Abstract
Soil-water characteristic curves of soils can be measured in the laboratory using conventional testing apparatus such as the pressure plate. This paper describes a modified pressure plate apparatus using a commercially available high air entry ceramic plate. The modified pressure plate apparatus has several advantages over the conventional pressure plate apparatus: It can be used to determine both the drying and wetting soil-water characteristic curves, whereas the conventional pressure plate can usually determine only the drying soil-water characteristic curve; the water reservoir beneath the ceramic plate ensures that the ceramic plate is fully saturated at all times; air appearing in the water reservoir due to air diffusion through the ceramic disk can be flushed out by the cross-flow system during the test without stoppage of the test.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 322-331 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Geotechnical Testing Journal |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - May 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
Keywords
- Drying and wetting
- Modified pressure plate
- Soil-water characteristic curve
- Unsaturated soils