Test Method for Measurement of the Permeability of Unsaturated Porous Materials by Flowing Air (Withdrawn 2022)
ASTM D 5334 : 2014 Standard Test Method for Determination of Thermal Conductivity of Soil and Soft Rock by Thermal Needle Probe Procedure
ASTM D 7012 : 2014 : EDT 1 Standard Test Methods for Compressive Strength and Elastic Moduli of Intact Rock Core Specimens under Varying States of Stress and Temperatures
ASTM D 6758 : 2018 Standard Test Method for Measuring Stiffness and Apparent Modulus of Soil and Soil-Aggregate In-Place by Electro-Mechanical Method
ASTM D 7876 : 2013 : R2018 Standard Practice for Practice for Sample Decomposition Using Microwave Heating (With or Without Prior Ashing) for Atomic Spectroscopic Elemental Determination in Petroleum Products and Lubricants
ASTM D 6035/D6035M : 2013 Standard Test Method for Determining the Effect of Freeze-Thaw on Hydraulic Conductivity of Compacted or Intact Soil Specimens Using a Flexible Wall Permeameter
ASTM D 7100 : 2011 Standard Test Method for Hydraulic Conductivity Compatibility Testing of Soils with Aqueous Solutions
ASTM D 2435/D2435M : 2011 Standard Test Methods for One-Dimensional Consolidation Properties of Soils Using Incremental Loading
ASTM D 4646 : 2016 Standard Test Method for 24-h Batch-Type Measurement of Contaminant Sorption by Soils and Sediments
ASTM D 7608 : 2018 Standard Test Method for Torsional Ring Shear Test to Measure Drained Fully Softened Shear Strength and Stress Dependent Strength Envelope of Fine-Grained Soils
ASTM D 4015 : 2015 : EDT 1 Standard Test Methods for Modulus and Damping of Soils by Fixed-Base Resonant Column Devices
ASTM D 7698 : 2011 : REV A Standard Test Method for In-Place Estimation of Density and Water Content of Soil and Aggregate by Correlation with Complex Impedance Method
ASTM D 4554 : 2012 Standard Test Method for In Situ Determination of Direct Shear Strength of Rock Discontinuities (Withdrawn 2021)
ASTM D 560/D560M : 2016 Standard Test Methods for Freezing and Thawing Compacted Soil-Cement Mixtures
ASTM D 5240/D5240M : 2012 : R2013 : EDT 1 Standard Test Method for Evaluation of Durability of Rock for Erosion Control Using Sodium Sulfate or Magnesium Sulfate

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