A falling head permeameter for the measurement of the hydraulic conductivity of granular solids

Abstract

A falling head permeameter is described in which pairs of infrared emitters and detectors on a sight tube are used to measure the flow rate associated with the passage of water through a granular solid under the action of a diminishing pressure head. An equation relating pressure head to elapsed time is derived from which permeability may be calculated. In order to verify the accuracy and sensitivity of the instrument, permeability measurements carried out on a graded quartz sand are compared to those obtained by the more conventional constant head measurement. Excellent agreement is obtained between the permeability values obtained using both measurement methods. Experimental results are also reported for the measurement of the permeability of a range of sieved sand fractions. The falling head permeameter described here is particularly suitable for the measurement of the hydraulic conductivity of granular solids such as sands and soils through which a high flow rate may be expected. © 2000 American Institute of Physics