Fabric of peat soils using image analysis

Peat is primarily derived from the decomposition of plant and animal matter when they are kept under anaerobic conditions for long periods. The fabric of peat is therefore totally different from inorganic soils such as clay, sand and gravel. In geotechnical engineering, the interpretation of soil genesis based on fabric analysis is essential to ascertain its influence on the analysis of its engineering behaviour. Aydemir et al. (2004) suggested the use of image analysis in research to identify more clearly the composition and structure of the fabric in a soil. Literature shows its usage to be focused more on inorganic soils. This paper explains and presents the imaging technique that was used in the laboratory by the authors to analyse different types of peat soils. The peat soils from different locations have been used in this study. The influence on the geotechnical behaviour due to the fabric composition is discussed. This paper will help the geotechnical engineer to classify the peat soils more appropriately