Bsi bs en 15238 2006 (2009)

untitled BRITISH STANDARD BS EN 15238 2006 Incorporating corrigendum April 2009 Soil improvers and growing media — Determination of quantity for materials with particle size greater than 60 mm ICS 65[.]

Soil improvers and

growing media —

Determination of

quantity for materials

with particle size

greater than 60 mm

ICS 65.080

April 2009

ISBN 978 0 580 67672 7

This British Standard is the UK implementation of

EN 15238:2006, incorporating corrigendum April 2009

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee AW/20, Top soil and other growing media

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions

of a contract Users are responsible for its correct application

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was

published under the authority

of the Standards Policy and

Strategy Committee on

31 January 2007

© BSI 2009

Amendments/corrigenda issued since publication

30 November 2009 Implementation of CEN corrigendum April 2009

Replacement of ‘(m1 m2)’ with ‘(m1-m2)’ in 9.1

EUROPÄISCHE NORM December 2006

ICS 65.080

English Version

Soil improvers and growing media - Determination of quantity for

materials with particle size greater than 60 mm

Amendements du sol et supports de culture

-Détermination de la quantité pour les matériaux de

granulométrie supérieure à 60 mm

Bodenverbesserungsmittel und Kultursubstrate -Bestimmung der Menge für Materialien mit einer

Partikelgröße über 60 mm

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 21 October 2006.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German) A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION

C O M I T É E U R O P É E N D E N O R M A L I S A T I O N

E U R O P Ä IS C H E S K O M IT E E FÜ R N O R M U N G

Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36 B-1050 Brussels

Incorporating corrigendum April 2009

2

Foreword 3

Introduction 4

1 Scope 5

2 Normative references 5

3 Terms and definitions 5

4 Symbols and abbreviated terms 6

5 Principle 6

6 Apparatus 6

7 Calibration of the measure 8

8 Sampling 9

9 Method for density determination 9

10 Calculation and expression of results 10

11 Precision 11

12 Test report for declarations of volume 11

13 Weight 11

14 Test report for declarations of weight 12

Annex A (informative) Results of an interlaboratory trial to determine density 13

Bibliography 14

Foreword

This document (EN 15238:2006) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 223 “Soil

improvers and growing media”, the secretariat of which is held by BSI

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an

identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by June 2007, and conflicting national standards shall

be withdrawn at the latest by June 2007

According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the

following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus,

Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,

Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,

Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom

4

Introduction

Soil improvers and growing media are generally traded by volume as the weight of the product can

be greatly affected by the moisture content It is important for both consumers and traders to know the volume of product being traded Furthermore, for the cultivation of plants, it is the volume of the product, and not the weight, that is generally important The volume is calculated from knowing the weight and density of the product, the latter being determined from weighing a known reference volume of product As some soil improvers and growing media are compressible it is important that this aspect be addressed in the method of determining the density A suitably competent person should undertake this testing

For those materials traded by reference to its mass, this document recognises the effects the moisture content can have on the quantity declared Therefore, for such transactions, any weight is accompanied by the moisture content so that the solid matter content can be calculated

1 Scope

This standard specifies a method for the determination of quantity of soil improvers, excluding liming materials and growing media in bulk and in packages This is a reference method, which is designed with an appropriate precision level aimed at enabling validation of any quantity declaration made

This document applies to material that is in solid form, but not in block form to be sold by dimension, and which exceeds the particle size restriction in EN 12580 [1] and where the declared nominal particle size is greater than 60 mm This method is applicable for products where a mass fraction of less than 10% of material is retained on the 100 mm fall controller

NOTE 1 The requirements of this standard may differ from the national legal requirements for the declaration of quantity for the products concerned

NOTE 2 Where there is no legal requirement to use this method, for example in quantity control of packaged product, then it is permissible for any other methods to be used so long as these other methods can be demonstrated to be comparable with this standard method in giving the same quantity with the same precision

2 Normative references

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document For dated references, only the edition cited applies For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies

EN 12579:1999, Soil improvers and growing media – Sampling

EN 13040, Soil improvers and growing media – Sample preparation for chemical and physical tests,

determination of dry matter content, moisture content and laboratory compacted bulk density

EN 45501, Metrological aspects of non-automatic weighing instruments

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply

3.1

batch

quantity of goods manufactured by the same process under the same conditions and labelled in the same manner and assumed to have the same characteristics

3.2

bulk material

material that is not packaged

3.3

container

any container, including lorry, boat, and package

3.4

density

density of the material as received or reconstituted for use in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, determined by the method specified in this standard

6

3.6

strike

transparent sheet of flat material, normally glass, which is easily large enough to cover the top of the measure

3.7

volume

out-turn volume determined by the method specified in this standard

4 Symbols and abbreviated terms

For the purposes of this document, the following symbols and abbreviated terms apply:

D density of material, as determined by the method specified in this standard;

V the volume of material;

m x the mass of an item

5 Principle

5.1 For each batch of material, whether for delivery in bulk or in packages, the quantity of material is

determined and declared either by volume or by weight

5.2 Where the quantity declared is by volume then the material is weighed and then sampled and its density determined From this information the volume is calculated

5.3 Where the quantity declared is by weight then the moisture content is also determined so that the dry matter weight can be determined and declared

NOTE The structure of the material may change with time and handling and this may affect the volume of the material

