A comparison of methods used to characterize the soil specific surface area of clays

•We measured specific surface area by different methods and on different soils.•Soil suction was used for estimation of specific surface area.•Specific surface areas measured by different methods were compared to each other.•The soil suction could be used for specific surface determination.

In the present study the dry end of the soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) was used to estimate the specific surface area (SSA) of 90 engineering soil samples, using the Tuller and Or (2005) model. The results of SSA obtained by measurements using a WP4-T dew point potentiometer were compared with those obtained by means of traditional BET (Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller) surface area and the methylene blue (MB) techniques. An analysis of the results discussed in terms of the representative literature data showed that the SWCC method could provide a reliable estimation of the specific surface area in the case of fine grained inorganic soils with a total specific surface area greater than 5 m2/g. A Hamaker constant with a value of 6 × 10− 20 J was found to be a good approximation, in the case of SSA calculations. The study also shows that karstic clay — terra rossa exhibits specific behavior which was not investigated in detail in the study, but clearly shows that further research is needed in order to modify the Tuller and Or (2005) model to a wider range of engineering soils with more complex mineralogical composition and texture.