Journal Published Online: 12 July 2006
Volume 30, Issue 1

An Improved Volume Measurement for Determining Soil Water Retention Curves

CODEN: GTJODJ

Abstract

The complete determination of soil water retention curves requires the sample volume to be measured in order to calculate its void ratio and degree of saturation. During drying in the pressure plate apparatus, cracks often appear in the sample altering its deformation and evaporation patterns. Consequently, this causes a significant scatter in the volume measurement when using the volume displacement method. This paper proposes a simple method to avoid cracking, by limiting friction and adhesion boundary effects, to allow for unrestrained shrinkage of the sample. Such modification of the technique decreases the measurement error by a factor of three.

Author Information

Péron, H
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne—EPFL, Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Lausanne, Switzerland
Hueckel, T
Duke University, Durham, NC
Laloui, L
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne—EPFL, Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Lausanne, Switzerland
Pages: 8
Price: $25.00
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Details
Stock #: GTJ100167
ISSN: 0149-6115
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ100167