Cutting Ring Soil Infiltration for Fast Hydraulic Property Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for measuring soil hydraulic properties, such as SWRC and sorptivity, are time-consuming, costly, and not suitable for rapid acquisition in large areas, and current inversion techniques for upward infiltration methods face non-uniqueness and non-convergence issues, limiting their application in real-time and efficient soil surveys.
Innovation Solution
A method for estimating soil hydraulic properties through a one-dimensional water upward infiltration experiment of a cutting ring soil sample, involving steps to measure cumulative infiltration, wetting front advancement, and soil moisture content changes, allowing for the calculation of saturated hydraulic conductivity, sorptivity, and air-entry suction values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional measurement methods (pressure membrane meter, suction plate meter, sand box) are used to obtain soil hydraulic properties, then measurement accuracy is improved, but measurement time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses cumulative infiltration data as an intermediary parameter to indirectly estimate soil hydraulic properties. Instead of directly measuring SWRC or conductivity through complex apparatus, the method uses the easily measurable cumulative infiltration process during upward infiltration as a mediator to derive the desired hydraulic properties through analytical solutions, significantly reducing measurement time while maintaining accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified copy of the soil water movement process by conducting controlled upward infiltration experiments in cutting ring samples. This simplified experimental setup replicates the essential physics of soil water movement without requiring complex field conditions, allowing rapid measurement of hydraulic properties that would otherwise require time-consuming in-situ tests
2Productivity
If numerical inversion methods based on upward infiltration process are used to estimate soil hydraulic properties, then measurement speed is improved, but parameter non-uniqueness and non-convergence issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex numerical inversion algorithms with analytical solutions based on Philip's infiltration theory. By substituting the mechanical/computational inversion process with closed-form analytical expressions, the method eliminates iteration-related problems such as non-convergence and non-uniqueness, while maintaining fast measurement speed and improving result reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the inverse problem of estimating hydraulic properties from cumulative infiltration data into a direct calculation problem by changing the mathematical approach from numerical inversion to analytical solution. This parameter transformation uses established analytical relationships between cumulative infiltration and soil hydraulic properties, converting an ill-posed inverse problem into a well-posed direct calculation
3Device complexity
If existing analytical upward infiltration models are used, then calculation simplicity is improved, but measurement accuracy deteriorates due to omitted process details
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by focusing on the dominant infiltration process during the early stage of upward infiltration, where cumulative infiltration data provides the most sensitive information about soil hydraulic properties. By concentrating on this critical phase rather than attempting to model the entire infiltration process, the method achieves accurate property estimation with a relatively simple analytical model
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method efficiently and accurately predicts soil hydraulic properties, overcoming inefficiencies and parameter convergence issues, enabling rapid and large-area soil surveys with high accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
one-dimensional water upward infiltration experiment of homogeneous dry soil for the cutting ring soil sample under a boundary condition of a constant pressure
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method for predicting soil hydraulic properties based on an upward infiltration experiment of a cutting ring soil sample. According to the new design approach, based on an inverse process of one-dimensional water upward infiltration analytical solution of homogeneous dry soils under a boundary condition of a constant pressure, by recording the data regarding cumulative infiltration amounts and infiltration times during the upward infiltration process of the cutting ring soil sample and a time for the wetting front to reach the upper surface of the cutting ring soil sample, a saturated hydraulic conductivity of the cutting ring soil sample is measured, and the soil hydraulic properties are quickly obtained. The present disclosure overcomes the defects that the methods in the prior art for measuring soil hydraulic properties are time consuming, low in efficiency, and not suitable for rapid acquisition of large area in the field, avoids the problems of multiple solutions and non-convergence of parameters, and improves the efficiency of acquiring soil hydraulic properties, thereby providing an effective means for the investigation of soil hydraulic properties in a large area in the field.