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An improved method for determination of aggregate stability using laser diffraction
Author(s) -
Bieganowski Andrzej,
Zaleski Tomasz,
Kajdas Bartłomiej,
Sochan Agata,
Józefowska Agnieszka,
Beczek Michał,
Lipiec Jerzy,
Turski Marcin,
Ryżak Magdalena
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.2941
Subject(s) - aggregate (composite) , stability (learning theory) , sieve (category theory) , measure (data warehouse) , diffraction , statistics , degradation (telecommunications) , materials science , mathematics , soil science , mineralogy , environmental science , optics , chemistry , physics , computer science , composite material , telecommunications , combinatorics , database , machine learning
Soil aggregate water stability is very important from both scientific and practical points of view. This stability is a critical factor in a soil's susceptibility to water erosion and, in turn, land degradation. The most popular measure of soil aggregate stability is the water resistance index (WRI), which is commonly measured using the wet‐sieving method. Using the laser diffraction method in order to observe changes in the median of the particle size distribution and determine soil aggregate stability was first proposed in 2010. However, the method was not suitable for weak aggregates. The aim of this study was to present a measure of aggregate stability using laser diffractometry, aggregate stability index (ASI LD ). Determination of the ASI LD is based on the calculation of the directional coefficient of the straight line interpolated from 2 points: (a) the value calculated as the mean of the lower and upper nominal sieve sizes used for soil aggregate separation and (b) the median of the first measurement after the adding of the dry aggregates into the measuring system of the laser diffractometer. This proposed method for the calculation of the ASI LD can be applied to very weak aggregates (i.e., aggregates that, in practice, are not at all water resistant). For weak and moderately stable aggregates, the correlation between ASI LD and WRI is higher than 0.9. This method also enables differentiation between the water resistance of aggregates which, by the wet‐sieving method, are indistinguishable (i.e., those which have the maximum WRI).