Modeling Soil Water Retention Curve with a Fractal Method

Many empirical models have been developed to describe the soil water retention curve (SWRC). In this study, a fractal model for SWRC was derived with a specially constructed Menger sponge to describe the fractal scaling behavior of soil; relationships were established among the fractal dimension of SWRC, the fractal dimension of soil mass, and soil texture; and the model was used to estimate SWRC with the estimated results being compared to experimental data for verification. The derived fractal model was in a power-law form, similar to the Brooks-Corey and Campbell empirical functions. Experimental data of particle size distribution (PSD), texture, and soil water retention for 10 soils collected at different places in China were used to estimate the fractal dimension of SWRC and the mass fractal dimension. The fractal dimension of SWRC and the mass fractal dimension were linearly related. Also, both of the fractal dimensions were dependent on soil texture, i.e., clay and sand contents. Expressions were proposed to quantify the relationships. Based on the relationships, four methods were used to determine the fractal dimension of SWRC and the model was applied to estimate soil water content at a wide range of tension values. The estimated results compared well with the measured data having relative errors less than 10% for over 60% of the measurements. Thus, this model, estimating the fractal dimension using soil textural data, offered an alternative for predicting SWRC.

Water Retention Curve and Particle Breakage of Aggregates Recycled from Demolition Waste

CDW （construction and demolition wastes） present a high amount of aggregate chips covered with mortar. This results in high absorption of water with a direct impact in particle breakage or disaggregation. It is supposed that intra particle suction plays an important role in this phenomenon. However, WRCs （water retention curves） of CDW are not well understood. In this work, the WRCs of dynamically compacted specimens of aggregates recycled from the demolition of the National Stadium in Brasilia are studied. The objective of this study is to obtain WRCs of the recycled materials by using the pressure plate and filter paper methods. The breaking effect during compaction is quantified from the grain size distribution curves. The particle breakage during compaction increases when the energy is augmented. The results from the WRCs were incorporated into a pore size capillary model to predict pore size distribution.

Determination of strain-dependent soil water retention characteristics from gradation curve

The importance of soil water retention characteristics in modelling the hydro-mechanical response of unsaturated soils has been well recognised by many investigators in recent years.Determination of strain-dependent soil water retention curve(SWRC)is likely to be extraordinarily difficult.The first two authors have recently shown that SWRC can be computed from the gradation curve and the calculation result is consistent with the experimental results obtained from pressure plate tests.In this paper,based on a hypothesis related to change in the pore size distribution(POSD)due to volumetric strain of soil skeleton,a method to compute strain-dependent SWRC is presented.It is found that at initial degrees of saturation higher than 0.8,the influence of volumetric strain may be marginal whilst at initial degrees of saturation lower than 0.8,its influence is likely to be substantial.In all cases,the gradation curve of the soil affects the SWRC.

Effect of vegetation on soil water retention and storage in a semi-arid alpine forest catchment

The runoff generated from mountainous regions is recognized as the main water source for inland river basins in arid environments. Thus, the mechanisms by which catchments retain water in soils are to be understood. The water storage capacity of soil depends on its depth and capacity to retain water under gravita- tional drainage and evapotranspiration. The latter can be studied through soil water retention curve （SWRC）, which is closely related to soil properties such as texture, bulk density, porosity, soil organic carbon conteMt, and so on. The present study represented SWRCs using HYDRUS-1D. In the present study, we measured pl^ysical and hydraulic properties of soil samples collected from Sabina przewalskii forest （south-facing slope with highest solar radiation）, shrubs （west-facing slope with medium radiation）, and Picea crassifolia forest （north-facing slope with lowest radiation）, and analyzed the differences in soil water storage capacity of these soil samples. Soil water content of those three vegetation covers were also measured to validate the soil water storage capacity and to analyze the relationship between soil organic matter content and soil water content. Statistical analysis showed that different vegetation covers could lead to different soil bulk densities and differences in soil water retention on the three slope aspects. Sand content, porosity, and organic carbon content of the P. crassifolia forest were rela- tively greater compared with those of the S. przewalskii forest and shrubs. However, silt content and soil bulk density were relatively smaller than those in the S. przewalskii forest and shrubs. In addition, there was a sig- nificant linear positive relationship between averaged soil water content and soil organic matter content （P〈0.0001）. However, this relationship is not significant in the P. crassifolia forest. As depicted in the SWRCs, the water storage capacity of the soil was 39.14% and 37.38% higher in the P. crassifolia forest than in the S. przewalskii forest and shrubs, respectively, at a similar soil depth.

