In Situ Hydraulic Conductivity Tests for Compacted Clay
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 115, Issue 9
Abstract
This paper summarizes the state of the art for in situ conductivity testing of compacted clay soils. Nine methods of testing are reviewed: (1) The Boutwell permeameter; (2) constant‐head borehole permeameters, e.g., the Guelph permeameter; (3) porous probes, e.g., the BAT device; (4) open, single‐ring infiltrometers; (5) open, double‐ring infiltrometers; (6) closed, single‐ring infiltrometers, (7) sealed, double‐ring infiltrometers; (8) the air‐entry permeameter; and (9) lysimeter pans. Installation procedures are given, equations for calculating hydraulic conductivity are presented, simplifying assumptions are listed, and case histories are reviewed. Each type of permeameter has advantages. The Boutwell permeameter is especially convenient for measurement of the vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivity. Borehole permeameters and porous probes provide data relatively quickly but permeate a relatively small volume of soil. Of the permeameters that can permeate large volume of soil, the sealed double‐ring infiltrometer and pan lysimeter are the most versatile.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Baumgartner, N., Elrick, D. E., and Bradshaw, K. L. (1987). “In‐situ hydraulic conductivity measurements of slowly permeable materials using a modified Guelph permeameter and the Guelph infiltrometer.” Proc., First National Outdoor Action Conf. on Aquifer Restoration, Ground Water Monitoring and Geophysical Methods, 469–483.
2.
Boutwell, G. P., and Derick, R. K. (1986). “Groundwater protection for sanitary landfills in the saturated zone.” Presented to Waste Tech '86, National Solid Waste Management Association, Chicago, Ill.
3.
Bouwer, H. (1966). “Rapid field measurement of air entry value and hydraulic conductivity of soil as significant parameters in flow system analysis.” Water Resour. Res., 2, 729–732.
4.
Bouwer, H. (1978). Groundwater hydrology. McGraw‐Hill, New York, N.Y.
5.
Bouwer, H. (1986). “Intake rate: cylinder infiltrometer.” Methods of soil analysis, Part 1, Physical and mineralogical methods, Agronomy Monograph No. 9, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wis., 825–844.
6.
Boynton, S. S., and Daniel, D. E. (1985). “Hydraulic conductivity tests on compacted clay.” J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 111(4), 465–478.
7.
Chen, H. W., and Yamamoto, L. O. (1987). “Permeability tests for hazardous waste management unit clay liners.” Geotechnical and geohydrological aspects of waste management, D. J. A. van Zyl et al., eds., Lewis Publishing, Inc., Chelsea, Mich., 229–243.
8.
Daniel, D. E. (1983). “Permeability test for unsaturated soil.” Geotech. Test. J., 6(2), 81–86.
9.
Daniel, D. E. (1984). “Predicting the hydraulic conductivity of compacted clay liners.” J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 110(2), 285–300.
10.
Daniel, D. E., et al. (1984). “Permeability testing with flexible‐wall permeameters.” Geotech. Test. J., 7(3), 113–122.
11.
Daniel, D. E., Anderson, D. C., and Boynton, S. S. (1985). “Fixed‐wall vs. Flexible wall permeameters.” ASTM STP 874, 276–288.
12.
Daniel, D. E., and Trautwein, S. J. (1986). “Field permeability test for earthen liners.” Proc., In Situ '86, Blacksburg, Va., 146–160.
13.
Day, S. R., and Daniel, D. E. (1985a). “Hydraulic conductivity of two prototype clay liners.” J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 111(8), 957–970.
14.
Day, S. R., and Daniel, D. E. (1985b). “Field permeability test for clay liners.” ASTM STP 874, 276–288.
15.
Elrick, D. E., Reynolds, W. D., and Tan, K. A. (1988). “A new analysis for the constant head well permeameter.” Proc., Validation of Flow and Transport Models for the Unsaturated Zone, University of New Mexico, Las Cruses, N.M. (in press).
16.
Elsbury, B. R., et al. (1988). “Field and laboratory testing of a compacted soil liner.” U.S. EPA, Cincinnati, Ohio (in press).
17.
Glover, R. E. (1953). “Flow for a test hole located above groundwater level.” Theory and problems of water percolation, Engineering Monograph No. 8, C. N. Zangar, ed., U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, 69–71.
18.
Green, W. H., and Ampt, G. A. (1911). “Studies on soil physics. Part I.—The flow of air and water through soils.” J. Agric. Sci., 4, 1–24.
19.
Hvorslev, M. J. (1949). Time lag in the observation of ground‐water levels and pressures. U.S. Army Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
20.
