Search results for "ER retention"
showing 10 items of 90 documents
Pedotransfer functions for estimating soil water retention curve of Sicilian soils
2019
Pedotransfer functions (PTFs) make use of routinely surveyed soil data to estimate soil properties but their application to soils different from those used for their development can yield inaccurate estimates. This investigation aimed at evaluating the water retention prediction accuracy of eight existing PTFs using a database of 217 Sicilian soils exploring 11 USDA textural classes. PTFs performance was assessed by root mean square differences (RMSD) and average differences (AD) between estimated and measured data. Extended Nonlinear Regression (ENR) technique was adopted to recalibrate or develop four new PTFs and Wind’s evaporation method was applied to validate the effectiveness of the …
Determining hydraulic properties of a loam soil by alternative infiltrometer techniques
2015
Testing infiltrometer techniques to determine soil hydraulic properties is necessary for specific soils. For a loam soil, the water retention and hydraulic conductivity predicted by the BEST (Beerkan Estimation of Soil Transfer parameters) procedure of soil hydraulic characterization was compared with data collected by more standard laboratory and field techniques. Six infiltrometer techniques were also compared in terms of saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, Ks. BEST yielded water retention values statistically similar to those obtained in the laboratory and Ks values practically coinciding with those determined in the field with the pressure infiltrometer (PI). The unsaturated soil hyd…
Water retention and swelling behaviour of granular bentonites for application in Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL) systems
2016
Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL) systems are used as efficient hydraulic barriers in landfills for the disposal of hazardous municipal wastes. Along with geotextiles, bentonite materials are chosen as one of the primary components of GCLs due to their high retention, adsorption, and swelling capacities. GCLs are manufactured using bentonites at a high total suction and hydrated through the uptake of liquid from the subsoil and the confined material as soon as they are installed. Bentonites may exhibit considerable volume change upon wetting. Depending on the confinement stress, the void ratio may significantly increase with a decrease in suction, particularly at higher degrees of saturation. T…
Experimental study of a naturally weathered stiff clay
2016
Studying the shear strength of a naturally weathered clay is important to understand rain-induced slope failures in weathered soils. However, experimental studies on naturally weathered soils are limited. The paper focuses on the laboratory experimental investigation carried out to analyse the shear strength of a naturally weathered stiff clay that can be found in unsaturated conditions in situ. This has an important practical relevance in the evaluation of the stability conditions of natural slopes at clay outcrops. Different experimental techniques of suction measurement were used to obtain the soil-water retention curve of the clay over a wide range of suctions. Scanning electronic micr…
Testing the shape-similarity hypothesis between partide-size distribution and water retention for sicilian soils
2012
Application of the Arya and Paris (AP) model to estimate the soil water retention curve requires a detailed description of the particlesize distribution (PSD) but limited experimental PSD data are generally determined by the conventional sieve-hydrometer (SH) method. Detailed PSDs can be obtained by fitting a continuous model to SH data or performing measurements by the laser diffraction (LD) method. The AP model was applied to 40 Sicilian soils for which the PSD was measured by both the SH and LD methods. The scale factor was set equal to 1.38 (procedure AP1) or estimated by a logistical model with parameters gathered from literature (procedure AP2). For both SH and LD data, procedure AP2 …
Relationships between soil water repellency and microbial community composition under different plant species in a Mediterranean semiarid forest
2014
Abstract Soil water repellency (SWR) can influence many hydrological soil properties, including water infiltration, uneven moisture distribution or water retention. In the current study we investigated how variable SWR persistence in the field is related to the soil microbial community under different plant species (P. halepensis, Q. rotundifolia, C. albidus and R. officinalis) in a Mediterranean forest. The soil microbial community was determined through phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). The relationships between microbiological community structure and the soil properties pH, Glomalin Related Soil Protein (GRSP) and soil organic matter (SOM) content were also studied. Different statistical …
Management of Litigants’ Satisfaction in their Quality of Legal Services’ Customers Provided by the Courts
2015
Abstract The quality of public services provided by the courts became one of the most important objectives in all developed countries. According to the current requirements, organizations must respond more promptly to the society’s needs and demands. The citizen / customer’s position and role became essential taking into consideration these changes and reforms, the quality of legal services depends on the user’s demands and expectations holding a strong subjective character. On the other hand, the quality does not apply solely to the final product, namely the court’s decision, but to all related activities carried out during the whole process, the way the citizens perceive all the adjacent …
Perceived value, customer attitude and loyalty in retailing
2008
Customer perceived value has a subjective nature, since it means an evaluative judgment. In the literature, it has been noted that the value received by the consumer has a number of components that together determine its significance. The literature has also highlighted the existence of a relationship between perceived value and customer attitude, considering this variable an important determinant of customer loyalty. This paper tries to analyse the influence of the major components of perceived value on customer attitude and loyalty in several retail activities.
Retail IT and customer loyalty: The moderating role of customer age
2010
Information technology (IT) may represent a source of competitive advantage for retailers. Notwithstanding, there is debate in the literature about the way in which IT influences supplier–customer relationships. In addition, the conclusions regarding the influence of consumer age on attitudes towards the retailer's IT solutions have been mixed. This article proposes and tests a model for the influence of the retailer IT on customer loyalty towards the retailer, evaluating the role of consumer age as a moderator of this relationship. Our results provide evidence of the existence of a two-way positive influence of IT solutions on customer loyalty towards the retail store, that is, through att…
Linking service structural complexity to customer satisfaction
2001
The literature shows a paradox in the understanding of the relationship between structural complexity (defined as the diversity of services offered by an organization) and customer satisfaction. Structural complexity tends to be a popular strategy designed to satisfy different customer needs. However, a negative relationship between structural complexity and customer satisfaction has also been argued. Based on the research on the public versus private distinction, this paper proposes that type of ownership is associated with the paradox mentioned, moderating the relationship between structural complexity and customer satisfaction. The authors tested this hypothesis using a sample of 60 mana…