ASTM D5199 Nominal Thickness

Designati Desi gnation: on: D 5199 – 01 (Reap (Reapprov proved ed 2006)

Standard Test Method for

Measuring the Nominal Thickness of Geosynthetics 1 This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 5199; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of  original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A superscript supers cript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Sco Scope pe

3. Terminology

1.1 This test method method covers the measurement measurement of the nominal nominal thickness of geotextiles, smooth surfaced geomembranes, geonets, and geocomposite drainage products. 1.2 This test method method does not provi provide de thickness thickness values for geosynthetics under variable normal compressive stresses. This test meth method od dete determin rmines es nomi nominal nal thic thickness kness,, not neces necessari sarily ly minimum thickness. 1.3 The values values stated in SI units are to be regarded regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information only. standa ndard rd does not purport purport to add addre ress ss all of the 1.4   This sta safe sa fety ty co conc ncer erns ns,, if an anyy, as asso soci ciat ated ed wi with th it itss us use. e. It is th thee responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro priate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

3.1   Definitions: 3.1.1   geomembrane, n—an essentially impermeable membrane bra ne use used d wit with h fou founda ndatio tion, n, soi soil, l, roc rock, k, ear earth th or any oth other er geotechnical engineering related material as an integral part of  a man-made project, structure, or system. 3.1.2   geotextiles , n—a plana planarr prod product uct manu manufactu factured red from polymeric material used with soil, rock, earth, or other geotechnical engineering related material as an integral part of a man-made project, structure, or system. 3.1.3   geotextiles , n—any permeable textile used with soil, rock, earth or any other geotechnical material as an integral part of a man-made project, structure, or system. 3.1.4   pressure, n—the force or load per unit area. 3.1.5   thickness—(1) the distance between one planar surfacee and its opp fac opposi osite te par parall allel el and pla planar nar surface; surface; (2) in the textiles the distance between the upper and lower surfaces of  the material, measured under a specified pressure and time. 3.1. 3. 1.6 6 Fo Forr de defin finit itio ion n of ot othe herr te text xtil ilee te term rmss us used ed in th this is standard, refer to Terminology  D 123. 123. 3.1.7 For definitions definitions of othe otherr term termss relat relating ing to geote geotextil xtiles es and geomembranes used in this standard, refer to Terminology D 4439. 4439.

2. Referenced Documents 2.1   ASTM Standards: 2 D 123  Terminology Relating to Textiles D 1776   Practice for Conditioning and Testing Textiles D 2905   Practice for Statements on Number of Specimens for Textiles D 4354   Practice for Sampling of Geosynthetics for Testing D 4439   Terminology for Geosynthetics D 5199  Test Method for Measuring the Nominal Thickness of Geosynthetics E 691  Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test Method

4. Summ Summary ary of Test Test Method 4.1 The nominal thicknesses thicknesses of geosynthetics is determined determined by observing the perpendicular distance that a movable plane is displaced from a parallel surface by the geotextile or geomembrane bra ne mat materi erial al whi while le und under er a spe specifi cified ed pre pressu ssure re (2 kPa for geotextiles and 20 kPa for geomembranes for 5 s). 5. Signi Significanc ficancee and Use

1

This test method This method is und under er the jurisdicti jurisdiction on of ASTM Committee Committee D35 on Geosynthetics and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D35.03 on Permeability and Filtrati Filtration. on. Curren Cur rentt edit edition ion app approv roved ed Jun Junee 1, 200 2006. 6. Pub Publish lished ed Jun Junee 200 2006. 6. Ori Origin ginally ally approved in 1991. Last previous edition approved in 2001 as D 5199 – 01. 2 For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or contact ASTM Customer Service at service@ [email protected] astm.org. g. For For Annual  Annual Book of ASTM   volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on Standards volume Standards the ASTM website website..

5.1 Thickness is one of the basic physical physical properties used to control the quality of many geosynthetics. Thickness values are required in calculation of some geotextile and geomembrane paramete para meters rs such as perm permeabil eability ity coef coeffficie icients, nts, tens tensile ile stre stress ss (ind (i ndex ex), ), an and d th thee li like ke th thic ickn knes esss is no nott in indi dica cati tive ve of fie field ld performance and therefore is not recommended for specifications.

