Cited by 27,578Soil and Unsaturated FlowGroundwater flow and contamination studiesSoil Moisture and Remote Sensing

A Closed‐form Equation for Predicting the Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated Soils

van Genuchten, M. Th.·1980·Soil Science Society of America Journal

Abstract

A new and relatively simple equation for the soil‐water content‐pressure head curve, θ( h ), is described in this paper. The particular form of the equation enables one to derive closed‐form analytical expressions for the relative hydraulic conductivity, K r , when substituted in the predictive conductivity models of N.T. Burdine or Y. Mualem. The resulting expressions for K r ( h ) contain three independent parameters which may be obtained by fitting the proposed soil‐water retention model to experimental data. Results obtained with the closed‐form analytical expressions based on the Mualem theory are compared with observed hydraulic conductivity data for five soils with a wide range of hydraulic properties. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is predicted well in four out of five cases. It is found that a reasonable description of the soil‐water retention curve at low water contents is important for an accurated prediction of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity.

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Crossref · 10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x

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  • The model implemented the soil hydraulic functions proposed by Van Genuchten and Mualem to describe the soil water retention curve.

    “The model implemented the soil hydraulic functions proposed by Van Genuchten and Mualem [46,47] to describe the soil water retention curve using the following formulae, Equations ( 4)-(8):”

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Authors
van Genuchten, M. T.
Venue
Soil Science Society of America Journal
Publisher
Wiley
Published
1980-09
Volume
44
Issue
5
Pages
892-898
ISSN
  • 0361-5995 (ISSN-L)
  • 1435-0661
OpenAlex
W2162604832
Cited by
27,578
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 1375 · 2025: 1518 · 2024: 1586 · 2023: 1611 · 2022: 1662 · 2021: 1623 · 2020: 1418 · 2019: 1424 · 2018: 1245 · 2017: 1062 · 2016: 1127 · 2015: 985 · 2014: 1122 · 2013: 984 · 2012: 906
FWCI
35.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Soil Science Society of America Journal (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Soil and Unsaturated Flow
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Groundwater flow and contamination studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing
Keywords
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, soil water retention curve, closed-form expressions, relative hydraulic conductivity, Mualem model

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