Improving estimation of pore size distribution to predict the soil water retention curve from its particle size distribution

Geoderma ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 340 ◽  
pp. 206-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-chao Chang ◽  
Dong-hui Cheng ◽  
Xiao-ying Qiao
2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4621-4632
Author(s):  
Chen-Chao Chang ◽  
Dong-Hui Cheng

Abstract. Traditional models employed to predict the soil water retention curve (SWRC) from the particle size distribution (PSD) always underestimate the water content in the dry range of the SWRC. Using the measured physical parameters of 48 soil samples from the UNSODA unsaturated soil hydraulic property database, these errors were proven to originate from an inaccurate estimation of the pore size distribution. A method was therefore proposed to improve the estimation of the water content at high suction heads using a pore model comprising a circle-shaped central pore connected to slit-shaped spaces. In this model, the pore volume fraction of the minimum pore diameter range and the corresponding water content were accordingly increased. The predicted SWRCs using the improved method reasonably approximated the measured SWRCs, which were more accurate than those obtained using the traditional method and the scaling approach in the dry range of the SWRC.


Respuestas ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
María Camila Olarte ◽  
Juan Carlos Ruge

In highly porous soils with a susceptibility to collapse, there are points of volumetric variability, due to the present heterogeneity, regarding the diameters of the poral throat. The predominance of a pore size is closely related to certain values of the Water Retention Curve (WRC). However, to date, a possible correlation with particle size distribution (PaSD), obtained using modern, highly reliable gravitational sedimentation methods, has not been studied. The porous clay of lateritic origin under study, was characterized by means of index tests, to know its basic geotechnical behavior. Subsequently, it was analyzed by mercury intrusion porosimetry tests, to estimate the Pore Size Distribution (PSD); filter paper and pressure plate method to obtain the water retention curve; as well as the method of integral measurement of the pressure in the suspension (ISP), to obtain the fine grain size of the material. This article tries to present a proposal of relationship between these parameters, with the aim of improving the understanding in the characterization of this type of materials. The results showed that there is indeed a strong relationship between the particle size distributions, pore size distribution and the water retention curve. Mainly, this is reflected in the geometric places corresponding to the air value entries (AEV) of macropores and micropores. Which coincide with essential parameters of the behavior of the other curves (PaSD and PSD).


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Pollacco ◽  
Jesús Fernández-Gálvez ◽  
Sam Carrick

<p>Indirect methods for estimating soil hydraulic properties from particle size distribution have been developed due to the difficulty in accurately determining soil hydraulic properties, and the fact that particle size distribution is one piece of basic soil physical information normally available. The similarity of the functions describing the cumulative distribution of particle size and pore size in the soil has been the basis for relating particle size distribution and the water retention function in the soil. Empirical and semi-physical models have been proposed, but these are based on strong assumptions that are not always valid. For example, soil particles are normally assumed to be spherical, with constant density regardless of their size; and the soil pore space has been described by an assembly of capillary tubes, or the pore space in the soil matrix is assumed to be arranged in a similar way regardless of particle size. However, in a natural soil the geometry of the pores may vary with the size of the particles, leading to a variable relation between particle radius and pore radius.</p><p> </p><p>The current work is based on the hypothesis that the geometry of the pore size and the void ratio depends on the size of the soil particles, and that a physically based model can be generalised to predict the water retention curve from particle size distribution. The rearrangement of the soil particles is considered by introducing a mixing function that modulates the cumulative particle size distribution, while the total porosity is constrained by the saturated water content.</p><p> </p><p>The model performance is evaluated by comparing the soil water retention curve derived from laboratory measurements with a mean Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency a value of 0.92 and a standard deviation of 0.08. The model is valid for all soil types, not just those with a marginal clay fraction.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 305-311
Author(s):  
Nobuhide Takahashi ◽  
Masataka Tsurukawa ◽  
Chikao Arai ◽  
Hiroshi Fukunaga ◽  
Koichi Yamada

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1024-1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.F. Chiu ◽  
W.M. Yan ◽  
Ka-Veng Yuen

This study proposes two empirical relationships to estimate the parameters of van Genuchten’s formula for modeling the water retention curve from the particle-size distribution. The relationships are determined by the Bayesian probabilistic method for selecting the most plausible class of models based on a database of 90 soil samples. The highest plausibility model among the selected relationships shows that the parameter α can be expressed as a first-order function of the particle size at 50% passing (d50) and parameter n is expressed as a third-order polynomial of the reciprocal of the standard deviation of geometric mean particle size (σg). The predictability of proposed relationships for other soils outside the calibrated database is also presented. It is found that the model prediction is highly consistent with the measurements for sands. However it only matches well with the measurements in the low suction regime for soils with at least 20% of fines content.


1996 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 3025-3031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Perrier ◽  
Michel Rieu ◽  
Garrison Sposito ◽  
Ghislain de Marsily

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