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D 5199 – 01 (2006) 5.2 The thickness thickness of geot geotexti extiles les and geom geomembr embranes anes may vary considerably considerably depending depending on the pressure applied applied to the specimen during measurement. Where observed changes occur, thickness thick ness decr decreases eases when appli applied ed press pressure ure is incr increased eased.. To minimize variation, specific sample size and applied pressure are indicated in this method to ensure all results are comparable. 5.3 To determine determine the effect of difference difference pressure loadings on the measure thickness of geotextiles and geomembranes, use this test method. 5.4 This test method method may be used for acceptance acceptance testing testing of  commercial shipments of geotextiles and geomembranes, but caution cauti on is advis advised ed since information information on betwe between-la en-laborat boratory ory precision is incomplete. Comparative tests, as directed in  5.4.1 may be advisable. 5.4.1 5. 4.1 In ca case se of a di disp sput utee ar aris isin ing g fr from om di difffe fere renc nces es in reported test results when using this test method for acceptance testing of commercial shipments, the purchaser and the supplier should conduct comparative tests to determine if there is a statistical bias between their laboratories. Competent statistical assistance is recommended for the investigation of bias. As a minimum, the two parties should take a group of test specimens that are as homogeneous as possible and that are formed from a lot of material of the type in question. The test specimens should be randomly assigned in equal numbers to each laboratory for testing. The average results from the two laboratori labor atories es shoul should d be compa compared red using Student’s Student’s t -test -test for unpaired data and an acceptable probability level chosen by the two parties before the testing is begun. If bias is found, either its cause must be found and corrected or the purchaser and supplier must agree to interpret future tests in the light of the known bias.

200 kPa is recommended recommended for HDPE geomembrane geomembraness if fictitiously high readings are suspected using the 20 kPa pressure. NOTE 2—( 2—(Appendix Appendix X1) X1)   lists some of the suppliers of apparatus for thickness measurement.

6.2   Cutting Dies—Dies to cut specimens should have dimensions at least as large as a circle of 75 mm (3 in.) diameter. NOTE   3—Due to com compre pressib ssibilit ility y of man many y geo geotext textiles iles and geo geomem mem-branes the cutting and handling preparation may change the thickness. Care should be exercised to minimize these effects.

7. Samp Sampling ling 7.1   Lot Sample—In the absence of other guidelines divide the product product int into o lot lotss and take lot samples samples as spe specifi cified ed in Practice D Practice  D 4354. 4354. Laboratory ry Sample—C 7.2   Laborato —Con onsi side derr th thee un unit itss in th thee lo lott sample as the units in the laboratory sample. For the laboratory sample, take a full width sample of sufficient length along the selvage or edge of the roll so that the requirements of  7.3-7.5.2 of   7.3-7.5.2 can be met. Exclude the inner and outer wraps of the roll or any material containing folds, crushed areas or other distortions not representative of the sampled lot.

7.3 Remov Removee test specimens specimens from the labo laborator ratory y sample in a randomly distributed pattern across the width with no specimen taken nearer than 100 mm (4 in.) from the selvage or roll edge, unless otherwise specified. For geomembranes include at least one specimen taken no more than 152 mm (6 in.) from the edge. edg e. Sin Since ce sea seams ms are an imp import ortant ant par partt of geo geomem membra brane ne applications, thickness readings within 152 mm (6 in.) of each edge is appropriate. Test Speci Specimens mens—F 7.4   Test —Fro rom m ea each ch un unit it in th thee la labo bora rato tory ry sample, remove the specimens so that the edge of the specimen will extend beyond the edge of the pressor foot by 10 mm (0.39 in.) in all directions (that is, at least a circle of 75 mm (3 in.) in diameter).

NOTE   1—The 1—The use userr shou should ld be awa aware re that the com compre pressib ssibilit ility y of the materials, their rebound characteristics, and the like will also affect the thickness of the geotextiles and geomembranes following the time when they are rolled up on rolls shipped and stored.

