Abstract
Precise estimation of unsaturated hydraulic properties of porous media is indispensable in various study areas, such as analyzing the moisture flow, the drying process occurring from the surface, and the pollutant migration beneath the ground surface. Although many empirical/theoretical models describing the unsaturated hydraulic properties have been proposed by several previous researchers, the best model for the different types of soil/rock may not be identical. Thus, the model selection process and the estimation technique of the parameters included in the models should be developed. In the present study, the inverse technique based on the transient evaporation change was investigated to select the model and estimate the model parameters. The experimental work was based on a relatively low permeable soft rock and a relatively high permeable sandy soil (Toyoura standard sand). Experimental equipment was developed to precisely measure the evaporation rate for the high permeable sandy soil. The Genetic Algorithm (GA) was adopted in the inverse technique as an optimization tool. In order to simplify the problem, only the drying process from the saturated condition was considered. It was established that the information concerning the transient evaporation change could be used for the model selection and parameter estimation. Further, the saturation distribution could be used for the selection of the models. The present study provides important information for the development of the model selection process.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ali AM, Watanabe K, Kurokawa U (1997) Simple method for determining the bare soil resistance to evaporation. J Groundw Hydrol 44:97–113
Ali AM, Ozaki T, Hashem M, Watanabe K (2000) New method for determining hydraulic properties of unsaturated soil using evaporation data. Annu J Hydraul Eng Japan Soc Civil Eng 44:205–210
Brook RH, Corey AT (1964) Hydraulic properties of porous media. Civil Eng Dept, Colorado State Univ, Fort Collins. Hydrology paper no 3
Bruce RR, Klute K (1956) The measurement of soil water diffusivity. Soil Sci Am Proc 20:458–462
Brutsaert W (1982) Evaporation into the atmosphere. Kluwer Academic Publisher, The Netherlands
Campbell GS (1974) A simple method for determining unsaturated conductivity from the moisture retention data. Soil Sci 117(6):311–314
Campbell GS (1985) Soil physics with BASIC: transport models for soil-plant systems. Elsevier, The Netherlands
Dirksen C (2000) Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. In: Smith KA, Mullins CE (eds) Soil and environment analysis. Physical methods, 2nd edn. Marcel Dekker, New York, Basel, pp 183–238
Eching SO, Hopmans JW (1993) Optimization of hydraulic functions from transient outflow and soil water pressure data. Soil Sci Soc Am J 57:1167–1175
Eching SO, Hopmans JW, Wendroth O (1994) Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity from transient multistep outflow and soil water pressure data. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58:687–695
Fetter CW (1994) Applied hydrogeology. MacMillan College Publishing Company, New York
Fujimaki H, Inoue M (2003) A transient evaporation method for determining soil hydraulic properties at low pressure. Vadose Zone J 2:400–408
Gardner WR, Miklich FJ (1962) Unsaturated conductivity and diffusivity measurements by a constant flux method. Soil Sci 93:271–274
Goldberg DE (1989) Genetic algorithm in search, optimization and machine learning, 2nd edn. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA
Gregson K, Hector DJ, McGowan M (1987) A one-parameter model for the soil-water characteristic. Soil Sci 38:483–486
Gwo J (2001) In search of preferential flow paths in structured porous media using a simple genetic algorithm. Water Resour Res 37:1589–1601
Halbertsma J (1996) Winds evaporation method, determination of the water retention characteristic and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of soil samples: possibilities, advantages and disadvantages. In: Durner W, Halbertsma J, Cislerova M (eds) European workshop on advanced methods to determine hydraulic properties of soils. Thurnau. Dept Hydrol, Univ. Bayreuth, pp 55–58
Harroini KEl, Ouazar D, Walters GA, Cheng AHD (1996) Groundwater optimization and parameter estimation by genetic algorithm and duel reciprocity boundary element method. Eng Anal Boundary Elements 18:287–296
Holland JH (1975) Adaptation in natural and artificial systems: An introductory analysis with application to biology, control and artificial intelligence. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI
Ines AVM, Droogers P (2002) Inverse modeling in estimating soil hydraulic functions: a Genetic algorithm approach. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 6(1):49–65
