The volume-changes associated with variations of water content in soil

Abstract

(1) A new and simple method of measuring the shrinkage of moist soil on drying is described, which at the same time gives values for the pore space and specific gravity of the soil.(2) Diagrams for a number of diverse soils are given, illustrating the character of soil shrinkage.(3) The shrinkage is shown to take place in two stages in both of which there is a linear relationship to the moisture content.(4) Tentative explanations of these two stages are advanced, based on the well-known colloidal-coating hypothesis, and confirmatory experiments described.(5) By means of the method the effect of alternate wetting and drying of soil in producing a good tilth is illustrated.