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Steady upward flow from water tables

Abstract

The rate of upward flow from water tables is an important factor in irrigated areas for determining the depth at which water tables should be maintained. This study attempted to relate the maximum rate of upward flow to measurable soil parameters under various conditions of the soil-water system, and to determine more precisely the effect of hysteresis. Theoretical solutions were developed to determine the maximum upward flow rate as a function of depth of water table and necessary soil parameters. To verify these solutions, laboratory investigations were conducted. The experiments were conducted so that the ambient conditions did not affect the upward flow rates. Upward flow was induced at the top of the soil columns by means of an outflow siphon. An inflow siphon was connected to an inflow barrier at ยท the bottom of the soil column to maintain the water table as desired. Three conditions of the soil-liquid system were used, i.e., drainage, imbibition and imbibition-drainage cycles. The results gave good agreement between the theoretical solution and experimental results for both drainage and imbibition cycles. The imbibition-drainage cycle was conducted to study the effect of hysteresis. This effect caused the maximum rates of upward flow to drop 20 to 50 percent below the theoretical values.

Description

June 1965.
Covers not scanned.
Print version deaccessioned 2024.

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Subject

Soil mechanics

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