Watershed Hydrology (TSW-222)

Infiltration

INFILTRATION

Infiltration Process

The process of entry of water into the soil is called infiltration, and the rate at
which water infiltrates into the soil is known as infiltration rate. Water entering the soil
at the ground surface is called infiltration. It replenishes the soil moisture deficiency
and the excess moves downward by the force of gravity called percolation and builds up
the ground water table.

During the initial conditions when the soil is dry, the infiltration rate is high and
decreases with time and tends to approach a constant rate (Fig. 1). This constant rate of
infiltration is referred as the basic infiltration rate or final infiltration capacity or simply
infiltration capacity of soil. The downward movement of infiltrated water through the
soil profile is known as percolation. Accumulated infiltration or cumulative infiltration
is the total quantity of water infiltrated into the soil in a given time (Fig.1) Infiltration
rate may change with respect to location, time/season and initial soil moisture content.

Information about infiltration is essential for:

 Hydrological investigation for runoff and loss components
 Irrigation system design
 Determine water application rate and application time.

Fig. 1 Infiltration Curve

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Infiltration

Fig.. Rate of infiltration for different soil textures.

Fig. Cumulative infiltration for three soil textures

Table 1: Basic
asic infiltration rates for various soil types

Soil type Basic infiltration rate (mm/hour)

sand less than 30
sandy loam 20 - 30
loam 10 - 20
clay loam 5 - 10
clay 1-5

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Infiltration

Measurement of Infiltration

Infiltration rates are by infiltrometer.

infiltrometer. It may be single ring or double ring infiltrometer.

Fig.2 Section view of double

double-ring infiltrometer

In double ring infiltrometer, the

t outer ring providess a water jacket to the infiltering
water of the inner ring and hence prevents the spreading out of the infiltering water of
the inner tube. The cylinders are usually 25 cm deep
deep.. The measurements are taken in
inner cylinder having diameter of 30 cm. The outer cylinder, having 60 cm diameter, is
used to create a buffer zone to reduce the lateral flow of water from the inner one. The

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Infiltration

cylinders are installed 10 cm deep in the soil. The water level in the inner cylinder is
measured with a point gauge or ordinary scale installed inside the cylinder. The change
in water level is measured with respect to time using a stop watch until the infiltration
rate reached steady state (basic infiltration rate).

Horton Equation of Infiltration

Hortan expressed infiltration capacity in exponential decay form with the time.
The infiltration rate (f) at any time t is given by Horton’s equation.

f = fc + (fo – fc) e–kt ...(1)

where,
f = infiltration rate at any time t (in cm/hr),
f0 = initial infiltration capacity at t=0,
fc = final constant infiltration rate,
k =a constant depends upon soil and vegetation also known as decay constant

Cumulative infiltration
Fc=∫ ( ) ...(2)

The infiltration takes place at capacity rates only when the intensity of rainfall
equals or exceeds fp; i.e., f = fp when i ≥fp; but when i < fp, f < fp and the actual infiltration
rates are approximately equal to the rainfall rates.

Infiltration indices

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Infiltration

It is convenient to use a constant value of infiltration rate for the duration of the
storm for hydrologial calculations
calculations.. The average infiltration rate is called infiltration
index and two types of indices are in common use.

Φ-index

The Φ indexex is the average rainfall above which the rainfall volume is equal to
the runoff volume. The Φ index is derived from the rainfall hyetograph with the
knowledge of the resulting runoff volume. The Φ value is found by treating it as a
constant infiltration capacity.

Φ ...(3)

where P=total
=total storm precipitation (cm)
R=total
=total surface runoff (cm)
te = effective time (h)

Fig.Φ-index.

W- Index

In an attempt to refine the Φ

Φ-index
index the initial losses are separated from the total
abstraction and
d an average value of infiltration rate called the W index is defined as
as:

− −
=

Where, P is total precipitation (cm), R is total storm runoff (cm), Ia is initial losses
(cm), te is the duration of the rainfall excess, i.e. the total time in which the rainfall
intensity is greater than W (in hours) and W is the average rate of infiltration
(cm/h).

Exercise

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Infiltration

Q1: The initial infiltration capacity of a watershed is estimated as 3.5 cm/hr, and the
time constant taken to be 0.35 hr -1. The equilibrium capacity is estimated as 0.5
cm/hr.
(a) What are the values of f at t = 10 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, and 6 hr, and
(b) what is the total volume of infiltration over the 6 hour time period?