Designation: C302 − 13

Standard Test Method for

Density and Dimensions of Preformed Pipe-Covering-Type
Thermal Insulation1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation C302; 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 U.S. Department of Defense.

1. Scope E691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to

1.1 This test method covers the determination of the dimen- Determine the Precision of a Test Method
sions and density, after conditioning, of preformed pipe insu- 3. Terminology
lation.
1.1.1 Procedure A is applicable to sections of one-piece pipe 3.1 Definitions—See Terminology C168.
covering or to sections of segmental pipe covering that can be
4. Summary of Test Method
joined together concentrically and measured as one-piece.
1.1.2 Procedure B is applicable to segmental pipe covering 4.1 The material to be tested is conditioned to constant
where each section of material is measured. weight. The density of the pipe insulation is calculated from the
1.1.3 Procedure C is applicable to sections of one-piece pipe conditioned mass and measured dimensions.
covering, such as soft foam or mineral wool materials, where
it is possible to penetrate the material. 5. Significance and Use
1.2 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded 5.1 Density measurements of preformed pipe insulation are
as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for useful in determining compliance of a product with specifica-
information only. tion limits and in providing a relative gage of product weights.
For any one kind of insulation some important physical and
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the
mechanical properties, such as thermal conductivity, heat
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
capacity, strength, etc., bear a specific relationship with its
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
density; however, on a density basis, these properties are not
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-
directly comparable with those for other kinds of material.
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
5.2 The physical dimensions of preformed pipe insulation
2. Referenced Documents are important quantities not only for determining the density of
the pipe insulation but also for determining the conformance to
2.1 ASTM Standards:2
specifications. The use of multilayer insulations is common,
C167 Test Methods for Thickness and Density of Blanket or
and the dimensions are necessary to ensure proper nesting of
Batt Thermal Insulations
the layers.
C168 Terminology Relating to Thermal Insulation
C670 Practice for Preparing Precision and Bias Statements 6. Apparatus
for Test Methods for Construction Materials
C870 Practice for Conditioning of Thermal Insulating Ma- 6.1 Flexible Steel Rule, graduated in 1⁄32-in. or 1.0-mm
terials intervals.
6.2 Scale, with sufficient capacity to weigh the specimen to
within 0.01 lb or 5 g.
1
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C16 on Thermal 6.3 Pin Probe, as defined in Test Methods C167.
Insulation and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee C16.32 on Mechanical
Properties. 6.4 Steel Rule, graduated in 1⁄32-in. or 1.0-mm intervals.
Current edition approved Nov. 1, 2013. Published December 2013. Originally
6.5 Stainless Steel Shim Stock, 2 in. (75 mm) wide, longer
approved in 1952. Last previous edition approved in 2007 as C302 – 95(2007). DOI:
10.1520/C0302-13. than the circumference of the pipe insulation, and 0.010 in.
2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or (0.25 mm) thick.
contact ASTM Customer Service at [email protected]. For Annual Book of ASTM
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on 6.6 Pi Tape, graduated to read a diameter directly to the
the ASTM website. nearest 1⁄32 in. or 1.0 mm.

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

1
 C302 − 13
6.7 Pieces of Pipe, on which to install the pipe insulation 8. Conditioning
under test (only required for Procedure 3). 8.1 Remove any jacket on the specimen unless it is of a type
that would cause disintegration of the specimen upon removal.
7. Test Specimen
8.2 Condition the specimen to constant mass in accordance
7.1 The test specimen shall be of a commercial size. with Practice C870.
7.2 If sectional pipe segments are to be used for Procedures 9. Procedures
1 or 3, the sections shall be joined together to form a hollow
cylinder.

Procedure A

9.1 One-Piece Pipe Section: 9.1.3 Measure the circumference of the specimen in six
9.1.1 Weigh the conditioned pipe section to the nearest 0.01 locations, uniformly spaced along its length, to the nearest 1⁄32
lb or 5 g. in. or 1.0 mm.
9.1.4 Measure the wall thickness at six locations, uniformly
9.1.2 Measure the length of the specimen in six locations,
spaced, three on each end of the specimen, to the nearest 1⁄32 in.
uniformly spaced around its circumference, to the nearest 1⁄32
or 1.0 mm.
in. or 1.0 mm.

Procedure B

9.2 Segmental Pipe Sections: 9.2.4 Measure the length of the specimen in six locations,
9.2.1 Weigh the conditioned segmental pipe section to the uniformly spaced around the outer surface, to the nearest 1⁄32 in.
nearest 0.01 lb or 5 g. or 1.0 mm.
9.2.2 Measure the length of the arc formed by the outer 9.2.5 Measure the wall thickness at six locations, uniformly
surface of the specimen at six locations, uniformly spaced spaced, one on each end and two on each side of the specimen,
along its length, to the nearest 1⁄32 in. or 1.0 mm. to the nearest 1⁄32 in. or 1.0 mm.
9.2.3 Measure the length of the arc formed by the inner
surface of the specimen at six locations, uniformly spaced
along its length, to the nearest 1⁄32 in. or 1.0 mm.

