Designation: D 1586 – 08a

Standard Test Method for

Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Split-Barrel Sampling
of Soils1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 1586; 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.
This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the Department of Defense.

1. Scope* parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units, which

1.1 This test method describes the procedure, generally are provided for information only and are not considered
known as the Standard Penetration Test (SPT), for driving a standard.
split-barrel sampler to obtain a representative disturbed soil 1.8.1 The gravitational system of inch-pound units is used
sample for identification purposes, and measure the resistance when dealing with inch-pound units. In this system, the pound
of the soil to penetration of the sampler. Another method (Test (lbf) represents a unit of force (weight), while the unit for mass
Method D 3550) to drive a split-barrel sampler to obtain a is slugs.
representative soil sample is available but the hammer energy 1.9 Penetration resistance measurements often will involve
is not standardized. safety planning, administration, and documentation. This test
1.2 Practice D 6066 gives a guide to determining the nor- method does not purport to address all aspects of exploration
malized penetration resistance of sands for energy adjustments and site safety. This standard does not purport to address all of
of N-value to a constant energy level for evaluating liquefac- the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
tion potential. responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
1.3 Test results and identification information are used to priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-
estimate subsurface conditions for foundation design. bility of regulatory limitations prior to use. Performance of the
1.4 Penetration resistance testing is typically performed at test usually involves use of a drill rig; therefore, safety
5-foot depth intervals or when a significant change of materials requirements as outlined in applicable safety standards (for
is observed during drilling, unless otherwise specified. example, OSHA regulations,2 NDA Drilling Safety Guide,3
1.5 This test method is limited to use in nonlithified soils drilling safety manuals, and other applicable state and local
and soils whose maximum particle size is approximately less regulations) must be observed.
than one-half of the sampler diameter. 2. Referenced Documents
1.6 This test method involves use of rotary drilling equip-
ment (Guide D 5783, Practice D 6151). Other drilling and 2.1 ASTM Standards: 4
sampling procedures (Guide D 6286, Guide D 6169) are avail- D 653 Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained
able and may be more appropriate. Considerations for hand Fluids
driving or shallow sampling without boreholes are not ad- D 854 Test Methods for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by
dressed. Subsurface investigations should be recorded in ac- Water Pycnometer
cordance with Practice D 5434. Samples should be preserved D 1587 Practice for Thin-Walled Tube Sampling of Soils
and transported in accordance with Practice D 4220 using for Geotechnical Purposes
Group B. Soil samples should be identified by group name and D 2216 Test Methods for Laboratory Determination of Wa-
symbol in accordance with Practice D 2488. ter (Moisture) Content of Soil and Rock by Mass
1.7 All observed and calculated values shall conform to the D 2487 Practice for Classification of Soils for Engineering
guidelines for significant digits and rounding established in Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System)
Practice D 6026, unless superseded by this test method. D 2488 Practice for Description and Identification of Soils
1.8 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded
as standard, except as noted below. The values given in 2
Available from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 200
Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210, http://www.osha.gov.
3
Available from the National Drilling Association, 3511 Center Rd., Suite 8,
1
This method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D18 on Soil and Brunswick, OH 44212, http://www.nda4u.com.
4
Rock and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D18.02 on Sampling and For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
Related Field Testing for Soil Evaluations. contact ASTM Customer Service at [email protected]. For Annual Book of ASTM
Current edition approved Oct. 1, 2008. Published October 2008. Originally Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
approved in 1958. Last previous edition approved in 2008 as D 1586 – 08. the ASTM website.

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

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.

