Laboratory Testing of Capillary Rise in Fine-Grained Sands and Silts

Authors

Rachel Salim, Western Michigan UniversityFollow

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Duane Hampton

Department

Geosciences

Presentation Date

4-20-2012

Document Type

Poster

Abstract

Data for the height of capillary rise in fine-grained sands, silts, and clays is inconclusive. The literature gives a wide range of values and equations. Once source (Applied Hydrogeology, 3rd ed., C.W. Fetter, p. 182) claimed that the height of capillary rise varies from 100 cm in fine-grained sand up to 750 cm in fine silt. We found these numbers unbelievable, and asked the late C.W. Fetter to put better numbers in his 4th ed. Instead, he deleted the table in the 4th ed. The equation which generated his numbers was used by Adamski et al. (2005)* to explain free product accumulations of up to 520 cm in wells.

Our goal was to measure capillary rise in fine sediments and use our data to identify believable equations and values in the literature for sands, silts and clays.

Comments

One of the winners of 2012 Research and Creative Activities Poster Day.

WMU ScholarWorks Citation

Salim, Rachel, "Laboratory Testing of Capillary Rise in Fine-Grained Sands and Silts" (2012). Research and Creative Activities Poster Day. 8.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/grad_research_posters/8