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Parameter Identification in a Soil with Constant Diffusivity

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Abstract

We consider infiltration into a soil that is assumed to have hydraulic conductivity of the form K = K Seαh and water content of the form θ = (βK − θ r. Here h denotes capillary pressure head while KS, α, β and θ r represent soil specific parameters. These assumptions linearize the flow equation and permit a closed form solution that displays the roles of all the parameters appearing in the hydraulic function K and θ. We assume KS and θ r to be known. A measurement of diffusivity fixes the product of α and β resulting in a parameter identification problem for one parameter. We show that this parameter identification problem, in some cases, has a unique solution. We also show that, in some cases, this parameter identification problem can have multiple solutions, or no solution. In addition it is shown that solutions to the parameter identification problem can be very sensitive to small changes in the problem data.

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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Zachmann, D., White, I. (1991). Parameter Identification in a Soil with Constant Diffusivity. In: Dagan, G., Hornung, U., Knabner, P. (eds) Mathematical Modeling for Flow and Transport Through Porous Media. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2199-8_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2199-8_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4127-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2199-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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