HR: 0800h
AN: H51C-0642    [Abstracts]
TI: A Method for Computing Infiltration and Redistribution in a Discretized Moisture Content Domain
AU: * Talbot, C A
EM: Cary.A.Talbot@erdc.usace.army.mil
AF: US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180, United States
AU: Odgen, F L
EM: fogden@uwyo.edu
AF: The University of Wyoming, Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering 1000 East University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071, United States
AB: In an effort to improve the computational efficiency and robustness of one-dimensional vadose zone flow calculations in the development of large-scale coupled surface and subsurface flow interaction models, alternatives to the Richards' Equation (RE) are sought. This presentation will describe an infiltration and redistribution method that utilizes a discretized moisture content domain. The range of moisture content within a given soil is discretized into vertically continuous, interactive bins. The entry and vertical movement of water in each bin are simulated by wetting and drying fronts that move according to explicit infiltration approximations based on capillary and gravitational driving forces. Wetting front advances within bins create pore-water deficits that are satisfied by capillary-driven inter-bin flow. The method inherently provides numerical stability and robustness because it precludes the need to include the non-linear constitutive models estimated by other vadose zone flow approaches. Comparison of this method results with RE solutions and experimental data will be presented.
DE: 1830 Groundwater/surface water interaction
DE: 1838 Infiltration
DE: 1847 Modeling
DE: 1866 Soil moisture
DE: 1875 Vadose zone
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting