The ASTM Digital Library of publications and standards is now available online through the Johns Hopkins University Libraries. As a read, they are nowhere near exciting as trip to Ocean City, but for scientists, engineers, and amusement park operators they are an important trusted source of technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services.
If you are looking for a Standard Practice for Sensory Evaluation of Edible Oils and Fats, it is in the collection with ASTM E1627. What about a Standard Practice for Maintenance Procedures for Amusement Rides and Devices? Look no further than ASTM F853. And yes, there is a Standard Guide for Sensory Evaluation of Beverages Containing Alcohol (ASTM E1879).
The ASTM Digital Library is a collection of current and historical standards and related publications, including several ASTM journals, ASTM Symposia Papers and Special Technical Publications (STPs). The engineering disciplines covered include aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, environmental, geological, health and safety, industrial, materials science, mechanical, nuclear, petroleum, soil science, and solar engineering.
Whether you knew it or not, ASTM publications help you stay safe this summer.
I am very familiar with ASTM as I worked in a materials testing lab for several years. If you drive a car, you are driving on a roadway or a bridge composed of materials that passed ASTM tests. Some of the tests I performed were destructive (and fun), such as pulling large reinforced bars until they broke (> 400,000 lbs of force). Shakes the whole building when it breaks 🙂
What a great post! And by the way, I’m happy to see that the standard for testing the rides includes the fact that it has to be “nondestructive” (“…application of technical methods… to examine materials or components in ways that do not
impair the future usefulness and serviceability…”)