IMSBC Code appendix 2: laboratory test procedures and apparatus
The six transportable moisture limit methods, the two angle of repose methods and the associated apparatus standards the IMSBC Code carries at appendix 2.
Appendix 2 of the IMSBC Code carries the laboratory test procedures, associated apparatus and standards to which sections 6 and 8 refer. It is recommendatory rather than mandatory under section 1.4.2, which does not reduce its practical weight: the section 1.7 definition of transportable moisture limit points to the procedures in appendix 2 paragraph 1 as the examples of what a competent authority may approve.
Paragraph 1 enumerates six methods for the transportable moisture limit: the flow table test at 1.1, the penetration test at 1.2, the Proctor/Fagerberg test at 1.3, and the modified Proctor/Fagerberg procedures for iron ore fines at 1.4, for coal at 1.5 and for bauxite at 1.6. The Code adds that as each method has its advantages, the selection should be determined by local practices or by the appropriate authorities. The scope limit of each method, and the different way each derives the transportable moisture limit, are set out at IMSBC Group A cargoes . Paragraph 2 covers the angle of repose, with the tilting box method at 2.1 for materials under 10 mm and a shipboard alternative at 2.2. Paragraph 3 carries the associated apparatus and standards.
The transportable moisture limit rule differs by method, which is the appendix’s most consequential feature: 90 percent of the flow moisture point for the first two, and a critical moisture content at 70 or 80 percent degree of saturation for the Proctor/Fagerberg family. The full article will set out each procedure with its apparatus, scope and acceptance rule.