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Grain size (or particle size) is the diameter of individual grains of sediment, or the lithified particles in clastic rocks. The term may also be applied to other granular materials . This is different from the crystallite size, which refers to the size of a single crystal inside a particle or grain.
If the soil has 5–12% by weight of fines passing a #200 sieve (5% < P #200 < 12%), both grain size distribution and plasticity have a significant effect on the engineering properties of the soil, and dual notation may be used for the group symbol. For example, GW-GM corresponds to "well-graded gravel with silt."
Each sieve has successively smaller openings so particles larger than the size of each sieve are retained on the sieve. [4] [5] The percentage of each soil size is measured by weighing the amount retained on each sieve and comparing the weight to the total weight of the sample. The results of a sieve analysis are plotted as a grain size ...
The first classification, the International system, was first proposed by Albert Atterberg in 1905 and was based on his studies in southern Sweden. Atterberg chose 20 μm for the upper limit of silt fraction because particles smaller than that size were not visible to the naked eye, the suspension could be coagulated by salts, capillary rise within 24 hours was most rapid in this fraction, and ...
Sand is the most stable of the mineral components of soil; it consists of rock fragments, primarily quartz particles, ranging in size from 2.0 to 0.05 mm (0.0787 to 0.0020 in) in diameter. Silt ranges in size from 0.05 to 0.002 mm (0.001969 to 7.9 × 10 −5 in).
Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when dry, and lacks plasticity when wet. Silt can also be felt by the tongue as granular when placed on the front teeth (even when mixed with clay particles). Silt is a common material, making up 45% of average ...
The plasticity index is the size of the range of water contents where the soil exhibits plastic properties. The PI is the difference between the liquid and plastic limits (PI = LL-PL). Soils with a high PI tend to be clay, those with a lower PI tend to be silt, and those with a PI of 0 (non-plastic) tend to have little or no silt or clay.
Soil texture is the analysis and classification of the particle size distribution in soil. The relative amounts of sand, silt, and clay particles determine a soil's texture, which affects the appearance, feel and chemical properties of the soil. [12] Soil texture-by-feel method