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A new ASTM International test method that provides standardization for a long-used test will aid in the use and evolution of geotextile bag technology, according to a Feb. 24 ASTM press release.
The release said that the new standard, ASTM D7701, “Test Method for Determining the Flow Rate of Water and Suspended Soils from a Geotextile Bag,” was developed by Subcommittee D35.03 on Permeability and Filtration, part of ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics. ASTM said that D7701 is based on a test that has been used extensively during the last 20 years, but it has not been standardized until now.
“ASTM D7701 will allow the end user of geotextile tubes to have an idea of the performance of a proposed geotextile when used in a geotextile tube,” said Robert Lozano, a senior geotechnical engineer/corporate geosynthetic specialist with The Reinforced Earth Co., and a D35 member. “Without this test, a full-size trial becomes imperative, increasing costs and [the] risk of selecting the wrong material, increasing the chance of release sediments or clogging the proposed geotextile while in a full-scale test.” Lozano said that consultants, engineers, designers, owners and fabricators who use geotextile tubes in dewatering slurries and coaster structures will be the primary users of ASTM D7701.
The release noted that all interested parties, including design engineers, manufacturers and installers of geotextile tubes, are welcome to join in the standards developing activities of D35.03. ASTM International welcomes and encourages participation in the development of its standards. Click here for more information on becoming an ASTM member.
ASTM International is one of the largest international standards development and delivery systems in the world. ASTM International meets the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles for the development of international standards: coherence, consensus, development dimension, effectiveness, impartiality, openness, relevance and transparency. ASTM standards are accepted and used in research and development, product testing, quality systems and commercial transactions.
ASTM Committee D35 next meeting: June 27-29, 2012, San Diego, Calif.
Technical contact: Robert Lozano, The Reinforced Earth Co., Vienna, Va.; phone: +1 703 821 1175, ext. 242
ASTM staff contact: Jeffrey Adkins, phone: +1 610 832 9738