Manual of Soil Laboratory Testing wf tt f ‘fi or ait 3 t jstones |||" i Ly i H {. E : er OU nee * ‘a Wha [ow = aoa eS Figure 4.21 Grading curve from sieving test on “boulder clay’ 4.7 Sedimentation tl 4.7.1 Introduction The theory of sedimentation is based on the fact that large particles suspended in a liquid settle more quickly than small particles, assuming that all particles have similar densities and shapes. The velocity that a falling particle eventually reaches is known as its terminal velocity. Ifthe particles are approximately spherical, the relationship between terminal velocity v and particle diameter D is given by Stokes’ Law, named after Sir George Stokes (1891). This states thatthe terminal velocity is proportional to the square of the particle diameter, or ory veD Although clay particles are far from spherical (see Section 4.3.1), the application of ‘Stokes’ Law based on diameters of equivalent spheres provides a basis for comparison of the Particle size distribution in fine soils tha is sufficiently realistic for most practical purposes, 4.7.2 General principles In a sedimentation test a suspension of a known mass of fine soil particles of various sizes is prepared in @ known volume of water. The particles are allowed to settle under gravity and this i the process known as sedimentation. From certain measurements made at known, intervals of time, the distribution of particle sizes can be assessed. ‘A model that illustrates the sedimentation process is represented diagrammatically in Figure 4.22. Only four different sizes of particles are represented, their terminal velocities and approximate equivalent diameters being shown in Table 4.12. ‘Areal soil contains particles of many different sizes, but the principles of sedimentation ean be understood by considering what happens to each of these four sizes after various intervals of time as they are allowed to settle out ofa suspension in water in a container just over 300 mm deep. 206Particle size ‘Table 4.12 Terminal velocities of particles in suspension Particle Terminal velocity (mis) Approximate diameter (um) Conse sit 1 33 Medium sit o4 2 Fine silt oot 38 Clay 0.001 12 B cD A BoD A BC 4.04 001 mms For CO! 100 oe ° : IE] o ° ° q fe Ge o + + Bo : | 0 2 ° al 5 wo} Oe + + Oo. oe ET co Oo 200)| Onion ot Ho: (@)Timet=0 (0) t= 108 (t= 1008 100 oe s 200 . . 300 erp : [Demat * a (0) t= 10008 (@)t= 10000 (9t=30 0008 (17 minutes) (2:1 hours) (Bhours) Times in brackets are approximate Figure 4.22 Representation of sedimentation process 207Manual of Soil Laboratory Testing Immediately after the suspension has been shaken up (time ¢ ~ 0), all particles are uniformly distributed throughout the depth of suspension, asin Figure 4.22(a), I' we assume that each particle reaches its terminal velocity within a very short time, after 10 s the coarse silt particles have each fallen 10 mm, the fine silt particles 1 mm and the particles finer than that have hardly fallen at all (Figure 4.22(b)). After 100 s the situation is as in Figure 4.22(c) and the coarse silt particles starting at the 200 mm mark have settled to the bottom, After 1000 s (about 17 min) all the coarse silt particles have reached the bottom (Figure 4.22(d). Al the solid particles now remaining in suspension are smaller than 35 jm, so a sample taken from anywhere in the suspension would contain only those particles smaller than that size. At the same instant a sample taken from just above the 100 mm mark would only ‘contain particles smaller than 12 wm (medium sil), After 10 000 s (about 2 h 45 min) from the start all medium silt particles have reached the bottom and all fine silt particles are below the 100 mm mark (Figure 4.22(e)), The upper 100 mm, therefore, contains only clay particles in suspension, After 30 000 s (about 8 h) silt particles of all sizes have reached the bottom, leaving only the clay sizes in suspension (Figure 4.22(0). The smallest size we are considering, 1.2 jm, will require 300 000 s (about 34% days) to reach the bottom, but smaller particles will take much longer. A suspension containing an appreciable amount of clay remains cloudy indefinitely, By applying Stokes” Law to the sedimentation model described above, we can calculate the maximum diameter of particles remaining above a particular depth after a certain interval of time from the start. The mass of solid particles present can be determined either by sampling from a specified depth (asin the pipette test), or by measuring the density of the suspension with a hydrometer (the hydrometer test), ‘The sampling depth of 100 mm used in the standard pipette testis indicated in Figure 4.22), The region marked ‘Hy zone" in Figure 4.22(b) indicates the range of effective depths at which the density of suspension is measured during the period of a typical hydrometer test 4.7.3 Stokes’ Law According to Stokes” Law, the terminal velocity v of a spherical particle falling freely in a fluid is given by Dist 187) where D = diameter of particle; p,~ mass density ofthe solid particle; e, = mass density of ‘he fluid (Liquid); 7 = dynamic viscosity of the uid; g~ acceleration du to gravity, The application of Stokes’ Law to the process of sedimentation is based onthe following simplifying assumptions 1. The condition of viseous flow ina still liquid is maintained. 2. There is no turbulence i.e. the concentration of | particles is such that they do not interfere with one another. 2) ay 3. The temperature of the liquid remains constant. 4. Particles are small spheres, 5. Their terminal velocity is small 6. All particles have the same density. 7 A uniform distribution of particles of all sizes is formed within the liquid, 208Particle size Equation (4.1) can be re-written Deel = 42) & (-A) If the particle falls a distance H in time T, its mean velocity = HIT. Ifthe liquid is water, we may write Esuton (2) then becomes : pafita 8 ip ieccemeae stata: Using the practical units given in Table 4.13, and writing ¢ (min) for 7, Equation (4.3) can be written as D 18x AH Ee 1000 |1000 ¢ 1000x%60(p, — p, )1000 pe a4) g Pe) Putting g= 9.807 m/s? and p,,= 1.000 Mg/m? ie D = 0.005 531 mm as) 19,-D Equation (4.5) provides the basis for the derivation of sampling times for the pipette test (section 4.8.2) and for calculations using the hydrometer method. Values of n and py ‘for water temperatures from 0-40°C are given in Table 4.14. Intermediate values may be obtained by interpolation, either arithmetically or graphically. ‘Table 4.13 Symbols, units and conversion factors for sedimentation formula oa fs coe ries ee ‘Height of fall H m mm we eG Densities? Po Pw kg/m? Mgim? 1000 — 8 6 = i "The practical SI unit of dynamic viscosity is mPa s (millipascal second) or miN s m* (millinewton second per square metre), witich is equal to the traditional metric unit cP (centipoise). "The density of water (p,) may be taken here as 1,000 Mg. 209