ASTM_D_6453_-_99.pdf

Designation:D 6453 99Standard Guide forFormat of Computerized Exchange of Soil and Rock TestData1This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 6453;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon(e)indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide covers recommended data formats for theexchange of mechanical test data for soils and rocks.From thisguide,a standardized file of data can be prepared that can beread by others who use this guide.1.2 The format specified in this guide is used for theexchange of data between computer programs,users,agencies,etc.It is not necessary that test data for internal use be storedin this format,only that a program adhering to this guide havethe capability to read,or write test data in this format,or both.1.3 This guide does not cover digital geospacial data whichis treated Specification D 5714.1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.1.5 This guide offers an organized collection of informationor a series of options and does not recommend a specificcourse of action.This document cannot replace education orexperience and should be used in conjunction with professionaljudgment.Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in allcircumstances.This ASTM standard is not intended to repre-sent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy ofa given professional service must be judged,nor should thisdocument be applied without consideration of a projects manyunique aspects.The word“Standard”in the title of thisdocument means only that the document has been approvedthrough the ASTM consensus process.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:D 653 Terminology Relating to Soil,Rock,and ContainedFluids2D 5714 Specification for Content of Digital GeospatialMetadata3E 1013 Terminology Relating to Computerized Systems42.2ANSI Standards:ANSI X3.30 Representation for Calendar Date and OrdinalDate for Information Interchange5ANSI X3.43 Representation for Time for Information Inter-change52.3NIST Standard:Federal Information Processing Standard 173 in SDTS701,Spatial Data Transfer Standard,U.S.Department ofCommerce,NIST63.Terminology3.1 Definitions:3.1.1 Definitions follow those in Terminology D 653.Com-puter related terms are defined in Terminology E 1013.3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This StandardThefollowing definitions apply to their use in this guide:3.2.1 data element,na logically basic item of data.3.2.2 data group,na collection of data elements which arerelated.3.2.3 group,na collection of related information about atest.4.Significance and Use4.1 Computers are becoming an integral part of each testinglaboratory.A variety of automated test devices which collectand store data now exist.A variety of software programs toperform calculations and produce reported results are used.There is no consistency in the formats used to store data.Consequently,it is time consuming and expensive to exchangecomputerized test data files among organizations.4.2 This guide presents a standard yet versatile format thatcan be used to exchange data across systems.4.3 This guide defines the principal data elements that areconsidered important and worth recording and storing perma-nently in a computerized data storage system from which largerdatabases may be prepared.These data elements are notintended to be requirements of any specific or single database.The format permits only those elements that a specific usermay require.Additional data elements may be added using thegeneral outline of this guide.Those elements must be added in1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D-18 on Boil andRock and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D18.95 on InformationRetrieval and Data Automation.Current edition approvedSept.10 1999.Published November 1999.2Annual Book of ASTM Standards,Vol 04.08.3Annual Book of ASTM Standards,Vol 04.09.4Annual Book of ASTM Standards,Vol 14.01.5Available from American National Standards Institute,11 W.42nd St.,13thFloor,New York,NY 10036.6Available from NIST,Gaithersburg,MD 208991Copyright ASTM,100 Barr Harbor Drive,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959,United States.a manner consistent with the definitions in this guide,such thata computer program written to follow this guide can success-fully read the entire data file,including one that contains dataelements not identified in this guide.4.4 This guide does not define how to obtain and recordspecific data.That activity is covered by each specific testmethod.4.5 This guide may be incomplete for some applications.Itis intended that additions to the format