Lysimeter Plant
Measurement of seepage processes under reproducible, realistic and timely conditions on a section of slope.
For road construction engineers, the existing knowledge about water in the earthwork is sufficient for the assessment of the serviceability. However, for the hydrogeological assessment of seepage with regard to soil and groundwater protection, the current state of knowledge still needs to be optimized.
Within the scope of the previous investigations of the BASt, different building materials in combination with different technical safety measures were investigated. This allowed a comparison of which combinations are most suitable for the reduction of leachate quantities. In addition, the results of the investigations have already been reproduced in hydrological models.
Concept
With the lysimeter plant, the possibility is created to investigate the structure of a road embankment at a section with regard to seepage.
Principle of the lysimeter plant
Can be varied:
- the structure of the embankment,
- the built-in building materials,
- the rain events, which are defined by quantity and time,
- the applied negative pressure with which the connection to the existing soil is simulated on the slope floor via suction plates.
Ae measurable:
- the amount of seepage water and the distribution at the slope bottom,
- the amount of surface runoff including interflow,
- the weight changes of the slope section during the investigations,
- contents of the leachate via sampling.
Lysimeter plant with quantity recording
Goals
The system can be used to investigate various questions concerning the infiltration of slopes. In this way, reliable data bases can be created which can be used, for example, in hydrogeological modelling. For the use of recycled construction materials, industrial by-products or soil material, possible hazards to soil and groundwater can be better estimated by means of reliable and realistic data.
Special consultant: Tanja Marks