Hydraulic Conductivity Measurement in Unsaturated Soils With a Modified Cone Penetrometer

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9501772 Gribb Soil mechanics and groundwater flow courses at the undergraduate level, and often at the graduate level, rarely include in-depth discussion of the properties of unsaturated soils. Without an understanding of fluid transport and strength and volume change behavior of unsaturated soils, engineers are not well equipped to effectively design foundations for expansive soils, predict slope stability of residual soils, or characterize the flow of contaminants in the vadose zone. Historically, complexities associated with unsaturated flow equations have made analytical solutions difficult and limited to relatively simple problems. New computational methods, powerful personal computers, and improved soil instrumentation have made it possible to investigate a larger scope of problems, both numerically and experimentally. The two overall goals of this project are: 1) to increase the knowledge base of unsaturated flow behavior and 2) to incorporate the topics of unsaturated soil mechanics and unsaturated flow into the civil engineering curriculum at the University of South Carolina to better meet changing needs of the profession and society. ***