Experimental estimation of the energy parameters of molecular interactions in soils

The feasibility of determining the parameters of solid-phase particle-adsorbed moisture interlayer molecular interactions in soil from the isotherms of water vapor sorption and the data on the compressive strength of soil particle aggregates are discussed. The calculations are based on the fundamental physicochemical laws, that is, the Gibbs equation for substance adsorption and the Griffith equation for brittle deformations. The obtained characteristics of molecular interactions (the Hamaker complex constants) vary over a narrow range (0.9–2.3) × 10⁻¹⁹ J for soils with different dispersities.