7.5  Number of Specimens—Unless otherwise agreed upon, as when provided in an applicable material specifications, take a number of test specimens per laboratory sample such that the user may expect at the 95 % probability level that the test result is not more than 6.0 % of the average above or below the true average of the sample. Determine the number of specimens per sample as follows: 7.5.1   Relia —Whe hen n th ther eree is a re reli liab able le Reliable ble Est Estima imate te of v—W estimate esti mate of  v   based based upon extensive extensive part records for simi similar lar materi mat erials als tes tested ted in the use user’s r’s lab labora orator tory y as dir direct ected ed in the method, meth od, calc calculate ulate the requ required ired number of speci specimens mens for the machine and cross-machine directions as follows:

6. Appar Apparatus atus 6.1   Thickness Thickness Testing Instrument   —The thickness gauge shall have a base (or anvil) and a free moving presser foot plate whose planar faces are parallel to each other to <0.01 mm. A gauge with a 56.4 mm (2.22 in.) diameter presser foot, the base shall extend at least 10 mm in all directions further than the edge of the 2500 mm2 circular pressor foot, shall be used for measurements of geotextiles, geocomposite drainage materials, and geonets. A gauge with a 6.35 mm (0.250 in.) diameter presso pre ssorr foo foott sha shall ll be use used d for lab labora orator tory y mea measur sureme ements nts of  geomembranes. A gauge with 6.35 mm (0.250 in.) diameter pressor foot and base may be used for field measurements of  geomembrane thickness. The instruments must be capable of  measur mea suring ing a max maxim imum um thi thickn ckness ess of at lea least st 10 mm to an accura acc uracy cy of at lea least st 60.0 0.02 2 mm. The gau gauges ges shall shall be con con-structed to permit gradual application of pressure to a specific force of 2  6   0.02 kPa (0.29  6  0.003 psi) for geotextiles and 20  6  0.2 kPa (2.9  6  0.03 psi) for geomembranes. Dead-weight loading may be used. 6.1.1 The specified specified force of 20 kPa may be inadequate inadequate for some HDPE geomembranes. A pressure in the range of 50 to

n 5  ~ tv /  A  A !2

where: n = numb number er of test test specimens specimens (rounde (rounded d upward upward to a whole number), reliab iable le est estima imate te of the coe coefffici icient ent of var variat iation ion of  v = rel indivi ind ividua duall obs observ ervati ations ons on sim simila ilarr mat materi erials als in the user’s laboratory under conditions of single-operation precision, %,

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D 5199 – 01 (2006) Procedur duree A - Geo Geotex textil tiles, es, Geo Geocom compos posite ite Dra Draina inage ge 9.3   Proce  Materials, and Geonets:  With the force applied to the pressor foot on the base (no test specimen present), zero the measuring scale or record the “base reading.” Lift the presser foot, center the test specimen on the base under the presser foot, and bring the pre presse sserr foo foott int into o con contac tactt wit with h the ma mater terial ial.. Gra Gradua dually lly increase the pressure pressure to 2 kPa (0.29 psi). After the full force has been applied to presser foot for 5 s against the specimen, record the thickness value to the nearest 0.02 mm and remove the specimen from the test device. 9.4  Procedure B - Smooth Surfaced Geomembranes:   With thee fo th forc rcee ap appl plie ied d to th thee pr pres esso sorr fo foot ot on th thee ba base se (n (no o te test st specimen present), zero the measuring scale or record the “base reading.” Lift the presser foot, center the specimen on the base under the presser foot, and bring the presser foot into contact with the material. Gradually increase the pressure to 20 kPa (2.9 psi). After the full force has been applied to presser foot for 5 s against the specimen, record the thickness value to the nearest 0.02 mm and remove the specimen from the test device.

= the valu valuee of Stude Student’s nt’s t  for two-sided limits (see  Table 1), a 95 % pr prob obab abil ilit ity y le leve vel, l, an and d th thee de degr gree eess of  freedom associated with the estimate of  v, and  A = 5. 5.0 0 % of th thee av aver erag age, e, th thee va valu luee of th thee al allo lowa wabl blee variation. 7.5.2  No Reliable Estimate of v—When there is no reliable  v  for the user’s laboratory, Eq 1 should not be used estimate of  v directly. Instead, specify the fixed number (10) of specimens. The number of specimens is calculated using  v = 9.5 %  of the average. These values for v  are somewhat larger than usually found in practice. When a reliable estimate of   v   for the user’s laboratory becomes available, Eq 1 will usually require fewer than the fixed number of specimens. t 

8. Condi Conditioni tioning ng 8.1 Bring the spe specim cimens ens to moi moistu sture re equ equili ilibri brium um in the atmosphere for testing geotextiles and geomembranes, that is, temperature of 21  6  2°C (70  6  4°F) and relative humidity of  60  6  10 %. 8.2 Moist Moisture ure Equ Equil ilibr ibriu ium m is con consi sider dered ed to hav havee be been en reac re ache hed d wh when en th thee in incr crea ease se in ma mass ss of th thee sp spec ecim imen en,, in successive weighings made at intervals of not less than 2 h, does not exceed 0.1 % of the mass of the specimen. In general, many geote geotextil xtiles es and geom geomembr embranes anes cont contain ain more moisture when received than they will after reaching moisture equilibrium.

