What determine infiltration

Hydrology 2006 „ Gravity – capillary force

Lecture 12: Infiltration

EGS 295
Meng Zhou

Gravity

Pore size ~ resistance What control infiltration

a Gravity ~ Volume „ Texture: The type of soil (sandy, silty, clayey)
~ π×a2 × ∆H „ Crust
Capillary force ~ Area
„ Compaction
2π×a × ∆H
~ 2π
∆H
„ Aggregation and Structure
„ Water Content
Capillary 2π×a „ Frozen Surface
Gravity ~ 0.5 a-1 „ Organic Matter
Gravity π×a2
„ Pores

Vegetation and infiltration Impact cultivation

Good
„ Grass „ Increase macro features
„ Cultivation „ Increase pore sizes
Infiltration rate

Grass Bad
„ Increase in evaporation
Cultivated „ Destroy roots
„ Compaction

Time (~60 min)

1
Measuring infiltration rate Measuring infiltration
„ Double ring infiltrometer
t1
Infiltration rate = ∆H/∆t ∆H/∆t
t2

Tension infiltrometer Measuring infiltration

„ Double ring infiltrometer
Infiltration rate

Constant rate

60 120
Time(min)

2
 Measuring infiltration rates Measuring infiltration rates
Time (min) Height (in) Time (min) Height (in)
0 0 0 0 4

5 1.00 0 5 1.00
10 1.51 3
10 1.51
0.5

Height (inch)
15 1.82
15 1.82
1.0 20 1.99 2
20 1.99
25 2.11
25 2.11 1.5 30 2.14 1
30 2.14
2.0 35 2.20
35 2.20 40 2.25 0
40 2.25 2.5 45 2.30 0 20 40 60 80 100
45 2.30 50 2.34 Time (min)
3.0
50 2.34 55 2.41
55 2.41 60 2.45
60 2.45

Measuring infiltration rates

Horton’s Infiltration Concept
f(t) = Rate of water loss into soil
Time (min) Height (in) Rate
0 0
5 1.00 12
10 1.51 6.12 f = fc + (fo - fc) exp (-kt)
15 1.82 3.72 Infiltration rate = ∆H/∆t
20 1.99 2.04
fc = final rate value
25 2.11 1.44
fo = initial rate value
30 2.14 0.36
35 2.20 0.72 k = decay rate
40 2.25 0.6
45 2.30 0.6
50 2.34 0.48
55 2.41 0.84
60 2.45 0.6 Bedient,
Bedient, Rice University

Horizontal zones

evapotranspiration
Lecture 13: Soil Water
Root zone
Intermediate zone Infiltration
Tension and saturation zone Clay ~ meters
Sands ~ 0
Groundwater zone

3
 Soil as a porous medium Forms of Soil Water Storage
Pore: small opening or passageway 1) Chemical water: An An integral part of the
molecular structure of soil minerals. It can be
„ Interconnected pores - soil held tightly by electrostatic forces to the surfaces
of clay crystals and other minerals and is
store water unavailable to plants.
transmitting water
2) Pore water: (available for plants)
„ Gravitational water is held in large soil pores
„ Non-
Non-connected pores and rapidly drains out in a day so.
„ Capillary water is held in pores that are small
store water enough to hold water against gravity, but not so
tightly that roots cannot absorb it.

Ideal proportions of soil pores, their Water holding capacity (mm/cm depth of soil)
size, function and formation

1 cm
? mm

Porous Media
Measuring the soil water holding capacity
Air or gravity water Vg
Capillary/absorbed Vc

Solids (racks, sands) Vs

_
= Water weight
Total volume: V= Vg+Vc+Vs
Volume of pores: Vp= Vg+Vc
Porosity: p = Vp / V Soil with Dried in
pore water oven
Field capacity: f = Vc / V (specific retention)
Specific yield: y = Vg / V

4
 Water holding capacity (mm/cm depth of soil)
Gravimetric water content
_

X100 = Water content

(% of weight)
% of volume ?

Specific weight of water =1 g cm-3

Force against the gravity

„ Capillary force
„ Osmotic force
Tension in N m-2
Similar to the unit of pressure
Pressure
Attraction

Vacuum meter

Capillary tension
Water

Gravity

Ceramic cup

5

Dry: high tension, high vacuum
Wet: low tension, low vacuum
Neutron probe
Source of fast neutrons:
americium-241 and
beryllium.
The alpha particles
emitted by the decay of
the americium collide
with the light beryllium
nuclei, producing fast
neutrons.
Soil Moisture =
Count x Slope + Intercept
Neutron detector:
Boron tri-fluoride or
helium-3 gas
emitting photons
„ Homework (March 9, 2006)
1. Table 1 lists the data collected during an infiltration
test using a single ring infiltrometer.
infiltrometer. The first
column is time and the second column is the amount
of water added to the ring. The diameter of the ring
was 40 cm.
1) Estimate infiltration capacity (mm/hr) corresponding
to each time interval. The infiltration capacity is
given by:
Infiltration capacity =
volume of water / (area of the ring × time interval)
2) Plot a graph of infiltration capacity against time.
2. Page 107: 4, 9, 10