Filter Paper Technique for Measuring Total Soil Suction

Abstract

An experimental program was conducted to investigate the noncontact filter paper technique for total suction testing. Calibration curves for seven different batches of Whatman #42 filter paper were obtained to evaluate the variation in the calibration characteristics from one batch of paper to another. Additional tests using salt solutions for controlling suction were conducted to evaluate the measurement uncertainty as a function of suction magnitude. Calibration curves for the various papers varied significantly from batch to batch. This variation can be as much as 11% for filter paper water content, which results in a potential measurement error as high as 92% for suction. Scatter in the measurements appeared to increase with decreasing total suction. At relatively high values of suction (32 000 kPa), the standard deviation for five independent measurements was as much as 11.6% of the mean. At relatively low values (270 kPa), the deviation appeared to increase to 23.2% of the mean. One hundred measurements over a wide range of values for an expansive clayey soil confirmed the observation that the scatter in the measurements increases as total suction decreases.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Stannard

D. I.

Tensiometers—Theory, Construction, and Use. Geotechnical Testing Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, Jan. 1992, pp. 48–58.

Lee

R. K. C.

, and Fredlund

D. G.

. Measurement of Soil Suction Using the MCS 6000 Sensor. Proc., 6th International Conference of Expansive Soils, Adelaide, South Australia, 1984, pp. 50–54.

Hilf

J. W.

An Investigation of Pore-Water Pressure in Compacted Cohesive Soils. Technical Memo No. 654. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of Interior, Denver, Colo., 1956.

Bocking

K. A.

, and Fredlund

D. G.

. Limitations of the Axis Translation Technique. Proc., 4th International Conference of Expansive Soils, Denver, Colo., 1980, pp. 117–135.

Spanner

D. C.

The Peltier Effect and Its Use in the Measurement of Suction Pressure. Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 11, 1951, pp. 145–168.

Richards

B. G.

Behavior of Unsaturated Soils. In Soil Mechanics-New Horizons ( Lee

I. K.

, ed.), American Elsevier, New York, 1974, pp. 112–157.

Likos

W. J.

, and Lu

. Automated Measurement of Total Suction Characteristics in the High-Suction Range: Application to Assessment of Swelling Potential. In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board No. 1755, TRB, Washington, D.C., 2001, pp. 119–128.

Nishimura

, and Fredlund

D. G.

, Unconfined Compressive Strength of a Silty Soil and Kaolin Below the Residual State. In Advances in Unsaturated Geotechnics. Geotechnical Special Publication No. 99. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Va., 2000, pp. 262–274.

Al-Khafaf

, and Hanks

R. J.

. Evaluation of the Filter Paper Method for Estimating Soil Water Potential. Soil Science, Vol. 117, No. 4, April 1974, pp. 194–199.

10.

Hamblin

A. P.

Filter-Paper Method for Routine Measurement of Field Water Potential. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 53, 1981, pp. 355–360.

11.

van der Raadt

, Fredlund

D. G.

, Clifton

A. W.

, Klassen

M. J.

, and Jubien

W. E.

. Soil Suction Measurements at Several Sites in Western Canada. Transportation Research Record 1137, TRB, Washington, D.C., 1987, pp. 24–35.

12.

Houston

S. L.

, Houston

W. N.

, and Wagner

. Laboratory Filter Paper Suction Measurements. Geotechnical Testing Journal, Vol. 17, No. 2, March 1994, pp. 185–194.

13.

Greacen

E. L.

, Walker

G. R.

, and Cook

P. G.

. Procedure for the Filter Paper Method of Measuring Soil Water Suction. Report No. 108. Division of Soils, CSIRO Division of Water Resources, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia, 1989.

14.

Fawcett

R. G.

, and Collis-George

. A Filter-Paper Method for Determining the Moisture Characteristics of Soil. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Vol. 7, April 1967, pp. 162–167.

15.

McQueen

I. S.

, and Miller

R. F.

. Calibration and Evaluation of Wide-Range Gravimetric Method for Measuring Soil Moisture Stress. Soil Science, Vol., 10, No. 3, Sept. 1968, pp. 521–527.

16.

Chandler

R. J.

, and Gutierrez

C. I.

. The Filter Paper Method of Suction Measurement,. Geotechnique, Vol. 36, 1986, pp. 265–268.

17.

Sibley

J. W.

, Smyth

G. K.

, and Williams

D. J.

. Suction-Moisture Content Calibration of Filter Papers from Different Boxes. Geotechnical Testing Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3, 1990, pp. 257–262.

18.

Sposito

The Thermodynamics of Soil Solutions. Oxford Clarendon Press, London, 1981.

19.

Young

J. F.

, Humidity Control in the Laboratory Using Salt Solutions— A Review. Journal of Applied Chemistry, Vol. 17, 1967, pp. 241, 245.

20.

McQueen

I. S.

, and Miller

R. F.

. Approximating Soil Moisture Characteristics from Limited Data: Empirical Evidence and Tentative Model. Water Resources Research, Vol. 10, No. 3, 1974, pp. 521–527.

21.

Fredlund

D. G.

, and Rahardjo

. Soil Mechanics for Unsaturated Soils. Wiley and Sons, New York, 1993.

22.

Burger

C. A.

, and Shackelford

C. D.

. Evaluating the Dual Porosity of Pelletized Diatomaceous Earth Using Bimodal Soil-Water Characteristic Curve Functions. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 38, 2001, pp. 53–66.