The application of TDR in laboratory column experiments

Abstract

An automated TDR system was used together with an automated tensiometer system in laboratory column experiments for the measurement of unsaturated hydraulic properties of soils. The laboratory experiments were a stationary flux (sprinkling infiltrometer) carried out with different fluxes, and a transient (evaporation) method. Simultaneous measurements of water content and pressure head give the water retention characteristic and enable the application of the instantaneous profile analysis for calculating the hydraulic conductivity. This direct analysis is compared with the traditional analysis methods normally used for the laboratory experiments. The application of automated measurement techniques and the use of TDR increases the speed of the measurements, generates more data points and requires less assumptions in the data analysis. Moreover, TDR measurements give insight in the flow process, including effects of hysteresis and heterogeneity within a sample. Performing the sprinkling infiltrometer and evaporation experiments on the same sample enables the determination of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity at pressure heads ranging from −0.01 m to −6 m.