Author(s)

S. Yannopoulos & E. Sidiropoulos

Abstract

Hydraulic conductivity prediction models, as employed in unsaturated flow simulations S. Yannopoulos, E. Sidiropoulos Faculty of Engineering, Aristotelian University, 540-06 Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece Abstract In order to simulate unsaturated flow it is necessary to know: (a) the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity K as a function of the soil water pressure head h or of the water content 6 and (b) the soil moisture retention curve 6(h). For this purpose hydraulic conductivity models have been developed for the prediction of K(6 ) on the basis of 6(h). The analy- tical expression of the d(h) curve contains fitting parameters, as well as the so-called residual and saturated water contents, denoted as Qj. and 6$ respectively. Van Genuchten' s two- and three-parameter closed form analytical models are widely used both for 6(h) and for the prediction of K(d). Another hydraulic conductivity prediction model was formulated by Jackson in the past, but it is presently not prefer

Keywords