Moisture Content of Soil and Soil-Aggregate In-Place by Nuclear Methods (Shallow Depth) INTRODUCTION This method covers determination of the moisture content of soil and soil- aggregate in-place through the use of nuclear equipment, The equipment is eal- ibrated to determine moisture content, us mass of water per unit volume of material (lograms per eubic meter ot pounds per cubic foot), Moisnure content as normally used is defined as the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the mass of Water in a given soil mass (0 the mass of solid yarlicles. Ilis determined with this proce- dure by dividing the moisture content {kilograms per cubic meter or pounds per cubie foot) by the dry density of soil (kilograms per cubic meter or pounds per cubic foot) Therefore, computstion of moisture content using the nuclear equipment also requires the determina- 5 of the material Under test, Most available nuclear equip- ment has provision for measuring boll moisture content (kilograms per cubic eter or pounds per eubie foot) and wet density, The difference between these fo meusurements gives dry density ‘The moisture content determined by this method is not necessurily the average rmojsture within the yolume of sample involved in the measurement for reasons discussed in the Appendix. The px ples of dhis mebod as well as the advan tages and limitations are also discussed in the: Appendix. The equipment utilizes radioactive materials which may be hazardous 10 the health of the users unless. proper precautions are taken. 1, SCOPE LL This method covers determina- tion of the moisture content of soil and Standard Method of Test for AASHTO DES! |GNATION: T 239-97 soil-aggregate in-place by moderation or slowing of fast neutrons where the neu- toon souice and the thermal neutron de tector both remain at the surface. 1.2 The ollowing applies to all spec: ified limits in this standard: Vor the pa poses of determining conformance wit these specifications, an observed value ‘or a calculated yalbe shall. he: rounded off "to the nearest unit” in Uhe bast right hhand place of figures used in expressing the limiting value, in accordance with the rounding-off method of R 1, Ree ‘ommended Practice for Indicating Which Places of Higures Are to Be Considered Significant in Specified Limiting Values. 2. REFERENCED DOCUMENTS. 1 AASHTO Test Methods T 191 Density of Soil In- Place hy the Sand- Cone Method T 205 Density of Soil In- Place by the Rubber Balloon Method 2.2. ASTM Test Method: 1D 216 Laborwory Deternuiau- tion of Water (Mois: ture) Content of Soil and Rock by Mass 3. SUMMARY OF METHOD BA The moisture content of the ma- letial under test is determined by placing a fast nentron source and a thermal neu- tron detector on or adjacent to the mate~ rial under test. ‘The intensity of slow or moderated neutrons detected is depen- dent upon the moisture content of the material under test. Moisture is deter- mined by the relationship of ouclear ‘count to mass of water per unit volume, of sail 4. SIGNIFICANCE, 4.1 The method described is useful fs a rapid, nondestructive technique: for the in-place determination of snoisture Content of soil and soil-aggregate. ‘The fundamental assumptions inherent in the ‘method are that the bydiugen present is in the form of water as defined by ASTM 1 2216, and that the material under test is homogeneous, 4.2 The method is suitable for con- ‘rol and acceptance testing of soils and soil-ageregate for construction, research, and development. ‘Test results may he affected by chemical composition, sam- ple heterogeneity. and, 10a lesser degre, material density and the surface rexture of the material eing tested, The tweb= nique also exhibits spatial bias in that the apparatus is more sensitive to certain regions of the material under (st 5, SAFETY PRECAUTION ‘This equipment utilizes radioactive materials. which may he tazardous to the health of the users, uiless proper precautions are taken, The licensees ‘owner should provide effective operator instruction together with coutine safety procedures snch as source: leak tests, re= cording and evaluation of film badge data, use of survey meters, etc, a8 essen tial elements in the operation of equip- ‘ment of this type534 APPARATUS GA Fast Neutron Source—A sealed isotope material such as americium-be- ryllinm, radinm-berylliam, or an elec: tronic device such asa neutron generator, 62 Slow Newton Detector—Any type of slow neutron detector such as boron trifluoride, a scintillator erystal, or a fission chamber. 63° Readout Device—A suitable scales, Usually the readout device will contain the high-velage supply neces- sary to operate the detector, and low- voltage power supply to operate the read- out and accessory devices. 6.4 Housing —The source, detector, readout device, and power supply shall be in housings of rugged construction which shall be moisture-proof and dust: proof NOTE 1—the neutron source, deteuta: readout device, and yower supply tay be housed separately or rmiy be combined and iiegrated wilh @ nuclear density measuting system, GS Reference Standard, for check- ing equipment operation and background count, and (0 establish conditions for a reproducible count rate 6.6 Site Preparation Device—A steel plate, straightedge, or other suitable leveling tool may be used to plane the test site to the required smoothness. 