MEASUREMENT OF WETTING SOIL-WATER CHARACTERISTICS CURVE OF GALUNGGUNG SAND ON MATRIX SUCTION VALUE OF 0-20 KILOPASCAL USING COLUMN CAPILARITY METHOD

• Main Author: Edbert, Ivan
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Teknik sipil
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/66986
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Indonesia is a country with a tropical climate. Tropical climate plays an important role in changes in soil volume. This is because the water content in the soil also changes. This change in water content can be seen through the soil-water characteristic curve. One method of measuring the soil-water characteristic curve that can vary the matrix suction value is using the Tempe cell. However, the price of these tools is very expensive. Thus, other tools and methods are needed that are less expensive to measure the soil-water characteristic curve such as the column capillarity method The column capillarity method forms the soil into a soil column, then distilled water is added to the bottom, and then observed for a certain period. After that, the soil moisture content was observed at each certain height to get the water content value in the suction matrix that corresponds to the height from which the soil was taken. This process is carried out until an equilibrium moisture content value is obtained for each specified matrix suction value. The value of the water content that has been in equilibrium with the corresponding matrix suction value is entered into the graph so that it becomes a soil-water characteristic curve. In addition, test simulations in the laboratory were also carried out using the SEEP/W application to justify the tests result. The wetting soil-water characteristic curve of galunggung sand produced using the capillary column method is not theoretically appropriate because the density of the galunggung sand specimen in the column of the test equipment is different at each height. Based on the equilibrium time curve form, the water content has reached equilibrium on day 3. Then, the equilibrium time curve form from the SEEP/W application seems to be theoretically appropriate and the water content values from laboratory tests are tangent. This indicates that the modeling carried out from the SEEP/W application is in accordance with the data obtained from testing in the laboratory. Thus, the water content value on the equilibrium time curve from the modeling results for the waiting time apart from testing data in the laboratory can be used as an estimated water content value.