Rationale

In 2024, a ballot to incorporate two new digital refractive index meters into the method was completed based on two reports from the US Military. At the December 2024 Subcommittee J meeting in Anaheim, CA, the task force was informed that the number of samples required in the method was no longer aligned with the number of samples used in the two validating research reports. In reviewing the research reports, it is clear that the “repeatability” of the digital meters from the data presented indicates that fewer sample repeats are needed to produce a valid result, and therefore a change is proposed to the test method. (See example report below). The motion to ballot was approved by the Subcommittee J Chair in an email dated April 15, 2025.