On the drying characteristics of soil column in a microwave oven

Marine clay, decomposed granite soil and standard sand were used in this experiment. Fourlayered soil colmn (4.7cm in diameter, 1.6cm in height) was uniformly compacted with each sample soil of various water contents. The dry density of compacted soil column was first examined by control chart. Next, the drying process of each layer of soil specimen was compared between both drying methods. And also, Naclsolution of just the same water content as the drying test was added to each sample and the concentration change of Na ion of each layer, which was caused by the drying, was measured. As a result, the dry density and water content of the compacted soil column lie between the upper control limit and the lower control limit. The drying process of soil column specimen in a microwave oven is shown due to the modelling of dielectric constant of a complex consistently. And also, it is shown that the difference in both drying methods is due to the water movement form, that is to say, the vapor movement is dominant in a microwave oven