Bulk density a property of particulate materials. It is the mass of many particles of the material divided by the volume they occupy. The volume includes the space between particles as well as the space inside the pores of individual particles. Density (symbol: Ï - Greek: rho) is a measure of mass per unit of volume. ... Mass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter it contains. ... Volume, also called capacity, is a quantification of how much space an object occupies. ... A pore, in general, is some form of opening, usually very small. ...
Bulk density is not an intrinsic property of a material; it can change depending on how the material is handled. For example, grain poured in cylinder will have a particular bulk density; if the cylinder is disturbed, the grain particles will move and settle closer together, resulting in a higher bulk density.
Used in geology, building science and hydrogeology, the porosity of a porous medium (such as rock or sediment) is the proportion of the non-solid volume to the total volume of material, and is defined by the ratio: where Vp is the non-solid volume (pores and liquid) and Vm...
Soil bulkdensity is defined as the ratio of the mass of dry solids to the bulkvolume of the soil occupied by those dry solids.
Bulkdensity is needed for converting water percentage by weight to content by volume, for calculating porosity and void ratio when the particle density is known, and for estimating the weight of a volume of soil too large to weigh conveniently.
Bulkdensity measurements were also made (in gravely soils) in the field using a fixed ring to establish a datum and a water displacement method.