Artificial capillary barriers are being used to divert water away from sensitive underground regions. Conversely, funneled flow over natural capillary barriers may increase the danger of groundwater contamination by decreasing the travel time and contact area. There have been relatively few experimental studies of capillary barrier flow patterns. In this...
Precise management of the changing matric potential during infiltration into unsaturated soil required the development of miniature, high-speed, planar tensiometers. A novel design was developed, with response time of less than 1 s. The applicability of the devices is shown through measurements of the matric potential in growing instabilities, both...
An exact integral solution for the moisture profile in growing fingers in sandy soil is derived from Richards' equation. The solution provides moisture content along a finger as a function of position and time and provides applicable results, including the calculation of the asymptotic matric potential of a growing finger...
The prediction of the time to ponding following commencement of rainfall is fundamental to hydrologic prediction of flood, erosion, and infiltration. Most of the studies to date have focused on prediction of ponding resulting from simple rainfall patterns. This approach was suitable to rainfall reported as average values over intervals...