th

The 12 International Conference of

International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG)
1-6 October, 2008
Goa, India

Relationship between the Mean Particle Size, the Size Factor,

Optimum Moisture Content, and Permeability of Sandy Soils
Ashok Kumar Gupta
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi
Keywords: permeability, mean particle size, size factor, optimum moisture content, sandy soils.
ABSTRACT: In this paper a concept of mean particle size and size factor is presented and an attempt is made to
relate the coefficient of permeability with mean particle size, keeping in view the optimum moisture content and
maximum dry density. The particle size distribution has a marked impact on the coefficient of permeability. The
mean particle size and the size factor can be found out from the gradation curve. For the purpose of experimental
analysis, ten samples of sandy soils were prepared in the laboratory by taking different proportions sand and siltclay mixtures. The clean sand and clean clayey silt were blended with different percentages of sand, silt and clay
to form ten samples of sandy soils. For actual determination of coefficient of permeability a triaxial testing
machine having two constant pressure systems was used and the samples were compacted at standard Proctor
density. A log-log plot between mean particle diameter and the coefficient of permeability indicated a straight line
relationship that holds good for all the sandy soil samples tested. Therefore, a permeability guide is evolved
which relates mean particle size with coefficient of permeability.

1 Introduction
The measurement of permeability has been traditionally important in several areas of Geotechnical Engineering,
and Water Resources and Irrigation Engineering where the values of in-situ permeability may govern the
behavior of engineered system or these values may be important in carrying out various other studies (such as
irrigation water distribution systems, seepage losses, surface and subsurface drainage systems, selection of
crops etc.) In order to meet these objectives it is appropriate to develop field methods to measure permeability,
however these methods have not been entirely satisfactory because it is too difficult to create saturated soil
conditions, taking correct observations is difficult, the equipments may be cumbersome and expensive, and
methods may be time consuming. It is therefore necessary to make reasonable judgments of permeability rates.
Hence laboratory determination of permeability is often preferable where a large number of samples can be
tested without much difficulty and a fairly accurate judgment of permeability can be made. Mathematical
correlations for estimating permeability using particle-size distribution analysis have been developed quite
extensively and can be seen elsewhere in the literature (Hazan 1911; Krumbein and Monk 1942; Loudon 1953;
Morrow et al. 1969; Alyamani and Sen 1993; Koltermann and Gorelick 1995; and Boadu 2000).
The present paper is focused on the determination of coefficient of permeability for sandy soils only. Soil samples
were tested in the laboratory and permeability was determined as accurately as possible. The mean particle size
is an important parameter which has a marked impact on the coefficient of permeability of a soil sample. It has
been shown in this paper that this concept can be used to find out the value of coefficient of permeability
sufficiently accurately to be used for all preliminary design purposes.

2 The mean particle size and the size factor

A soil classification based on particle size (Indian Standard) is used for this purpose. The range of particle sizes
as well as their percentages in the three fractions viz. sand, silt and clay can be found out from the gradation
curve. The central point of each particle size range is chosen as the average diameter of that fraction, therefore
the weighted average of all the three fractions will be known as mean particle size of the soil sample. The value
of mean particle size is equal to the length of a rectangle of the same area as that under the particle size curve of
the soil, considering the height of this rectangle as 100 percent finer ordinate and its origin at 10 mm on the
particle size scale (Burmister, 1938). Burmister (1938) also introduced a measure of the degree of fineness,
called the size factor, which is the summation of ordinates divided by 100. These ordinates are measured at the
mid-point of elementary areas under the particle size curve of the soil. Each elementary area has a width of log 2,
starting from the origin at diameter 10 mm and up to a diameter of 0.001 mm. It is therefore possible to have
different soil gradings with the same mean particle size, although the effective particle size, which was introduced
by A. Hazen as the diameter at 10 percent on the ordinate scale, can be different in each case.
It has been found that the optimum moisture content is almost the same for a given size factor whatever the

