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An extension of water retention and conductivity functions to dryness
Author(s) -
Inforsato Leonardo,
Lier Quirijn,
Pinheiro Everton Alves Rodrigues
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.1002/saj2.20014
Subject(s) - hydraulic conductivity , soil water , dryness , residual , reliability (semiconductor) , piecewise , pressure head , richards equation , water retention , mathematics , nonlinear system , range (aeronautics) , flow (mathematics) , conductivity , soil science , water flow , environmental science , thermodynamics , mathematical analysis , materials science , geometry , physics , algorithm , medicine , power (physics) , surgery , quantum mechanics , composite material
Water retention (WR) and hydraulic conductivity (HC) are essential properties to predict water flow in soils. Commonly, these soil physical properties are represented by equations relating pressure head, soil water content, and hydraulic conductivity. The commonly used empirical equations used for this purpose have a limited range of reliability, not functioning properly in the very dry range. An approach to extend the reliability and applicability of these models has been p hed piecewise equations added to the base model and implying in changes in the base model paramete. We propose a modification of the model commonly known as Peters‐Durner‐Iden (PDI), extending the reliability of most common base models without the need to change the original parameters. The transformation is analytically equivalent, interchangeable and allows to anchor the retention function at any point instead of the residual water content. The Van Genuchten, Kosugi, Brooks‐Corey and Groenevelt equations can easily be combined to the proposed model, which may be used to predict water flow in the dry range where the commonly used equations are not reliable.