Method of soil sampling while preserving physical properties of sample

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture.SUBSTANCE: method for collecting soil samples is disclosed, which includes connecting a sampler comprising a cylinder with an insert of a flexible sleeve made of a polyester film to a power device, collecting a soil sample by immersing the sampler in the soil in a vertical position and extracting it from the soil by the reverse stroke of the power device, removing the cylinder with the flexible sleeve filled with the soil sample from the sampler, sealing the soil sample inside the flexible sleeve, wherein after sealing, the cylinder with the sealed sample inside is placed in a thermal container with maintaining the initial temperature of the sample taken inside the container, wherein to seal the sample, one end of the sleeve is sealed with a film heat sealer, through the second end, a vacuum is applied with a vacuum pump and the second end of the sleeve is sealed.EFFECT: collection of soil samples with an undisturbed structure and preservation of natural physical properties.1 cl, 3 dwg, 1 ex

Description

[0001] The invention relates to agriculture and can be used for collecting soil samples with undisturbed structure and maintaining the integrity of the sample and its initial moisture content during transportation before conducting a series of soil studies under laboratory conditions, the accuracy of which depends on the preservation of the natural state of the samples.

[0002] The process of collecting soil samples with a dusty and granular structure and low moisture content presents several challenges. As the soil sample moves through the sampling pipe, it disintegrates into its constituent aggregates and fills the entire internal volume, tightly contacting the inner surface of the pipe. This slows the sample's progress and deprives it of its shape and integrity. When the sample is unloaded, the soil disperses in portions as its constituent aggregates, preventing the sample from being properly separated into portions for analysis by horizon.

[0003] A method for collecting soil samples is known, which includes the operation of deepening a sampler into the soil, the operation of extracting it from a well, for the implementation of which a power device in the form of a reversible device with a drive from an autonomous power source installed on a vehicle is used (US Patent No. 4685339, IPC E21B 49 / 02, publication date 11.08.1987).

[0004] A method for collecting soil samples is known, which includes the operation of deepening a sampler into the soil, the operation of extracting it from a well, for the implementation of which a power device is used in the form of a reversible device driven by a winch device with a reversible electric motor and an autonomous power source from a battery (Patent of the Russian Federation No. 2812193, IPC G01N 1 / 04, publication date 01 / 24 / 2024).

[0005] A device for collecting soil samples is known, comprising a sampling pipe, an inner pipe, a thrust bearing, a sealing cuff, a cutter with a cutting edge and a middle shaft, which provides for the immersion of the inner pipe for collecting a soil sample by rotating the sampling pipe and pressing it into the soil with a cutter with an angle of 65° and a cutting edge (Patent of the People's Republic of China No. 202661286, IPC G01N 1 / 04, publication date 01 / 09 / 2013).

[0006] Known methods of soil sampling have a common drawback - the impossibility of collecting a soil sample with an undisturbed structure and preserving its natural physical properties during transportation before conducting research in the laboratory.

[0007] The closest to the claimed invention is a method implemented using a soil sampler (RU Patent No. 237172, IPC G01N 1 / 04; E02D 1 / 04, publication date 09 / 12 / 2025), comprising a sampling pipe with a cylinder additionally inserted into it with a flexible sleeve made of polyester film inside the cylinder, a tip and a coupling with a radial hole. The sampler is deepened into the soil with a power device, then removed from the resulting hole, the cylinder with the collected soil sample located in the sleeve made of polyester film is removed from the sampling pipe, the cuffs of the sleeve are turned back from the outer surface of the cylinder and tied to seal the soil core inside the sleeve and protect the soil from losing its initial moisture content during transportation to the laboratory.

[0008] The disadvantage of the known method is the impossibility of maintaining the integrity of a soil sample with a dusty and granular structure due to the mixing of soil layers inside the sleeve due to vibration during transportation.

[0009] The objective of the invention is to ensure the collection of soil samples with undisturbed structure and to preserve the natural physical properties of the samples during transportation prior to laboratory testing.

