National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN ISO 14689:2018. It is identical to ISO 14689:2017. It supersedes BS EN ISO 14689‑1:2003, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee B/526/3, Site investigation and ground testing.

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 March 2018.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 182, Geotechnics.

This first edition of ISO 14689 cancels and replaces ISO 14689‑1:2003, which has been technically revised.

Introduction

This document gives details of the procedures to be followed in the identification and description of rocks which are to be used at all stages of ground investigation and geotechnical design. This comprises the description of the rock material and the rock mass characteristics in terms of the bedding and discontinuities.

The level of detail in a description will depend on the characteristics of the rock, the size and quality of the rock exposure or sample, and the needs of the particular project. The person carrying out the field identification and description should be suitably qualified, skilled and experienced to make a correct and appropriate description and experienced in the geological materials involved in the investigation.

Practice in rock identification and description varies from country to country, in part reflecting significant differences in geological conditions. In addition, the quality of samples available for description varies due to the investigation methods employed, as methods of investigation have been developed in response to the ground conditions present.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 20 November 2017.

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 CEN-CENELEC Management Centre 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 CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

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

European foreword

This document (EN ISO 14689:2018) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 182 “Geotechnics” in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN/TC 341 “Geotechnical Investigation and Testing” 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 August 2018, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by August 2018.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes EN ISO 14689‑1:2003.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Endorsement notice

The text of ISO 14689:2017 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 14689:2018 without any modification.

1 Scope

This document specifies the rules for the identification and description of rock material and mass on the basis of mineralogical composition, genetic aspects, structure, grain size, discontinuities and other parameters. It also provides rules for the description of other characteristics as well as for their designation.

This document applies to the description of rock for geotechnics and engineering geology in civil engineering. The description is carried out on cores and other samples of rock and on exposures of rock masses.

Rock mass classification systems using one or more descriptive parameters to suggest likely rock mass behaviour are beyond the scope of this document (see Bibliography).

NOTE Identification and classification of soil for engineering purposes are covered in ISO 14688‑1 and ISO 14688‑2. Identification and description of materials intermediate between soil and rock are carried out using the procedures in ISO 14688‑1, ISO 14688‑2 and this document, as appropriate.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Identification and description of rocks

4.1 General

4.2 Rock identification

4.3 Geological formation and age

5 Rock material description

5.1 Colour

5.2 Grain size

5.3 Unconfined compressive strength

5.4 Weathering and alteration effects

5.5 Carbonate content

5.6 Degradation of rock material

6 Rock mass description

6.1 General

6.2 Rock types

6.3 Structure and bedding

6.4 Discontinuities

6.5 Weathering of the rock mass

7 Fracture indices in cores

8 Rock mass classification

9 Reporting

Bibliography

BS EN ISO 14689:2018

Geotechnical investigation and testing. Identification, description and classification of rock

Current

Published:

31 Mar 2018