The objective of this research is to determine leachate dispersion rates through soils using fiber optics. Various fiber optic chemical sensors will be embedded into saturated sand samples which are placed into a modified laboratory permeameter to determine if fiber optics sensors can be used to measure the dispersion rate of a saltwater leachate. If test proves successful it will be a quick and relatively inexpensive procedure available for measuring dispersion rates in soils. The dispersion rate is used in many transit time prediction models to determine the time for leachate to permeate through clay liners and to estimate the thickness of a clay liner in applications such as solid waste landfills.
