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Figure 137. An "H-frame" hydraulic press with small compression chamber (wrapped in a black electric heat jacket) in place beneath a ram (hydraulic piston) was one of the types of presses used in compaction experiments (from Shinn and Robbin, 1983). With a small chamber, pressures as high as 3,060 kg/cm² (43,476 psi) were easily obtainable (43,476 psi is approximately equal to 15,000 m, or 43,476 ft of overburden). A string attached a clock-driven drum with ink stylus mounted on top of the frame (out of view) to the ram to make a continuous compaction record. A centimeter ruler was also attached vertically at the right of compaction chamber and was read by a stylus attached to the ram. psi = pounds per square inch.

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Coastal & Marine Geology Program > Center for Coastal & Watershed Studies > Professional Paper 1751