The ASTM A06.13 Subcommit- tee has circulated a proposed new version of A123 that com- bines all aspects of A123 and ‘A153. It has been the objective of the subcommittee to com- bine the two documents for some time. The first draft is for com- iment only. It is not part of the balloting process. (Some ASTM members received a ballot for A153 as well as a copy of the new A123 and may have been confused.) If there are only minor comments and suggested cchanges, the new A123 could be out for its frst ballot in early 1994. More extensive changes ASTM Changes will delay the fiest ballot until later in the year A153 is currently being, balloted for several changes, including a simplification of dhe material classes, 2 change to thickness measurements instead of coating weights, and the elimination of the pivot hammer test. An abvious question is, "Why are changes being ballot: ‘ed now if itis to be combined ‘with A123"? Every ASTM practice or standard must be acted upon by the responsible committee ‘every five years. f no action has been taken after five years, the document is removed from the [ASTM publications, and is no longer supported. A153 had to be reviewed by A06.13 in 1993 to comply with ASTM rules. As the combined version may be as late as 1995, A153 could not wait, The current changes in A153 reflect some of the major changes that will take place ‘when itis combined with A123 Both the Marketing and Technical Departments of the [AGA have sent out copies of the proposed A123. If you would like to review the document, call the AGA office and request a copy. All. comments submitted to AGA will be forwarded to ASTM for consideration. The Dr. GALV Problem Solving Clinic The Question and Answer Forum 1. 1 just had a call to galva- nize some material to spec 690. What is G90? 690 refers to ASTM A525 which covers the continuous hot dip galvanizing of sheet steel. t does not refer to mater- ial done by a batch galvanizer. Generally, when you are asked to meet the spec, one of two. things has happened: the mate- rial is actually sheet product, oF the specifier was familiar with sheet galvanizing and mistak- enly assumed the same specif cation applied to the heavier section. You may want to talk to the specifier to help them understand the correct specif cation of galvanizing. G90 indicates a regular galvanized coating with 90 ounces of zine fon each squére foot of steel. The coating, 90 ounces, is the Donwny M84 Vol. total of both top and bottom 2. My customer just called to ask if we can comply 0 A239. What does that entail? ASTM A239 is commonly called the Preece Test. The off- cial name is “Standard Test Method for Locating the Thinaest Spot in a Zinc (Galva- nized) Coating on iron or Steel Articles by the Preece Test (Copper Sulfate Dip)". tis used primarily for hardware items such as nuts and bolts. It is impractical for structural steel items because of the testing solutions and handling that would be required. It has.no precision because of the many possible operator techniques (Section 11.1). Compliance with A239 is technically poss. ble. A cost of $50-100,000 for tanks, chemicals, disposal and cegalvanizing makes samples impractical. The test destroys the coating on the tested sam- ple. 3. Recently I had a request to comply to BS729. Are we capa ble of accommodating that request? Yes you are, BS729 is the British equivalent of ASTM. A123. If you comply to all the requirements of A123, you will meet the requirements for BS729. This calls for equal oF Tighter coating weights. It is possible that you may be asked the same question about ISO146. ‘Again, complying’ with A123, will meet or exceed the requirements.