PVC meter (to measure potential volume change)


Soils with expansive characteristics must be recognized in order to
evaluate properly their stability as foundation material. The maximum
potential volume change that a soil can undergo due to shrinking
or swelling is known as Potential Volume Change or PVC. PVC cannot
always be determined accurately by visual inspection. For this
reason, a relatively simple device was needed which could be used by
soil engineers as well as others less familiar with soil problems
to provide quick identification of expansive soils. Therefore, the
Federal Housing Administration, through its Technical Studies Program,
contracted with Dr. T. William Lambe of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology to design such an instrument. This guide presents a
simplified explanation of the instrument, which is known as the FHA
Soil PVC Meter.
http://www.hudclips.org/sub_nonhud/cgi/nph-brs.cgi?d=HSGH&s1...

Relationship of Map Unit Variability to Shrink-Swell Indicators ...Swell index is a quantitative measurement of shrink–swell potential via PVC meter (Lambe, 1960) and was used extensively by the Federal Housing ...

Lambe, TW (1960). “The character and identification of expansive soils: Soil PVC meter.” FHA 701, Technical Studies Program, Washington, DC, Federal Housing ...
link.aip.org/link/?JMCEE7/14/447/1 -