Determination of Silt and Clay soil particle distribution using new Silt-Clay Separation Quick method

Abstract

Hydrometer method is the standard method that normally used to determine fine particle size distributions for soil classification purposes. This study aims to develop new method that enable quick determination of silt-clay particle distribution compared to the hydrometer method that requires procedure of pretreatment and additional 24 hours required for the complete procedure of the test. The various soil samples were collected from seven different locations including Sunway Carnival (Marine Clay), Suling Hills (Residual Clay), Jawi Quarry (Residual Clay), Kelantan River (River Clay), Batu Kawan (Marine Clay), Kaolin Clay and Sungai Petani (Residual Clay). Three soil samples from each site were prepared for the hydrometer method and additional three samples for the new method silt-clay separation. Sample preparation and testing is repeated for all samples from seven site locations. The results of silt clay particle distribution obtained from both experimental works were compared to analyze the compatibility of data. The data analysis shows that there are no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the two methods in all examined soil samples. This indicates strong evidence to support this research that the silt-clay separation new method is comparable to the standard hydrometer method. Regression analysis between the two methods produced a coefficient of determination (R-square) values of 0.9912 respectively. The straight-line equation generated for all data produced the gradient equal to 0.8465, which is close to 1 indicates stronger evidence to supports the accuracy of the new method. In conclusion, the preliminary results of new method silt-clay separation confirmed its reliability to analyze the particle soil distribution in silt-clay fraction with 99.12% data accuracy compared to the standard hydrometer method.