NUKLEONIKA 2006, 51(4):225-230

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCE OF A PRESSURE CHAMBER FOR WATER RETENTION CURVE DETERMINATION THROUGH TRADITIONAL AND NUCLEAR METHODS

Luiz F. Pires1,2, Osny O. S. Bacchi1

1 Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), The University of São Paulo, C. P. 96, C. E. P. 13.400-970, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
2 Federal Agrotechnical College of Inconfidentes (EAFI), C. E. P. 37.576-000, Inconfidentes, MG, Brazil

We present in this work a detailed design of a small low-pressure chamber outfitted with a ceramic porous plate for evaluating the soil water retention curve (SWRC) in the water potential range from 0 to -100 kPa. The chamber is made of acrylic and permits the use of one unique soil sample each time. The use of this chamber allows quick measurements of soil moisture using nuclear (based on gamma-ray attenuation) and conventional methods and SWRC determinations made with the designed chamber are in agreement with those obtained using a commercial low-pressure chamber. The chamber was designed especially for testing the use of the nuclear method as an auxiliary tool for SWRC determinations but it can be easily adapted for routine investigations and a practical alternative for the conventional SWRC method.