ISO 17892-1:2014

Overview

ISO 17892-1:2014 specifies the oven-drying laboratory method for determining the water (moisture) content of soils used in geotechnical investigation and testing. The standard defines how to measure mass loss on drying a soil specimen to a constant mass and expresses water content as the ratio of free water mass to dry soil mass. The procedure is the definitive method for routine laboratory water content determinations and supports soil classification and compaction control.

Key topics and requirements

• Scope and purpose: Applicable to laboratory determination of soil water content for geotechnical investigations and as a control criterion in re-compacted soils.
• Equipment: Forced‑draft drying oven (uniform temperature), thermometer/thermocouple (±1 °C), precision balance (0.01 g or 0.1% whichever greater), non‑reactive containers (glass, porcelain, corrosion‑resistant metal) and optional desiccator.
• Drying conditions: Typical oven temperature 105 °C to 110 °C; lower temperatures (e.g., 50 °C) recommended for soils with gypsum or significant organics to avoid loss of chemically bound water.
• Constant mass definition: Further mass change < 0.1% after at least 1 hour’s additional drying.
• Specimen selection and minimum masses: Representative sampling after mixing. Recommended minimum moist specimen masses by maximum particle size (Dmax):
  • 0.063 mm → 30 g
  • 2.0 mm → 100 g
  • 10.0 mm → 500 g
  • 31.5 mm → 3 000 g
  • 63.0 mm → 21 000 g
• Calculation: Water content w (%) = (mass of water / dry mass of soil) × 100, i.e. mass loss on drying referenced to remaining dry solids.
• Reporting: Must state specimen ID, visual description (per ISO 14688‑1), water content (below 100% to 0.1% precision; above 100% to whole percent), and any deviations (including drying temperature).

Applications and users

ISO 17892-1 is used by:

• Geotechnical and civil engineers for site investigation and design input
• Construction and compaction quality-control laboratories
• Environmental and geoscience researchers performing soil testing
• Third‑party testing laboratories preparing data for design codes

Practical uses include soil classification, establishing in-situ versus lab moisture, compaction control, and input to index and strength tests that require known moisture conditions.

Related standards

• ISO 17892 series (other parts for density, particle size, Atterberg limits, triaxial tests)
• ISO 14688-1 (soil identification and description)
• Note: ISO 17892-1 fulfills water content determination requirements for EN 1997‑1 and EN 1997‑2.

Keywords: ISO 17892-1, water content, soil moisture content, oven-drying method, geotechnical testing, laboratory testing of soil.