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grading may be (Youssaf, 1953). This means that the optimum moisture content does not depend on the grading
of the soil but on the degree of fineness of that soil. During the process of compaction the moisture in a soil is
found as films surrounding the particles forming the soil. These films at low moisture content are very adhesive to
the particles and as moisture content increases this adhesive force decreases, until the limit of lubrication is
reached. This limit is called the optimum moisture content. The adhesive force between the films of water and the
soil particles decreases as moisture content increases, i.e. the thickness of water films increases until the
lubrication limit is reached; now it can be said that this thickness is limited for any given soil particle at the
lubrication limit. The thickness of film of water depends on the diameter of soil particle. Then for a given mean
particle size whatever the grading may be, the thickness of film of water at the lubrication limit will be same. This
means that for a given mean diameter, the optimum moisture content will be same. This can be expressed
mathematically as follows:
Moisture content (percent)
where,

= weight of water; and

Now, let

(1)
= weight of dry soil

= thickness of film of water;

= number of soil particles at the maximum density in a given

volume; = mean diameter of soil particles;

= specific gravity of water; and

= specific gravity

of soil particles

where,

Therefore,

(2)

and

(3)

using Eq. (1)

(4)

Or

(5)
is a constant for a given soil and temperature.

From Eq. (5) it can be said that optimum moisture content depends upon the thickness of the film of water around
the soil particles and the mean particle size. It can be seen that as the mean particle size increases, the optimum
moisture content decreases. The OMC depends on the mean particle size of the soil, whatever the grading of
that soil.
The value of mean particle size may be calculated from particle size distribution analysis which is routinely
carried out in laboratories as part of project investigations and with much more ease than permeability
determinations. In the present work the mean particle size for sand and silt fractions has been taken at mid-point
in the size range from log scale. For the clay fraction, its upper limit was selected. The particle size limits utilized
are those of the Indian Standard, but can be equated quite readily to size limits used by other agencies also.

3 Experimental investigations
For the purpose of experimental investigations ten samples of sandy soils were prepared in the laboratory by
taking different proportions sand and silt-clay mixtures. The clean river sand and locally procured clean clayey silt
were blended together in different percentages to form ten samples of sandy soils. These samples were
subjected to various experimental procedures. The particle size distribution analysis involving both mechanical
and sedimentation analysis was carried out and the results are presented in Figure 1. Since, size variations in
individual fractions of sand, silt, and clay is not appreciable therefore, a mean particle size (equivalent spherical
diameter) of 0.2 mm for the sand fraction, 0.01 mm for the silt fraction, and 0.002 mm for the clay fraction were
selected. The mean particle size for all the samples as weighted averages of all the three fractions is shown in
Table 1. Standard Proctor tests were carried out on all the ten samples and the results are presented in Figure 2.
The objective of these tests was to find out the optimum moisture content and the maximum dry density so that
these parameters can be used to prepare soil samples for the determination of permeability. Consistency tests
were also conducted and it was found out that all the soil samples were non-plastic.

4 Permeability measurements
A normally available triaxial set-up in the laboratory was converted into a flexible wall permeameter using two
constant pressure systems. The name flexible wall is given because the soil sample is confined in a latex rubber
membrane which fits tightly over the sample. A conventionally available triaxial cell in the laboratory to test
samples 38 mm diameter and 76 mm high was used for permeability measurements. All the ten test samples
were prepared at optimum moisture content and maximum dry density.

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Figure 1. Particle size distribution analysis.

Figure 2. Moisture-density relationships for samples 1 10.

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Table 1. Calculations of mean particle diameters.

