Abstract
This paper reports on indirect soil suction measurement methods. Indirect suction measurement techniques measure the moisture equilibrium condition of the soil instead of suction. The moisture equilibrium condition of the soil can be determined by primary means as in vapor pressure, secondary means as through another porous medium or tertiary means as in measuring other physical properties of the porous medium that indicates its moisture equilibrium condition. Indirect suction measurement techniques employing primary means include thermocouple psychrometers, transistor psychrometer and chilled-mirror psychrometer. Indirect suction measurement techniques employing secondary means includes the filter paper method and indirect suction measurement techniques employing tertiary means include thermal conductivity sensors and electrical conductivity sensors. These techniques have been widely used in engineering practice and in research laboratories. However, each of these techniques has its own limitations and capabilities, and active research into improving these techniques is ongoing in universities, research laboratories, and private sector. This paper outlines working principles, calibration, measurement, and application areas of these methods based on recent literature and practice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aitchison GD, Richards BG (1965) A broad-scale study of moisture conditions in pavement subgrades throughout Australia. In: Moisture in soils beneath covered areas. Butterworths, Australia, pp 198–204
Albrecht BA, Benson CH, Beuermann S (2003) Polymer capacitance sensors for measuring soil gas humidity in drier soils. Geotech Test J 26(1):1–9
ASTM D5298-94 (1994) Standard test method for measurement of soil potential (suction) using filter paper. In: 1994 Annual book of ASTM standards. ASTM, Philadelphia
ASTM D6836-02 (2003) Standard test methods for determination of the soil water characteristic curve for desorption using a hanging column, pressure extractor, chilled mirror hygrometer, and/or centrifuge. In: 2003 Annual book of ASTM standards. ASTM, Philadelphia
Blatz JA, Graham J (2003) Elastic-plastic modelling of unsaturated soil using results from a new triaxial test with controlled suction. Geotechnique 53(1):113–122
Bulut R, Wray WK (2005) Free energy of water—suction—in filter papers. Geotech Test J 28(4):355–364
Bulut R, Aubeny CP, Lytton RL (2005) Unsaturated soil diffusivity measurements. In: International symposium on advanced experimental unsaturated soil mechanics, Trento, Italy, 27–29 June
Bulut R, Lytton RL, Wray WK (2001) Soil suction measurements by filter paper. In: Vipulanandan C, Addison MB, Hasen M (eds) Expansive clay soils and vegetative influence on shallow foundations, ASCE geotechnical special publication no. 115. Houston, Texas, pp 243–261
Bulut R, Hineidi SM, Bailey B (2002) Suction measurements—filter paper and chilled mirror psychrometer. In: Proceedings of the Texas Section American Society of Civil Engineers, Fall Meeting, Waco, 2–5 October
Bulut R, Park S-W, Lytton RL (2000) Comparison of total suction values from psychrometer and filter paper methods. In: Unsaturated soils for Asia. Proceedings of the Asian conference on unsaturated soils, UNSAT-ASIA 2000, Singapore, 18–19 May, pp 269–273
Bouyoucos GJ, Mick AH (1940) Comparison of absorbent materials employed in the electrical resistance method of making a continuous measurement of soil moisture under field conditions. Proc Soil Sci Soc Am 5:77–79
Feng M, Fredlund DG (2003) Calibration of thermal conductivity sensors with consideration of hysteresis. Can Geotech J 40(5):1048–1055
Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H (1993) Soil mechanics for unsaturated soils. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York
Fredlund DG, Wong DKH (1989) Calibration of thermal conductivity sensors for measuring soil suction. Geotech Test J 12(3):188–194
Hamblin AP (1981) Filter paper method for routine measurement of field water potential. J Hydrol 53:355–360
He L-C (1999) Evaluation of instruments for measurement of suction in unsaturated soils. MEng Thesis, School of Civil & Structural Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Houston SL, Houston WR, Wagner AM (1994) Laboratory filter paper measurements. Geotech Test J 17(2):185–194
Leong E-C, He L, Rahardjo H (2002) Factors affecting the filter paper method for total and matric suction measurements. Geotech Test J 25(3):322–333
Leong E-C, Tripathy S, Rahardjo H (2003) Total suction measurement of unsaturated soils with a device using the chilled-mirror dew-point technique. Geotechnique 53(2):173–182
Marjerison B, Richardson N, Widger A, Fredlund DG, Berthelot C (2001) Installation of sensors and measurement of soil suction below thin membrane of surface pavements in Sasketchewan. In: Proceedings of 54th Canadian geotechnical conference, Calgary, Alta, 16–19 September, pp 1328–1334
Nichol C, Smith L, Beckie R (2003) Long term measurement of matric suction using thermal conductivity sensors. Can Geotech J 40(3):587–597
O’Kane M, Wilson GW, Barbour SL (1998) Instrumentation and monitoring of an engineered soil cover system for mine waste rock. Can Geotech J 35:828–846
Oloo SY, Fredlund DG (1995) Matric suction measuring in an expansive soil subgrade in Kenya. In: Unsaturated soils: proceedings of 1st international conference on unsaturated soils, Paris
Phene CJ, Hoffman GJ, Rawlins SL (1971) Measuring soil matric potential in-situ by sensing heat dissipation within a porous body: I. Theory and sensor construction. Proc Soil Sci Soc Am 35:27–33
Reece CF (1996) Evaluation of a line heat dissipation sensor for measuring soil matric potential. Soil Sci Soc Am J 60(4):1022–1028
Richards LA, Ogata G (1958) A thermocouple for vapor pressure measurement in biological and soil systems at high humidity. Science 128:1089–1090
Ridley AM (1993) The measurement of soil matric suction. PhD thesis, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London
Siemens GA, Blatz JA (2005) Soil suction measurement using the Xeritron Sensor in two different types of infiltration tests on a swelling soil. In: International symposium on advanced experimental unsaturated soil mechanics, Trento, 27–29 June
Skinner A, Hignett C, Dearden J (1997) Resurrecting the gypsum block for soil moisture measurement. In: Australian viticulture, October/November 1997
Spanner DC (1951) The Peltier effect and its use in the measurement of suction pressure. J Exp Bot 2:145–168
UST 2004. http://www.soilvision.com/subdomains/unsaturatedsoil.com/sensor.shtml
Walker SC, Gallipoli D, Toll DG (2005) The effect of structure on the water retension of soil tested using different methods of suction measurement. In: International symposium on advanced experimental unsaturated soil mechanics, Trento, 27–29 June
Woodburn JA, Holden JC, Peter P (1993) The transistor psychrometer: a new instrument for measuring soil suction. In: Houston SL, Wray WK (eds) Unsaturated soils. ASCE geotechnical special publication no. 39. Dallas, Texas, pp 91–102
Zhang X, Leong EC, Rahardjo H (2001) Evaluation of a thermal conductivity sensor for measurement of matric suction in residual soil slopes. In: Proceedings of 14th southeast Asian geotechnical conference, Hong Kong, pp 611–616
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bulut, R., Leong, E.C. Indirect Measurement of Suction. Geotech Geol Eng 26, 633–644 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-008-9197-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-008-9197-0