Unsaturated Flow Functions for Filter Media Used in Low-Impact Development—Stormwater Management Systems
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYThis article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 1
Abstract
Moisture retention relationships for coarse, high-infiltration soils are difficult to empirically determine and estimate. Present day software models for stormwater management (SWM) that are used as sizing and performance prediction tools for filtration Low Impact Development-Stormwater Management (LID-SWM) systems typically assume that these systems function under saturated flow conditions. This directly impacts prediction of system drainage and hydrographs, as well as the estimates of physically-based water quality improvement. Yet real-time monitoring of these systems demonstrated that saturation of the filter media is rarely achieved. This article presents a framework for obtaining the moisture retention curves (MRC) and relative hydraulic conductivity function for engineered filter media and other hydraulic control soils used in four LID-SWM systems: pervious pavement, sand filter, subsurface gravel wetland, and bioretention. These functions needed in routing water through the filter media with unsaturated flow functions are developed from easily measurable soil properties like porosity and particle size distribution, and can be integrated in current available stormwater design software. The framework consists of a sequence of physically based equations: Arya-Paris for the function, Bower for gravel content adjustments along with an extension of the function proposed in this article, and Mualem for the function. This sequence is combined with the Van-Genuchten fitting equation for soils with irregular particle size distributions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This project was performed in partnership with the University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center (UNHSC). Funding was provided by the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Great Bay National Estuary Research Reserve (GBNERR).
References
Aad, M. P. A., Suidan, M. T., and Shuster, W. D. (2009). “Modeling techniques of best management practices: rain barrels and rain gardens using EPA SWMM-5.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 434–443.
Arya, L. M., Leij, F. J., van Genuchten, M. T., and Shouse, P. J. (1999). “Scaling parameter to predict the soil water characteristic from particle-size distribution data.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 63(3), 510–519.
Arya, L. M., and Paris, J. F. (1981). “A physicoempirical model to predict the soil moisture characteristic from particle-size distribution and bulk density data.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 45(6), 1023–1030.
ASTM. (2006). “Standard test method for permeability of granular soils (constant head).”, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2007). “Standard test method for particle-size analysis of soils.”, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2008). “Standard test methods for determination of the soil water characteristic curve for desorption using a hanging column, pressure head extractor, chilled mirror hygrometer, and/or centrifuge.”, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2009). “Standard test method for laboratory determination of density (unit weight) of soil specimens.”, West Conshohocken, PA.
Bagarello, V., and Iovino, M. (2007). “Comments on “Predicting the effect of rock fragments on saturated soil hydraulic conductivity.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 71(5), 1584.
Barbu, I. A. (2013). “Development of unsaturated flow functions for low impact development stormwater management systems filter media and flow routines for hydrological modeling of permeable pavement systems.” Doctoral dissertation, Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.
Baver, L. D., Gardner, W. H., and Gardner, W. R. (1972), Soil physics, Wiley, New York.
Braga, A., Horst, M., and Traver, R. G. (2007). “Temperature effects on the infiltration rate through an infiltration basin BMP.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 593–601.
Brooks, R. H., and Corey, A. T. (1966). “Properties of porous media affecting fluid flow.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 92, 61–88.
Bouwer, H., and Rice, R. C. (1984). “Hydraulic properties of stony vadose zones.” Groundwater, 22(6), 696–705.
Brakensiek, D. L., Rawls, W. J., and Stephenson, G. R. (1986). “Determining the saturated hydraulic conductivity of a soil containing rock fragments.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 50(3), 834–835.
Burdine, N. T. (1953). “Relative permeability calculations from pore size distribution data.” J. Pet. Technol., 5(3), 71–78.
Carpenter, D. D., and Hallam, L. (2009). “Influence of planting soil mix characteristics on bioretention cell design and performance.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 404–416.
Childs, E. C., and Collis-George, N. (1950). “The permeability of porous materials.” Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 201, 392–405.
Claytor, R. A., and Schueler, T. R. (1996). “Design of stormwater filtering systems.” Chesapeake Research Consortium.
Dane, J. H., and Topp, G. C. (2002). Methods of soil analysis. Part 4. Physical methods, SSSA Book Ser. 5 SSSA, Madison, WI.
Darcy, H. P. G. (1856). Public fountains of the city of Dijon, determination of laws of water flow through sand, Victor Dalmont, Paris, France.
Dussaillant, A. R., Cozzetto, K., Brander, K., and Potter, K. W. (2003). “Green-Ampt model of a rain garden and comparison to Richard’s equation model.” Sustainable planning and development, the sustainable world, WIT Press, Southampton, SO, U.K., 891–900.
Dussaillant, A. R., Wu, C. H., and Potter, K. W. (2004). “Richards equation model of a rain garden.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 219–225.
Elliott, A. H., and Trowsdale, S. A. (2007). “A review of models for low impact urban stormwater drainage.” Environ. Model. Softw., 22(3), 394–405.
Fredlund, M. D., Wilson, G. W., and Fredlund, D. G. (2002). “Use of the grain-size distribution for estimation of the soil-water characteristic curve.” Can. Geotech. J., 39(5), 1103–1117.
Gallage, C., and Uchimura, T. (2010). “Effects of dry density and grain size distribution on soil-water characteristic curves of sandy soils.” Soils Found., 50(1), 161–172.
Gardner, W. R. (1958). “Some steady-state solutions of the unsaturated moisture flow equation with application to evaporation from a water table.” Soil Sci., 85(4), 228–232.
Gribb, M. M., Forkutsa, I., Hansen, A., Chandler, D. G., and McNamara, J. P. (2009). “The effect of various soil hydraulic property estimates on soil moisture simulations.” Vadose Zone J., 8(2), 321–331.
Gupta, S. C., and Larson, W. E. (1982). “Modeling soil mechanical behavior during tillage.” Predicting tillage effects on soil physical properties and processes, (predictingtilla), 151–178.
Haverkamp, R., Zammit, C., Boubkraoui, F., Rajkai, K., Arrúe, J. L., and Heckmann, N. (1997). “GRIZZLY, Grenoble Soil Catalogue: Soil survey of field data and description of particle size, soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions.” Laboratoire d’Etude des Transferts en Hydrologie et Environnement (LTHE), Grenoble, France.
Haverkamp, R. T., and Parlange, J. Y. (1986). “Predicting the water-retention curve from particle-size distribution: 1. Sandy soils without organic matter1.” Soil Sci., 142(6), 325–339.
HydroCAD [computer software]. HydroCAD Software Solutions LLC, NH.
Jayasuriya, N., and Kadurupokune, N. (2008). “Impact of pervious pavements on drainage infrastructure.” Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Urban Drainage, Vol. (31), Edinburgh.
Karathanasis, A. D., and Hajek, B. F. (1982). “Quantitative evaluation of water adsorption on soil clays.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 46(6), 1321–1325.
Khaleel, R., and Relyea, J. F. (1997). “Correcting laboratory-measured moisture retention data for gravels.” Water Resour. Res., 33(8), 1875–1878.
Lane, K. S., Washburn, D. E., and Krynine, D. P. (1947). “Capillarity tests by capillarimeter and by soil filled tubes.” Proc., Highway Research Board, Vol. 26.
Marshall, T. J., and Holmes, J. W. (1979). Soil physics, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Milczarek, M. A., Zyl, D., Peng, S., and Rice, R. C. (2006). Saturated and unsaturated hydraulic properties characterization at mine facilities: Are we doing it right?, ASMR, Lexington, KY, 26–30.
Mualem, Y. (1976). “A new model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media.” Water Resour. Res., 12(3), 513–522.
Peck, A. J., and Watson, J. D. (1979). “Hydraulic conductivity and flow in non-uniform soil. In Workshop on soil physics and field heterogeneity.” CSIRO Division of Environmental Mechanics, Canberra, Australia.
Richards, L. A. (1931). “Capillary conduction of liquids through porous mediums.” Physics, 1(5), 318–333.
Roseen, R. M., Ballestero, T. P., Houle, J. J., Briggs, J. F., and Houle, K. M. (2012). “Water quality and hydrologic performance of a porous asphalt pavement as a storm-water treatment strategy in a cold climate.” J. Environ. Eng., 81–89.
Sauer, T. J., and Logsdon, S. D. (2002). “Hydraulic and physical properties of stony soils in a small watershed.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 66(6), 1947–1956.
Saxton, K. E., Rawls, W., Romberger, J. S., and Papendick, R. I. (1986). “Estimating generalized soil-water characteristics from texture.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 50(4), 1031–1036.
Stone, R. (2013). “Evaluation and optimization of the effectiveness of stormwater control measures for nitrogen and phosphorus removal.” M.S. thesis, Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.
StormCAD [computer software]. Storm Sewer Design and Modeling Software. Exton, PA.
SWMM [computer software]. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (2000). “Low impact development (LID)—A literature review.”, Washington, DC.
Univ. of New Hampshire Stormwater Center (UNHSC). (2009). “Bi-annual Report—2009.” Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.
Univ. of New Hampshire Stormwater Center (UNHSC). (2012). “Bi-annual Report—2012.” Durham, NH.
Univ. of New Hampshire Stormwater Center (UNHSC). (2014). “UNHSC design specifications for porous asphalt pavement and infiltration beds.” 〈http://www.unh.edu/unhsc/sites/unh.edu.unhsc/files/UNHSC%20PA%20Spec%20update-%20FEB-2014.pdf〉 (Apr. 4, 2014).
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (2013). “Detention/retention ponds—fact sheet.” 〈http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/menuofbmps/index.cfm〉 (Mar. 2013).
Van Genuchten, M. T. (1980). “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44(5), 892–898.
Van Genuchten, M. T., Leij, F. J., and Yates, S. R. (1991). “The RETC code for quantifying the hydraulic functions of unsaturated soils.” EPA, 2–91.
Vukovic, M., and Soro, A. (1992). Determination of hydraulic conductivity of porous media from grain-size composition, Water Resources Publications, Littleton, CO.
WINSLAM version 10 [computer software]. PV & Associates, LLC, Modesto, CA.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 1 • January 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 12, 2013
Accepted: Apr 17, 2014
Published online: Jun 24, 2014
Discussion open until: Nov 24, 2014
Published in print: Jan 1, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.