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Comparison of Methods for Determining Specific-surface Area of Fine-grained Soils

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Abstract

Characteristics of fine-grained soils primarily depend on their specific-surface area and hence, reliable determination of this parameter is essential. In this context, researchers have employed quite sophisticated instruments (viz., a BET surface area analyzer, the mercury intrusion porosimetry, internal reflectance spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction and gas pycnometer etc.) and methodologies (viz., sorption of Methylene Blue dye, Ethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether and p-Nitrophenol) to determine specific-surface area of these soils. However, most of these methodologies are found to be quite tedious, cost and time intensive. Apart from this, the results obtained are contentious due to the inherent limitations associated with either the instruments employed or the basic assumptions made for computing the specific-surface area of the soil. Hence, it becomes mandatory to evaluate the efficiency of these methodologies for determining specific-surface area of fine-grained soils. With this in view, different types of soils were considered in this study and their specific-surface area was determined, by following different methodologies, and the results were evaluated critically. In addition, attempts were made to develop relationships between the basic properties of fine-grained soils (viz., liquid limit, cation-exchange capacity, activity, and free swell index) and the specific-surface area. These relationships will be of immense help to the practicing engineers and research fraternity.

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Abbreviations

β :

a constant parameter

δ :

contact angle between the soil and mercury

λ :

wavelength of UV-light

ρ He :

density of the soil measured with He

\( \rho _{{{\text{N}}_{{\text{2}}} }} \) :

density of the soil measured with N2

a :

absorbance

a max :

maximum absorbance

A :

activity of the soil

A MB :

area covered by each molecule of the Methylene blue (MB) dye

A mol :

area covered by each N2 molecule

A v :

Avogadro’s number

b :

a parameter

C :

concentration of the MB dye

C e :

concentration of the MB dye solution after 24 h

CEC :

cation-exchange capacity

C i :

initial concentration of the MB dye solution

C MBET :

a constant

C opt :

optimal amount of the MB absorbed on the soil

C se :

amount of the MB absorbed on the soil after 24 h

C si :

amount of the MB, initially added to soil

G :

specific gravity of the soil

l/s:

liquid-solid ratio

LL :

liquid limit of the soil

MW MB :

molecular weight of the MB dye

p :

applied pressure

P :

pressure of N2 gas

P/P 0 :

relative pressure

P 0 :

saturation vapor pressure of N2

PI :

plasticity-index of the soil

PL :

plastic limit of the soil

S :

specific-surface area

S air :

specific-surface area of the soil obtained from air-adsorption method

S ext :

external specific-surface area of the soil

S int :

internal specific-surface area of the soil

SL :

shrinkage limit of the soil

S LM :

specific-surface area of the soil obtained from Langmuir isotherm

S MB :

specific-surface area, obtained from MB absorption technique

S MBET :

specific-surface area, obtained from the multi-point BET isotherm

S MIP :

specific-surface area, obtained from mercury intrusion porosimetry

FSI :

free swell index of the soil

S SBET :

specific-surface area, obtained from the single-point BET isotherm

S total :

total specific-surface area of the soil

T :

surface tension of Hg

t :

time

V :

cumulative volume of mercury intruded into the soil

V a :

volume of N2 adsorbed at pressure P

V air :

air-adsorption capacity of the soil

V Lm :

volume of N2 required for mono-layer formation as per Langmuir isotherm

V max :

maximum volume of Hg intruded in the sample

V MBET :

volume of N2 required for mono-layer formation as per multi-point BET isotherm

V mol :

volume of N2 molecule

W :

weight of the soil

W c :

amount of EMGE absorbed on the sample for mono-layer formation

W EGME :

amount of EGME absorbed on the sample

w EGME :

amount of EGME required to cover per square meter of Bentonite

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada, K7L 3N6

    D. N. Arnepalli

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India

    S. Shanthakumar, B. Hanumantha Rao & D. N. Singh

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  1. D. N. Arnepalli
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  2. S. Shanthakumar
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  3. B. Hanumantha Rao
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  4. D. N. Singh
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Correspondence to D. N. Singh.

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Arnepalli, D.N., Shanthakumar, S., Hanumantha Rao, B. et al. Comparison of Methods for Determining Specific-surface Area of Fine-grained Soils. Geotech Geol Eng 26, 121–132 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-007-9152-5

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