ISSN: 0149-6115
Published Online: 9 February 2004
Page Count: 10

Leak-Free Pressure Plate Extractor For Measuring the Soil Water Characteristic Curve

Wang, X
Geo Engineering Laboratory Manager,University of Wisconsin-Madison,

Benson, CH
Professor,University of Wisconsin-Madison,

(Received 24 April 2002; accepted 17 June 2003)

Abstract

A new pressure plate extractor, referred to as the leak-free pressure plate extractor (LFPPE), is described where air leakage around the ceramic plate effectively is eliminated. The LFPPE was designed so that it would be robust, easy to use, and readily assembled and disassembled for testing and maintenance. An example shows that the LFPPE yields a soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) that is consistent with portions of the SWCC measured with other independent methods (chilled mirror hygrometer and hanging column). A testing procedure is also described that has been employed for measuring numerous SWCCs with the LFPPE without an incident of air leakage.

Keywords:
soil water characteristic curve, suction, unsaturated soil, pressure plate, hygrometer, water retention

Paper ID: GTJ11392
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ11392
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