Direct Determination of Permeability of Clay under Embankment
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 114, Issue 6
Abstract
Numerous methods are used to measure the permeability of clays in laboratory and in situ. It is well known that these methods lead to different k values, but, until now, no comparison with the “real in situ permeability” has been carried out. In this paper a method based on the observation of pore pressure isochrones and settlement rates under embankments is proposed to determine the “real” in situ k value at various depths and at various times and strains. This method is successfully applied to the Berthierville test embankment where different permeability tests have been carried out. The results show that on this site: the “real” in situ permeability is slightly higher than the permeability obtained by direct measurement in laboratory; the coefficient of permeability deduced from values strongly underestimates the in situ permeability; and the coefficient of permeability measured with the self‐boring permeameter is representative of the “real” in situ permeability while the coefficient measured by means of pushed‐in‐place piezometers underestimates it.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 114 • Issue 6 • June 1988
Pages: 645 - 657
Copyright
Copyright © 1988 ASCE.
History
Published online: Jun 1, 1988
Published in print: Jun 1988
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