Improvement of Experimental Equipment Based on the One-Step Outflow Test and Research on Rapid Determining SWCC

The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) is an important hydraulic parameter for modeling water flow and contaminant transport in the unsaturated soil. However, direct measurement of the SWCC is still difficult. The commonly used measuring instrument in the laboratory is the pressure plate extract...

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Main Authors: Jiaqi Wu, Huan Li, Anming Wang, Zhiquan Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021-01-01
Series:Advances in Civil Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/6696527
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author Jiaqi Wu
Huan Li
Anming Wang
Zhiquan Huang
author_facet Jiaqi Wu
Huan Li
Anming Wang
Zhiquan Huang
author_sort Jiaqi Wu
collection DOAJ
description The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) is an important hydraulic parameter for modeling water flow and contaminant transport in the unsaturated soil. However, direct measurement of the SWCC is still difficult. The commonly used measuring instrument in the laboratory is the pressure plate extractor. In this paper, the original pressure plate extractor has been improved based on the one-step outflow test. Compared with the original pressure plate extractor, three devices, water storage, data acquisition system, and bubbles scouring device, are added to the improved pressure plate extractor. The improved equipment eliminates the problems of long test time consumption and inaccurate test data. A one-step outflow test is performed utilizing the improved pressure plate extractor. The test data (the amount of spilled water and the time of pressurization) are substituted into the one-dimensional moisture migration analysis software HYDRUS-1D. The parameters (α, m, and n) are identified by the numerical inversion method in the inversion module of the HYDRUS-1D, which are associated with the VG model to fit SWCC. The fitted SWCC is highly consistent with the measured SWCC, which is obtained from the conventional test of the original pressure plate extractor. Results confirm that the improved pressure plate extractor not only saves considerable time but also effectively measures the SWCC. The improved pressure plate extractor also involves a simple operation. The influence factors of controlling the geometry of SWCC are also discussed, the results of the discussion confirm that the geometry of SWCC is directly controlled by pore distribution, and the consolidation pressure is an indirect factor.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 1687-8086
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language English
publishDate 2021-01-01
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series Advances in Civil Engineering
spelling doaj-art-97a47bc057ca45e692805b7bb18a44a22025-08-20T03:37:09ZengWileyAdvances in Civil Engineering1687-80861687-80942021-01-01202110.1155/2021/66965276696527Improvement of Experimental Equipment Based on the One-Step Outflow Test and Research on Rapid Determining SWCCJiaqi Wu0Huan Li1Anming Wang2Zhiquan Huang3College of Geosciences and Engineering, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Geosciences and Engineering, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Geosciences and Engineering, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaLuoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, ChinaThe soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) is an important hydraulic parameter for modeling water flow and contaminant transport in the unsaturated soil. However, direct measurement of the SWCC is still difficult. The commonly used measuring instrument in the laboratory is the pressure plate extractor. In this paper, the original pressure plate extractor has been improved based on the one-step outflow test. Compared with the original pressure plate extractor, three devices, water storage, data acquisition system, and bubbles scouring device, are added to the improved pressure plate extractor. The improved equipment eliminates the problems of long test time consumption and inaccurate test data. A one-step outflow test is performed utilizing the improved pressure plate extractor. The test data (the amount of spilled water and the time of pressurization) are substituted into the one-dimensional moisture migration analysis software HYDRUS-1D. The parameters (α, m, and n) are identified by the numerical inversion method in the inversion module of the HYDRUS-1D, which are associated with the VG model to fit SWCC. The fitted SWCC is highly consistent with the measured SWCC, which is obtained from the conventional test of the original pressure plate extractor. Results confirm that the improved pressure plate extractor not only saves considerable time but also effectively measures the SWCC. The improved pressure plate extractor also involves a simple operation. The influence factors of controlling the geometry of SWCC are also discussed, the results of the discussion confirm that the geometry of SWCC is directly controlled by pore distribution, and the consolidation pressure is an indirect factor.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/6696527
spellingShingle Jiaqi Wu
Huan Li
Anming Wang
Zhiquan Huang
Improvement of Experimental Equipment Based on the One-Step Outflow Test and Research on Rapid Determining SWCC
Advances in Civil Engineering
title Improvement of Experimental Equipment Based on the One-Step Outflow Test and Research on Rapid Determining SWCC
title_full Improvement of Experimental Equipment Based on the One-Step Outflow Test and Research on Rapid Determining SWCC
title_fullStr Improvement of Experimental Equipment Based on the One-Step Outflow Test and Research on Rapid Determining SWCC
title_full_unstemmed Improvement of Experimental Equipment Based on the One-Step Outflow Test and Research on Rapid Determining SWCC
title_short Improvement of Experimental Equipment Based on the One-Step Outflow Test and Research on Rapid Determining SWCC
title_sort improvement of experimental equipment based on the one step outflow test and research on rapid determining swcc
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/6696527
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AT anmingwang improvementofexperimentalequipmentbasedontheonestepoutflowtestandresearchonrapiddeterminingswcc
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