Calibration of the Guelph Permeameter Method Using Shallow Well Pump-in Test (SWPT) for Hydraulic Conductivity Measurement and Derivation of single depth Laplace and Richards Equation for a Loam Soil

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Professor, Irrigation and Drainage Department, Faculty of Water Science and Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Former Grad. Student, Faculty of Water Sciences and Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

3 Retired Professor, Irrigation and Drainage Department, Faculty of Water Science and Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

Abstract

Saturated hydraulic conductivity is a vital soil propriety in controlling infiltration and runoff, drainage, extracting pesticides, and herbicides from soil profile and transfer them to ground water. The auger-hole method is the most famous and the most common method to measure the hydraulic conductivity (K) that have been used normally for years. Using this method is possible where the water table is high and in a one-meter range from the soil surface. In the measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity some problems occur when the water table of the soil is very deep. In arid and semi-arid areas especially in summer, the water table is so low making it impossible to use ideal methods.To determine the hydraulic conductivity rates of soils above the water table, different methods are used. These methods have always been faced with weakness in theoretical bases or practical problems as well as being time consuming and costly. One of these methods is the shallow well pump-in test which is the most adaptable method used for this purpose. However, a new method has been developed to measure the hydraulic conductivity above water table which is called the Guelph Permeameter method. As the Guelph method was introduced by Reynolds and Elricks (1985), great changes have been made in this field, and due to the strong theoretical bases, being less time-consuming and cheaper to perform, Guelph method attracted lots of attention. The aim of this research was to calibrate the Guelph Permeameter for the measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity using the Shallow Well Pump-in Test (SWPT) method at an experimental farm in Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. This research examines the calibration of Guelph Permeameter method by using shallow depth pumping test method for a loam soil in this region.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

1- Darcy, J.D., Ward, A.D., Fausey, N.R, and Bair, E.S., 1990. A comparison of four field methods for measuring saturated hydraulic conductivity. Transaction of ASAE, 33, pp. 1925-1931.
 2- Elrick, D.E., Reynolds, W.D. and Tan, K.A., 1989. Hydraulic conductivity measurements in the unsaturated zone using improved well analyses. Ground Water Monitoring Review. 9, pp. 184-193.
 3- Kashkuli, H., 1992. Simultaneous determination of soil hydraulic properties above the water table using Gulph method. Proceeding of 3th Iranian Soil Congress, Soil Science Association of Iran, Tehran, Iran. (In Persian). 
 4- Kashkuli, H. and Mashal, M., 1995. Comparison of the methods of field measurements of hydraulic conductivity above the water table with the Guelph method in two different soil types in Khuzestan province. The Scientific Journal of Agriculture, 18(1 and 2), pp. 1-24. (In Persian).
 5- Kashkuli, H., Mirbehersee, H. and Nori-Emamzadehee, M., 2001. Using single-depth and Multi-depth analyzes of Guelph permeameter method to determine hydraulic conductivity and α coefficient and comparing them with auger hole method. Journal of Soil Science Association of Iran, Selective papers of 7th Iranian Soil Congress, pp. 82-84. (In Persian).
 6-Lee D.M., Reynolds, W.D., Elrick, D.E. and Clothier, B.E., 1985. A comparison of three field methods for measuring saturated hydraulic conductivity. Soil Science, 65, pp. 563-573.
 7-Mohanty. B.P., Kanwer, R.S. and Everts, C.J., 1994. Comparison of saturated hydraulic conductivity measurement methods for a glacial-till. Soil Science Society American Journal, 58, pp. 672-677.
 8- Mokhtaran, R., 2004, Evaluation of single-depth analyzes Guelph permeameter method for determination of saturated hydraulic conductivity above the water table in a medium texture soil.  Master's Thesis. Shahid Chamaran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran, 121 p. (In Persian).
 9-Philip, J.R., 1987. The quasilinear analysis, the scattering analogue and other aspects of infiltration and seepage. In Y.S. For (Ed.), Infiltration Development and Application, Water Resources Research Center, Honolulu. pp. 1-27.
 10-Reynolds, W.D., Elrick, D.E. and Clothier B.E., 1985. The constant head well permeameter Effect on unsaturated flow. Soil Science, 139(2), pp. 172-180.
 11-Reynolds, W.D. and Elrick D.E., 1985. In situ measurement of field saturated hydraulic conductivity sorptivity, parameter using Guelph permeameter. Soil Science, 140(4), pp. 292-302.
12-Reynolds, W.D., Vieira, S.R. and Topp G.C., 1992. An assessment of the single-head analysis for the constant head well permeameter. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 72, pp. 489-501.
 13-Reynolds, W.D. and Zcbehuk, W.D., 1996. Hydraulic conductivity in a clay soil two measurement techniques and spatial characterization. Soil Science Society American Journal, 60, pp. 1679-1685.
 14-Stephens, D.B., Lamert, K. and Watson, D., 1987. Regression models for hydraulic conductivity and field test of the borehole permeameter. Water Resource Research, 23, pp. 2207-2214.
 15-Vieira, S.R., Reynolds, W.D., and Topp G.C. 1988. Spatial variability of hydraulic properties in a highly structured clay soil. Proceeding Symprian Validation of Flow and Transport Models for Unsaturated Zone, Ruidoso, NM.
 16-Zanger, C.N., 1953. Theory and problems of water percolations. Engineering Monograph No. 8, Bur. of Reclamation, U.S. Dep. of Interior, 76 p.
 17-Zhang, Z.F., Groenevelt, P.H., and Grayw, P., 1988. The well shape factor for the measurement of soil hydraulic properties using the Guelph permeameter. Soil & Tillage Research 49, pp. 219-221.                                                                                                                  
Irrigation Sciences and Engineering
Volume 42, Issue 1
March 2019
Pages 73-81

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 14 May 2016
  • Revise Date: 15 June 2017
  • Accept Date: 20 June 2017
  • Publish Date: 21 March 2019

Share

How to cite

Statistics