1
D 1586 – 08a
(Visual-Manual Procedure) 3.2.2 drive weight assembly, n—an assembly that consists
D 3550 Practice for Thick Wall, Ring-Lined, Split Barrel, of the hammer, anvil, hammer fall guide system, drill rod
Drive Sampling of Soils attachment system, and any hammer drop system hoisting
D 3740 Practice for Minimum Requirements for Agencies attachments.
Engaged in Testing and/or Inspection of Soil and Rock as 3.2.3 hammer, n—that portion of the drive-weight assembly
Used in Engineering Design and Construction consisting of the 140 6 2 lbf (623 6 9 N) impact weight which
D 4220 Practices for Preserving and Transporting Soil is successively lifted and dropped to provide the energy that
Samples accomplishes the sampling and penetration.
3.2.4 hammer drop system, n—that portion of the drive-
D 4633 Test Method for Energy Measurement for Dynamic
weight assembly by which the operator or automatic system
Penetrometers
accomplishes the lifting and dropping of the hammer to
D 5434 Guide for Field Logging of Subsurface Explora- produce the blow.
tions of Soil and Rock 3.2.5 hammer fall guide, n—that part of the drive-weight
D 5783 Guide for Use of Direct Rotary Drilling with assembly used to guide the fall of the hammer.
Water-Based Drilling Fluid for Geoenvironmental Explo- 3.2.6 number of rope turns, n—the total contact angle
ration and the Installation of Subsurface Water-Quality between the rope and the cathead at the beginning of the
Monitoring Devices operator’s rope slackening to drop the hammer, divided by
D 6026 Practice for Using Significant Digits in Geotechni- 360° (see Fig. 1).
cal Data 3.2.7 sampling rods, n—rods that connect the drive-weight
D 6066 Practice for Determining the Normalized Penetra- assembly to the sampler. Drill rods are often used for this
tion Resistance of Sands for Evaluation of Liquefaction purpose.
Potential
D 6151 Practice for Using Hollow-Stem Augers for Geo- 4. Significance and Use
technical Exploration and Soil Sampling 4.1 This test method provides a disturbed soil sample for
D 6169 Guide for Selection of Soil and Rock Sampling moisture content determination, for identification and classifi-
Devices Used With Drill Rigs for Environmental Investi- cation (Practices D 2487 and D 2488) purposes, and for labo-
gations ratory tests appropriate for soil obtained from a sampler that
D 6286 Guide for Selection of Drilling Methods for Envi- will produce large shear strain disturbance in the sample such
ronmental Site Characterization as Test Methods D 854, D 2216, and D 6913. Soil deposits
D 6913 Test Methods for Particle-Size Distribution (Grada- containing gravels, cobbles, or boulders typically result in
tion) of Soils Using Sieve Analysis penetration refusal and damage to the equipment.
4.2 This test method provides a disturbed soil sample for
3. Terminology moisture content determination and laboratory identification.
Sample quality is generally not suitable for advanced labora-
3.1 Definitions: Definitions of terms included in Terminol-
tory testing for engineering properties. The process of driving
ogy D 653 specific to this practice are:
the sampler will cause disturbance of the soil and change the
3.1.1 cathead, n—the rotating drum or windlass in the engineering properties. Use of the thin wall tube sampler
rope-cathead lift system around which the operator wraps a (Practice D 1587) may result in less disturbance in soft soils.
rope to lift and drop the hammer by successively tightening and Coring techniques may result in less disturbance than SPT
loosening the rope turns around the drum. sampling for harder soils, but it is not always the case, that is,
3.1.2 drill rods, n—rods used to transmit downward force some cemented soils may become loosened by water action
and torque to the drill bit while drilling a borehole. during coring; see Practice D 6151, and Guide D 6169.
3.1.3 N-value, n—the blow count representation of the 4.3 This test method is used extensively in a great variety of
penetration resistance of the soil. The N-value, reported in geotechnical exploration projects. Many local correlations and
blows per foot, equals the sum of the number of blows (N) widely published correlations which relate blow count, or
required to drive the sampler over the depth interval of 6 to 18 N-value, and the engineering behavior of earthworks and
in. (150 to 450 mm) (see 7.3). foundations are available. For evaluating the liquefaction
3.1.4 Standard Penetration Test (SPT), n—a test process in potential of sands during an earthquake event, the N-value
the bottom of the borehole where a split-barrel sampler having should be normalized to a standard overburden stress level.
an inside diameter of either 1-1/2-in. (38.1 mm) or 1-3/8-in. Practice D 6066 provides methods to obtain a record of
(34.9 mm) (see Note 2) is driven a given distance of 1.0 ft (0.30 normalized resistance of sands to the penetration of a standard
m) after a seating interval of 0.5 ft (0.15 m) using a hammer sampler driven by a standard energy. The penetration resistance
weighing approximately 140-lbf (623-N) falling 30 6 1.0 in. is adjusted to drill rod energy ratio of 60 % by using a hammer
(0.76 m 6 0.030 m) for each hammer blow. system with either an estimated energy delivery or directly
3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard: measuring drill rod stress wave energy using Test Method
3.2.1 anvil, n—that portion of the drive-weight assembly D 4633.
which the hammer strikes and through which the hammer NOTE 1—The reliability of data and interpretations generated by this
energy passes into the drill rods. practice is dependent on the competence of the personnel performing it

