Soil–Water Retention Curve Determination for Sands Using the Filter Paper Method
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 4
Abstract
The filter paper (FP) method, a cost-effective, versatile, and convenient approach, has found extensive application in analyzing fine-grained soils, enabling the successful measurement of a broad spectrum of total and matric suctions. However, using the FP method in sand with a limited range of suction profiles has been notably underrepresented in the existing literature. Therefore, this study investigated the applicability of the contact FP method in establishing soil water retention curves (SWRCs) using five distinct FP calibration curves for 10 poorly graded sands. Among these calibration curves, the one presented by Chandler yielded the highest suction values, which were followed by those of ASTM. Furthermore, the FP results were subjected to fitting with a mathmatical model, which led to the observation that the overall trends in the obtained SWRCs displayed smooth sigmoidal shapes, resulting in a complete and coherent SWRCs. The SWRC results of five sand samples were assessed through validation against the hanging column technique (HCT) results, indicating a high degree of concordance and affirming the suitability of the FP method for sands characterized by a limited suction profile. Notably, the entire range of suction values fell within the 0.01–20 kPa range based on the calibration curves presented by Chandler and ASTM for all the examined sand samples, except sands 9 and 10. Furthermore, the suction values were unobtainable using the two aforementioned calibration curves within the ranges of 0.01–1.47 kPa and 0.01–0.172 kPa.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 4 • April 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 8, 2022
Accepted: Dec 6, 2023
Published online: Feb 10, 2024
Published in print: Apr 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jul 10, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Calibration
- Curvature
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Filters
- Filtration
- Flow (fluid dynamics)
- Fluid dynamics
- Fluid mechanics
- Geomechanics
- Geometry
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydrologic engineering
- Mathematics
- Measurement (by type)
- Sand filters
- Soil analysis
- Soil dynamics
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Soil suction
- Soil water
- Suction
- Water and water resources
- Water treatment
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