Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: 1859c547-c10c-4ce4-ad2e-e54f7b66d4ef
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Laboratory Investigations of Soils and Rocks for Engineering Analysis and Design of Nuclear Power Plants + HISTORY – HISTORY 07/2014 – DG-1256 , Proposed Revision 3 08/2001 – DG-1109 , Proposed Revision 2 (Rev. 3)
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 1
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1318/ML13186A032.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-1.138
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
in laboratory practices for soil testing should be responsible for handling samples, DG-1256, Page 9 preparing test specimens, specifying testing procedures and operations, and completing all related documentation. 5.2. Soil Testing a. Laboratory personnel should perform classification tests and engineering properties tests according to an accepted and published method. Appendix A shows laboratory procedures for some of the most common tests, along with other related references. These include the following: (1) water content (2) permeability (3) unit weights (4) consolidation (5) void ratio (6) direct shear (7) porosity (8) triaxial compression (9) saturation (10) unconfined compression (11) Atterberg limits (12) relative density (13) specific gravity (14) grain size analysis (15) erodibility (16) compaction b. The number of tests required in a laboratory investigation program will depend on the type of material, the quality of samples, the purpose and relative importance of the test, and the scatter of test data. In general, investigators should first identify and classify all soils and rocks sampled at the site using appropriate index and classification tests. The Unified Soil Classification System (ASTM D2487) should be used to describe soils and prepare soil profiles, while ASTM D5878, “Standard Guide for Using Rock Mass Classification Systems for Engineering Purposes” (Ref. 26) should be used to classify rock mass for specific engineering purposes. Further tests required to establish physical and engineering properties should be sufficient to define the range of values for material properties. The number of tests should be sufficient to cover the range of values expected under field conditions. c. Standard test procedures, when followed without deviation and performed on standard equipment, require documentation by reference only. For tests for which no standard procedures are available or for which modified or alternative procedures are appropriate,