Accurate testing and measurement of mechanical and hydraulic properties of saturated and unsaturated soils is vital for various projects. These projects can include various geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering projects, such as evaluating a stability of natural slopes, designing a pavement or a foundation needed, determining a behavior of earth structures, investigating the effectiveness of landfill covers and creating new land through land reclamation. These projects require an accurate testing and measurement of four vital soil properties: shear strength, stress-dependent soil-water characteristic curve (illustrating the water retention capability of an unsaturated soil at a given suction), consolidation, and volume change (e.g., swelling and shrinkage).
No testing apparatus exists that can test the four vital soil properties in a single sample at suctions ranging from 0 to 1,000 MPa. Instead, separate testing apparatuses exist that all require a different soil specimen. Accordingly, to obtain the required four vital soil properties, four different soil specimens must be tested. Due to natural variability and sample disturbance in different soil specimens, using four different soil samples is not reliable, and consistent results and parameters cannot be achieved. Additionally, the process of using four different samples and four test procedures is time consuming and uneconomical.
The above-described deficiencies of conventional sensing devices are merely intended to provide an overview of some of problems of current technology, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art and corresponding benefits of some of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.