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Published online 16 November 2005
Published in Vadose Zone J 4:1191-1200 (2005)
DOI: 10.2136/vzj2005.0007
© 2005 Soil Science Society of America
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Comparison of Equivalent Conductivities for Numerical Simulation of One-Dimensional Unsaturated Flow

Benjamin Belfort and François Lehmann*

Institut de Mécanique des Fluides et des Solides, UMR 7507 ULP-CNRS, 2 rue Boussingault, Strasbourg, France
* Corresponding author (lehmann{at}imfs.u-strasbg.fr)

Received 13 January 2005.

Water flow in unsaturated porous media is usually simulated using the Richards equation in combination with some numerical method for spatial and temporal discretization. In this study we implement a mixed hybrid finite element solution with different formulations for the equivalent hydraulic conductivity in an attempt to more accurately simulate variably saturated flow. The advantages of a quadrature rule are demonstrated for simulations of sharp infiltration fronts. Results show the importance of selecting an appropriate equivalent conductivity. Geometric, weighted and integrated formulations produced better solutions than a traditional scheme using a mean conductivity calculated with a mean pressure head. Two illustrative test cases are considered for infiltration in initially dry homogeneous and heterogeneous soils subject to both Dirichlet and variable Neumann boundary conditions. The accuracy and computational efficiency of the proposed algorithm with the different conductivity formulations is demonstrated by means of comparisons with a finite difference approach using various interblock conductivity averages.

Abbreviations: FD, finite difference • FE, finite element • MHFE, mixed hybrid finite element






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