TY - JOUR
T1 - Automatic soil water retention test system with volume change measurement for sandy and silty soils
AU - Liu, Qiang
AU - Yasufuku, Noriyuki
AU - Omine, Kiyoshi
AU - Hazarika, Hemanta
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by joint project between Kyushu University, Fukuoka and Genkai town, Saga prefecture, on the cultivation of medicinal plants in arid ground, and a Grant-in Aid for scientific research (A) No. 22246064 , from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) . The authors acknowledge the support. The authors also would like to express their sincere gratitude to Prof. Ryosuke Kitamura of Kagoshima University for his valuable advice in improving the content of this manuscript. The first author also acknowledges the scholarship, provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, for pursuing his doctorate at Kyushu University.
PY - 2012/4
Y1 - 2012/4
N2 - The determination of soil water retention curves requires the volume to be measured in order to calculate the void ratio and degree of saturation. The volume change of sample during drying and wetting cycles in soil water retention test is obvious and non-ignorable, especially for soils with deformability. The soil water retention curve is generally superimposed with the volume change of soil specimens. However, in general, many apparatus that are used for soil water retention testing cannot measure the volume change during the test process. In this study, a modified experimental system, which can measure and record volume change during test, and also can control the entire testing process via computer, is proposed to determine the soil water retention curve. The new system has several advantages over existing apparatus. Notable amongst them is that it can automatically determine both the wetting and the drying characteristics with high accuracy, and can measure volume change during test, using only one sample. This technical note presents the design detail and algorithm for control software. Water retention curves considering volume change are determined for four types of soil, ranging from sandy to silty. Then the effect of volume change on soil water retention curve is briefly discussed.
AB - The determination of soil water retention curves requires the volume to be measured in order to calculate the void ratio and degree of saturation. The volume change of sample during drying and wetting cycles in soil water retention test is obvious and non-ignorable, especially for soils with deformability. The soil water retention curve is generally superimposed with the volume change of soil specimens. However, in general, many apparatus that are used for soil water retention testing cannot measure the volume change during the test process. In this study, a modified experimental system, which can measure and record volume change during test, and also can control the entire testing process via computer, is proposed to determine the soil water retention curve. The new system has several advantages over existing apparatus. Notable amongst them is that it can automatically determine both the wetting and the drying characteristics with high accuracy, and can measure volume change during test, using only one sample. This technical note presents the design detail and algorithm for control software. Water retention curves considering volume change are determined for four types of soil, ranging from sandy to silty. Then the effect of volume change on soil water retention curve is briefly discussed.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.sandf.2012.02.012
DO - 10.1016/j.sandf.2012.02.012
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84871030803
SN - 0038-0806
VL - 52
SP - 368
EP - 380
JO - Soils and Foundations
JF - Soils and Foundations
IS - 2
ER -