Record Details
Pore size distributions as measured by the mercury intrusion method and their use in predicting permeability
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Pore size distributions as measured by the mercury intrusion method and their use in predicting permeability |
| Names |
Klock, Glen O.
(creator) Boersma, Larry (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1967-12-07 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1968 |
| Abstract | A number of investigators have proposed equations to predict the permeability of porous media. Most of their equations are based on the distributions of the sizes of the various contributing pores in the medium. Presently the pore size distributions of agricultural soils are most commonly obtained from soil water release curves. The pressure scale is converted into an equivalent pore diameter scale by means of the pressure of displacement equation. This method is time consuming. The study reported in this thesis was initiated to (1) use a mercury intrusion method to obtain pore size distributions of porous materials similar to agricultural soils, (2) use the pore size distributions thus obtained with existing equations to calculate intrinsic permeability and (3) compare the calculated permeability values with measured values for a range of particle size distributions. The permeabilities and the pore size distributions of 54 systematically selected particle size classes of glass beads and crushed quartz sand were measured. The particle size classes ranged from 44 to 246 microns in diameter. The pore size distributions were evaluated and used in Marshall's proposed permeability prediction equation. The measured permeabilities did not agree with the calculated values until a correction factor which is a function of the pore diameter was used. It is apparent that the pressure of displacement equation measures only an effective pore dimension. Permeability prediction equations require the evaluation of an effective hydraulic dimension. These two dimensions are different and are influenced by the geometry of the pore aperture. A necessary correction factor has been developed which accounts for the difference between the measured and hydraulic dimension when the mercury intrusion technique is used to measure pore size distributions. The results of this study have improved and given a better theoretical basis for permeability predictions equations. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Soil permeability |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/46700 |
