Performance of the University of Newcastle high capacity tensiometers

J. Mendes, O. Buzzi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

New high capacity tensiometers have been developed at the University of Newcastle, Australia, for the direct measurement of soil matric suction. Consistent with other high capacity tensiometers found in literature, the design was based on a high air entry ceramic, water reservoir and pressure transducer. Different geometries (size of water reservoir), materials (stainless steel and perspex) and pressure transducers were considered when designing the tensiometers in order to investigate the significance of each parameter. The performance of the different configurations for the new high capacity tensiometers were assessed and discussed in terms of minimum pressure range and response time. The results show that all tensiometers read comparable values of suction, regardless of their inherent specificities. In particular, for all design types, the maximum suction was measured to be equal or greater than the nominal air entry value of the ceramic. This suggests that the measuring range does not depend on the size of the water reservoir.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationUnsaturated Soils
Subtitle of host publicationResearch and Applications - Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2014
EditorsNasser Khalili, Adrian Russell, Arman Khoshghalb
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Pages1611-1616
Number of pages6
Volume2
ISBN (Print)9781138001503
Publication statusPublished - 5 Jun 2014
Externally publishedYes
Event6th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2014 - Sydney, NSW, Australia
Duration: 2 Jul 20144 Jul 2014

Conference

Conference6th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2014
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CitySydney, NSW
Period2/07/144/07/14

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