A Methdology for Estimation of Soil Water Charactreristic Curve for Unsaturated Cohesive Soils

Abstract

Many environmental issues involve transport of contaminants in unsaturated porous soil media. Unsaturated flow plays a significant role in wastewater infiltration and treatment. Transport of contaminants in unsaturated porous subsurface media is of significant importance due to the risks which contaminants pose to the environment. Mechanics of unsaturated soils is perhaps the most important issue in prediction of unsaturated flow including contaminant transport in the environment. The SWCC, “soil water characteristic curve”, can be used to determine various characteristics of the unsaturated soil media. In fact, it illustrates the relationship between soil suction and moisture content. Experimental methods for assessment of the SWCC are often time consuming and expensive. The SWCC can be estimated using specific characteristics of soils to avoid the costs of experimental methods. This paper aims at demonstrating that the SWCC for cohesive soils can be estimated using the PI, fine content, initial void ratio and the Van Genuchten equation.