BS 1377-3:2018+A1:2021

Methods of test for soils for civil engineering purposes. Chemical and electro-chemical testing | Status: Current

1 Scope This part of BS 1377 describes test methods for determining the amount of chemical substances in samples of soil and extremely weak and very weak rocks, as defined by BS 5930, and groundwater.

NOTE 1 Chemical tests in this part of BS 1377 may be used on other rocks if required.

It also describes test methods for the determination of some electrochemical and resistivity properties of solid samples.

NOTE 2 These tests provide data to assess the potential of the ground and solutes to damage construction materials, including cementitious materials and metals in the ground. They can also be used in assessment of the potential for volume change of the ground due to chemical reaction. Resistivity test results can also be used to assess in-situ resistivity results.

This British Standard is not written for testing samples from contaminated land or for soil quality assessment. Procedures described in this part of BS 1377 are for the determination of the following:

1. a) organic matter content in the material (Clause 4);
2. b) total organic carbon (TOC) content in the material (Clause 5);
3. c) loss on ignition of the material (Clause 6);
4. d) sulfur compounds (Clause 7):
   1. 1) water-soluble sulfate content of the material by 2:1 extraction;
   2. 2) sulfate content in groundwater;
   3. 3) acid-soluble sulfate content of the material;
   4. 4) total sulfur content of the material;
   5. 5) total sulfide content (total reduced sulfur) content of the material;
   6. 6) acid-soluble sulfide (monosulfides sulfur) content of the material;
5. e) carbonate content of the material (Clause 8);
6. f) chloride content (Clause 9):
   1. 1) water-soluble chloride content of the material;
   2. 2) acid-soluble chloride content of the material.
7. g) water-soluble magnesium content of the material (Clause 10);
8. h) total dissolved solids of the groundwater (Clause 11);
9. i) pH value (Clause 12);
10. j) electrical resistivity of the material (Clause 13); and
11. k) redox potential of the material (Clause 14).

Brief guidance on the detrimental effects of sulfur compounds on engineering works and alternative methods of identifying the specific minerals is given in Annex A.

NOTE 3 Good practice in chemical testing requires duplicate specimens to be tested. In each of the test methods the measurement of only one value of the overall result is described. It is recognized that it is necessary in many practical applications to make a number of tests in order to obtain a representative value and an indication of the reliability of the results. Guidance on the number of measurements required and the treatment of the results obtained are not provided in this standard.