INFILTRATION

PRESENTED BY
KARUNAKAR KEMA
Infiltration

 General
 Process of water penetrating 

from ground into soil Saturation Zone


Transition Zone
 Factors affecting
 Condition of soil surface, vegetative
cover, soil properties, hydraulic Transmission
conductivity, antecedent soil Zone
moisture
 Four zones Wetting Zone
 Saturated,transmission, wetting,
and wetting front Wetting Front

depth
Infiltration

 Infiltration rate f (t )
 Rate at which water enters the soil at the surface
(in/hr or cm/hr)
 Cumulative infiltration
 Accumulated depth of water infiltrating during
given time period
t
F (t )   f ( )d
0

dF (t )
f (t ) 
dt
Infiltrometers

Single Ring Double Ring

Infiltration Methods

 Horton and Phillips

 Infiltration models developed as approximate solutions of an exact theory
(Richard’s Equation)
 Green – Ampt
 Infiltration model developed from an approximate theory to an exact solution
 Hortonian Infiltration
   
 Recall Richard’s  D  K

t z  z 
Equation
  2 K
 Assume K and D are D 2 
t z z
constants, not a
function of  or z   2 0
D 2
t z
 Solve for moisture
diffusion at surface

f (t )  f c  ( f 0  f c )e kt

f0 initial infiltration rate, fc is constant rate and k is decay constant

Hortonian Infiltration
3.5

3 f0

2.5
Infiltration rate, f
k1
2
k1 < k2 < k3
1.5
k2

1
k3

0.5 fc

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Time
Philips Equation
 Recall Richard’s    
 D  K

Equation t z  z 
 Assume K and D are
functions of , not z
 Solution
 Two terms represent F (t )  St1/ 2  Kt
effects of
 Suction head 1 1/ 2
 Gravity head
f (t )  St  K
2
 S – Sorptivity
 Function of soil suction
potential
 Found from experiment
Green – Ampt Infiltration
L  Depth to Wetting Front h0
Ponded Water
 i  Initial Soil Moisture
Ground Surface

F (t )  L(   i )  L
Wetted Zone
L
dF dL
f   
dt dt
Wetting Front
h
q z  K f
z i 

h  z
n

f K K
z z Dry Soil
Green – Ampt Ground Surface


Infiltration (Cont.) Wetted Zone L


f K K
z Wetting Front

 Apply finite difference to the

i 
derivative, between

 Ground surface z  0,  0 z Dry Soil
 Wetting front z  L,   f

 f 0 f K K
  z
f K K K K K K
z z L0

F (t )  L
  f 
L
F f  K   1
  F 
 Green – Ampt Ground Surface


Infiltration (Cont.) Wetted Zone L

  f  dL

f  K  1 f   Wetting Front
 F  dt
i 
F (t )  L

dL  f 
  K   1
dt  L  z Dry Soil

K  f dL Evaluate the constant of integration

dt dL 
  f L L  0 @t  0
Integrate C   f ln( f )
K
t L  f ln( f  L)  C f
 Kt L   f ln( )
 f L
Green – Ampt Infiltration Ground Surface

(Cont.)
Wetted Zone L

f
Kt L   f ln( ) Wetting Front
 f L i 

F
F  Kt   f ln(1  ) z
 f Dry Soil

  f 
f  K   1 Nonlinear equation, requiring iterative solution.
 F 
Soil Parameters

 Green-Ampt model requires

 Hydraulicconductivity, Porosity, Wetting Front
Suction Head

 r
se  Effective saturation
e
Soil Class Porosity Effective Wetting Hydraulic
e  n  r Effective porosity Porosity Front Conductivity
Suction
Head
  (1  se ) e n e  K
(cm) (cm/h)
Sand 0.437 0.417 4.95 11.78
Loam 0.463 0.434 9.89 0.34
Clay 0.475 0.385 31.63 0.03
Ponding time

 Elapsed time between the time rainfall begins and the time water begins to
pond on the soil surface (tp)
Ponding Time

Up to the time of ponding,

Infiltration rate, f
 Potential

all rainfall has infiltrated (i

Infiltration

= rainfall rate) i Rainfall

f i F  i *t p Actual Infiltration

  f  Time

f  K  1 Accumulated

Infiltration, F
Rainfall

Cumulative
 F  Infiltration

  f 
i  K  1 Fp  i * t p
 i *t p 
 
 f
tp K
i (i  K ) tp Time
Example

 Silty-Loam soil, 30% effective

saturation, rainfall 5 cm/hr  e  0.486
  16.7 cm
intensity
K  0.65 cm / hr
se  0.30

  (1  se ) e  (1  0.3)(0.486)  0.340
  16.7 * 0.340
 f 5.68
tp K  0.65  0.17 hr
i (i  K ) 5.0(5.0  0.65)(i  K )