Structure and self‐similarity in silty and sandy soils: the fractal approach

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
SUMMARY: Soil structure was studied using the concept of fractals and related to soil texture and aggregate properties such as surface charges and aggregate stability. The mass and porosity fractal dimensions ( D m and D p ) of silty and sandy soils were determined on in situ soils using a variety of soil sections (thin, very‐thin and ultra‐thin), by image analysis on a continuous scale from m to 10 −9 to 10 −1 m. Surface fractal dimensions ( D s ) of these soils were determined on < 2 mm air‐dried samples using mercury porosimetry and the fractal cube generator model. The results suggest that soils are not pore fractals but mass and surface fractals with D m = 1.1 D s when the dimension of the embedding Euclidean space d is 3. The soil structures could possibly be described by fractal diffusion‐limited aggregation with complex interconnected aggregates or by fractal cluster–cluster aggregation models. As a preliminary conclusion, the fractal approach appears to be a potentially useful tool for understanding the underlying mechanisms in the creation or destruction of soil structure.

This publication has 32 references indexed in Scilit: