Abstract
Steady-state and transient one-dimensional unsaturated flow in vertically stratified porous media are examined. Saturated hydraulic conductivity and the alpha parameter of the exponential hydraulic conductivity function were assumed to vary from soil layer to soil layer. The use of effective unsaturated hydraulic conductivity to compute matric potential in the soil profile is demonstrated. Results indicate that soils with vertical variation in these hydraulic parameters can be represented by a single effective parameter set. The harmonic mean of the set of hydraulic parameters for each of the soil layers produces accurate results when used as an effective parameter for unsaturated transient flow with layering perpendicular to the direction of flow. A direct relation for calculating specific moisture capacity based on hydraulic and moisture characteristics of the soil is also presented.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2035-2040 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| State | Published - Nov 1989 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)