Comparison of Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Sandy Loam and Clay Soils Estimated through Inverse Modeling using Hydrus-1D

NAMITHA M.R.; REMA, K.P.; AKSHAYA, K.A.; AMRUTHA K.; ANJU M.; DHRUV RAJ BAGRI

doi:10.54894/JISCAR.43.1.2025.147297

Authors

NAMITHA M.R. Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, Malappuram - 679 573, Kerala, India
REMA, K.P. Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, Malappuram - 679 573, Kerala, India
AKSHAYA, K.A. Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, Malappuram - 679 573, Kerala, India
AMRUTHA K. Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, Malappuram - 679 573, Kerala, India
ANJU M. Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, Malappuram - 679 573, Kerala, India
DHRUV RAJ BAGRI Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, Malappuram - 679 573, Kerala, India

https://doi.org/10.54894/JISCAR.43.1.2025.147297

Keywords:

Hydrus-1D, Infiltration, Inverse modeling, Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity

Abstract

The research compared the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of various soils by conducting double-ring infiltrometer experiments at different locations in KCAET, Tavanur campus in the Malappuram district of Kerala, India. Readings were taken from two different locations with distinct soil types. HYDRUS 1-D software was used to determine the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity by solving Richard’s equation for water flow. The cumulative infiltration flux over time was fed to the software as the input to optimize soil hydraulic parameters. These optimized parameters were fitted to the empirical models proposed by van Genuchten (1980) to determine the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) of the soils under investigation. The conclusion of the study highlighted that the sandy loam soil exhibited a higher unsaturated hydraulic conductivity compared to the clay soil. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity for sandy loam soil was observed to range from 0.001 cm day^-1 to 0.178 cm day^-1, corresponding to a moisture content between 0.105 and 0.193, respectively. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of clay soil was found to range from 0.002 cm day^-1 to 0.007 cm day^-1, corresponding to a moisture content of 0.106 to 0.193, respectively. The results clearly demonstrated a direct relationship between moisture content and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity.

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