A Simple Device for Field and Laboratory Measurements of Soil Air Permeability

Abstract

Core Ideas A simple portable device to measure air permeability in the laboratory and field is designed and developed. The device measures air permeability values across a large range from approximately 0.1 to 500 μm2. The cost of design and maintenance is economical. We designed a simple, robust, accurate and portable air permeameter to measure soil air permeability, Ka, in the laboratory and in the field. The permeameter uses a hand‐made manometer, a graded cylinder to measure air discharge volume and a soil sampler. The device allows the measurement of Ka at several levels of pressure difference, subjected to a laminar air flow regime. To confirm the laminar flow regime and to examine applicability of the device, we measured air permeabilities in laboratory conditions and in situ along a hillslope at a wide range of soil air contents under different pressure gradients. The results confirm that the developed cost efficient and robust device yields reliable measurements of Ka in the laboratory and in the field.