ISSN: 0149-6115
Published Online: 9 February 2004
Page Count: 9

Determination of the Soil Water Characteristic Curve of Highly Compressible Materials: Case Study of Pulp and Paper By-Product

Cabral, AR
Professor,Université de Sherbrooke,

Planchet, L
Premier Tech,Rivière-du-Loup,

Marinho, FA
Associate Professor,Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo,

Lefebvre, G
Professor,Université de Sherbrooke,

(Received 5 September 2001; accepted 2 May 2003)

Abstract

A technique was developed for the determination of various points of the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC)—including the air entry value (AEV)—of compressible materials from one single test. The testing setup, which employs the axis-translation technique, is presented and the testing methodology, explained. With the proposed methodology, it is possible to determine the volume of the sample at various stages of the desaturation process, thus making it possible to determine the degree of saturation and volumetric water content for each level of suction applied. The results of some tests performed on deinking residues (DR), a fibrous and highly compressible industrial by-product used in geoenvironmental works, are presented and discussed. It is shown that if volume changes that samples undergo during desaturation are not considered, the volumetric water content and degree of saturation of the sample is underestimated at all suction values. One important consequence is that lower hydraulic conductivities are obtained from mathematical models based on the SWCC.

Keywords:
suction, characteristic curve, air entry value, deinking residues, capillary barriers

Paper ID: GTJ10808
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ10808
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