Open AccessTESTING THE GRAIN-SIZE DISTRIBUTION DETERMINED BY LASER DIFFRACTOMETRY FOR SICILIAN SOILS
Author(s) -
Costanza Di Stefano,
Vito Ferro,
Stefano Mirabile
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of agricultural engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.3
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 2239-6268
pISSN - 1974-7071
DOI - 10.4081/jae.2011.30
Subject(s) - soil water , soil texture , texture (cosmology) , sieve (category theory) , diffraction , grain size , materials science , mathematics , soil science , soil test , particle size distribution , sieve analysis , fraction (chemistry) , mineralogy , composite material , environmental science , geology , image (mathematics) , optics , physics , computer science , artificial intelligence , chemistry , chromatography , paleontology , combinatorics , particle size , nanotechnology
In this paper the soil grain-size distribution determined by Laser Diffraction method (LDM) is tested using the Sieve-Hydrometer method (SHM) applied for 747 soil samples representing a different texture classification, sampled in Sicily.\udThe analysis showed that the sand content measured by SHM can be assumed equal to the one determined by LDM. \udAn underestimation of the clay fraction measured by LDM was obtained with respect to the SHM and a set of equations useful to refer laser diffraction measurements to SHM was calibrated using the measurements carried out for 635 soil samples. \udFinally, the proposed equations were tested using independent measurements carried out by LDM and SHM for 112 soil samples with a different texture classification