Porosity

Question 1

Describe the procedure for measuring the porosity of a soil sample

Answer 1

Fill one beaker, up to the 200 ml mark, with dry soil or sand sample. Place it on a
table or flat workspace.
2. Fill the other beaker, up to the 200 ml mark, with water.
3. Slowly pour the water from the second beaker into the soil sample. Stop pouring
when the water level reaches the top of the soil. The soil has reached saturation and
cannot hold any more water.
4. Read (measure) how much water is left in the second beaker (water beaker)? Say X
ml
5. Calculate how much water is now held in the pore spaces of the soil sample? (200‐X)
ml. The amount of water added to the soil sample is the pore space volume (Vv).
6. To determine the porosity of the sample: Porosity = 100*(200‐X)/200