ABSTRACT
The soil-water characteristic curve is conventionally measured using a pressure plate apparatus or a Tempe cell. Considerably long periods of time are required to measure the soil-water characteristic curves using the conventional equipment. A new test procedure is proposed, using a small-scale medical centrifuge to measure the soil-water characteristic curves for compacted, fine-grained soil specimens. Soil specimen holders were designed for the small-scale centrifuge. The soil-water characteristic curves of statically compacted specimens for three different fine-grained soils with varying percentages of clay were measured using the centrifuge for a suction range between 0 to 500 kPa. There is good comparison between the soil-water characteristic curves measured using the small-scale centrifuge and the conventional laboratory equipment. The results of this study are encouraging as soil-water characteristic curves can be measured in a shorter period of time, resulting in considerable savings.
