Comparison between hydrometer and laser diffraction methods in the determination of clay content in fine-grained soils

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openAccess

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A4 Artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa

Date

2021-04-26

Department

Department of Civil Engineering

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Language

en

Pages

10

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IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, Volume 710, issue 1

Abstract

Clay content is the main characterizing parameter when classifying fine-grained soils. Hydrometer method (HD) is commonly used in geotechnics to obtain the grain size distribution properties of fine-grained soils. However, this test is laborious and time consuming as compared to alternative methods such as laser diffraction (LD). In this study, a comparison between the results for clay content of 19 samples from different locations in Finland using HD and LD methods was carried out aiming at obtaining a mathematical expression that allows to transform LD measurements into HD results. The results were statistically compared showing significant differences between the results of these two techniques and underestimation of the clay content by the LD method was observed. Based on the results, the reliability of the laser method in the determination of clay content is discussed.

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Publisher Copyright: © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

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Citation

Lopez, A, Gustavsson, H & Korkiala-Tanttu, L 2021, ' Comparison between hydrometer and laser diffraction methods in the determination of clay content in fine-grained soils ', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 710, no. 1, 012012 . https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/710/1/012012