Effects of sample preparation methods on measured characteristics of marine and fluvial sediment

Dredged sediment is complex material composed of mineral phases, organics phases, and liquid phases. For the characterization of sediment in the laboratory, the material should be dried before applying some tests, such as the determination of organic matter content, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, specific surface area, specific gravity, and many other tests. To do such tests, in test standards, no specific drying method is recommended. This paper evaluates the effects of drying methods on the measured characteristics of dredged sediment. The drying methods investigated in the current study are oven-drying, freeze-drying, and air drying. From the results obtained, it seems that the drying method affects the results of the test done on the sediment. Among the drying methods, freeze-drying has less effect on sediment properties when the results are compared to a few properties measured on undried material. However, from the point of view of materials classification in road construction, no effects of drying methods are recorded.