Different approaches to estimate the suction head at the wet front in the green and ampt water infiltration equation

Abstract EN

This study was conducted to estimate the suction head at the wetting front τw in the Green and Ampt infiltration equation using uniformly packed soil columns of three different - textured soils.

Four different approaches were used for this estimation.

Cumulative depths of infiltration I along with the visual wet front advance Z was recorded with time t.

Soil water content profiles were also obtained by which the sharpness of the wet front was tested using an empirical model adopted from van Genuchten (1980) model for soil moisture-suction head relation.

The Green and Ampt equation did fit the infiltration data very well with significant correlation of its parameter K1 with the physical measure of saturated hydraulic conductivity Ks.

Four different methods were used to estimate τw: from fitting the Green and Ampt equation to infiltration data (I vs.

t), numerical integration using hydraulic conductivity as a function of suction head K(τ) in the basic definition equation of defining τw, numerical integration using conductivity as a function of volumetric water content K(θ), and from the soil sorptivity S evaluated from early time infiltration data using Philip one-term equation alons with Green and Ampt equation for horizontal infiltration.

No significant differences were found between these four methods in estimating τw at 0.01 level.

Significant differences, however, were found at the same level between the values of τw for the three soils as it was expected.