6 Apparatus

6.1 Measure, Rigid, 50 l ± 1 l with a height to diameter ratio between 0,95:1 and 1:1, calibrated in

accordance with Clause 7 The volume, V1 shall be determined to the nearest 20 ml at 20 °C, with an uncertainty of measurement (k=2) of no more than 100 ml

NOTE 1 Information about the measurement and expression of uncertainty is given in the OIML Guide (G1) to the expression of uncertainty in measurement, (sometimes referred to as GUM)

NOTE 2 A 400 mm internal diameter pipe of height 398 mm with an end cap may be suitable

NOTE 3 For easy and safe handling of the filled measure, lifting and emptying handles are advisable For health and safety reasons, the filled measure may require two persons to lift it

6.2 Collar, Rigid, of the same diameter as the measure (6.1) and with a height of 75 mm ± 5 mm Equipped with locating lugs to enable it to sit on the measure correctly

6.3 Fall Controller, A fall controller of 100 mm ± 5 mm mesh size, held no more than 50 mm above the collar, equipped with locating lugs to enable it to sit on the collar correctly

NOTE Wires crossing each other perpendicularly form the mesh with 100 mm square holes

Figure 1 shows a diagram of the apparatus as described in 6.1 to 6.3

1

2 3

Key

that 50 mm above filling collar

mm

NOTE 1 For convenience and ease of use it is advisable to have 3 handles on the cylinder (2 for lifting and the third for tilting) and 2 on the filling collar and fall controller

NOTE 2 The fall controller and filling collar should each have 4 locating lugs

NOTE 3 The measuring cylinder should have 3 short legs so that it sits level

Figure 1 — Measuring cylinder, collar and fall controller

6.4 Weighing Instrument, used to determine the density of the material by this method conforming to EN

45501 and with a scale division no larger than 0,01kg

NOTE National legislation is likely to require that the equipment be verified before use, and so it will be marked with the

‘CE’ mark and a green ‘M’ to show it is legal to use for trade purposes, as required by Directive 90/384/EEC

8

weighing instrument to be acceptable the maximum scale interval should conform to the requirements in Table

1

Table 1 — Maximum scale intervals for weighing instruments

Mass, kg Maximum scale interval for analogue instrument, g Maximum scale interval for digital instrument, g

6.5 Straight edge, rigid, of rectangular cross section, of thickness not exceeding 5 mm, preferably with a

sharp edge, and at least 700 mm long

6.6 Shovel or scoop, that preserves the characteristics of the product, with dimensions sufficient to take a representative portion

NOTE 1 Use of hands is unlikely to ensure a representative sample is transferred to the measure

NOTE 2 A snow or grain shovel may be suitable for large, coarse material

7 Calibration of the measure

To calibrate the measure, place the measure and sufficient water together in a room so that the temperature of

both stabilizes Determine the temperature, t Weigh it empty together with a strike, note its mass in kilograms,

me (A strike is a transparent sheet of flat material, normally glass, which is large enough to easily cover the top of the measure.) Weighings shall be made in kilograms on a weighing instrument with no greater than 10 g divisions, which complies with EN 45501

Fill to the brim with water using the strike When the water level is near the top of the measure, start to slide the strike onto the rim of the measure and pick up the meniscus of the water on its underside Filling continues gradually, continuing to slide the strike over the surface of the measure so that no air bubbles are trapped under it The measure is completely filled when the strike covers the top of the measure without any air being trapped under it

Weigh the filled measure and strike in kilograms, mass, mf Calculate the mass of water, mw = mf –me

Calculate the volume of water by multiplying by the factor given in the table below This gives the volume of

the measure, Vt, in litres, at the temperature, t, at which it has been calibrated Weigh the filled measure and strike, mass, mf Calculate the mass of water, mw = mf –me

Table 2 — Multiplication factor at various temperatures for the calculation of the volume of the

measure

Temperature

Factor

(L/kg) 1.00135 1.00145 1.00155 1.00167 1.00181 1.00196 1.00211 1.00229 1.00247 1.00266

Temperature

Factor

(L/kg) 1.00286 1.00307 1.00329 1.00352 1.00376 1.00402 1.00429 1.00456 1.00484 1.00514

Calculate the volume of the measure at 20 °C using the formula,

( )

V

where E is the co-efficient of cubical expansion for the material from which the measure is made For steel this is 0.000 011/°C The volume should be rounded to the nearest 10 ml

NOTE In some countries it may be a legal requirement to have the measure calibrated by an accredited calibration laboratory

8 Sampling

Sampling shall be carried out in accordance with the method specified in EN 12579, with the following exceptions:

 for bulk material the final sample, of at least 75 l, shall be used for a density determination;

 for packaged material the content of a package shall be used, and if this is less than 75 l the content of the number of packages needed to give 75 l of material shall be used

9 Method for density determination

9.1 Using the weighing instrument (6.4), determine the gross weight of the material and its container and

note the mass in kilograms, m1

Determine the tare weight of the container (e.g package, bags, truck, train) and note the mass in kilograms m2

For packaged material, where the quantity of material in each package is being measured, weigh each package separately for both gross and tare weight

1 m2) Alternatively the net weight of the material can be determined directly

9.2 Weigh the empty measure (6.1), note the mass in kilograms m 3, and assemble the collar (6.2) on the cylinder Place the equipment on a stable horizontal surface and place the fall controller (6.3) so that the mesh

is no more than 50 mm above the collar

The net weight of the material is calculated as (m −