Fractal analysis of the roughness and size distribution of granular materials

The roughness, i.e. general shape and surface irregularity, of particulate soil is an important characteristic that affects the mass behavior of the soil. Characterization of roughness has typically been limited to visual comparison of particles to standard charts, although other more quantitative methods such as Fourier analysis have also been used. Particle size distribution is another important mass-behavioral characteristic of granular soils, and similar to roughness, is defined within limited boundaries. Fractal geometry can be applied to irregular or fragmented patterns such as roughness and grain size distribution to provide quantifying and unique numerical values. This paper presents an evaluation of the applicability of fractal dimensioning techniques to the quantification of both physical particle roughness and grain size distribution of granular soil. The divider and the area-perimeter fractal dimensioning techniques are used to quantify roughness of planar profiles of individual sand grains. The characterization of the size distribution of granular material using fractal geometry is evaluated through Korcak's fragmentation theory. As shown herein, both the divider and the area-perimeter fractal dimensioning techniques are useful in characterizing soil particle roughness, and the results confirm the importance of differentiating between textural and structural aspects of roughness. Fractal geometry can also be used to quantify the size distribution of granular soils with relatively well-graded size distributions.