Experimental study on water evaporation from sand using environmental chamber

International audienceLarge-scale evaporation experiments were conducted on bare sand using an environmental chamber. Four different atmospheric conditions and various drying durations were imposed to soil sample. Both the atmospheric parameters (air flow rate, relative humidity and temperature) and the response of soil (volumetric water content, temperature and soil suction) were monitored simultaneously. Notably, the temperature and matric suction at soil surface were monitored using infrared thermometer and high-capacity tensiometer, respectively. The results show that the air and soil temperatures depend on the evaporation process and atmospheric conditions. In addition, volumetric water content in the near-surface zone is strongly affected by the evaporation process and changes linearly over depth. The evaporation rate is strongly dependent on the air conditions