Lab Report #1: Particle Size Analysis of Soils (original) (raw)

Aspects of soil particle size analysis in Australia

Soil Research, 1989

Analysis of the particle-size characteristics of a soil can provide valuable information on the processes and products of soil formation. Studies of loess soils world-wide have used particle size as a major criterion, however, in Australia the particle-size characteristics of parna (a t y e of loess with a high clay content) have not been measured in detail. A modified method of particle-size analysis is proposed which gives more accurate results and which may contribute to a better understanding of soil formation in general, and loess formation in particular, in Australia.

Comparison of particle-size analyzing laboratory methods

Environmental engineering and management journal

Particle size distribution is one of the most influential factors of most soil physical and even some soil chemical characteristics. As modern measurement techniques are being introduced, the need for comparing new methods with older methodologies arises because comparability means data continuity. Here, three institutes conducted a comparison of particle size measurement among the laser, areometer and pipette techniques. The purpose of the comparison was to a) discover any differences among operators, laboratories, and techniques; b) identify if there were any differences and if they could be linked to soil type (e.g. high clay, loam, or sand content) or particle size range; and c) understand if the laser diffraction method gave results that were significantly larger than the other methods of any size fraction. There was no statistically proven difference between the two operators examined based on the pipette method's result. The comparison of two of the institutes' pipett...