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EMERSION CLASS

Root Cause Analysis:

1. The problem is documented and defined – knowledge of classification.
2. The casual relationships are determined – qualitative observation with known classes of soil.
3. An effective solution is identified – reproducibility.
4. The corrective solution is implemented and documented.
Corrective Actions:
There are a total of 8 Emerson Classes.

A. The appearances of 5 Emerson Classes can be referenced/downloaded from

http://www.lanfaxlabs.com.au/aggregate_stability.htm (refer to attachment) for the following:

A-1: Slaking for Class 1 and Class 2,

A-2: Slaking for Class 3
A-3: No slaking for Class 7 and Class 8

B. The appearances of the other 3 Emerson Classes are by laboratory determinations as follows:
B-1: No dispersion and the presence of Calcite and/or Gypsum for Class 4 are recorded (refer to
attachment)
B-2: Dispersion for Class 5 and Class 6 is also recorded if there is no presence of Calcite and/or Gypsum
(refer to attachment)
Technical Notes:
 For Class 4 laboratory determination, calcium carbonate (calcite) is added to 25 small grains of soil in a
petri dish; and calcium sulfate (gypsum) to 25 small grains of soil in a test tube.
 For Class 5 and Class 6 laboratory determinations, a 1:5 soil/water suspension (2g of soil to 10 mL of
water) is shaken vigorously in a test tube for 10 minutes. Class 5 is when suspension remains dispersed
after 5 minutes, and Class 6 is when suspension flocculate within 5 min.
A. The appearances of 5 Emerson Classes Page 2 of 3
Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, Class 7 and Class 8
http://www.lanfaxlabs.com.au/aggregate_stability.htm

Note:
The layout of Figure 1 matches the set
out in Figure 2.
B. The appearances of the 3 Emerson Classes Page 3 of 3

If no reaction,
proceed to
Class 5 / Class 6
procedures

Class 4

Class 5 and Class 6