Evaluation of a thermal criterion for an engineered barrier system

A method to determine the liquid permeability of an unsaturated porous media is proposed. It is based on an analytical solution and on an experimental survey of the transient phase of desorption. This method has been applied to the compacted FoCa clay, at 20 °C. It is easy to implement and efficient. The permeability of FoCa clay has been determined for a large range of suctions.