A Multi-Fractal Approach for Modeling Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity

Accurate prediction of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is indispensable for solving problems of fluid flow and solute transport. We present a novel approach to refine hydraulic conductivity estimation from soil water retention curve by considering multi-fractal properties of soil pore size distribution. On the basis of scaled saturation and pressure data, a test static has been developed for identification of soils with multi-fractal properties. The parameters of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity are tuned by Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm using a wide variety of soil textures. Results indicate that neglect to account for multi-fractal properties of soils leads to serious errors