MODEL FOR UNSATURATED FLOW THROUGH SOIL: SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION

An applied numerical unsaturated flow model was developed in the previous paper to describe the movement of water in a homogeneous soil The model was based on the Richard’s equation for partially saturated flow in porous media along with real boundary conditions, which was solved using finite difference scheme. This paper is mainly focused on the model flow chart and its application to unsaturated moisture flow problems. Various options are considered using real boundary conditions. A sensitivity analysis of different parameters was undertaken in order to determine the most sensitive parameters of the model. It was found that the saturated hydraulic conductivityis the fundamental parameter governing the flow phenomena in unsaturated soil. From these analyses it is concluded that the model provides a useful tool in determining the moisture distribution and movement within unsaturated soilzone and it can be used independently or as a part of larger hydrological model