Binary packing theory and the physical properties of aggregates

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine variations in the physical properties of non-compacted soil-sand aggregates in terms of binary packing theory. Two soils were used, a swelling black earth and a krasnozem with low swelling capacity, and aggregates with varying clay percentage were prepared by dispersing the soil, mixing with 100-50 µm sand, and wetting and drying. At lower clay percentages, void ratio with increasing clay was greater than that predicted from theory. This was attributed to clay entering between sand junctions and increasing porosity by expanding the coarse matrix. From water retention and swelling data, the transition from coarse to fine matrix occurs in both soils at about 40 % clay. In the fine particle matrix, variation of void ratio in the krasnozem aggregates was as expected from theory. In the black earth, no significant variation in void ratio occurs at clay percentages > 40%. This was attributed to porosity created around the sand particles owing to differential swelling and shrinkage. Results obtained by other workers are explained in terms of binary packing theory and the concepts developed in this paper.