[0010] The technical result is achieved in that the method for collecting soil samples while preserving the physical properties of the sample includes connecting a sampler containing a thin-walled cylinder with an insert of a flexible sleeve made of polyester film to a power device, collecting a soil sample by immersing the sampler into the soil in a vertical position and removing it from the soil by the reverse stroke of the power device, removing the thin-walled cylinder with a flexible sleeve filled with a soil sample from the sampler, sealing the soil sample inside the flexible sleeve, after sealing, the thin-walled cylinder with the sealed sample inside is placed in a thermal container while maintaining the initial temperature of the collected sample inside the container, wherein to seal the sample, one end of the sleeve is sealed with a film heat sealer, through the second end, a vacuum is applied with a vacuum pump and the second end of the sleeve is sealed. The sampler used is the one according to Russian Patent No. 237172U1.

[0011] The method is carried out as follows.

[0012] Take the ready-to-use sampler, which contains a thin-walled cylinder with a flexible polyester film sleeve insert. Attach it to the power tool and lower it vertically to the required depth. Then, pull the power tool back out of the borehole. Remove the thin-walled cylinder with the flexible sleeve filled with the soil sample from the sampler. Unfold the sleeve cuffs from the cylinder ends, seal one end of the sleeve with a film heat sealer, evacuate the sample through the other end with a vacuum pump, seal the other end of the sleeve, and disconnect the vacuum pump. The thin-walled cylinder, containing the evacuated sample, is placed in a thermal container, maintaining the initial temperature of the sample for transport to the laboratory.

[0013] Example

[0014] In a particular case of the invention implementation, a device for collecting soil samples was used according to the Russian Federation patent No. 237172U1.

[0015] Illustration of a sampler.

[0016] Fig. 1 - section of the sampler assembly: intake pipe 1, tip 2, tail 3, thin-walled cylinder 4, sleeve 5 made of polyester film.

[0017] In Fig. 2 - inserting the sleeve into the cylinder: thin-walled cylinder 4, sleeve 5 made of polyester film, sleeve cuffs 6.

[0018] In Fig. 3 - sealing the soil sample in the sleeve: thin-walled cylinder 4, sleeve 5 made of polyester film, film heat sealer 7, vacuum pump 8, soil sample 9.

[0019] The claimed method was tested at the central experimental base of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Federal Scientific Center VNIIMK, Krasnodar, as follows. The sampler tail 3 was connected to the power device (not shown) and the sampler was lowered in a vertical position to a depth of one meter, the sampler was removed from the well by the reverse stroke of the power device, the tip 2 was disconnected and the cylinder 4 with the sleeve 5 filled with the soil sample 9 was removed from the intake pipe 1. On the cylinder 4, the cuffs 6 of the sleeve were unscrewed at the ends of the cylinder to form the ends of the sleeve and one end of the sleeve 5 was sealed with a film heat sealer 7, through the other end, the obtained soil sample 9 was evacuated inside the sleeve 5 with a vacuum pump 8, followed by sealing the second end of the sleeve 5 with a heat sealer 7, and the cylinder 4 with the soil sample 9 was placed in a thermal container (not shown), maintaining the initial temperature of the sample taken inside the container.

[0020] Sealing the collected soil samples with dusty and granular structure of the fold in a sleeve made of polyester film with high tensile strength using vacuum ensures the preservation of the initial moisture content of the soil sample and tight contact along the entire length of the soil sample with the inner surface of the sleeve, prevents the scattering and mixing of soil layers inside the sleeve during transportation and removal of the sleeve with the soil sample from the hollow cylinder in the laboratory.

[0021] The use of a thermal container ensures that the initial temperature of the sample is preserved and maintained, which prevents the formation of condensation inside the flexible sleeve, and the loss and redistribution of moisture inside the sample.

[0022] The use of the claimed method ensures the collection of soil samples with an undisturbed structure and the preservation of the natural physical properties of the samples during transportation prior to laboratory testing.

Claims

A method for collecting soil samples, which includes connecting a sampler containing a cylinder with an insert of a flexible sleeve made of a polyester film to a power device, collecting a soil sample by immersing the sampler in the soil in a vertical position and extracting it from the soil by the reverse stroke of the power device, extracting from the sampler the cylinder with the flexible sleeve filled with the soil sample, sealing the soil sample inside the flexible sleeve, characterized in that after sealing, the cylinder with the sealed sample inside is placed in a thermal container while maintaining the initial temperature of the sample taken inside the container, wherein to seal the sample, one end of the sleeve is sealed with a film heat sealer, through the second end, a vacuum is applied with a vacuum pump and the second end of the sleeve is sealed.

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