Premium
A Test of the Uniqueness of the Soil Moisture Characteristic During Transient, Nonhysteretic Flow of Water in a Rigid Soil
Author(s) -
Smiles D. E.,
Vachaud Georges,
Vauclin Michel
Publication year - 1971
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 - 10.2136/sssaj1971.03615995003500040018x
Subject(s) - water content , water retention curve , desorption , soil science , transient (computer programming) , water flow , mechanics , soil water , transient flow , porous medium , environmental science , materials science , geotechnical engineering , porosity , hydraulic conductivity , chemistry , steady state (chemistry) , geology , physics , adsorption , organic chemistry , computer science , operating system
Quick response water potential and nondestructive water content measurements indicate that during transient, nonhysteretic flow of water following a rapid change of water content at one end of a horizontal column of soil, the soil moisture characteristic curve is a unique function during sorption from a particular initial water content, but during desorption there is a multiplicity of curves. These transient curves depend on the magnitude of the imposed water content change and also on the speed with which static equilibrium is achieved after the change. The consequences of this behavior are discussed in terms of diffusion theory, and it is concluded that it would be unwise to apply this theory to desorption situations until the quantitative significance of this behavior is determined for other materials.