ASTM D653-20e1 - 15.6.2020
 
Significance and Use

3.1 Definitions in this standard are to be regarded as the correct ones for terms found in other ASTM standards of Committee D18. Certain terms may be found in more than one standard issued under the jurisdiction of this committee and many of these terms have been placed in this standard.

3.2 Terms that are defined in some textbooks may differ slightly from those in this terminology standard. Definitions in this terminology standard are to be regarded as correct for ASTM usage.

3.3 See Appendix X1 for References.

3.4 Definitions marked with (ISRM) are included for the convenience of the user and were taken directly from the International Society for Rock Mechanics (see X1.3).

3.5 A number of the definitions include symbols. The symbols appear in italics immediately after the name of the term.

3.5.1 No significance should be placed on the order in which the symbols are presented where two or more are given for an individual term.

3.5.2 The symbols presented are examples; therefore, other symbols are acceptable.

3.5.3 See Appendix X2 for ISRM Symbols.

3.6 A number of definitions indicate the units of measurements in brackets and which follow the symbol(s) if given. The applicable units are indicated by italic capital letters, as follows:
D—Dimensionless
F—Force, such as pound-force, ton-force, newton
L—Length, such as inch, foot, millimeter, and meter4
M—Mass, such as kilogram, gram
T—Time, such as second, minute

3.6.1 Positive exponents designate multiples in the numerator. Negative exponents designate multiples in the denominator. Degrees of angle are indicated as “degrees.”

3.6.2 Expressing the units either in SI or the inch-pound system has been purposely omitted in order to leave the choice of the system and specific unit to the engineer and the particular application, for example:
 FL−2—may be expressed in pounds-force per square inch, kilopascals, tons per square foot, etc.
 LT−1—may be expressed in feet per minute, meters per second, etc.

3.7 Where synonymous terms are cross-referenced, the definition is usually included with the earlier term alphabetically. Where this is not the case, the later term is the more significant.

3.8 Grouping of Definitions and Listing of Related Terms—To aide users in finding terms, this terminology standard provides grouping of definitions and listing of related terms.

3.8.1 Groupings—These groupings are presented in Table 1A.

TABLE 1A Listing of Groupings*

Aquifer

Coefficient of Earth

Consolidation

Density

Head

Measurement

Principal Plane

Specific Gravity

Stress

Unit Weight

Wave

*Groupings can be editorially added or removed by the subcommittee chair as they are changed within D653.

3.8.2 Listings (see Appendix X3)—The listing of related terms is given in Table 1B. This listing may include all of the terms defined within standards under the jurisdiction of a specific technical subcommittee, such as D18.14, D18.24, D18.25, and D18.26.

TABLE 1B Listing of Related Terms*

compaction

density

effective

specific gravity

unit weight

*Listings of related terms can be editorially added or removed by the subcommittee chair as they are changed within D653.

 
1. Scope

1.1 These definitions apply to many terms found in the Terminology section of standards of ASTM Committee D18.

1.2 This terminology standard defines terms related to soil, rock, and contained fluids found in the various sections of standards under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D18.

1.3 Definitions of terms relating to frozen soils are contained in Terminology D7099.

1.4 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

 
2. Referenced Documents

D5878-19

Standard Guides for Using Rock-Mass Classification Systems for Engineering Purposes

D6026-21

Standard Practice for Using Significant Digits and Data Records in Geotechnical Data

D6028-17

Standard Test Method (Analytical Procedure) for Determining Hydraulic Properties of a Confined Aquifer Taking into Consideration Storage of Water in Leaky Confining Beds by Modified Hantush Method

D6029-17

Standard Test Method (Analytical Procedure) for Determining Hydraulic Properties of a Confined Aquifer and a Leaky Confining Bed with Negligible Storage by the Hantush-Jacob Method

D6312-17

Standard Guide for Developing Appropriate Statistical Approaches for Groundwater Detection Monitoring Programs at Waste Disposal Facilities (Withdrawn 2026)

D6910/D6910M-19

Standard Test Method for Marsh Funnel Viscosity of Construction Slurries

D6913-04

Standard Test Methods for Particle-Size Distribution (Gradation) of Soils Using Sieve Analysis

D7099-04(2026)

Standard Terminology Relating to Frozen Soil and Rock

D7382-25

Standard Test Methods for Determination of Maximum Dry Unit Weight of Granular Soils Using a Vibrating Hammer

E691-23

Standard Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test Method

D5270-96

Standard Test Method for Determining Transmissivity and Storage Coefficient of Bounded, Nonleaky, Confined Aquifers

C150-07

Standard Specification for Portland Cement

C802-14(2022)

Standard Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Test Program to Determine the Precision of Test Methods for Construction Materials

D558-11

Standard Test Methods for Moisture-Density (Unit Weight) Relations of Soil-Cement Mixtures

D698-12(2021)

Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Standard Effort (12,400 ft-lbf/ft3 (600 kN-m/m3))

D854-23

Standard Test Methods for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by the Water Displacement Method

D4106-20

Standard Practice for (Analytical Procedure) for Determining Transmissivity and Storage Coefficient of Nonleaky Confined Aquifers by the Theis Nonequilibrium Method

D4050-20

Standard Test Method for (Field Procedure) for Withdrawal and Injection Well Testing for Determining Hydraulic Properties of Aquifer Systems

D4104-17

Standard Test Method (Analytical Procedure) for Determining Transmissivity of Nonleaky Confined Aquifers by Overdamped Well Response to Instantaneous Change in Head (Slug Tests)

D4105-15

Standard Test Method for (Analytical Procedure) for Determining Transmissivity and Storage Coefficient of Nonleaky Confined Aquifers by the Modified Theis Nonequilibrium Method

D4044-96

Standard Test Method for (Field Procedure) for Instantaneous Change in Head (Slug) Tests for Determining Hydraulic Properties of Aquifiers

D4043-17(2026)e1

Standard Guide for Selection of Aquifer Test Method in Determining Hydraulic Properties by Well Techniques (Includes all amendments and changes 7/17/2026).

D4750-87(2001)

Standard Test Method for Determining Subsurface Liquid Levels in a Borehole or Monitoring Well (Observation Well) (Withdrawn 2010)

D1883-21

Standard Test Method for California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of Laboratory-Compacted Soils

D2435-04

Standard Test Methods for One-Dimensional Consolidation Properties of Soils Using Incremental Loading

D2487-17(2025)

Standard Practice for Classification of Soils for Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System)

D4253-16

Standard Test Methods for Maximum Index Density and Unit Weight of Soils Using a Vibratory Table

D4254-16

Standard Test Methods for Minimum Index Density and Unit Weight of Soils and Calculation of Relative Density (Withdrawn 2025)

D4318-17

Standard Test Methods for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils

D4429-09

Standard Test Method for CBR (California Bearing Ratio) of Soils in Place

D4186-06

Standard Test Method for One-Dimensional Consolidation Properties of Saturated Cohesive Soils Using Controlled-Strain Loading

D1557-12(2021)

Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Modified Effort (56,000 ft-lbf/ft3 (2,700 kN-m/m3))

D4943-25

Standard Test Method for Shrinkage Factors of Cohesive Soils by the Water Submersion Method

D5084-24

Standard Test Methods for Measurement of Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Porous Materials Using a Flexible Wall Permeameter

D5088-20

Standard Practice for Decontamination of Field Equipment Used at Waste Sites

D5092-04

Standard Practice for Design and Installation of Ground Water Monitoring Wells in Aquifers

D5269-15

Standard Test Method for Determining Transmissivity of Nonleaky Confined Aquifers by the Theis Recovery Method (Withdrawn 2024)