Estimation of Unsaturated Soil Hydrodynamic Parameters Using Inverse Problem Technique

Mathematical simulation of flow toward drains is an important and indispensable stage in drainage design and management. Many related models have been developed, but most of them simulate the saturated flow toward drains without a due consideration of the unsaturated zone. In this study, the two dimensional differential equation governing saturated and unsaturated flow in porous media is numerically solved and water table variations between drains predicted. By introducing and linking a proper optimization model to the numerical one, saturated and unsaturated soil hydrodynamic parameters were estimated within the inverse problem technique context. Data for calibration and verification were provided through a conduction of laboratory experimentation. Other laboratory data were also employed for the proposed model evaluation. The results indicated that in addition to a prediction of the water table variations between drains, the inverse problem model can be employed to estimate the unsaturated soil hydrodynamic parameters with a high degree of precision.