10. Calculation 10.1 Cal 10.1 Calcul culate ate the average average of the thi thickn ckness ess for all tes testt results as read directly from the test instrument. 11. Repor Reportt 11.1 11 .1 The report for the nominal thickness thickness shall include include the following information: 11.1.1 11 .1.1 Proje Project, ct, type of geote geotextile xtile or geome geomembra mbranes nes test tested, ed, and method of sampling. 11.1.2 11 .1.2 Name or descr descriptio iption n of thickness thickness appar apparatus atus used for testing. 11.1.3 11 .1.3 Dimen Dimension sionss of the press presser er foot and of the spec specimen imen.. 11.1.4 Loading time interval. interval. 11.1.5 11 .1.5 Numbe Numberr of test tests. s. 11.1.6 Aver Average age nominal thickness, and 11.1.7 Coeff Coefficient icient of variation of thickness in the sample, sample, in percent (optional). 11.1.8 11 .1.8 Any unusual or out of standard standard conditions conditions or obse obserrvations made during the tests.

NOTE   4—It is recogn recognized ized that in practice, geotextiles geotextiles and geomem geomem-branes are frequently not weighed to determine when moisture equilibrium has been reached. While such a method cannot be accepted in cases of dispute, it may be sufficient in routine testing for a reasonable period of  time before the specimens specimens are tested.A time of at least 24 h has been found acceptable accept able in most cases. However, However, fibers may contain more moisture upon receipt than after conditioning and lose moisture relatively slowly during duri ng cond conditio itioning ning.. Whe When n this is know known, n, a pre precon conditi ditionin oning g cyc cycle, le, as described describ ed in Pract Practice ice D  D 1776, 1776,   may be agr agreed eed upon by the contract contractual ual parties for routine testing.

9. Proc Procedur eduree 9.1 Test the condi condition tioned ed spec specimen imenss in the standard standard atmo atmo-sphere specified in 8.1 8.1.. 9.2 Handle the test specimens specimens carefully to avoid avoid altering the natural state of the material.

12. Prec Precisio ision n and Bias 12.1  Precision (Geotextiles) : Inter er-Lab -Labora orator toryy Test Pr Progr ogram am3 —A 12.1.1 Int —An n in inte terrlaborator labo ratory y stud study y of Test Meth Method od   D 5199   was performed performed in 1994. 199 4. Eac Each h of six lab labora orator tories ies tes tested ted ten ran random domly ly dra drawn wn specimens from each of four materials. 12.1.2   Result —The —The precision information given below has been calculated for the comparison of six test results, each of  which is the average of ten specimens. Four different materials were tested. 12.1.3  95 % Repeatability Limit  —The   —The repeatability limit is 14 % of th thee te test st re resu sult lts. s. Fo Forr th thee di difffe fere rent nt ma mate teri rial als, s, th thee repeatability limits range from 22 % to 9 %.

TABLE TAB LE 1 Value Values s of Student’s t  for   for Two-Sided Limits and the 95 % ProbabilityA df

t .025

df

t .025

df

t .025 .025

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

12.706 4.303 3.182 2.776 2.571 2.447 2.365 2.306 2.262 2.228

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

2.201 2.179 2.160 2.145 2.131 2.120 2.110 2.101 2.093 2.086

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 inf.

2.080 2.074 2.069 2.064 2.060 2.056 2.052 2.048 2.045 1.960

A Values in this table were calculated using Hewlett Packard HP 67/97 Users’ Library Programs 03848D, “One-Sided and Two-Sided Critical Values Values of Student’s t ” and 00350D, “Improved Normal and Inverse Distribution.” For values at other than the 95 % probability level, see published tables of critical values of Student’s t t  in  in any standard statistical text. Further use of this table is defined in Practice D 2905. 2905.

