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The macroporosity of artificial aggregates of varying texture
Author(s) -
SHIEL R. S.,
ADEY M. A.,
SHAN J. B.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.244
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2389
pISSN - 0022-4588
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2389.1988.tb01245.x
Subject(s) - shrinkage , porosity , materials science , aggregate (composite) , silt , texture (cosmology) , composite material , geotechnical engineering , mineralogy , geology , geomorphology , image (mathematics) , artificial intelligence , computer science
SUMMARY Artificial soil blocks were made by mixing either ballotini or natural sand with a suspension of silt and clay (fines). The soil was allowed to dry, shrinkage was measured, and from thin sections, the type, area and size of voids in the horizontal plane were observed. As the fines content increased, from 0 to 25%, packing voids (spaces caused by a lack of sufficient small particles to fill voids between sand grains) decreased and were partly replaced by fissures (caused by shrinkage of fines leading to isolated cracks within blocks). From 25% to 50% fines, aggregate shrinkage increased rapidly resulting in the development of large inter‐aggregate voids, but packing voids and fissures decreased. There was a transfer of porosity from within the block to the inter‐aggregate spaces as the fines content increased. Blocks containing coarse sand‐size particles had larger packing voids and fissures, a greater area of fissures, but similar shrinkage to blocks containing fine sand‐size particles.