Laboratory measurement of fine-grained soil fluid conductivity

Advective fluid flow, which depends directly on hydraulic conductivity, controls contaminant migration through soils in many cases. The state of practice in laboratory measurements of hydraulic conductivity of soils was reviewed and found to be extremely variable, with the result that measurements on a given soil material often give variations of several orders of magnitude. An experimental program was completed using compacted clay soils to study several facets of laboratory testing practice, and a suitable test procedure for consistent results was developed. Recommendations on several important aspects of procedure are presented.