FIT Method for Calculating Soil Particle Size Distribution from Particle Density and Settling Time Data

Particle size distribution (PSD) is one of the most important fundamental physical properties of soils, as it determines their physical, chemical, mechanical, geotechnical, moreover environmental behaviour. Although the measurement of PSD with different techniques is commonly performed in soil laboratories, their automation and continuous PSD curve generation have not been solved yet. However, there are some physical principles, various sensors and different data storing methods for measuring the density-time function. In the present paper a possible solution is introduced for the measurement of the soil particle density database as a function of settling time. The equipment used for this purpose is an areometer that is widely used e.g. for determining the sugar content of must, or the alcohol content of distilled spirits, etc. The device is equipped with patent pending capacitive sensors on the neck of the areometer. It measures the changes in the water levels nearby the neck of the areometer in 1 μm units with <10 μm accuracy. The typical water level changes are 3-5 cm, which makes possible a very accurate determination of particle density changes due to settling in particle size analysis. The measured signals are stored in the equipment's memory and can be downloaded to the controller computer via a modified USB port. Data evaluation can be carried out online or later. The large number of measured data points led to the introduction of a new evaluation method, the Method of FInite Tangents or shortly the “FIT Method”. The dispersed soil particle system is considered as the aggregation of many mono-disperse systems. From this it follows that the measured density-time function can be divided into grain size fractions with tangent lines drawn to finite, but optional points. These tangent lines are suitable for calculating the settling speed of a given fraction, as the changing speed of density is equal to the multiplication of settling speed and mass of the given grain size fraction. The settling speed of all fractions is calculable by using the Stokes law, so the mass of all of the floating fraction can be calculated. Because the soil suspension is a poly-disperse system, the measured density decrease can be considered as an integration of finite mono-disperse systems. From this, it follows that it can be interpreted as the sum of linear density vs. time functions. If the mass of each grain size fraction is known, the particle size distribution is calculable. The method is relatively easily programmed and the intervals of grain size fractions are freely adjustable, so with this program almost all types of particle size distribution are calculable, not only those being uniform. Using the appropriate controller and evaluation program, soil particle size distribution can be calculated immediately after downloading the measured data. This technique does not need more sample preparation than past methods. The automated reading lessens the manpower required for performing the measurement - which also reduces human error sources - and provides very detailed PSD data that has advantages, among others, like revealing multi-modality in the particle-size distribution.