Designation: D5434 − 12

Standard Guide for

Field Logging of Subsurface Explorations of Soil and Rock1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D5434; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope* 2. Referenced Documents

1.1 This guide describes the type of information that should 2.1 ASTM Standards:2
be recorded during field subsurface explorations in soil and D420 Guide to Site Characterization for Engineering Design
rock. and Construction Purposes (Withdrawn 2011)3
1.2 This guide is not intended to specify all of the informa- D653 Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained
tion required for preparing field logs. Such requirements will Fluids
vary depending on the purpose of the investigation, the D1452 Practice for Soil Exploration and Sampling by Auger
intended use of the field log, and particular needs of the client Borings
or user. D1586 Test Method for Penetration Test (SPT) and Split-
Barrel Sampling of Soils
1.3 This guide is applicable to boreholes, auger holes, D1587 Practice for Thin-Walled Tube Sampling of Soils for
excavated pits, or other subsurface exposures such as road side Geotechnical Purposes
cuts or stream banks. This guide may serve as a supplement to D2113 Practice for Rock Core Drilling and Sampling of
Guide D420. Rock for Site Investigation
1.4 This guide may not be suited to all types of subsurface D2488 Practice for Description and Identification of Soils
exploration such as mining, agricultural, geologic hazardous (Visual-Manual Procedure)
waste, or other special types of exploration. D2573 Test Method for Field Vane Shear Test in Cohesive
Soil
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the
D3441 Test Method for Mechanical Cone Penetration Tests
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
of Soil
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
D3550 Practice for Thick Wall, Ring-Lined, Split Barrel,
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-
Drive Sampling of Soils
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
D3740 Practice for Minimum Requirements for Agencies
1.6 This guide offers an organized collection of information Engaged in Testing and/or Inspection of Soil and Rock as
or a series of options and does not recommend a specific Used in Engineering Design and Construction
course of action. This document cannot replace education or D4083 Practice for Description of Frozen Soils (Visual-
experience and should be used in conjunction with professional Manual Procedure)
judgment. Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in all D4220 Practices for Preserving and Transporting Soil
circumstances. This ASTM standard is not intended to repre- Samples
sent or replace the standard of care of which the adequacy of D4403 Practice for Extensometers Used in Rock
a given professional service must be judged, nor should this D4544 Practice for Estimating Peat Deposit Thickness
document be applied without consideration of a project’s many D4623 Test Method for Determination of In Situ Stress in
unique aspects. The word “Standard” in the title of this Rock Mass by Overcoring Method—USBM Borehole
document means only that the document has been approved Deformation Gauge
through the ASTM consensus process.

2
For referenced ASTM standard, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
1
This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D18 on Soil and Rock contact ASTM Customer Service at [email protected]. For Annual Book of ASTM
and is the direct responsibility of D18.02 onIdentification and Classification of Soils. Standardsvolume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page of
Current edition approved Feb. 1, 2012. Published March 2012. Originally the ASTM website.
3
approved in 1993. Last previous edition approved in 2009 as D5434–09. DOI: The last approved version of this historical standard is referenced on
10.1520/D5434-12. www.astm.org.

