Search results for "Beerkan"
showing 10 items of 30 documents
Estimating the macroscopic capillary length from Beerkan infiltration experiments and its impact on saturated soil hydraulic conductivity predictions
2020
International audience; The macroscopic capillary length, λc, is a fundamental soil parameter expressing the relative importance of the capillary over gravity forces during water movement in unsaturated soil. In this investigation, we propose a simple field method for estimating λc using only a single-ring infiltration experiment of the Beerkan type and measurements of initial and saturated soil water contents. We assumed that the intercept of the linear regression fitted to the steady-state portion of the experimental infiltration curve could be used as a reliable predictor of λc. This hypothesis was validated by assessing the proposed calculation approach using both analytical and field d…
A simplified method based on Beerkan infiltration run
2013
A simplified method based on Beerkan infiltration run (SBI) to determine field saturated soil hydraulic conductivity
A new automated single ring infiltrometer for Beerkan infiltration experiments
2014
A new automated compact device was developed to collect data from single ring infiltration experiment. The infiltrometer consists of a containment ring in which a small quasi-constant head of water (i.e. a few mm) is maintained by a Mariotte reservoir and a very inexpensive data acquisition system, based on the open source microcontroller platform Arduino, and a differential pressure transducer. The design can easily be reproduced and operated. The infiltrometer was tested in a citrus orchard on a sandy loam soil. A simple methodology was applied for an accurate data acquisition from the initial stage of the process and to minimize the disturbance of the soil surface. A new approach to proc…
Testing a Simplified Approach to Determine Field Saturated Soil Hydraulic Conductivity
2013
Abstract Interpreting and simulating hydrological processes need a large number of field saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, Kfs , data that should be collected with simple and rapid field experiments. A Simplified method based on a Beerkan Infiltration run (SBI method) was recently developed and tested successfully on Burundian soils. With the SBI method, a cylinder is inserted to a short depth into the soil and the infiltration time of a few small volumes of water repeatedly applied at the surface of the confined soil is measured. Calculating Kfs needs the slope of the linearized cumulative infiltration vs. time relationship and an estimate of the so called α* parameter. In this invest…
Effect of a Heavy Rainstorm on the Surface Hydrodynamic Properties of a Sandy-Loam Soil
2022
Changes in surface-soil hydrodynamic properties associated with torrential natural rainstorms are largely unknown. This investigation aimed at verifying if the surface hydrodynamic properties of a sandy-loam soil varied due to the heavy rainfall event (130 mm in nearly three hours) that occurred in the summer of 2020 at Palermo (Italy) and also to establish if soil recovery processes occurred soon after the event. The soil of an orchard was sampled immediately before the rainstorm and a few days and 1.5 months later. The rainstorm determined a moderate decrease (by 1.8 times) of the saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, Ks, and an increase of its relative variability. In the subsequent wee…
A test of water pouring height and run intermittence effects on single-ring infiltration rates
2018
Assessing how the infiltration process depends on the water impact energy improves interpretation of hydrological processes. Impact energies vary with the height of water pouring; that is, the distance between the water delivery point and the soil surface. The effects of the height of water pouring on infiltration in an initially near saturated soil can be tested in the field by two repeated Beerkan infiltration runs separated by a short pause (30 min) and using both low (non-perturbing) and high (perturbing) heights of water application. The double two-stage Beerkan run methodology was applied in two soils. The infiltration rate at the end of the perturbing stage of the experiment was 0.2–…
Determining short-term changes in the hydraulic properties of a sandy-loam soil by a three-run infiltration experiment
2020
Soil structure-dependent parameters can vary rapidly as a consequence of perturbing events such as intense rainfall. Investigating their short-term changes is therefore essential to understand the general behaviour of a porous medium. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the effects of wetting, perturbation and recovery processes through different sequences of Beerkan infiltration experiments performed on a sandy-loam soil. Two different three-run infiltration experiments (LHL and LLL) were carried out by pouring water at low (L, non-perturbing) and high (H, perturbing) heights above the soil surface and at short time intervals (hours, days). The results demonstrate that the propos…
Water transmission properties of a sandy-loam soil estimated with Beerkan runs differing by the infiltration time criterion
2021
Abstract The Beerkan method consists of a ponded infiltration experiment from a single ring inserted a small depth into the soil. Fixed, small volumes of water are repeatedly poured into the ring to maintain a quasi-zero head on the soil surface. According to the standard Beerkan infiltration run, a new water volume is poured on the infiltration surface when the previously applied volume has completely infiltrated and the soil surface is entirely exposed to air (ta criterion). However, water could also be applied when the soil exposition to air begins (to criterion) or half the soil surface is exposed to air (tm criterion). The effect of the infiltration time criterion on determination of t…
Estimation of hydrodynamic properties of a sandy-loam soil by two analysis methods of single-ring infiltration data
2022
Abstract Beerkan infiltration runs could provide an incomplete description of infiltration with reference to either the near steady-state or the transient stages. In particular, the process could still be in the transient stage at the end of the run or some transient infiltration data might be loss. The Wu1 method and the BEST-steady algorithm can be applied to derive soil hydrodynamic parameters even under these circumstances. Therefore, a soil dataset could be developed using two different data analysis methods. The hypothesis that the Wu1 method and BEST-steady yield similar predictions of the soil parameters when they are applied to the same infiltration curve was tested in this investi…
Automated single ring infiltrometer with a low-cost microcontroller circuit
2015
Automation of a new single ring infiltrometer.Data acquisition system based on the open source microcontroller platform Arduino.New method to minimize the disturbance of the soil surface.New approach to process transducer output. A method to automate data collection with a compact infiltrometer under constant head conditions was developed. The infiltrometer consists of a containment ring with a small quasi-constant head of water (i.e., 2-3mm) that is controlled by a Mariotte reservoir and a data acquisition system based on the open source microcontroller platform Arduino and a differential pressure transducer. The presented design can be easily reproduced and operated.The infiltrometer was …