The significance of the LCPC test as a tool for the specification of homogeneous areas

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Abstract
With the revision of the German contract conditions VOB in 2015, the previously usual soil and rock classes were replaced by homogeneous areas, into which the ground is to be divided according to the condition of soil and/or rock before excavation. Numerous properties and characteristic values also have to be specified with their determined bandwidths. In the tendering process for many works in specialised civil engineering, earthworks and tunnelling, the abrasiveness now always has to be assessed and, if necessary, tested for soil using the LCPC test according to the French standard NF P18‐579. This test was originally designed to determine the abrasion and crushability of artificial aggregates and is normally carried out under conditions that are in most cases unrepresentative of the behaviour of natural (mixed grained) soils in‐situ. Transfer of the results to the contractually binding ground report required by the VOB is therefore extremely critical, as this article points out based on new investigations with the LCPC test.