7, CALIBRATION 7A Calibration. curves are. estab- lished by deternining by test the nuclear count rate of each of several samples of different known moisture content, plot fing the count rate (count ratio) versus each known moisture content, and placing a curve through the resulting points. The ‘method and test procedure used in estab: lishing the curve must be the same as used for determining moisture content of the material to be tested. The moisture Content of materials used to establish the calibration curve must vary through & range to include the moisture content of ‘materials to he tested, ‘The materials uscd for calibration mnust be of uniform den sity as well as uniform moisture content NOTE 2—Live tu the effeet af eheraieal METHODS OF SAMPLING AND TESTING. vomposition, some calibration curves sup- plied with the apparams may not he applicable te all materials under test. Therefore, calibra tion cucves must he checked, and adjusted if necessary, in accordance with Sections 7.2 and 73. 7.1 Calibration curves ean be es: tablished using the following methods AAA Prepared containers of com- pacted soil and soil-aggregate of known inoisture content, Prepared containers nist be large enough t0 not change the observed count rate (or count rate) if made larger in eny dimension (Note 3). Ifthe hydrogen density of a material can be calculated from its specific gravity and chemical formula, provided these are accurately known, a much more reliable calibration point can be obtained in cow parison to oven-drying methods. The ab- sorbed water in the stone, which may be removed by drying at 110°C for 24 hours, must also be considered in com: parison to ovensdrying methods 7412 Permuient ealibration blocks ‘or standards containing chemically hound hydrogen which will produce nu- clear gage responses equivalent to known, moisture content (Note 3). A non-hydro- genous material, such as_magnesium, inay be used fur zero water content NOTE 3. Dimensions of approximately G10 by 610 by 381. mm (approximately 24 inches long by 24 inches wide by 15 irches deep) have proven satisfactory for equipment now available (1975), 72 Checking Calibration Curves The calibration curves for newly ace quired instruments and repaired instru ments shonld be checked, Calibration curves should te checked prior to tests in materials thel are distinctly different from material types previously used in obtaining the calihration curves. Cattbrae tion curves may be checked using the procedures given in Section 7.1.1 73. Adjusting Calibration Curves— When penmnanent standards or blocks are used to check moisture calibration, plot the count rate (or eount ratio) versus cach known moisture content as deseribed in Section 7.1. If a curve drawn through these plotted checkpoints indicates mois- ture contents within 16 kgim? (1.0 Ibft) of those shown by the regular ealibration curve for identical eount rates (or ratios), rho adjustment of the calibration curve 1239 is necessary. If the difference exceeds this amount, the curve established by the checkpoines will replace the erginl calibration curves. 7.3.1 It the plot of each of he com parixon moisture test results, determined by calibration method Section 7.1.1. forms a scatter pattern which randomly straddles the previously established cali bration curve and the average ofall com: puted or oven-dried. comparison test it 16 kgitn® (1.0 Ibsft) of the ae age ofall comesponding nuclear moisture determinations, adjustments of the cali bration curve are not necessary. 732 If the average difference ob tained in Seotion 7.3.1 is more than 16 kg/m? (1.0 Ibift"}, subsequent nuclear moisture tess shall be adjusted by either adding the difference in averages ifthe nuclear average is lower or subtracting the difference in averages if the nuclear average is kigher. 733 The average differense ob tained hy Section 7.3.2 may be used to plot a corrected calibration carve which shall be parallel to the original calibration ‘eurve and offset hy the amount and diree- tion as indicated int Seetion 7.3.2 4 eu rected calibration curve may also be de termined by plotting the count cate (or ratio) versus each known mivistore cin tent as described in Section 7.1, and drawing a curve through these plotted chieckpoints. 8. PROCEDURE 8.1 Standardization — Standardize tion of equipment on a reference standard is required at the start of each day's use as follows: 8.11 Warm up the equipment in ec ‘cordance with the manufacturer's recom mendations, 8.12 Take at least four repettive readings of at least | minute czch with the gage on the reference standerd. This constinites one standardization check 8.13 Ifthe mean of the four rpet= tive readings is outside the limits set by Eq. 1 below, repeat the. standardization check, If either the first or the sevoud attempt satisfies Eq. 1, the equipment is ‘considered to be in satisfactory cperating condition; continue with the procedure in Section &.2. The empirical relationship1230 for the standardization check is as fol- lows Ny = No + 196-VR, a. 1) vi 1, = mean of repetitive readings (see Section 8.1.2) and previously established count for the reference standard (mean of 0 repetitive reudings). N, 8.4.4 Ifthe second attempt in Section 1, check the sary, Ibis possible use the instrumentin this condition fa salisfuctory calibration selationship can be established B15 Establish a new Ay, by compute ing the awean of 10 repetitive readings on the reference standard 8.1.6 Check the calibration curve in sccordaie with Section 7.2 and, if nec- essary, adjust the calibration curve in ac~ cordance with Section 7.3, 82. Test Site Preparation—Sclect a leeation for test where the gage in test position wall be at Jexst approximately 150 unm (6 in.) away from any vertical projection, R21 Prepare the (est site in the fol- loving manner: 82.1.1 Remove all loose and dis- lurbed material, and remove additional material as necessary 10 reach the top of the vertical interval to be tested (Note 4). 