ABSTRACT

The laboratory tension or disk infiltrometer method is used primarily to measure

‘‘near-saturated’’ sorptivity, S(c) [LT1=2], and hydraulic conductivity, K(c) [LT1], in the laboratory on undisturbed (intact) cores retrieved from the field. It is also usable,

however, for the determination of near-saturated desorption or imbibition curves,

u(c) [L3L3], sorptive number, a*(c) [L1], flow-weighted mean pore diameter, PD(c) [L], and the number of flow-weighted mean pores per unit area, NP(c) [L2] (see Chapter 69 for details). By near-saturated, we mean measurements at pore water matric heads (c) in the range 100 mm c 0 (Ward and Hayes 1991).