Measuring soil-water retention curves of soil samples with high-capacity tensiometers

What is it about?

The Soil-Water Retention Curve (SWRC) is an important descriptor of unsaturated soil behavior. It relates the magnitude of soil suction to the amount of water in a soil. We have applied the emerging development of high-capacity soil suction measurement devices, called tensiometers, to a simple method for determining the SWRCs of 5 various course and fine-grained soils. The addition of shrinkage measurement of specimens allows for full characterization of the SWRCs in a repeatable way.

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Photo by Dave Lowe on Unsplash

Photo by Dave Lowe on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Research on unsaturated soils remains difficult and expensive, often requiring expensive and time consuming testing. Using the emerging development of high-capacity tensiometers to easily measure high values of soil suctions, research opportunities can be opened up. The practical and cost effective method of determining soil-water retention curves proposed will be a beneficial building block to expand research and practical implication of the unsaturated soil mechanics field.