Open AccessReport on laboratory tests of drying and re-wetting of intact rocks from the drift scale and single heater tests
Author(s) -
J J Roberts,
E Carlberg,
R Pletcher,
W Lin
Publication year - 1998
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/652974
Subject(s) - wetting , moisture , hysteresis , porous medium , water content , water retention , geotechnical engineering , work (physics) , porosity , environmental science , materials science , soil science , geology , soil water , composite material , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics
The primary focus of this report is the measurement of moisture retention curves of tuff as a function of temperature for both drying and re-wetting conditions. The report contains descriptions of experimental designs and procedures, data, observation, preliminary analyses, and future work. Knowledge of unsaturated transport properties is critical for understanding the movement of water through the unsaturated zone. Evaluation of the performance of a potential nuclear waste repository also depends on these properties. Moisture retention data are important input of numerical models of moisture movement in unsaturated porous media. Also important is the effect of sample history on the moisture retention curves, and whether or not there is significant hysteresis between wetting and drying measurements. This report addresses initial observations regarding this aspect of the research