ASTM D420

An adequate soil, rock, and ground water investigation will provide pertinent information for decision making on one or more of the following subjects:

3.1.1 Optimum location of the structure, both vertically and horizontally, within the area of the proposed construction.

3.1.2 Location and preliminary evaluation of suitable borrow and other local sources of construction aggregates.

3.1.3 Need for special excavating and dewatering techniques with the corresponding need for information, even if only approximate, on the distribution of soil water content or pore pressure, or both, and on the piezometric heads and apparent permeability (hydraulic conductivity) of the various subsurface strata.

3.1.4 Investigation of slope stability in natural slopes, cuts, and embankments.

3.1.5 Conceptual selection of embankment types and hydraulic barrier requirements.

3.1.6 Conceptual selection of alternate foundation types and elevations of the corresponding suitable bearing strata.

3.1.7 Development of additional detailed subsurface investigations for specific structures or facilities.

The investigation may require the collection of sufficiently large soil and rock samples of such quality as to allow adequate testing to determine the soil or rock classification or mineralogic type, or both, and the engineering properties pertinent to the proposed design.

This guide is not meant to be an inflexible description of investigation requirements; methods defined by other ASTM standards or non-ASTM techniques may be appropriate in some circumstances. The intent is to provide a checklist to assist in the design of an exploration/investigation plan.

1. Scope

1.1 This guide refers to ASTM methods by which soil, rock, and ground water conditions may be determined. The objective of the investigation should be to identify and locate, both horizontally and vertically, significant soil and rock types and ground water conditions present within a given site area and to establish the characteristics of the subsurface materials by sampling or in situ testing, or both.

1.2 Laboratory testing of soil, rock, and ground water samples is specified by other ASTM standards not listed herein. Subsurface exploration for environmental purposes will be the subject of a separate ASTM document.

1.3 Prior to commencement of any intrusive exploration the site should be checked for underground utilities. Should evidence of potentially hazardous or otherwise contaminated materials or conditions be encountered in the course of the investigation, work should be interrupted until the circumstances have been evaluated and revised instructions issued before resumption.

1.4 The values stated in (SI) inch-pound units are to be regarded as the standard.

1.5 This guide offers an organized collection of information or a series of options and does not recommend a specific course of action. This document cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard is not intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this document be applied without consideration of a project's many unique aspects. The word "Standard" in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.

