Fiberglass Encasement Method for Undisturbed Soil Cores

An improved method for collecting intact cylindrical soil cores is presented. A soil cylinder was carved in a soil pit using a steel chimney flange to aid in the formation of a straight and uniform core. The cylinder sides were encased in fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin. The ends of the soil core were coated with liquid rubber latex. The latex can be easily removed later with minimal soil disturbance. The technique was used to prepare soil cores of 15-cm diam. And up to 1 m in length. The encasement material is lightweight, strong, and waterproof. Fittings for flow-measuring equipment can be easily attached to the resulting core. Soil cylinders encased by this method are well suited for saturated and unsaturated laboratory investigations.