Estimation of the Hydraulic Parameters of a Stratified Alluvial Soil in the Region of El Haouareb—Central Tunisia. Experiments, Empirical, Analytical and Inverse Models

Modeling water flow and contaminant transport in the unsaturated zone is a difficult task that relies heavily on good hydrodynamic soil characterization. This article presents a complementarity between experimentation, direct modeling and inverse modeling in order to provide a better estimate of the...

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Main Authors: Emna Abdennour, Lamia Guellouz, Mariem Dahmouni, Mohamed Hachicha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Hydrology
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/11/11/181
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author Emna Abdennour
Lamia Guellouz
Mariem Dahmouni
Mohamed Hachicha
author_facet Emna Abdennour
Lamia Guellouz
Mariem Dahmouni
Mohamed Hachicha
author_sort Emna Abdennour
collection DOAJ
description Modeling water flow and contaminant transport in the unsaturated zone is a difficult task that relies heavily on good hydrodynamic soil characterization. This article presents a complementarity between experimentation, direct modeling and inverse modeling in order to provide a better estimate of the hydrodynamic parameters of stratified alluvial soil in the El Haouareb region of the Kairouane plain in Tunisia. A field sampling campaign was carried out. The samples collected underwent particle size analysis, bulk density measurements and infiltration tests using a mini-Muntz. In parallel, simple evaporation tests were applied to separate strata. In addition, a 2 m soil column was reconstituted and fitted with sensors to monitor water content, tension, temperature and electrical conductivity. An internal drainage test was performed on this monolith. Three methods were applied using experimental data to estimate soil hydrodynamic parameters. In the first method, pedotransfer functions were used (Rosetta platform) based on granulometric results and bulk density. In the second, water tension and water content monitored during the simple evaporation test were used to plot the soil–water retention curve (SWRC) using SWRC-Fit. In the third method, inverse modeling was applied to the internal drainage test. A comparison of the results showed that the inverse method had the lowest RMSE. Uncertainty analysis has been implemented for both the experimental and numerical set up.
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spelling doaj-art-300022c843664046919d92b3208d58e72024-11-26T18:06:16ZengMDPI AGHydrology2306-53382024-10-01111118110.3390/hydrology11110181Estimation of the Hydraulic Parameters of a Stratified Alluvial Soil in the Region of El Haouareb—Central Tunisia. Experiments, Empirical, Analytical and Inverse ModelsEmna Abdennour0Lamia Guellouz1Mariem Dahmouni2Mohamed Hachicha3National Research Institute of Rural Engineering, Water and Forests LR16 INRGREF02, Non-Conventional Water Valorization, University of Carthage, 17 rue Hédi Karray, B.P no. 10, Ariana 2080, TunisiaLaboratory of Modeling Hydraulics and Environment, National Institute of Engineering of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, B.P no. 37, The Belvedere, Tunis 1002, TunisiaNational Research Institute of Rural Engineering, Water and Forests LR16 INRGREF02, Non-Conventional Water Valorization, University of Carthage, 17 rue Hédi Karray, B.P no. 10, Ariana 2080, TunisiaNational Research Institute of Rural Engineering, Water and Forests LR16 INRGREF02, Non-Conventional Water Valorization, University of Carthage, 17 rue Hédi Karray, B.P no. 10, Ariana 2080, TunisiaModeling water flow and contaminant transport in the unsaturated zone is a difficult task that relies heavily on good hydrodynamic soil characterization. This article presents a complementarity between experimentation, direct modeling and inverse modeling in order to provide a better estimate of the hydrodynamic parameters of stratified alluvial soil in the El Haouareb region of the Kairouane plain in Tunisia. A field sampling campaign was carried out. The samples collected underwent particle size analysis, bulk density measurements and infiltration tests using a mini-Muntz. In parallel, simple evaporation tests were applied to separate strata. In addition, a 2 m soil column was reconstituted and fitted with sensors to monitor water content, tension, temperature and electrical conductivity. An internal drainage test was performed on this monolith. Three methods were applied using experimental data to estimate soil hydrodynamic parameters. In the first method, pedotransfer functions were used (Rosetta platform) based on granulometric results and bulk density. In the second, water tension and water content monitored during the simple evaporation test were used to plot the soil–water retention curve (SWRC) using SWRC-Fit. In the third method, inverse modeling was applied to the internal drainage test. A comparison of the results showed that the inverse method had the lowest RMSE. Uncertainty analysis has been implemented for both the experimental and numerical set up.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/11/11/181unsaturated zonestratified alluvial soilhydrodynamic parametersexperiment direct and inverse modelingKairouanecentral Tunisia
spellingShingle Emna Abdennour
Lamia Guellouz
Mariem Dahmouni
Mohamed Hachicha
Estimation of the Hydraulic Parameters of a Stratified Alluvial Soil in the Region of El Haouareb—Central Tunisia. Experiments, Empirical, Analytical and Inverse Models
Hydrology
unsaturated zone
stratified alluvial soil
hydrodynamic parameters
experiment direct and inverse modeling
Kairouane
central Tunisia
title Estimation of the Hydraulic Parameters of a Stratified Alluvial Soil in the Region of El Haouareb—Central Tunisia. Experiments, Empirical, Analytical and Inverse Models
title_full Estimation of the Hydraulic Parameters of a Stratified Alluvial Soil in the Region of El Haouareb—Central Tunisia. Experiments, Empirical, Analytical and Inverse Models
title_fullStr Estimation of the Hydraulic Parameters of a Stratified Alluvial Soil in the Region of El Haouareb—Central Tunisia. Experiments, Empirical, Analytical and Inverse Models
title_full_unstemmed Estimation of the Hydraulic Parameters of a Stratified Alluvial Soil in the Region of El Haouareb—Central Tunisia. Experiments, Empirical, Analytical and Inverse Models
title_short Estimation of the Hydraulic Parameters of a Stratified Alluvial Soil in the Region of El Haouareb—Central Tunisia. Experiments, Empirical, Analytical and Inverse Models
title_sort estimation of the hydraulic parameters of a stratified alluvial soil in the region of el haouareb central tunisia experiments empirical analytical and inverse models
topic unsaturated zone
stratified alluvial soil
hydrodynamic parameters
experiment direct and inverse modeling
Kairouane
central Tunisia
url https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/11/11/181
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