Abstract
In numerical models of moisture in the unsaturated zone, it is frequently desirable to choose the matric (or pressure) head, rather than the moisture content, as the dependent variable. Two important advantages of this choice are that it facilitates modeling of soil systems that are locally saturated and that it provides a state variable that is always continuous in space, regardless of soil inhomogeneities.
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References
Haverkamp, R., M. Vauclin, J. Tourna, P.J. Wierenga, and G. Vachaud (1977). A comparison of numerical simulation models for one-dimensional infiltration, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 41, 2: 285–294.
Neuman, S.P. (1973) Saturated-unsaturated seepage by finite elements, Proc. ASCE, J. Hydraul. Div., 99, HY12: 2233–2250.
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© 1984 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Milly, P.C.D. (1984). A Mass-Conservative Procedure for Time-Stepping in Models of Unsaturated Flow. In: Laible, J.P., Brebbia, C.A., Gray, W., Pinder, G. (eds) Finite Elements in Water Resources. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-11744-6_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-11744-6_9
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