ASTM standards

ASTM standards are the documents prepared and published by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM International). There are more than 12,000 such technical documents that cover the procedures for testing and classification of all types of materials. ASTM standards can be test methods, practices, standards, specifications, or guides that are used around the world to enhance product safety, improve quality, facilitate trade and market access, and strengthen consumer confidence.

ASTM standard is a document that has been developed and established within the consensus principles of ASTM International and meets the approval requirements of ASTM procedures and regulations. ASTM Standard is a descriptive used to encompass test methods, specifications, and other guiding documents.

Types of ASTM Standards

The types of ASTM documents are based on the technical content and their intended use.

1. Classification: It is a systematic arrangement of materials, products, systems, or services into groups based on similar characteristics like origin, composition, properties, or use.
2. Guide: This is an organized collection of information or series of options that may be used. A guide does not recommend a specific course of action; however, it increases the awareness of information and approaches in a given field.
3. Practice: It is a set of instructions for performing one or more specific operations such as application, assessment, cleaning, collection, installation, preparation, sampling, decontamination, inspection, screening, and training. A practice does not produce a test result.
4. Specification: It is a defined set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, system, or service.

The requirements may be physical, mechanical, or chemical properties, or safety, quality, or performance criteria. A specification identifies the test methods required.

5. Terminology: It is a document composed of terms and their definitions, descriptions, nomenclature. It also provides explanations of abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols.
6. Test method: It is a definitive procedure that produces a test result when [performed on samples. Test methods may be used for the identification, measurement, and evaluation of different material/product qualities, characteristics, or properties. A test result along with a precision and bias statement is reported at the end of a test method.

A brief description of most ASTM test methods is available here.