Physics of Porous Media Laboratory
Characteristics
Equipment:
Stand for testing porous media wettability
- Equipment for measuring dynamic contact angle (a computer, a thermal chamber, a Wilhelmy plate, a Du Nouy ring, a digital reader, software). The equipment allows to measure:
– porous media contact angle according to Washburn method and Wilhelmy plate (solids),
– surface tension of liquids using a Du Nouy ring and a Wilhelmy plate,
– components of surface energy (Fowkes method, Zisman method, Owen-Wendt method, van Oss method and Neumann method).
Stand for testing unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of soils using evaporation method
- Equipment for measuring unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of soils (field and laboratory probes for measuring humidity, temperature and suction pressure of soil water). The equipment allows to measure:
– unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of soils,
– retention curves of soils.
Stands for testing thermal properties of porous media
- Thermal properties sensors Hukseflux (probes, data loggers, readers and software). The equipment allows to measure:
– volumetric heat capacity,
– thermal conductivity and diffusivity of porous media.
Stand for testing water retention curves of soils
- Equipment for measuring water retention curves (pF) using Dutch method, which includes:
– dust block for determining pF characteristics in the range of 0,4 to 2.0,
– dust – kaolin block for determining pF characteristics in the range of 0,4 to 2.0,
– high pressure chamber fpr determining pF characteristics above 2.7.
- Equipment for measuring water retention curves (pF) using ceramic plates, low – pressure chamber and high – pressure chamber.
Stand for testing unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of soils using inverse analysis method
- Automatic system for measuring pF curves using inlet and outlet water pressure (measurement units, digital readers and software). The equipment allows to measure:
– hysteresis of the water retention curve,
– unsaturated water conductivity,
– retention curves of soils.
Other equipment
- Soil respiration measurement system LCPro.
- Automatic field system for measuring soil respiration.
- Soil collection kit Eijkelkamp.
- Laboratory dryers.
- Laboratory scales.
- Laboratory distiller.