Jury W, Horton R (2004) Soil physics. John Wiley and Sons Inc, New Jersey
Karpouzos DK, Delay F, Katsifarakis KL, De Marsily GA (2001) Multipopulation genetic algorithm to solve inverse problem in hydrogeology. Water Resour Res 37:2291–2302
Klute A, Dirksen C (1986) Conductivities and diffusivities of unsaturated soils. In: Klute A (ed) Methods of soil analysis Part 1, 2nd edn. Monogr 9 Soil Science Society of America. Madison, WI, pp 687–734
Kool JB, Parker JC, van Genuchten MTh (1985) Determining soil hydraulic properties from one-step outflow experiments by parameter estimation: I Theory and numerical studies. Soil Sci Soc Am J 49:1348–1354
Kosugi K (1994) Three parameter lognormal distribution model for soil water retention. Water Resour Res 30:891–901
Maung MM, Watanabe K, Sasaki T, Osada M (2008) Combination of genetic algorithm and inverse solution technique for estimating the hydraulic properties of unsaturated soft rock. J Jpn Soc Eng Geol 49(2):64–77
Minasny B, Field DJ (2005) Estimating soil hydraulic properties and their uncertainty: the use of stochastic simulation in the inverse modeling of the evaporation method. Geoderma 126:277–290. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2004.09.015
Nimmo JR (1991) Comment on the treatment of residual water content in “A consistent set of parametric models for the two-phase flow of immiscible fluids in the subsurface” by L. Luckner et al. Water Resour Res 27:661–662
Porebska D, Slawinski C, Lamorski K, Walczak RT (2006) Relationship between van Genuchten’s parameters of the retention curve equation and physical properties of soil solid phase. Int Agrophys 20:153–159
Ritter A, Hupet F, Muňoz-Carpena R, Lambot S, Vanclooster M (2003) Using inverse methods for estimating soil hydraulic properties from field data as an alternative to direct methods. Agric Water Manag 59:77–96
Romano N, Santini A (1999) Determining soil hydraulic functions from evaporation experiments by a parameter estimation approach: experimental verifications and numerical studies. Water Resour Res 35(11):3343–3359
Rossi C, Nimmo JR (1994) Modeling of soil water retention from saturation to oven dryness. Water Resour Res 30:701–708
Russo D (1988) Determining soil hydraulic properties by parameter estimation: on the selection of a model for the hydraulic properties. Water Resour Res 24:453–459
Schaap MG, Leij F (2000) Improved prediction of unsaturated conductivity with the Mualem-van Genuchten model. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:843–851
Schaap MG, van Genuchten MTh (2006) A modified Mualem-van Genuchten formulation for improved description of the hydraulic conductivity near saturation. Vadose zone J 5:27–34
Šimůnek J, Wendroth O, van Genuchten MTh (1998) Parameter estimation analysis of the evaporation method for determining soil hydraulic properties. Soil Sci Soc Am J 62:894–905
Unsal E, Dane JH, Dozier GV (2005) A genetic algorithm for predicting pore geometry based on air permeability measurements. Vadose Zone J 4:389–397. doi:10.2136/vzj2004.0116
van Dam JC, Stricker JNM, Droogers P (1990) From one-step to multistep determination of soil hydraulic functions by outflow experiments. Department of Hydrol, Soil physics, and hydraulic report, Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
van Genuchten MTh (1980) A closed form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 44:892–898
van Genuchten MTh, Leij FJ, Yates SR (1991) The RETC code for quantifying the hydraulic functions of unsaturated soils. USDA, US Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, CA, EPA Research document EPA/600/2-91/065
Vanapalli SK, Sillers WS, Fredlund MD (1998) The meaning and relevance of residual state to unsaturated soils. In: 51st Canadian geotechnical conference, Edmonton, Alberta, pp 101–108
Watanabe K, Hamada S, Sakai T, Hoshino Y (1995) In situ and laboratory tests for estimating the hydraulic properties of unsaturated rock. Proc Int Cong Rock Mech Japan 2:725–728
Young MH, Karagunduz J, Šimůnek J (2002) A modified upward infiltration method for characterizing soil hydraulic properties. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66:57–64
Zarei G, Homaee M, Liaghat AM, Hoorfar AH (2010) A model for soil surface evaporation based on Campbell’s retention curve. J Hydrol 380:356–361
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Amarasinghe, S.R., Watanabe, K. & Ishiyama, K. Study on the selection of unsaturated flow model for the different types of soil and soft rock. Environ Earth Sci 64, 1795–1805 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-0982-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-0982-3