Development of an Innovative Computer-Controlled Water Deairing System for Hydraulic Testing of Geosynthetics
Aydilek, AH
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Kutay, ME
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

(Received 4 January 2003; accepted 21 October 2003)

Abstract
Use of deaired water is essential in many hydraulic tests conducted on geosynthetics. This is because air bubbles present in tap water adversely affect the test results. Additionally, long-term flow should be maintained, which requires large quantities of deaired water. An innovative computer-controlled fully automated system was developed to provide this continuous supply of deaired water and the approach is presented in this paper. The system is composed of two water deairing tanks and a control unit (hardware and software). These units were constructed to take advantage of the most recent technology available in the area of instrumentation. The efficiency of the system was checked through gradient ratio tests conducted on various soil/geotextile combinations.

Keywords:
automation, geosynthetics, hydraulic testing, long-term flow testing, water, water deairing system

Paper ID: JTE11852
DOI: 10.1520/JTE11852

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Author Aydilek, AH Affiliation Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Author Kutay, ME Affiliation Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD Author Aydilek AH, Kutay ME Title Development of an Innovative Computer-Controlled Water Deairing System for Hydraulic Testing of Geosynthetics Symposium , Committee: on