Sample no.
1

Sand
[%]
68.50

Silt
[%]
24.00

Clay
[%]
7.50

Mean particle
diameter [mm]
0.1396

73.00

20.50

6.50

0.1482

77.00

17.00

6.00

0.1558

79.50

15.00

5.50

0.1606

82.50

13.00

4.50

0.1664

85.00

11.50

3.50

0.1712

87.50

9.50

3.00

0.1760

90.00

7.50

2.50

0.1808

92.50

5.50

2.00

0.1856

10

95.00

3.50

1.50

0.1904

The schematic arrangement of the system is shown in Figure 3. Such a flexible wall permeameter has certain
distinct advantages over other conventional rigid wall permeameters as the former will prevent side wall leakage,
full saturation of the sample can be ensured, and there is no effect of shrinkage or swelling. There are two
primary requirements for measuring permeability in this flexible wall triaxial set-up. One is the application of cell
pressure to the test sample and the other is the application of back pressure to the sample for saturating the
sample and permeating the sample with water or any other desired liquid. The top drainage port of the sample
was connected to a vertical burette for taking measurements of out flow through the test sample. The confining
pressure was kept higher than the back pressure. The permeameter cell filled with water was maintained at a
constant value of confining pressure of 200 kPa for all the test samples and the back pressure system using
water is maintained at 100 kPa throughout for all the samples. Both cell pressure and back pressures are applied
slowly and simultaneously till desired values are achieved. The sample starts saturating as soon as the back
pressure is applied. Enough time is given for saturating the sample. Since the entire system is in drainage
condition, therefore the pore pressure measurements are not required.

Figure 3. Flexible wall permeameter set-up.

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The out flow measurements are made after the flow becomes stable and almost constant. The permeability
measurements were made using the procedure of the constant head method where the quantity of flow in burette
is measured over a time period and the Darcys law is used for calculations.

5 Results and Discussions

The results of experimental investigations were used to draw a log log plot between mean particle diameter and
coefficient of permeability, as shown in Figure 4, which is a straight line curve. This curve can be expressed fairly
accurately by the following straight line equation.
(6)
where, k = average permeability for a particular mean particle diameter (cm/s)
d = mean particle diameter of the soil sample (mm).
It can therefore be said that a permeability guide has been evolved through which permeability values can be
estimated that are believed to be sufficiently accurate for project planning and design purposes.

Figure 4. Particle size distribution permeability relationship.

For a particular application and a particular region, a working curve representing the soil texture permeability
relationship is selected using best judgement of how local conditions and soil properties tend to affect the soil
permeability. If some permeability measurements are available for known particle size distributions, then these
can be used in selecting a working curve for extrapolation to other soils. This permeability guide can be more
useful since the particle size distribution analysis is much easier and dependable than measuring permeability
rates. The optimum moisture content depends upon the thickness of the film of water around the soil particles
and the mean particle size as expressed by Eq. (5). This may prove to be important in concluding that the
optimum moisture content is more dependent on the mean particle size rather than the soil gradation.

6 References
Alyamani M. S. Sen Z. 1993. Determination of hydraulic conductivity from grain-size distribution curves. Ground Water, Vol. 31,
551-555.
Boadu F. K. 2000. Hydraulic conductivity of soils from grain-size distribution: new models. Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 126, No. 8, 739-746.
Burmister D. M. 1938. The grading-density relations of granular materials. Proc. American Society for Testing and Materials,
Vol. 38, Part-II, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Hazan A. 1911. Discussion of dams on sand foundations by A. C. Koenig. Transactions American Society of Civil Engineering,
Vol. 73, 199.
Koltermann C. E. Gorelick S. M. 1995. Fractional packing model for hydraulic conductivity derived from sediment mixtures.
Water Resources Research, Vol. 31, 3283-3297.
Krumbein W. C. Monk G. D. 1942. Permeability as a function of the size parameters of unconsolidated sand. Transactions of
American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Vol. 151, 153-163.
Loudon A. G. 1953. The computation of permeability from simple soil tests. Geotechnique, Vol. 3, 165-183.
Morrow N. R. Huppler J. D. Simmons A. B. III 1969. Porosity and permeability of unconsolidatedUpper Miocene sands from
grain-size analysis. Journal of Sedimentry Petrology, Vol. 39, 312-321.
Youssef M. S. 1953. Relation between the mean grain size, the size factor, and the optimum moisture content of compacted
soil. Proc. Third International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. I, Switzerland.

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