Soil Hydraulic Models Selection Based on In-Situ Measurements
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 124, Issue 6
Abstract
Soil hydraulic properties are usually expressed as functional relationships between the soil hydraulic conductivity and water content or matric potential, and between the matric potential and water content. Both functions are highly nonlinear, and direct in-situ measurements are time consuming and involve considerable uncertainty. Therefore, methods based on soil hydraulic models, i.e., functions chosen a priori and containing parameters estimated from measurements, are of interest. The most widely used models are those of Gardner in 1958, Russo in 1988, Brooks and Corey in 1964, and van Genuchten in 1980. For such models, an equation is derived that relates the developed expression for the first moment, M, of the diffusivity function with a combination of measured parameters: saturated hydraulic conductivity, capillary length, saturation and residual water content, and soil sorptivity. The M expressions are derived for the three models in the form of explicit functions of their parameters. Three overlapping M ranges are determined where the selection of a respective model is preferable.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 124 • Issue 6 • November 1998
Pages: 285 - 289
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Nov 1, 1998
Published in print: Nov 1998
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