8.2.1.2 Prepare a hosizontal area, suilicient in size to accommodate the gage. by planing to a smooth condition soas (u obtain maximum contact between the gage and material being tested. 82.13 The maximum depressious boencath the gage shall not exceed 3 mm (iy in). Use native fines or fine sancl to fil voids and level the excess with a rigid plate or other suitable tool NOTE 4—The spatial bias should be con sidered in devermiaing the depth at which the nye is to be seated, NOTES—the placementof the gage onthe surface of the material lo be tested is extical to the successful deterinination of moistue. ‘The optiaurn condition is total contact be~ lovee the bottom surface of the gage and the surface of the material heing.tested. Ths isaot practically possiblein all cases and therefow it lbecomes nesessary to use a sand filler or simi- Jar material, The depth of sand fll should not excord approximately 3 mm (15 in.) and dhe METHODS OF SAMPLING AND TESTING. ‘otal area filled shoold not exceed 10 percent bf the bottom atea of the gape. Several trial seatings may be required to achieve these conditions 8.3. Testing—Proceed with testing in the following manner: B31 Seat the yage firmly, 8.3.2 Keep all other radioactive sources away from the gage (as recom mended by the munufacturet) s0 2s not to affect the readings. 83.3 Usemufficient warm-up time as in standacdization (Section 8.1.1), 8.3.4 Place the source in the usepoxi- tion and take one or more L-minute read- ings. CALCULATIONS: 9.1 Average the readings obtained in Section 8.3.4 9.2 Determine the moisture content by use of an applicahle calibration curve. 9.3 Calculate the moisture content, vw, in mass percent of the dry soil as follows: w= WylWa) X 100 Cg. 2) moisture content of soil, kg/m? (or Ibift'y and We = dry density of soil, ke'm? (or bite), 10. REPORT 101 ‘The report shall include the fol- Lecation, Elevation of surfuce, Visual description of mate- Tdentification of test equip- ment (make, model, and serial number), 10.1.5 Count rate for each reading, 10:16 Moisture content in kilo- ‘grams per cubic meter {pounds per cubic foot) 10.1.7 Wet density, WA Dry density, and 10.1.9 Moisture content in mass per~ cent of dry’ soi 535 11, PRECISION ILL Determine the precision of the system, P, from the slope of the calibra tion curve, S, and the standard deviation, a, of the signals (detected neutrons) in counts per minute, as follows: P= iS (8g. 3) 11.2. Where the slope of the calibra lion curve is determined at the 160-kef 9° (10b/f) point and the standard de~ viation is delermined from 10 repetitive readings of 1 minute each (the gage is not moved after the first seating) taken ‘on material having a moisture content of 160 £10 kgim’ (10.0 06 Ibvft, the value of 7 shall he less than 4.8 kyien? (0,30 1b?) APPENDIX AL, NOTES ON THE NUCLEAR TEST AL The equipment used in this method is of the surface type as opposed to that designed for use in deep borings. In general, and neglecting the associated electronics, this equipment consists of three principal elements: (7) a suitable nuclear source emitting fast neatrons; (2) & detector sensitive to these neutrons after they are modified by passing ‘through the material being tested; and @) 8 counter, with provisions for auto matic and precise timing, for determining the rate ai which the modified neutrons arrive at the detector, While rate meters are suitable, 1 principle, counters are commonly used. In general, any source of sufficiently numerous ané properly energetic. neutrons can be used in rea suring the moisture content of soil and soil-aggregate. The sources most com- monly used, however, are americium- ‘beryllium and radium-berytlium with the latter normally being used in dual-pur- pose instruments that are designed to also determine wet or total density of soil and soil-aggregates. Detectors used are gus-lled tubes of boron trifluoride ‘and scintilation crystals or fission cham- hers. Detectors of the latter type offer the potential of varying the range of energies of the neutrons that are counted.536 AL2 Measurements are made using fast neutrons that reflect modification by back-scattering through the: material under test. When high-energy neutrons ae scattered into the soil a loss in veloc ity of eaen neutron occurs as it collides with the nuclei of the atoms of the soil ‘The rate at which this stowing down process occurs depends upon: (I) the mass of the nucleus in collision with the neutron, and (2) the probability that the two will collide. AL21. The mast of the hydrogen nucleus is nearly equal to the neutron 1ass. Collision with hydrogen atoms, therefore, reduces the velocity of neu- fons more quickly than collision with Iwavier nuclei, The lage difference be, tween the masces of hydrogen atom ‘and those normally encountered in soils means that (he relative effectiveness of hydrogen atoms in slowing down neu trons is very pronounced. A122. ‘The probability that 2 new tvon will collide with the nucleus of an atom is dependent on the atom's scarter ing cross. section. Hor most olements, this value is Tow, usually increasing with decrease in neutron energy. The scatter ing cross section of the hydrogen