Hydraulic conductivity and aggregate analysis of red and laterite soils of Kerala

Abstract

In the study of the hydraulic conductivity and aggregate analysis of red and laterite soils of Kerala it was observed that the saturated hydraulic conductivities of both the soil groups were relatively very high. A trend of decrease in hydraulic conductivity was observed as the soil becomes finer in texture. The hydraulic conductivity of the undisturbed soils were found to be more than that of the disturbed samples even for the same bulk densities. The infiltration rates in both red and laterite soils were relatively high. The state of aggregation was excellent for both the soil groups studied. The soils contained more than 70% of the aggregates in the size range of diameter more than 0.25 mm. The stability index of the soils was also very high.