ASTM D4296-18 PDF Download

ASTM D4296-18 standard provides guidelines for properly sampling pitch at various points of manufacture, storage, and delivery. The standard emphasizes the importance of sampling in ensuring accurate analysis and representation of the material's properties. If sampling is done improperly, the analysis may not reflect the true characteristics of the pitch, making it difficult or impractical to obtain another sample.

The standard outlines two main purposes for taking samples: to represent an average of the bulk of the materials sampled or to determine the maximum variation in characteristics that the pitch possesses. A good sampling plan should incorporate certain characteristics, such as protecting consumers from accepting a bad batch of material, protecting producers from rejecting a good batch, providing long-range consumer protection, encouraging process control by the producer, minimizing sampling and administration costs, and providing information about the quality of the product.

Sampling integrity is also highlighted in the standard. Different forms of pitch and pitch stored in different types of containers may require different sampling plans and equipment. Each sampling plan should be designed to achieve its objective of assessing the characteristics or quality of a batch or lot of material.