Evaluating dual porosity of pelletized diatomaceous earth using bimodal soil-water characteristic curve functions

Soil-water characteristic curve data for specimens containing either similar to1 mm or similar to2 mm diameter pellets of processed diatomaceous earth are measured using a variety of methods (Tempe cell, pressure plate, filter paper, and chilled-mirror psychrometer). The measured soil-water characteristic curve data are bimodal, reflecting both the microscopic porosity region within the individual pellets, or intrapellet porosity, and the macroscopic porosity region between the pellets, or interpellet porosity. The bimodal distributions are consistent with scanning electron micrographs that show the existence of microscopic pores within each pellet, and the relatively high total porosities (0.725 and 0.764) for the coarse-grained diatomaceous earth specimens. The measured soil-water characteristic curve data are fit with modified forms of the Brooks-Corey, van Genuchten, and Fredlund-Xing soil-water characteristic curve functions to account for the bimodal shapes of the measured data. The average microscopic porosities resulting from the curve fits represent 45.0 and 47.9% of the total porosities for the two diatomaceous earth materials. These percentages of microscopic pore space are consistent with the product literature value of approximately 50% for the same materials based on mercury intrusion porosimetry. Thus, the results illustrate the application of bimodal soil-water characteristic curve functions for determining the microscopic and macroscopic portions of the total porosity of dual-porosity media, such as pelletized diatomaceous earth.