A Conceptual Model of Unstable Flow in Unsaturated Soil during Redistribution

A conceptual model is presented that represents the development of unstable flow in uniform soils during redistribution. The flow instability results in the propagation of fingers that drain water from the wetted soil matrix until equilibrium is reached. The model uses soil retention and hydraulic functions, plus relationships describing finger size and spatial frequency. The model assumes that all soils are unstable during redistribution, but shows that only coarse‐textured soils will form fingers capable of moving appreciable distances. Once it forms, a finger moves downward at a rate governed by the rate of loss of water from the soil matrix, which can be predicted from the hydraulic conductivity function. Fingers are assumed to stay narrow as a result of hysteresis, which prevents lateral diffusion. The draining front in the soil matrix between the fingers is assumed to cease downward movement because water pressure drops below the threshold water‐entry matric potential. The threshold potential is not present in the conventional Richards equation of soil water flow, which explains why unstable flow is not predicted by widely used simulation model codes.