*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standard

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 D5434 − 12
D4633 Test Method for Energy Measurement for Dynamic 6.1.1.2 Name of personnel onsite during the exploration,
Penetrometers such as drilling crew, supervisor, geologist, engineer, and
D4645 Test Method for Determination of In-Situ Stress in technicians,
Rock Using Hydraulic Fracturing Method 6.1.1.3 Names and addresses of organizations involved,
D4719 Test Methods for Prebored Pressuremeter Testing in 6.1.1.4 Name of person(s) preparing log,
Soils 6.1.1.5 Reference datum for project if available and descrip-
D4750 Test Method for Determining Subsurface Liquid tion of datum, and
Levels in a Borehole or Monitoring Well (Observation 6.1.1.6 General remarks as appropriate.
Well) (Withdrawn 2010)3 6.1.2 Exploration information should include:
D4879 Guide for Geotechnical Mapping of Large Under- 6.1.2.1 Exploration number and location (station and coor-
ground Openings in Rock dinates if available and applicable, position relative to a local
D5079 Practices for Preserving and Transporting Rock Core permanent reference which is identified, or markings of explo-
Samples ration location),
D6032 Test Method for Determining Rock Quality Designa- 6.1.2.2 Type of exploration, such as drill hole, auger hole,
tion (RQD) of Rock Core test pit, or road cut,
6.1.2.3 Date and time of start and finish,
3. Terminology
6.1.2.4 Weather conditions including recent rain or other
3.1 Definitions—Except as listed below, all definitions are in events that could affect subsurface conditions,
accordance with Terminology D653. 6.1.2.5 Depth and size of completed exploration,
3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard: 6.1.2.6 The condition of exploration prior to and after
3.2.1 field log—a record prepared during subsurface explo- backfilling or sealing, or both, and
rations of soil and rock to document procedures used, test data, 6.1.2.7 Method of backfilling or sealing exploration, or
descriptions of materials and depths where encountered, both.
ground water conditions, and other information. 6.1.3 Explorations by drill hole or auger hole should include
the following drilling information:
4. Summary of Guide 6.1.3.1 Type and make (manufacture and model if known)
4.1 This guide describes the type of information that should of drilling machine or description and name of contractor,
be recorded during the execution of field subsurface explora- 6.1.3.2 Method of drilling or advancing and cleaning the
tions in soil and rock. The information described relates to the borehole. State if air, water, or drilling fluid is used. Describe
project, personnel, methods of investigation and equipment type, source of water and additives, concentration, and tests
used, visual description of subsurface materials and ground performed on fluid,
water conditions, in-situ testing, installation of monitoring 6.1.3.3 Size, type, and section length of drilling rods (rod
equipment, and other data that may be appropriate. designations should conform with Table 3 of Method D2113)
and drilling bits used.
5. Significance and Use 6.1.3.4 Dates and times of each stage of operation and time
to complete intervals,
5.1 The preparation of field logs provides documentation of
field exploration procedures and findings for geotechnical, 6.1.3.5 Size of hole (diameter and depth),
geologic, hydrogeologic, and other investigations of subsurface 6.1.3.6 Ground elevation at top of borehole,
site conditions. This guide may be used for a broad range of 6.1.3.7 Orientation of drill hole, if not vertical (azimuth or
investigations. bearing and angle),
5.2 The recorded information in a field log will depend on NOTE 2—Even with careful drilling, the actual subsurface path of both
the specific purpose of the site investigation. All of the vertical and inclined drill holes may be different from the intended
direction of drilling. Deflection of the drill bit due to inclined bedding and
information given in this guide need not appear in all field logs. hard boulders are some of the many reasons a drill hole might deviate
NOTE 1—The quality of the result produced by this standard is from the intended direction. Drill holes that deviate from the intended
dependent on the competence of the personnel performing it, and the direction can give erroneous data if not corrected. This can lead to
suitability of the equipment and facilities used. Agencies that meet the significant interpretation errors of subsurface conditions and geologic
criteria of Practice D3740 are generally considered capable of competent structure. Depending on intended use of the data, it may be prudent to
and objective sampling. Users of this practice are cautioned that compli- perform a borehole survey so the borehole spatial data can be corrected.
ance with Practice D3740 does not in itself assure reliable results. Reliable
results depend on many factors; Practice D3740 provides a means of 6.1.3.8 Size and description of casing, if appropriate,
evaluating some of those factors. method of casing installation (driven, drilled, or pushed) and
depth of cased portion of boring (casing size designations
6. Summary of Work should conform with Table 2 of Method D2113), hollow-stem
6.1 Soil and rock field logs should include the following augers,
written information: 6.1.3.9 Methods used for cleaning equipment or drilling
6.1.1 Project information should include: tools, or both, when required, and
6.1.1.1 Name and location of the project or project number, 6.1.3.10 Describe and state depth of any drilling problems
or both, such as borehole instability (cave in, squeezing hole, flowing