Estimation of the van Genuchten Soil Water Retention Properties from Soil Textural Data

The van Genuchten (vG) function is often used to describe the soil water retention curve (SWRC) of unsaturated soils and fractured rock. The objective of this study was to develop a method to determine the vG model parameter m from the fractal dimension. We compared two approaches previously proposed by van Genuchten and Lenhard et al. for estimating m from the pore size distribution index of the Brooks and Corey (BC) model. In both approaches we used a relationship between the pore size distribution index of the BC model and the fractal dimension of the SWRC. A dataset containing 75 samples from the UNSODA unsaturated soil hydraulic database was used to evaluate the two approaches. The statistical parameters showed that the approach by Lenhard et al. provided better estimates of the parameter m. Another dataset containing 72 samples from the literature was used to validate Lenhard's approach in which the SWRC fractal dimension was estimated from the clay content. The estimated SWRC of the second dataset was compared with those obtained with the Rosetta model using sand, silt, and clay contents. Root mean square error values of the proposed fractal approach and Rosetta were 0.081 and 0.136, respectively, indicating that the proposed fractal approach performed better than the Rosetta model.

基于NMR技术及分形理论预测SWRC

土-水特征曲线（SWRC）是非饱和土力学中的基础本构关系,在研究非饱和土强度、体变及渗透系数等方面具有重要作用。通过试验直接测量SWRC,耗时较长,且通常得到的只是离散数据点,缺乏连续性,不能完全满足非饱和土研究的需要,因此,通过间接方法快速预测SWRC的完整数学表达式具有实际意义。以无损伤的核磁共振（nuclear magnetic resonance）技术为基础,结合Young-Laplace理论,建立基质吸力ψ与T2值的关系式;利用分形理论,推导出质量含水率w与T2值的关系式,最终建立了预测SWRC的数学模型,研究结果表明其预测结果与实测值吻合较好。

Soil-water characteristics of Gaomiaozi bentonite by vapour equilibrium technique

Soil-water characteristics of Gaomiaozi(GMZ)Ca-bentonite at high suctions(3–287MPa)are measured by vapour equilibrium technique.The soil-water retention curve(SWRC)of samples with the same initial compaction states is obtained in drying and wetting process.At high suctions,the hysteresis behaviour is not obvious in relationship between water content and suction,while the opposite holds between degree of saturation and suction.The suction variation can change its water retention behaviour and void ratio.Moreover,changes of void ratio can bring about changes in degree of saturation.Therefore,the total change in degree of saturation includes changes caused by suction and that by void ratio.In the space of degree of saturation and suction,the SWRC at constant void ratio shifts to the direction of higher suctions with decreasing void ratio.However,the relationship between water content and suction is less affected by changes of void ratio.The degree of saturation decreases approximately linearly with increasing void ratio at a constant suction.Moreover,the slope of the line decreases with increasing suction and they show an approximately linear relationship in semi-logarithmical scale.From this linear relationship,the variation of degree of saturation caused by the change in void ratio can be obtained.Correspondingly,SWRC at a constant void ratio can be determined from SWRC at different void ratios.

Assessment of Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) on Plant Available Water (PAW) in Dry Lands

One of the ways of overcoming the cost of irrigation is through in-situ water harvesting at the plant roots. Super absorbent polymer (SAP) can facilitate water harvesting at the plant roots. This study attempted to assess the effect of SAP on plant available water (PAW) of different soils. In this study, SAP was sequentially added at the rate of 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.5% of the soil weight and its impact assessed in clay, sandy clay and sandy loam soils. The moisture retention characteristics of the original and SAP treated soils were studied using soil water retention curves (SWRC) and results modelled using Gardner model. PAW was estimated from SWRC as the difference between moisture content at 1.5 and 3 bar in all soils. The difference in PAW between original and treated soils was assessed at 5% level of significance. The WRC of all the samples was adequately found to be described by the Gardner model (Coefficient of determination R2 ≥ 98% and residual standard error (RSE) ≤ 0.04). SWRC changed with increase in SAP percentage in clay, sandy clay and sandy loam soils. Clay had a higher change in water retention then sandy clay and lastly sandy loam. Plant available water content (PAW) in all soils increased. In clay soil it increased with increase in SAP from 0.3291 at zero SAP to 0.6223 at 0.5% SAP. Sandy clay soil increased in PAW from 0.2721 at zero SAP to 0.5335 at 0.5% SAP and Sandy loam soils from 0.1691 at zero SAP to 0.3461 at 0.5% SAP. Hence, from the study SAP can be used to conserve irrigation water in the plant roots and therefore reducing the cost since PAW has been increased.