Procedure C

9.3 Non-Rigid Pipe Insulations: 10. Calculations

9.3.1 Weigh the conditioned pipe section to the nearest 0.01 10.1 Calculate the volume of the specimen using one of the
lb or 5 g. following equations:
9.3.2 Place the insulation on a pipe of the same outside
10.1.1 Procedures A and C:
diameter as the nominal inside diameter of the specimen, and
tie in place. Support the ends of the pipe such that the specimen V 5 Lt~ C 2 π t ! /1728 (1)
is not resting on a surface. where:
9.3.3 Measure the length of the specimen in six locations, V = volume of the specimen, ft3,
uniformly spaced around its circumference, to the nearest 1⁄32 L = average length of the specimen, in.,
in. or 1.0 mm. t = average thickness of the specimen, in., and
9.3.4 Measure the diameter of the specimen in six locations, C = average circumference of the specimen, in.
uniformly spaced along its length, to the nearest 1⁄32 in. or 1.0
or
mm, using the Pi tape. In order to avoid compressing the
insulation specimens under the Pi tape, wrap the shim stock V 5 Lt~ C 2 πt ! 3 10 29 (2)
around the specimen and use the Pi tape over the shim stock. where:
Subtract twice the thickness of the shim stock from the
V = is in m3, and L, t, and C are in mm.
diameter measured and convert the diameter to a circumference
by multiplying the average diameter by π. NOTE 1—If the jacket is not removed before measuring the outer
circumference, deduct twice the jacket thickness times π from the
9.3.5 Measure the wall thickness at six locations, uniformly measured circumference.
spaced along the length of the specimen and uniformly spaced
around its surface, using the pin probe of 6.3, to the nearest 1⁄32 10.1.2 Procedure B:
in. or 1.0 mm. V 5 Lt~ A o 1A i ! /3456 (3)

2
 C302 − 13
where: 11.1.4 Individual dimensions and mass measurements only
V = volume of the specimen, ft3, when specified, and
L = average length of the specimen, in., 11.1.5 Preconditioning and conditioning temperatures and
t = average thickness of the specimen, in., relative humidities used in Section 8, unless they are specified
Ao = average outer arc length of the specimen, in., and in a separate standard.
Ai = average inner arc length of the specimen, in.
or 12. Precision and Bias
1 12.1 Precision (Procedure A)—The multi-laboratory 95 %
V5 Lt ~ A o 1A i ! X 1029 (4)
2 repeatability limit for three materials was found to be 6.16 %,
and the 95 % reproducibility limit was found to be 9.13 %
where:
when the round robin results were analyzed using Practice
V = is in m3 and, E691.
L, T, Ao, and AI = are in mm.
12.2 Precision (Procedure B)—Both the multi-laboratory
10.2 Calculate the density of the specimen from the condi-
and single-operator coefficients of variation were found to be
tioned mass and the calculated volume as follows, and express
1.3 % (Note 3). Therefore, the results on identical samples by
the results in pounds per cubic foot or kilograms per cubic
two different laboratories or the results of two tests on identical
metre.
material by the same operator should not differ by more than
mass ~ lb! 3.7 % on their average.
Density, lb⁄ft 3 5 (5)
V ~ ft 3 !
NOTE 3—(For Procedure 2 only), the percentage variation represents,
or respectively, the (1σ) and (D2σ) limits.
mass ~ g ! ⁄1000 12.3 Precision (Procedure C)—The multi-laboratory 95 %
Density, kg⁄m 3 5 (6)
V ~ m 3! repeatability limit for three materials was found to be 6.10 %
NOTE 2—If the jacket was not removed before weighing and measuring, and the 95 % reproducibility limit was found to be 7.67 %
deduct the mass of the jacket from the specimen mass. If the specimen will
be used for additional testing, a jacket from a specimen from the same
when the round robin results were analyzed using Practice
sample will have to be sacrificed to measure the mass per lineal foot of the E691.
jacket. 12.4 Bias—The procedures in this test method for measur-
11. Report ing the dimensions and the density of preformed pipe covering-
11.1 Report the following information: type thermal insulation have no bias because no material
11.1.1 The average dimensions of the pipe insulation, having an accepted reference value is available.
11.1.2 The density of the specimen in pounds per cubic foot
or kilograms per cubic metre, 13. Keywords
11.1.3 The average thickness to the nearest 1⁄32 in. or 1.0 13.1 pipe insulation density; pipe insulation dimensions;
mm. State whether or not the jacket was removed, thermal insulation

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