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
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CFR Title: 

Content:
on of Soils for Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System)” (Ref. 22), describes the various soil groups in detail and discusses the method of identification so that those who use the system can follow a uniform classification procedure. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Testing Handbook (RTH) Standard 102-93, “Recommended Practice for Petrographic Examination of Rock Cores” (Ref. 23), describes procedures to use in the petrographic examination of rock core samples. Petrographic examinations determine the physical and chemical properties of a material, describe and classify a sample, and determine the amount of specific materials that may affect the specimen’s intended use. 4. Selection and Preparation of Test Specimens 4.1. General a. Undisturbed samples of earth fill should be taken for confirmatory testing during construction and in the testing and re-evaluation of existing structures. b. Procedures for preparing soil samples for testing should be documented. Details of procedures depend on the nature of the test and the specimen. For additional information, EM 1110-2-1906 describes procedures for preparing soil samples for testing, and ASTM D4452 can be used to determine the quality of a sample before testing. Regulatory Guide 1.132 discusses methods of determining the in situ density of cohesionless soils. c. The selection of soil and rock specimens for laboratory testing requires careful examination of records of borings and available samples. To permit establishment of the soil profile, investigators should ensure that test specimens are representative of the soil or rock unit to be tested and should describe them accurately. The number of test specimens should be sufficient to produce statistically meaningful test results. Investigators should identify average test values of material properties as well as the range of values that identify their variability. In addition to the most representative samples, investigators should also test