Analysis of Transient Data from Infiltrometer Tests in Fine-Grained Soils

Data collected during ring infiltrometer tests are often analyzed while assuming either that the effect of gravity is negligible (early‐time, transient data) or that it is dominant (late‐time, steady‐state data). In this paper, an equation is proposed for inter‐preting both early‐time and late‐time...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ground water 2000-05, Vol.38 (3), p.396-402
Main Authors: Guyonnet, Dominique, Amraoui, Nadia, Kara, Reda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
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Groundwater
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
Hydrology
NONRADIOACTIVE WASTES
Permeability
Quality management
Soil moisture
SOILS
United States
WASTE STORAGE
Water, Underground
Water-supply
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Summary:Data collected during ring infiltrometer tests are often analyzed while assuming either that the effect of gravity is negligible (early‐time, transient data) or that it is dominant (late‐time, steady‐state data). In this paper, an equation is proposed for inter‐preting both early‐time and late‐time data measured during infiltration tests under falling head conditions. It is shown that the method used by previous authors for interpreting both early‐time data is a special case of the proposed equation. The equation is applied to data collected during tests performed in fine‐grained soils, and results are discussed. The analysis suggests that to assume a priori values of the soil sorptive number, as indicated in the literature for various soils, may in some cases lead to severely underes‐timated values of the saturated hydraulic conductivity. Conversely, in low permeability soils, to assume steady‐state gravity drainage may lead to order of magnitude overestimates of the saturated hydraulic conductivity. A dimensionless analysis provides characteristic times that correspond either to the duration of the log‐log half slope displayed by early‐time data or to the log‐log unit slope characteristic of late‐time data.
ISSN:0017-467X
1745-6584
DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2000.tb00225.x