Methods for Determining Particle Granulometry

Sand granulometryGranulometry affects a variety of soil properties including shear strengthStrength and hydraulicHydraulic conductivityConductivity. Historically sieve analysis combined with visualVisual inspection of particles were the primary tools employed for investigation of particle granulometryGranulometry. Manual inspection of particles limited the accuracyAccuracy and scope of visualVisual classification. As a result, engineering judgment played an important role in the analysis. In the past two decades dynamic image analysis (DIA) has been introduced to allow for exploring particle granulometryGranulometry. The introduction of DIA permits exploring size and shape statistics of large specimen sizes. This chapter summarizes the most commonly used methods for determining sand particleTomography granulometryGranulometry. The chapter presents advantages and disadvantages of sieve analysis, Micro-Computed tomographyMicro computed tomography (µCT) (µCT), Scanning Electron MicroscopesElectron scanning microscope (SEM) (SEM), as well as 2D and 3D DIA.