Prediction of Settling Velocity of Nonspherical Soil Particles Using Digital Image Processing

Digital image processing (DIP) is used to measure shape properties and settling velocity of soil particles. Particles with diameters of 1 to 10mm are arbitrarily sampled for the test. The size of each particle is also measured by a Vernier caliper for comparison with the classification results using the shape classification table. The digital images were taken with a digital camera (Canon EOS 100d). Shape properties are calculated by image analysis software. Settling velocity of soil particles is calculated by displacement and time difference of images during settling. The fastest settling particles are spherical shaped. Shape factors well explain the difference of settling velocity by a particle shape. In particular, the aspect ratio has a high negative correlation with residual of settling velocity versus mean diameter. Especially, DIP has a higher applicability than classification using the shape classification table because it can measure a number of particles at once. The settling velocity of soil particles is expressed as a function of mean diameter and aspect ratio.