2
D 1586 – 08a

(a) counterclockwise rotation

approximately 13⁄4 turns

(b) clockwise rotation

approximately 21⁄4 turns

FIG. 1 Definitions of the Number of Rope Turns and the Angle for (a) Counterclockwise Rotation and (b) Clockwise Rotation of the
Cathead

and the suitability of the equipment and facilities used. Agencies that meet 5.1.2 Roller-Cone Bits, less than 6½ in. (165 mm) and
the criteria of Practice D 3740 generally are considered capable of greater than 2¼ in. (57 mm) in diameter may be used in
competent testing. Users of this practice are cautioned that compliance conjunction with open-hole rotary drilling or casing-
with Practice D 3740 does not assure reliable testing. Reliable testing
depends on several factors and Practice D 3740 provides a means of
advancement drilling methods if the drilling fluid discharge is
evaluating some of these factors. Practice D 3740 was developed for deflected.
agencies engaged in the testing, inspection, or both, of soils and rock. As 5.1.3 Hollow-Stem Continuous Flight Augers, with or with-
such, it is not totally applicable to agencies performing this practice. Users out a center bit assembly, may be used to drill the borehole.
of this test method should recognize that the framework of Practice The inside diameter of the hollow-stem augers shall be less
D 3740 is appropriate for evaluating the quality of an agency performing than 6½ in. (165 mm) and not less than 2¼ in. (57 mm).
this test method. Currently, there is no known qualifying national authority
that inspects agencies that perform this test method. 5.1.4 Solid, Continuous Flight, Bucket and Hand Augers,
less than 6½ in. (165 mm) and not less than 2¼ in. (57 mm) in
5. Apparatus diameter may be used if the soil on the side of the borehole
5.1 Drilling Equipment—Any drilling equipment that pro- does not cave onto the sampler or sampling rods during
vides at the time of sampling a suitable borehole before sampling.
insertion of the sampler and ensures that the penetration test is 5.2 Sampling Rods—Flush-joint steel drill rods shall be
performed on intact soil shall be acceptable. The following used to connect the split-barrel sampler to the drive-weight
pieces of equipment have proven to be suitable for advancing assembly. The sampling rod shall have a stiffness (moment of
a borehole in some subsurface conditions: inertia) equal to or greater than that of parallel wall “A” rod (a
5.1.1 Drag, Chopping, and Fishtail Bits, less than 6½ in. steel rod that has an outside diameter of 1-5/8 in. (41.3 mm)
(165 mm) and greater than 2¼ in. (57 mm) in diameter may be and an inside diameter of 1-1/8 in. (28.5 mm).
used in conjunction with open-hole rotary drilling or casing- 5.3 Split-Barrel Sampler—The standard sampler dimen-
advancement drilling methods. To avoid disturbance of the sions are shown in Fig. 2. The sampler has an outside diameter
underlying soil, bottom discharge bits are not permitted; only of 2.00 in. (50.8 mm). The inside diameter of the of the
side discharge bits are permitted. split-barrel (dimension D in Fig. 2) can be either 1½-in. (38.1