Flexible Wall Permeameter Hydraulic Conductivity Test Methods for Saturated Porous Materials (ASTM International)

Procedures for Measuring Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Porous Materials Using a Flexible Wall Permeameter

• Water flow: These methods cover one-dimensional, laminar water flow within porous materials like soil and rock
• Air impact: Hydraulic conductivity decreases with increasing air in pores; these methods apply to water-saturated materials with virtually no air
• Liquid permeation: These methods apply to water permeation, but other liquids can be used with similar procedures, provided water is the permeant liquid
• Darcy's law: This law is assumed valid, with hydraulic conductivity unaffected by hydraulic gradient
• Effective stress control: These methods allow determining hydraulic conductivity at controlled effective stress levels
• Field correlation: Results' correlation with in-place field materials' hydraulic conductivities is not fully investigated
• High swell materials: For constant-volume hydraulic systems, effective confining stress should be about 1.5 times the swell pressure or prevent swelling
• Result quality: Result quality depends on personnel competence and equipment/facility suitability