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18th World Congress of Soil Science
July 9-15, 2006 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
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Balázs Kovács, Univ of Szeged, Dept of Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Petrology, Egyetem u. 2-6, Szeged, 6722, Hungary, Imre Czinkota,
Szent Istvan Univ, Dept of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry,
Páter K. 1., Gödöllő, Hungary, Lászlo Tolner, Szent István Univ, Dept
of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Páter Károly u. 1, Gödöllő,
2103, Hungary, and György Czinkota, ALTAIR LTD, Hegyalja u. 13, Fót,
2151, Hungary.
The determination of Particle
Size Distribution (PSD) is one of the most important fundamental
physical properties of soils, which determines both the physical,
chemical, mechanical, geotechnical, moreover environmental behavior.
Although the measurement of PSD is continuously performed in soil labs
using different techniques there are two important problems not solved:
automation and continuous PSD curve generation. To overcome the
mentioned troubles there are various sensors based on different
physical principles and new data storing methods to measure the
density-time function of settling soil suspensions. In this paper we
introduce one possible device for measurement and storing of the
density changes versus time. The equipment has a form of a real
areometer widely used in many fields of the life (determination of
sugar content of must or alcohol content of distilled spirits, etc.)
The device equipped with patent pended capacitive sensors on the neck
of the areometer, which can measure the changes of water levels nearby
the neck of the areometer in 1 µm precision with less than 10 µm
errors. The typical water level change nearby the sensor during the
measurements is 3-5 cm, which makes possible a very accurate
determination of density changes. The measured signals are stored in
the memory of equipment and after the termination of the measurement
the database is downloaded to the to a PC via a modified USB-serial
port. Data evaluation using a new evaluation method can be carried out
online or using a saved file later at any time. The big number of
measured data points led to the introduction of a new evaluation
method, the Method of FInite Tangents or shortly: the �FIT method�.
Because the whole system can be managed as the superposition of many
mono-disperse systems, it is possible to divide the measured
density-time function into grain-size fractions with tangent lines
drawn to finite but optional points. For calculating the settling speed
of given fraction, this tangent lines are useable, because the gradient
of density changes is equal to the product of settling speed and mass
of given fraction. The settling speed of all fractions is calculable
using the Stokes law, so thus the mass of all floating fraction is
calculable. Because the soil-suspension is a poly-disperse system, the
measured density increments can be considered as an integration of
finite mono-disperse systems, which mean that it can be interpreted as
the sum of linear density vs. time functions. If the mass of all
grain-size fractions are known, the particle size distribution can be
calculated easily. For the FIT-method is relatively easy to write the
computer code, where the intervals of grain-size fractions are freely
adjustable, so using this program, almost all particle size
distribution systems can be determined, not only the uniform
distribution. Using an appropriate controller and calculating program,
the particle size distribution can be calculated immediately after
downloading the measured data or anywhen later. It is also possible to
make calculations from one dataset using different PSD systems. The use
of this technique needs the same sample preparation as the past
methods. The automated reading requires less manpower to perform the
measurement--which also reduces human error sources--and makes easy to
perform parallel measurements, but also provides very detailed PSD data
that has advantages like revealing multi-modality in the particle-size
distribution--among others.