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 D5434 − 12
sands), cobbles, lost drilling fluid, lost ground, obstruction, 6.1.6.11 Destination or recipient of samples and method of
fluid return color changes, and equipment problems. transportation.
6.1.4 Exploration by test pit, road cut, stream cut, etc., 6.1.7 Ground water information should include:
should include: 6.1.7.1 Depths and times at which ground water is
6.1.4.1 Method of exploration, encountered, including seepage zones, if appropriate,
6.1.4.2 Equipment used for excavation, 6.1.7.2 In the case of drilling using drilling fluid, depth of
6.1.4.3 Type of shoring used, and fluid surface in boring and drilling depth at the time of a noted
6.1.4.4 Excavation problems: instability of cut (sloughing, loss or gain in drilling fluid,
caving, etc.), depth of refusal, difficulty of excavating, etc. 6.1.7.3 Depth to ground water level at the completion of
6.1.5 Subsurface information should include: drilling and removal of drill steel and description of datum
6.1.5.1 Depth of changes and discontinuities in geologic (note condition of borehole, for example, cased or uncased).
material and method used to establish change (such as Practice Date and time measured,
D4544). 6.1.7.4 Depth to ground water level at some reported time
6.1.5.2 Description of material encountered with origin or period following completion of drilling and description of
formation name, if possible, and type of samples used for datum, when possible.
description. The system or method of soil (such as Practices 6.1.7.5 Method or equipment used to determine depth of
D2488 and D4083) or rock description should be referenced. ground water level, such as Test Method D4750,
6.1.5.3 Description of nature of boundary between strata 6.1.7.6 Method and depth of ground water samples
(gradual or abrupt, as appropriate) and other relevant structural obtained, including size of samples taken and description of
features such as breccia, slickensides, solution zones, discol- sampler, and
orations by weathering or hydrothermal fluids, and other 6.1.7.7 Description of any field tests conducted on ground
stratigraphic information. water samples such as pH, temperature, conductivity, turbidity,
6.1.6 Soil or rock sampling and testing information should or odor.
include: 6.1.8 Information regarding installation of instrumentation
6.1.6.1 Depth of each sample and number (if used), or monitoring equipment should include:
6.1.6.2 Method of sampling (reference to appropriate 6.1.8.1 Type of equipment installed, for example,
ASTM standard, for example, Practice D1452, Test Method piezometers, monitoring well screens, inclinometer, including
D1586, Method D1587, Practice D3550, or other method). sizes and types of materials,
6.1.6.3 Description of sampler: inside and outside 6.1.8.2 Depth and description of equipment installed (refer-
dimensions, length, type of metal, type of coating, and type of ence to applicable ASTM standard, for example, Practice
liner, D4403, or other standards or procedures),
6.1.6.4 Method of sampler insertion: pushed, cored, or 6.1.8.3 Methods used for installation of equipment and
driven, method used for sealing annular space, and
6.1.6.5 Sampler penetration and recovery length of sample. 6.1.8.4 Methods used to protect equipment (casing cap or
For each rock sample (core run), record the rock quality locks).
designation (RQD) in accordance with Test Method D6032, 6.2 Soil and rock field logs should include the following
and the rate of coring, pictorial information:
6.1.6.6 Method of sample extrusion. Mark direction of 6.2.1 Maps, drawings, or sketches of area of exploration and
extrusion, subsurface surfaces observed. Include pertinent surface infor-
6.1.6.7 Method of preserving samples and preparing for mation such as neighboring outcrops, as appropriate. Describe
transport (refer to Practices D4220 or D5079), system of mapping, such as Guide D4879 for rock, or legend
6.1.6.8 Mark top and bottom of samples and orientation, if for symbols of materials. Include dimensions, directions, and
possible, slopes, and
6.1.6.9 Depth and description of any in-situ test performed 6.2.2 Photographs of activities, surfaces, or core. Describe
(reference to applicable ASTM standard, for example, Test sequence, dates and time, direction, objects used for scale, and
Methods D1586, D2573, D3441, D4623, D4633, D4645, subject.
D4719, or other tests if applicable),
6.1.6.10 Description of any other field tests conducted on 7. Keywords
soil and rock during the exploration such as pH, hydraulic 7.1 drilling; explorations; geologic investigations; ground
conductivity, pressuremeter geophysical, pocket penetrometer, water; logging; preliminary investigations; sampling; soil in-
soil gas/vapor analysis, or other tests, and vestigations; subsurface investigations

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 D5434 − 12
SUMMARY OF CHANGES

Committee D18 has identified the location of selected changes to this guide since the last issue, D5434–09,
that may impact the use of this guide. (Approved February 1, 2012)

(1) Revised 6.1.6.5.

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