Investigation on the Limitations of Power Functions for Describing Soil Particle Size Distribution

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MSc, Department of soil science engineering, University of Tehran

2 PhD student, Department of soil science engineering, University of Tehran

3 Associated professor, Department of soil science engineering, University of Tehran

Abstract

The power-law functions, especially the mass-based fractal models, have been widely used to quantify and describe the particle size distribution (PSD). Many researchers have shown thatthe ratio of cumulative mass fraction to particle sizewill change with the invariant scale, called fractal dimension (D), if the particle density is constant across the entire size fractions. However, some reports show that the application of these models has some limitations. This research was carried outfor investigating the limitations and evaluation of the best size ranges for application of power-law functions (two mass-based fractal models). Thirty two soil samples with eight different textural classes were used for particle size distribution experiment usingthe hydrometer method. Fitting the models on PSD data sets showed that these models werenot able to accurately represent the PSD curve across the entirerange of particles under the size of 2000 µm (R2 = 0.7461).The best applicable size range was less than 54 µm (R2 = 0.9716). These conditions can limit the use of power functions in sandy soils. The results showed that the application of the fractal models in clayey soils is valid for particles smaller than 24 µm. Also, these results showed that approximately 70% of changes in fractal dimension werecontrolled by the silt to clay ratio in the soil samples.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Soil Research
Volume 26, Issue 1
June 2012
Pages 67-76

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