1.6 This guide 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.

2. Referenced Documents

C119 Terminology Relating to Dimension Stone
C294 Descriptive Nomenclature for Constituents of Natural Mineral Aggregates
C851 Practice for Estimating Scratch Hardness of Coarse Aggregate Particles
D1194 Test Method for Bearing Capacity of Soil for Static Load and Spread Footings
D1195 Test Method for Repetitive Static Plate Load Tests of Soils and Flexible Pavement Components, for Use in Evaluation and Design of Airport and Highway Pavements
D1196 Test Method for Nonrepetitive Static Plate Load Tests of Soils and Flexible Pavement Components, for Use in Evaluation and Design of Airport and Highway Pavements
D1452 Practice for Soil Investigation and Sampling by Auger Borings
D1586 Test Method for Penetration Test and Split-Barrel Sampling of Soils
D1587 Practice for Thin-Walled Tube Sampling of Soils
D2113 Practice for Rock Core Drilling, and Sampling of Rock for Site Investigation
D2487 Classification of Soils for Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System)
D2488 Practice for Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-Manual Procedure)
D2573 Test Method for Field Vane Shear Test in Cohesive Soil
D2607 Classification of Peats, Mosses, Humus, and Related Products
D3017 Test Method for Water Content of Soil and Rock in Place by Nuclear Methods (Shallow Depth)
D3213 Practices for Handling, Storing, and Preparing Soft Undisturbed Marine Soil
D3282 Classification of Soils and Soil-Aggregate Mixtures for Highway Construction Purposes
D3385 Test Method for Infiltration Rate of Soils in Field Using Double-Ring Infiltrometers
D3404 Guide to Measuring Matric Potential in the Vadose Zone Using Tensiometers
D3441 Test Method for Deep, Quasi-Static, Cone and Friction-Cone Penetration Tests of Soil
D3550 Practice for Ring-lined Barrel Sampling of Soils
D3584 Practice for Indexing Papers and Reports on Soil and Rock for Engineering Purposes
D4083 Practice for Description of Frozen Soils (Visual-Manual Procedure)
D4220 Practices for Preserving and Transporting Soil Samples
D4394 Test Method for Determining the In Situ Modulus of Deformation of Rock Mass Using the Rigid Plate Loading Method
D4395 Test Method for Determining the In Situ Modulus of Deformation of Rock Mass Using the Flexible Plate Loading Method
D4403 Practice for Extensometers Used in Rock
D4428 Test Methods for Crosshole Seismic Testing
D4429 Test Method for CBR (California Bearing Ratio) of Soils in Place
D4452 Methods for X-Ray Radiography of Soil Samples
D4506 Test Method for Determining the In Situ Modulus of Deformation of Rock Mass Using a Radial Jacking Test
D4544 Practice for Estimating Peat Deposit Thickness
D4553 Test Method for Determining the In Situ Creep Characteristics of Rock
D4554 Test Method for In Situ Determination of Direct Shear Strength of Rock Discontinuities
D4555 Test Method for Determining Deformability and Strength of Weak Rock by an In Situ Uniaxial Compressive Test
D4622 Test Method for Rock Mass Monitoring Using Inclinometers
D4623 Test Method for Determination of In Situ Stress in Rock Mass by Overcoring Method-USBM Borehole Deformation Gage
D4630 Test Method for Determining Transmissivity and Storativity of Low Permeability Rocks by In Situ Measurements Using the Constant Head Injection Test
D4631 Test Method for Determining Transmissivity and Storativity of Low Permeability Rocks by In Situ Measurements Using the Pressure Pulse Technique
D4633 Test Method for Stress Wave Energy Measurement for Dynamic Penetrometer Testing Systems
D4645 Test Method for Determination of the In Situ Stress in Rock Using the Hydraulic Fracturing Method
D4700 Guide for Soil Sampling from the Vadose Zone
D4719 Test Method for Pressuremeter Testing in Soils
D4729 Test Method for In Situ Stress and Modulus of Deformation Using the Flatjack Method
D4750 Test Method for Determining Subsurface Liquid Levels in a Borehole or Monitoring Well (Observation Well)
D4879 Guide for Geotechnical Mapping of Large Underground Openings in Rock
D4971 Test Method for Determining the In Situ Modulus of Deformation of Rock Using the Diametrically Loaded 76-mm (3-in.) Borehole Jack
D5079 Practices for Preserving and Transporting Rock Core Samples
D5088 Practice for Decontamination of Field Equipment Used at Nonradioactive Waste Sites
D5092 Practice for Design and Installation of Ground Water Monitoring Wells in Aquifers
D5093 Test Method for Field Measurement of Infiltration Rate Using a Double-Ring Infiltrometer with a Sealed-Inner Ring
D5126 Guide for Comparison of Field Methods for Determining Hydraulic Conductivity in the Vadose Zone
D5195 Test Method for Density of Soil and Rock In-Place at Depths Below the Surface by Nuclear Methods
D653 Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids
D75 Practice for Sampling Aggregates
E177 Practice for the Use of the Terms Precision and Bias in ASTM Test Methods
E380 Practice for the Use of the International System of Units (SI) (the Modernized Metric System)
G51 Test Method for pH of Soil for Use in Corrosion Testing
G57 Method for Field Measurement of Soil Resistivity Using the Wenner Four-Electrode Method

Index Terms

explorations; feasibility studies; field investigations; foundation investigations; geological investigations; geophysical investigation; ground water; hydrologic investigations; maps; preliminary investigations; reconnaissance surveys; sampling; site investigations (see Practice D 3584); soil surveys; subsurface investigations; ICS Number Code 93.020 (Earth works. Excavations. Foundation construction. Underground works)

Citing ASTM Standards

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