物理化学效应对膨胀土收缩特性的影响机制

膨胀土由于其骨架带有较多的固定负电荷,层间存在与负电荷平衡的可交换阳离子,使得土体呈现较强的胀缩性。研究结果表明,膨胀土的胀缩性会受到孔隙溶液化学成分的影响。选用广西地区的强膨胀土作为研究对象,开展了不同浓度的NaCl溶液对膨胀土土-水特征曲线和收缩曲线影响的试验研究,引入了粒间应力的概念对收缩曲线进行描述,该粒间应力考虑了渗透、毛细和吸附的影响。结果表明:孔隙盐溶液是通过渗透吸力对土-水特征曲线产生影响,对基质吸力的影响较小。土样在脱湿过程中的收缩变形是由粒间应力来控制的,类似于加压固结现象。大部分的收缩都发生在毛细阶段,为弹塑性变形;吸附阶段的收缩较少,为弹性变形。通过识别压缩曲线上的弹塑性分界点可以得出毛细和吸附作用的分界点,该分界点与独立测量的不同密实度下的持水曲线结果一致。结果表明,粒间应力能够更好地描述膨胀土的化学-力学行为,特别是在低含水率条件下。

温度影响的吸力循环过程GMZ膨润土持水特征

为揭示核废料深地质处置库多重屏障系统运营过程中膨润土持水性能随水-热耦合作用的周期性变化规律,通过温控气相平衡法和PEG渗析法进行了一系列单次吸力循环及多次吸力循环试验,研究了在自由膨胀条件下吸力循环和温度对膨润土持水性的影响。基于试验所得数据对膨润土持水曲线预测模型Van Genuchten模型进行了修正及验证。研究结果显示:单次吸力循环试验中,膨润土在脱湿路径下的含水率始终高于吸湿路径,表现出回滞现象;随着温度的升高,膨润土的持水能力及回滞现象均呈减弱趋势;而随着吸力或循环次数的增加,回滞现象和温度对持水能力的影响均减弱;在多次循环试验中,每次循环中试样均可累积含水率,但多次脱湿-吸湿循环相比于多次吸湿-脱湿循环表现出更强的累积能力,且每次循环含水率的累积随温度升高或循环次数增加而减少。修正后的Van Genuchten模型同时考虑了温度效应和吸湿或脱湿路径的影响,并且该模型预测结果与试验数据误差在5%以内,证实了其可靠性。

全吸力范围非饱和持水函数和渗透性函数的预测模型

非饱和土的持水函数和渗透性函数是刻画其持水能力和水分运移的基本参数。由于物理机制不同,持水函数及渗透性函数在毛细阶段和吸附阶段的特征有显著差异。多数传统的持水和渗透性函数仅考虑了毛细阶段内,毛细水的持水和渗透特性,不能表征吸附阶段内吸附水的特征。为使传统函数模型在吸附阶段也适用,以传统VG持水函数和VG-M渗透性函数为基础,用修正参数C(ψ)修正VG持水函数,并以此确定非饱和土的残余值ψr,区分毛细水的毛细流动和吸附水的薄膜流动。基于薄膜流动的特点,提出参数Γ(ψ),改进了传统VG-M渗透性函数在吸附阶段内低估非饱和渗透系数这一问题,从而建立了全吸力范围的渗透性函数模型。最后用3组持水及渗透性试验结果验证修正模型的合理性,结果表明修正持水函数模型和渗透性函数模型的预测结果在吸附阶段较传统模型更符合实测结果。

