ASTM D4753 : 25

Standard Guide for Evaluating, Selecting, and Specifying Balances and Standard Masses for Use in Soil, Rock, and Construction Materials Testing

Standard Details

1.1 This guide provides minimum requirements for general-purpose balances and standard masses used in testing soil, rock, and related construction materials.

1.2 This guide provides guidance for evaluating, selecting, and specifying general purpose balances and standard masses used in testing soil, rock, and related construction materials. While ‘balance’ is the preferred term to be used in D18 standards for consistency, a weight-measuring device referred to as a ‘scale’ may be used, provided it meets the requirements of this standard.

1.3 The accuracy requirements for balances are specified in terms of the combined effect of all sources of error contributing to overall balance performance. The measurement of specific sources of error and consideration of details pertaining to balance construction has been intentionally avoided.

1.4 This guide does not include requirements for balances having accuracies greater than those generally required in testing soil, rock, and related construction materials or for research programs or specialized testing requirements.

1.5 This guide does not apply to nongraduated balances.

1.6 This guide does not address the methods used to verify or quantify specific parameters dealing with balances. For a description of tests used in evaluating balance performance, see NIST Handbook 44.

1.7 This guide is not intended to be used as a specification for the purchase of balances.

Note 1: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), formerly the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), and the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) publish standards or practices that specify construction requirements as well as performance guides for balances. ASTM, OIML, and NIST publish construction standards and tolerances for standard masses.

Note 2: The terms “mass” and “determine the mass of” are used in this standard instead of the more commonly used terms “weight” and “weigh” to comply with standard metric practice. In addition, the term “standard mass(es)” is used instead of “standard weight(s)” when referring to a piece of material of known specified mass used to compare or measure the mass of other masses.

1.8 It is standard practice that mass measurements of soil and rock are not corrected for the buoyant density of air. Any content in the referenced documents that refers to this direction may be disregarded.

1.9 Units—The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard. Reporting of test results in units other than SI shall not be regarded as nonconformance with this standard.

1.10 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.

1.11 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, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.12 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.