Bulk and dry density (including moisture content)

For the determination of the bulk and dry density of the sample, a predetermined volume of soil is sampled from the specific soil layer (using a metal ring with known dimensions) and weight to establish the wet weight. Then the sample is dried over a period of 16-24 hours in a preheated oven (at 105° Celsius), afterwards the sub-sample is weight once more in order to determine the dry weight and moisture content (the difference in weight between the original sample and dried sample equals the moisture content).

Subsequently, the wet and dry weights are used to derive several different parameters, i.e. pore ratio, saturation and the  bulk and dry density of the material. To calculate the latter a volumetric mass (particle density) is used, which is either assumed based on the provenance and type of soil (as a standard 2.65 Mg/m3 is used) or the density is determined using a helium-pycnometer.