atom tor high energy neutrons, however, is larger than for most of the olber atoms preseat in soils. AL23 These two feamnres in combi- nation make hydrogen the most effective tnediumn for reducing the velocity of fast neutrons. Ifa detector of thermal (slow) neutrons is placed near a neutron source jn u s0il-containing hydrogen, the activ ity registered is due almost entirely neutrons that have been slowed down by hydrogen atoms. Other atoms present ia the soil play a noglupble park an ths process, In natural soils hydrogen mnay be present in several forms, Dut, with some exceptions, it ccurs principally in the water held by the soil particles, ‘Therefore, the “slow neutron” aetivity registered by a sultable detector ean be related to the concentration of water in a soil by calibration. ALS The determination of moisture content by the nuclear aneans of this anethod is indirect, To date no theoretical approach has been developed that pre dicts the count rate for given equipmen, eometry, sualerial, density, and mois METHODS Ol SAMPLING AND TESTING (ure content, As a result the relation be- ‘ween soil moisture and nuclear count rate is determined by correlation vests of materials at known moisture content. Individual equipment manufacturers sup- ply a calibration curve with each sct of their equipment It has been found that these curves da not necessarily hold for all soils and soll-aggregates because of differences in chemical composition. Ap- parent vatiatious in calibration curves may also he induced by differences in seating, background count, and other test variations. Because of these considera- tions, provisions are included in this method for checking for variations oF changes. Different approaches may be used in checking calibration curves; those in more general use are given. For ood practice these. should he followed with newly purchased equipment and with major component replacement of in-service equipment, AIA ‘The moistire content deter tmined by this method is the amount of ‘moisture contained in a given volume of suil, It should be noted that the volume of soil and soil-aggregate represented in the measurement is indeterminate and will vary with the sounce-detector ge- cometry of the equipment used and with the characteristics of the material tested. In general, and with all other conditions constant, the yreater the moisture content of the material, the smaller the volume involved in te meusurement. Unlike oven drying tests, the moisture content so determined is uot necessarily the average moisture within the volume involved in the measurement. For the usnal surface test equipment and materials, for exam= ple, about 50 percent of the measured ‘count rule is determined by the upper 75 to 100 mm (3 to 4 in) of soile and soil-ugeregate ALS ‘The number of fast neutrons emitted from 4 given souree over a given time period are statistically random and follow a Gaussian distribution, Because of this, the actual number of mocified. neutrons that are detected and counted in the moisture measuring process sould bbe sufficiently large to minimize the probability thut the observed court re~ fleets unacceptable variations, ‘This is reflected in the standard deviation which is the square reot of the total count. The overall system accuracy in determining moisture is also statistical in mature and TI appears to vary with equipment used, test conditions of laboratory vers fl, materials, and operators. Because of hese variables it is not possible to give precise numbers for system aceuney and Precision for these test methods. It believed, however, that if the procedures herein ate carefully followed, Ge san dard deviation of the muclear measured values, in terms of accuracy, wil not he seater than on the order of some 8 te 16 kgim? of water (0.5 to 1.0 Ib px cubic toot) af soil, Precision, determined without moving the test equipment should be better than 5 kya? of wate (0.3 Ib per cubic foot) of soil AL.6 One of the fast nentransaures used, anericium, is manmade and as such its use is regulated by the Federal Government throngh the Atomic Energy ‘Commission as well ax by some state ‘and local governments, Because radium and beryllium are naturally o:curing materials, their use is not now regulsted by the Federal Government, but is regu Tated by some state and local gover ments, Among others, the objectives of these regulations are the. use of radioae five materials in a manner safe tothe operator and all others. ALT. The in-place nuclear moisture {ests of this method offer several advan tages over conventional mets, such as oven drying of samples, pariculaly in tests performed forthe continuing con trol of construction, Its greates advan tage is peshaps the short time required to obtain « moisture content. Av anster is available on the spot in a mater of iinutes after completing the tet. When conducting both moisture and densiy fests many more tests per day can conducted than by older methods in cur rent usc, In addition, apparently erate measurements can be immediztely de tected and checked since the nuvieat tests ate more nearly nondestructive, These advantages accrue to organizatons tht are engaged in moisture measurements ‘on a more or less continuous basis. gs nizations that make infrequent or ove sional moisture determinations may find that the advantages of the nuclear met ‘ods can be offset by maintenance and startup considerations such as periudi- cally charging batteries, maintaining re dation exposure records, etc.