3

The design design of the experimen experiment, t, sim similar ilar to that of Prac Practice tice   E 691, 691,   and and a within-between analyzer of the data will be available.

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D 5199 – 01 (2006) 12.1.4   95 % Reproducibility Limit (Between Laboratory) — The reproducibility limit is 23 % of the test results. For the different materials, the repeatability limits range from 33 % to 17 %. 12.1.5 The respective coefficients coefficients of variation percentages for the tes testt res result ultss may be obt obtain ained ed by div dividi iding ng the above numbers by 2.8. Hence, for the four materials tested: Repeatability Material A—8 % Material B—4 % Material C—3 % Material D—5 %

Material D—2 %

12.3   Precision (Geonet and Geocomposite) : 12.3.1  Inter-Laboratory Test Program —An inter-labo inter-laboratory ratory study of Test Method  D 5199   was performed in 1999. Three sets (ten test spec specimen imenss each) which were rando randomly mly drawn from each material, one geonet and one double-sided geocomposi po site te,, th that at we were re te test sted ed fo forr th thic ickn knes esss in ea each ch of th thee fiv fivee laboratories. The design of the experiment, similar to that of  Practice E Practice  E 691, 691,  and a within-between analysis of the data are given in an ASTM Research Report. 4 12.3.2   Test Result —The —The precision information is given below. The precision values are for the thickness test results and are in terms of coefficients of variation, CV%. 12.3.3   Precision:

Reproducibility Material A—12 % Material B— 8 % Material C— 7 % Material D— 6 %

12.2   Precision (Smooth Surfaced Geomembranes): Inter er-La -Labor borato atory ry Test Pr Progr ogram am3 —A 12.2.1 Int —An n in inte terrlaboratory labor atory study of Test Meth Method od  D 5199   was performed performed in 1994. Each of thre threee labor laboratori atories es test tested ed ten rando randomly mly drawn specimens from each of four materials. 12.2.2   Result —The —The precision information given below has been calculated for the comparison of three test results, each of  which is the average of ten specimens. Four different materials were tested. 12.2.3  95 % Repeatability Limit  —The   —The repeatability limit is 5 % of the test results. For the different materials, the repeatability limits range from 8 % to 2 %. 12.2.4   95 % Reproducibility Limit (Between Laboratory) — The reproducibility limit is 12 % of the test results. For the different materials, the repeatability limits range from 18 % to 8 %. 12.2.5 The respective coefficients coefficients of variation percentages for the tes testt res result ultss may be obt obtain ained ed by div dividi iding ng the above numbers by 2.8. Hence, for the four materials tested: Repeatability Material A—1 % Material B—1 % Material C—3 %

Material D—4 %

Statistic Average thickness, mm Within-laboratory Within-laborat ory repeatability limit, CV%r Between-laboratory Between-labo ratory reproducibility limit, CV%R 95 % confidence limit, withinlaboratory repeatability, 2.8 CV%r 95 % confidence limit, withinlaboratory reproducibility, 2.8 CV%R

Geonet 5.64 1.6 %

Geocomposite 6.98 1.0 %

3.9 %

1.6 %

4.4 %

3.0 %

10.8 %

4.3 %

12.4   Bias—The procedure in this test method has no bias because the value of that property can only be defined in terms of the test method. 13. Keyw Keywords ords 13.1 samp sample; le; selvage; specimen specimen

Reproducibility Material A—4 % Material B—7 % Material C—3 %

4 Supporting Supp orting data have been filed at ASTM International International Headquarters and may be obtained by request requesting ing Research Repor Reportt RR: D35–1009. D35–1009.

APPENDIX (Nonmandatory Information) X1. Suppl Suppliers iers

X1.1 Some Supplie Suppliers rs of Thicknes Thicknesss Measuring Measuring Appar Apparatus atus— — American Ameri can Inst Instrume rument nt Compa Company ny,, Custo Custom m Scien Scientific tific Inst Instruruments, Ind., Federal Products Corporation, Frank E. Randall

Company,, Inc., Frazi Company Frazier er Preci Precision sion Inst Instrume rument nt Comp Company any,, Inc., Testi esting ng Mach Machines, ines, Inc., The Ames Comp Company any,, and Thwin ThwinggAlbert Instrument Company.

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