Sand samples’ preparation using mobile pluviator

Abstract

It is important to have a good estimation of soil properties in the laboratory when simulation of natural soil condition is required, especially if the soil profile is subjected to static and dynamic loadings. Soil configuration is one of the most important parameters to maintain when preparing soil samples in large area. In this study, the newly designed Mobile Pluviator adopted the air pluviation method for deposition of sand samples. The apparatus is operated based on the uniformity distribution of sand particles with the terminal velocity concept where a series of shutter porosities are chosen for different sizes of sand particles. The densities of the soil samples were determined based on the correlation between the falling height and the rate of soil discharge of the shutter. Using this apparatus, a wide range of Dr (relative density) ranging from 10 to 98 % can be achieved. The advantage of the Mobile Pluviator is that it can be moved to cover a wider area during the raining process and does not interfere with monitoring instrumentation.