DIN Standards Committee Water Practice
Soil quality - Determination of particle size distribution in mineral soil material - Method by sieving and sedimentation
Abstract
The physical and chemical behaviour of soils is controlled in part by the amounts of mineral particles of different sizes in the soil. The subject of this document is the quantitative measurement of such amounts (expressed as a proportion or percentage of the total mass of the mineral soil), within stated size classes. The determination of particle size distribution is affected by organic matter, soluble salts, cementing agents (like iron compounds), relatively insoluble substances such as carbonates and sulfates, or combinations of these. Some soils change their behaviour to such a degree, upon drying, that the particle size distribution of the dried material bears little or no relation to that of the undried material encountered under natural conditions. This is particularly true of soils rich in organic matter, those developed from recent volcanic deposits, some highly weathered tropical soils, and soils often described as “cohesive. Other soils, such as the so-called “sub-plastic” soils of Australia, show little or no tendency to disperse under normal laboratory treatments, despite field evidence of large clay content. The procedures given in this document recognize these kinds of differences between soils from different environments, and the methodology presented is designed to deal with them in a structured manner. Such differences in soil behaviour can be very important, but awareness of them depends usually on local knowledge. Given that the laboratory is commonly distant from the site of the field operation, the information supplied by field teams becomes crucial to the choice of an appropriate laboratory procedure. This choice can be made only if the laboratory is made fully aware of this background information.
Begin
2025-06-11
Planned document number
DIN ISO 11277
Project number
11905083
Responsible national committee
NA 119-08-02-09 AK - Physical methods
