Patent ID: 6938503

Claim:
A suction lysimeter for sampling subsurface liquids, comprising: a lysimeter casing having a drive portion, a reservoir portion, and a tip portion, the tip portion including a porous stainless steel membrane through which subsurface liquids may be sampled, the porous stainless steel membrane having pore openings no greater than 1 micron in size, the tip portion further including a tip member, and a nose portion having an outer cylindrical surface, and having an enlarged diameter portion defining an abutment surface, the membrane having an inner cylindrical surface slidingly received on the outer cylindrical nose portion, the membrane having a first end that abuts the abutment surface and having a second end, the tip member being directly secured to the nose portion and including an abutment surface that abuts the second end of the membrane, such that the membrane is held floating between the tip member and the enlarged diameter portion of the nose portion, the membrane having a length, and the nose portion having a length longer than the length of the membrane, wherein loads applied to the tip member are substantially transferred to the nose portion but not to the membrane; a fluid conduit coupled in fluid flowing relation relative to the membrane, and which in operation facilitates the delivery of the sampled subsurface liquids from the membrane to the reservoir portion; and a plurality of tubes coupled in fluid flowing relation relative to the reservoir portion, the tubes in operation facilitating delivery of the sampled subsurface liquids from the reservoir portion for testing.