A new approach on the structural stability of soils: Method proposal

Abstract

Water-dispersible clay analysis is used to evaluate soil structural stability, and two clay classes are quantified from it: the water-dispersible clay and the aggregated clay. We suggest here that three clay classes exist in soils with respect to structural behavior, and we propose a method for their quantification. Here, the aggregated clay is divided in two new classes, non-dispersible clay and water-re-flocculable clay. The method is based on a ten-fold dilution of the suspension obtained from water-dispersible clay analysis and successfully allowed the quantification of the proposed clay classes. The proposed method is inexpensive and does not require extra soil or chemical dispersants. Based on the distribution of these classes in different soils, seven groups of clay structural stability were defined. The method provides insights regarding soil structure-related processes, such as soil surface crusting, soil pore clogging, water erosion, and particles transport.