ASTM D162-29 PDF

Full title and description

ASTM D162-29 — Specification for Fine Aggregate for Sheet Asphalt and Bituminous Concrete Pavements. This historical ASTM specification (designation D162, adopted 1929) defined grading, cleanliness, and physical characteristics for sand used in surface courses of sheet asphalt and sand-dominant bituminous concrete pavements.

Abstract

ASTM D162-29 is a short, early 20th-century specification that prescribes the required physical properties and grading limits for fine aggregate (sand) intended for use in sheet asphalt and certain bituminous concrete pavement surface courses. It emphasizes clean, angular, tough particles free of clay lumps and provides target sieve‑grading bands for material fractions used in paving mixes. The specification was later withdrawn and is considered historical.

General information

• Status: Withdrawn (withdrawn 1949; historical specification).
• Publication date: Adopted 1929 (issued tentative 1923; final adoption 1929).
• Publisher: ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), now ASTM International.
• ICS / categories: Road engineering / Road construction materials (ICS 93.080; specifically road construction materials and paving aggregates).
• Edition / version: Designation D162-29 (original adoption year shown in suffix: 1929).
• Number of pages: 1 page (short single‑page specification).

Scope

Specifies requirements for sand intended for the construction of surface courses in sheet asphalt pavements and types of bituminous concrete pavements in which sand predominates. Coverage includes acceptable particle characteristics (clean, tough, angular, rough‑surfaced), freedom from clay lumps, and grading limits expressed by sieve percentages for successive size fractions. The scope is limited to fine aggregate and does not address full mix design, volumetrics, or modern performance‑based criteria.

Key topics and requirements

• Material quality: sand must be clean, tough, rough‑surfaced and angular; free from lumps or balls of clay after drying.
• Grading bands: the specification provides target percentages passing/retained on common sieves (examples include limits for No. 200, No. 100, No. 80, No. 50, No. 40, No. 30 fractions as shown in the grading table).
• Intended use: surface course sand for sheet asphalt and sand‑predominant bituminous concrete mixes; not a full modern paving aggregate standard.
• Short, prescriptive format: single‑page specification with practical grading and cleanliness requirements rather than extended testing/performance methods.
• Historical status and obsolescence: withdrawn historically; modern practice uses later ASTM specifications for fine aggregates (for example ASTM D1073 and related standards).

Typical use and users

Historically used by highway and municipal pavement engineers, materials laboratories, aggregate suppliers, and contractors specifying or accepting sand for sheet asphalt and certain bituminous concrete surface courses. Today the document is of archival value for historical research, forensic pavement studies, and comparison with contemporary aggregate specifications. Contemporary practitioners typically reference newer ASTM specifications and test methods.

Related standards

Modern standards that address similar topics or have superseded early D162 guidance include ASTM D1073 (Standard Specification for Fine Aggregate for Asphalt Paving Mixtures) and other D04 committee documents covering aggregates and paving materials (for example D692, D1139, D1074 and related test methods); these provide updated grading limits, sampling and test procedures, and are used in current practice.

Keywords

fine aggregate, sand, sheet asphalt, bituminous concrete, paving sand, grading, sieve analysis, ASTM D162, historical standard, road and paving materials.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ASTM D162-29 is a historical ASTM specification (adopted 1929) that set requirements for fine aggregate (sand) used in sheet asphalt and sand‑predominant bituminous concrete pavement surface courses; it was later withdrawn and is considered archival.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers physical characteristics and grading limits for sand (cleanliness, particle shape/texture, and sieve grading bands) intended for specific paving applications; it does not provide modern full mix design or performance criteria.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Historically, pavement engineers, aggregate producers, contractors, and materials labs used D162 when specifying or accepting sand for sheet asphalt and similar mixes; today it is mainly of interest to historians, archivists, and practitioners performing historical or forensic comparisons.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: It is not current — ASTM D162-29 was withdrawn (withdrawn 1949) and later practice is governed by newer ASTM standards such as ASTM D1073 and other D04 committee documents that provide modern specifications and test methods.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: D162 was issued under the D series of ASTM standards for road and paving materials; related and successor documents fall under the D04 committee collections (Road and Paving Materials / Volume 04.03).

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Key keywords include fine aggregate, sand, sheet asphalt, bituminous concrete, grading, sieve analysis, pavement surface course, ASTM, and historical specification.