Knight, R. B., and Haile, J. P. (1984). “Construction of the Key Lake tailings facility.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Case Histories in Geotech. Engrg., St. Louis, Mo.
21.
Lahti, L. R., et al. (1987). “Quality assurance monitoring of a large clay liner.” Proc., Geotechnical Practice for Waste Disposal '87, ASCE, 640–654.
22.
Lambe, T. W. (1954). “The permeability of compacted fine‐grained soils.” ASTM STP 163, 56–67.
23.
Lambe, T. W. (1958). “The engineering behavior of compacted clay.” J. soil Mech. Found. Div., ASCE, 84(2), 1654–1‐1654‐34.
24.
Mitchell, J. K., Hooper, D. R., and Campanella, R. G. (1965). “Permeability of compacted clay.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div., ASCE, 91(4), 41–65.
25.
Olson, R. E., and Daniel, D. E. (1981). “Measurement of the hydraulic conductivity of fine‐grained soils.” ASTM STP 746, 18–64.
26.
Philip, J. R. (1985). “Approximate analysis of the borehole permeameter in unsaturated soil.” Water Resour. Res., 21(7), 1025–1033.
27.
Reynolds, W. D., and Elrick, D. E. (1985). “In situ measurement of field‐saturated hydraulic conductivity, sorptivity, and the a‐parameter using the Guelph permeameter.” Soil Sci., 140(4), 292–302.
28.
Reynolds, W. D., and Elrick, D. E. (1986). “A method for simultaneous in situ measurement in the vadose zone of field‐saturated hydraulic conductivity, sorptivity and the conductivity‐pressure head relationships.” Ground Water Monitoring Rev., 6(1), 84–95.
29.
Reynolds, W. D., and Elrick, D. E. (1987). “A laboratory and numerical assessment of the Guelph permeameter method.” Soil Sci., 144, 282–299.
30.
Reynolds, W. D., Elrick, D. E., and Clothier, B. E. (1985). “The constant head well permeameter: Effect of unsaturated flow.” Soil Sci., 139(2), 172–180.
31.
Reynolds, W. D., Elrick, D. E., and Topp, G. C. (1983). “A reexamination of the constant head well permeameter for measuring saturated hydraulic conductivity above the water table.” Soil Sci., 136(2), 250–268.
32.
Rogowski, A. S. (1986). “Hydraulic conductivity of compacted clay soils.” Proc., Twelth Annual Res. Symp. on Land Disposal, Remedial Action, Incineration, and Treatment of Hazardous Waste, U.S. EPA, Cincinnati, Ohio, 29–39.
33.
Soilmoisture Equipment Corp. (1987). Model 2800 Guelph permeameter. Soilmoisture Equipment Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif.
34.
Soil Testing Engineers, Inc. (1983). STEI Two‐stage permeability test. Soil Testing Engineers, Inc., Baton Rouge, La.
35.
Stephens, D. B., Lambert, K., and Watson, D. (1987). “Regression models for hydraulic conductivity and field test of the borehole permeameter.” Water Resour. Res., 23(12), 2207–2214.
36.
Stephens, D. B., and Neuman, S. P. (1982a). “Vadose zone permeability tests: Summary.” J. Hydr. Div., ASCE, 108(5), 623–639.
37.
Stephens, D. B., and Neuman, S. P. (1982b). “Vadose zone permeability tests: Steady state results.” J. Hydr. Div., ASCE, 108(5), 640–659.
38.
Stephens, D. B., and Neuman, S. P. (1982c). “Vadose zone permeability tests: Unsteady flow.” J. Hydr. Div., ASCE, 108(5), 660–677.
39.
Stephens, D. B., and Neuman, S. P. (1982d). “Free surface and saturated‐unsaturated analyses of borehole infiltration tests above the water table.” Adv. Water Resour., 5, 111–116.
40.
Stephens, D. B., et al. (1988). “Vadose zone characterization of low‐permeability sediments using field permeameters.” Ground Water Monitoring Rev., 8(2), 59–66.
41.
Stewart, J. P., and Nolan, T. W. (1987). “Infiltration testing for hydraulic conductivity of soil liners.” Geotech. Testing. J., 10(2), 41–50.
42.
Torstensson, B. A. (1984). “A new system for ground water monitoring.” Ground Water Monitoring Rev., 4(4), 131–138.
43.
Trautwein Soil Testing Equipment Co. (1987). Installation and operating instructions for the sealed double‐ring infiltrometer. Trautwein Soil Testing Equipment Co., Houston, Tex.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 1989 ASCE.
History
Published online: Sep 1, 1989
Published in print: Sep 1989
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.