土壤类型和容重对离心机法测定土壤水分特征曲线的影响

本研究以杨凌塿土和嫩江黑土为研究对象,分别设置了4个土壤容重处理(1.0、1.1、1.2、1.3 g/cm^(3)),利用离心机法测定土壤失水过程,以压力膜仪法为标准,对比不同吸力下的含水量实测值和van Genuchten模型参数的差异。结果表明,随着土壤容重的增加,离心机法测定土壤水分特征曲线准确度逐渐增加,获取黑土和塿土的van Genuchten模型参数α的准确度增幅分别为38.46%~83.08%和56.38%~95.75%。离心机法测定土壤水分特征曲线的准确度在不同吸力段表现不同,近饱和段(0~10 kPa)离心机法测定值偏低,而高吸力段(10~1500 kPa)测定值偏高,且高吸力段离心机法测定准确度较低,与压力膜仪法测定值具有极显著差异(P<0.01)。综上所述,为了提高离心机法测定土壤水分特征曲线的准确度,优先考虑应用于大容重和高有机质含量的土壤。

A thermodynamics-based three-scale constitutive model for partially saturated granular materials

A three-scale constitutive model for unsaturated granular materials based on thermodynamic theory is presented.The three-scale yield locus,derived from the explicit yield criterion for solid matrix,is developed from a series of discrete interparticle contact planes.The three-scale yield locus is sensitive to porosity changes;therefore,it is reinterpreted as a corresponding constitutive model without phenomenological parameters.Furthermore,a water retention curve is proposed based on special pore morphology and experimental observations.The features of the partially saturated granular materials are well captured by the model.Under wetting and isotropic compression,volumetric compaction occurs,and the degree of saturation increases.Moreover,the higher the matric suction,the greater the strength,and the smaller the volumetric compaction.Compared with the phenomenological Barcelona basic model,the proposed three-scale constitutive model has fewer parameters;virtually all parameters have clear physical meanings.

Unraveling the hydraulic properties of loess for landslide prediction:A study on variations in loess landslides in Lanzhou,Dingxi,and Tianshui,China

Loess has distinctive characteristics,leading to frequent landslide disasters and posing serious threats to the lives and properties of local re sidents.The involvement of water repre sents a critical factor in inducing loess landslides.This study focuses on three neighboring cities sequentially situated on the Loess Plateau along the direction of aeolian deposition of loess,namely Lanzhou,Dingxi,and Tianshui,which are densely populated and prone to landslide disasters.The variations in hydraulic properties,including water retention capacity and permeability,are investigated through Soil Water Characteristic Curve(SWCC)test and hydraulic conductivity test.The experimental findings revealed that Tianshui loess exhibited the highest water retention capacity,followed by Dingxi loess,while Lanzhou loess demonstrated the lowest water retention capacity.Contrastingly,the results for the saturated permeability coefficient were found to be the opposite:Tianshui loess showed the lowest permeability,whereas Lanzhou loess displayed the highest permeability.These results are supported and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM)observation.In addition,the water retention capacity is mathematically expressed using the van Genuchten model and extended to predict unsaturated hydraulic properties of loess.The experimental results exhibit a strong accordance with one another and align with the regional distribution patterns of disasters.

Characteristics of soil water retention curve at macro-scale

Scale adaptable hydrological models have attracted more and more attentions in the hydrological modeling research community, and the constitutive relationship at the macro-scale is one of the most important issues, upon which there are not enough research activities yet. Taking the constitutive relationships of soil water movement--soil water retention curve (SWRC) as an example, this study extends the definition of SWRC at the micro-scale to that at the macro-scale, and aided by Monte Carlo method we demonstrate that soil property and the spatial distribution of soil moisture will affect the features of SWRC greatly. Furthermore, we assume that the spatial distribution of soil moisture is the result of self-organization of climate, soil, ground water and soil water movement under the specific boundary conditions, and we also carry out numerical experiments of soil water movement at the vertical direction in order to explore the relationship between SWRC at the macro-scale and the combinations of climate, soil, and groundwater. The results show that SWRCs at the macro-scale and micro-scale presents totally different features, e.g., the essential hysteresis phenomenon which is exaggerated with increasing aridity index and rising groundwater table. Soil property plays an important role in the shape of SWRC which will even lead to a rectangular shape under drier conditions, and power function form of SWRC widely adopted in hydrological model might be revised for most situations at the macro-scale.

