Advances in volume measurement in unsaturated triaxial tests

In unsaturated soil mechanics testing, total volume change of the specimen is related to both water and air volume changes and cannot be measured with the same techniques as in conventional saturated soil mechanics. Over the years, several methods have been developed with various degrees of accuracy and complexity. The intention of this paper is to describe some of the problems involved with volume measurement in unsaturated triaxial tests, together with the apparatus and techniques developed to solve these problems.