Hydraulic properties estimated by numerical inversion of tension disc infiltrometer data and by laboratory methods

Abstract

Numerical inversion of cumulative infiltration data during transient water flow, complemented with initial (?i) and final water content data (?f) of the infiltration process, is a new tool to define soil water retention ? (h) and hydraulic conductivity K(h) curves and to estimate the unknown parameters in Mualem-Van Genuchten`s model (M-vG) of the unsaturated soil hydraulic properties. In 3 different soils in Alentejo, with coarse to medium texture, ?(h) e K(h) obtained from numerical inversion of tension infiltration data and from laboratory methods were compared. Field measurements were taken using a tension disc infiltrometer, with a diameter of 20 cm, with application of consecutive tensions of 0, 3, 6 and 15 cm, in a descendent sequence. ?i e ?f were determined by gravimetry. The laboratory methods used were suction tables with sand and kaolin, pressure plates and evaporation to measure hydraulic properties in undisturbed soil samples. ?(h) curves and respective parameters estimated by numerical inversion and from laboratory data reproduced closely, in such a way that determination coefficients (R²) were always above 0.9798 and regression coefficients (b) close to the bissectriz. K(h) curves showed more differences between both methods, with R² varying between 0.7772 and 0.9997 while b changed between 0.3865 and 3.6381.