Estimation of Soil Water Retention Curve: An Asymmetrical Pore-Solid Fractal Model

The soil water retention curve is an important hydraulic function for the study of flow transport processes in unsaturated soils. The objective of this study was to develop a soil water retention function using a generalized fractal approach. The model exhibits asymmetry between the solid phase and pore phase, which is in marked contrast to the symmetry between phases present in a conventional fractal model. The retention function includes 4 parameters： the saturated water content θs, the air entry value ha, the fractal dimension Df, and an empirical parameter β, characterizing the complicated soil pore structures. Sixty one data sets, covering a wide range of soil structure and textural properties, were used to evaluate the applicability of the proposed soil water retention function. The retention function is shown to be a general model, which incorporates several existing retention models. The values of β/θs and （θs-θr ）/β were used as indexes to quantify the relationships between the proposed retention function and the existing retention models. The proposed function fits all the data very well, whereas other tested models only match about 16%-48% of the soil retention data.

多孔材料毛细滞后现象研究综述

毛细滞后现象指在一定水势下,多孔材料放湿过程的含湿量普遍高于吸湿过程的含湿量,即多孔材料在同一个水势下对应着多个含湿量。在土木建筑、食品科学和土壤科学等领域的工程实践中,往往因忽略毛细滞后现象而无法准确地计算和控制多孔材料的含湿量,进而给建筑围护结构热湿传递控制、食品的营养与保鲜以及土壤的结构稳定等方面带来负面影响。针对上述现象,本文总结了毛细滞后现象的产生原因、实验研究方法以及预测模型,旨在更加全面深刻地理解多孔材料的储湿机理,为建立更精确的描述多孔材料含湿量与水势关系的数学物理模型提供参考。

基于孔径分布函数的单/双峰持水曲线模型

非饱和土持水曲线是研究非饱和土强度、渗透性以及本构理论的基础.目前大多数非饱和持水曲线模型主要针对单峰持水曲线,而对于双峰持水曲线的模型研究相对较少.本文通过分析单/双峰孔隙结构土体的孔径分布特征,利用Young-Laplace方程建立土体吸力和孔径之间的关系,再采用对数正态分布函数来描述土体单/双峰孔径分布特征.在此基础上进一步提出了一个适用于模拟单/双峰持水曲线的模型,模型中各参数均具有明确物理意义.最后选取文献中不同类型土的持水实验数据对本模型进行验证,结果表明,新模型能较好地模拟不同类型土的单/双峰持水曲线.

粒径尺寸对红黏土持水曲线及孔径分布影响研究

为探究粒径尺寸对红黏土的持水特性及孔径分布的影响,用轴平移技术和蒸汽平衡技术对不同粒径尺寸制备的红黏土压实样开展广吸力范围内的持水特性试验和压汞试验,基于不同粒径尺寸试样的持水曲线和孔径分布曲线,揭示粒径尺寸影响土体持水特性的细观机理。具体结论如下:(1)粒径尺寸只对压实样在低吸力范围的持水曲线产生影响,表现为粒径尺寸越小,制备试样进气值则越大。(2)不同粒径制备的饱和压实样均为单峰型孔径结构,且粒径尺寸越小,制备试样的集中孔径分布的峰值越高,分布的范围也越小,表明粒径越小的试样的孔径分布越均匀。(3)预测和实测持水曲线的比较结果显示,由于无法考虑土体干化路径下的孔隙比减小,孔径分布曲线可用于预测土体在对应吸力下的含水率,而预测饱和度低于实测的饱和度。

施用生物炭对紫色土坡耕地耕层土壤水力学性质的影响

该研究通过野外坡耕地小区施用1%秸秆生物炭1年后的对比试验,揭示生物炭对川中丘陵区紫色土耕作层土壤水力学参数、大孔隙度及其对饱和导水率的贡献率所产生的影响。试验设对照区与施用生物炭区2个处理,各处理有3个平行小区,耕作层土壤分为表层和亚表层（2-7和〉7-12 cm）。比较2个处理小区试验结果,可以发现：1）施用生物炭导致植物难以利用的土壤滞留水和易流失的结构性孔隙水的含量（θstr）下降,而基质性孔隙中植物有效水含量显著提高（P〈0.05）,由（0.058±0.003）cm3/cm3增加至（0.085±0.002）cm3/cm3;2）表层和亚表层土壤中对产流起主要贡献的半径〉125μm的总有效孔隙度分别平均增加54%和8%,其中孔径〉500μm的孔隙增加最为明显,高达110%和355%;3）表层和亚表层土壤的饱和导水率分别平均增加45%和35%。研究证明,施用生物炭,一方面,能增加土壤有效水的持水量,有利于植物抗旱;另一方面,提高土壤导水率,有利于水分入渗,从而减少地表径流及土壤侵蚀的发生。