• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.67-76
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• 2007

Raining method has been widely used for preparing sand specimen because of its ability to reconstitute the homogeneous specimen with desired relative density and its reliability established by the numerous experiments on diverse influential factors. In conventional raining methods, adjustment of relative density is achieved by controlling the shutter porosity and the whole system is required to be re-adjusted to achieve the target relative density when the granular characteristics are changed. It is also observed from conventional methods that certain degrees of spatial variation in density exist and the limited range of relative density is reproduced. In this paper, raining system with porous plate is proposed. It is shown that the wide range of relative density can be achieved by controlling failing height only. This enhanced system is able to obviate the subtle control of shutter porosity and minimize the effect of falling distance, which in turn ensures the homogeneity of the specimen, especially for low relative density.