Segmental Modification of the Mualem Model by Remolded Loess

Abstract

The measured diffusion coefficient and soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) of remolded loess were used to modify the Mualem model for increasing its accuracy. The obtained results show that the goodness of fit between the Mualem model and the variable parameter-modified Mualem method comparing with the test results was not high. The saturation of 0.65 was introduced as the boundary to divide the curve of the measured diffusion coefficient into two segments. When the segmentation method combined with the variable parameter method was used to modify the Mualem model, the fitting correlation coefficient was increased to 0.921–0.998. The modified parameters Ko and L corresponding to remolded loess were calculated for different dry densities. Based on the exponential function between Ko and dry density and the linear relation between L and dry density, the segmentally modified Mualem model was established for remolded loess by considering variation in dry density. The results of the study can be used for directly determining the unsaturated infiltration coefficient and for indirectly determining the SWCC through diffusion coefficient.