Infiltration

Basic of Soil-Water
Dynamic
❑ Any Soil and rock strata which permits water flow are called as Porous media

➢ Flow is called unsaturated when the porous media has some of its void filled with air

➢ Flow is called saturated when the porous media is fully filled with water
Ground water Table

➢ The boundary between saturated and unsaturated zone is called as Water Table

➢ Water present at the ground water table is having atmospheric pressure

Unsaturated Zone

Saturated Zone River

❑ Infiltrated water gets converted into soil moisture. All pores at the soil surface are filled with water before
water can begin to move downward.

❑ Once the soil moisture is satisfied, depending upon the gradient between at what is in initial condition and
saturations, it depends upon the hydraulic conductivity of the soil and how deeply ponded of the water at the
surface there will be some flow in the unsaturated zone

❑ Within the saturated zone, there will be some flow towards the stream which is termed as sub surface outflow
or interflow

❑ From the saturated zone there will also be water movement towards the stream. This is called as groundwater
outflow or base flow Rainfall

Infiltration

River
Saturated Zone Interflow
Base Flow
 WETTING PROCESS IN THE SUB-SURFACE

❑ Consider a relatively dry porous media which is unsaturated. At this state only the adsorbed water
exist which is due to electrostatic force between the water molecules and soil particle ( In fig, blue thin
film is the water)

❑ As the wetting progress (infiltration) , more water is available and the capillary force become
dominant and water molecule will form a bridge like formation between two soil particles

❑ On further wetting, the pores are completely filled with water and progress towards full saturation. In
this case gravity force will be predominant
❑ At the water table, pressure is atmospheric pressure

❑ Below the water table ( in the saturated zone), pressure is above the atmospheric pressure

❑ In the saturated zone, there are tiny pores present in the soil. Through these pores water will be rising due to
capillary action. Because of this a small region is formed just above the water table which is saturated . This is
called as capillary fringe.

❑ Capillary fringe is a zone in the unsaturated region where water move up due to capillary
action

❑ Above the capillary fringe porous media is unsaturated

except following rainfall. This is temporary.
IMPORTANT TERMS

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑙𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑉𝑜𝑖𝑑𝑠
Porosity (η)=
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑙𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
Volumetric Moisture Content (θ)=
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒

For completely dry soil , θ= 0

For completely saturated soil , θ=η

0<θ<η
DRIVING ENERGY FOR FLOW IN POROUS MEDIA

Total energy h consists of three components in the unsaturated zone in the subsurface flow

1. Suction head (Ѱ) : Suction head are forces which are binding water to soil particle through surface
tension (soil to suck water through capillary action)

2. Datum head or gravity head

3. Kinetic head or velocity head

𝑉2
ℎ = Ѱ+ 𝑍+
2𝑔
In an unsaturated flow, the velocity of flow is very low and can be neglected

ℎ = Ѱ+ 𝑍
Infiltration
❑ Infiltration is a process of water penetrating from the ground surface into the soil .
❑ Factors affecting Infiltration:
✓ Type of soil: Different type of soil will have different pore space etc.
✓ Soil Moisture (water present in the void in unsaturated): Dry soil more pore space more
infiltration. Infiltration
✓ Land use land cover : Urban areas majority is paved so less infiltration, forest or rural more

water will infiltrate. Perforated block for infiltration in urban

✓ Water properties (Turbidity)- Present of foreign particle, clogged the pores, less infiltration
✓ Temperature- Temperature is more, viscosity is less, infiltration is more
Under ordinary condition: Below the water table is
fully saturated. The moisture content is equal to the
porosity at that point. As we get away towards the
unsaturated zone the moisture content decreases
gradually (capillary effect) and become straight
(initial moisture content)

Ordinary condition During Rain

Moisture content variation with respect to depth

Assume Ground surface – Horizontal line

Plot the moisture content along the depth (z

axis)

Minimum value of moisture content will be

zero and maximum will be porosity
❑ Initially the soil is dry, as the rain starts water starts θ=0 θ=η
Saturation Zone θ=η
infiltrating
❑ During the rainfall events, as more water infiltrate,

Depth
the soil is wet
❑ As more and more rain, near the surface or just below
the ground will approach saturation
θ=η at the ground surface or just below it. This is the
saturated zone

This region is termed as saturation zone

❑ Below this is the transition zone which separate the
θ=0 θ=η
saturation and unsaturated zone. Its very thin Saturation Zone θ=η
❑ Below the transition zone we have transmission zone
Transition Zone
of unsaturated flow . Here the soil moisture is fairly

Depth
Transmission
Zone
uniform.
❑ As we go deeper the moisture content will vary
Wetting Zone
abruptly . This is called the wetting zone. Very sharp Wetting front
discontinuity between the wet soil and dry soil.
Wetting front is the boundary between the wet and
dry soil Saturation zone: Near saturation: θ=η
❑ Beneath that there will be dry soil. Transmission zone, fairly uniform, θ < η
Wetting zone, θ decrease with depth rapidly
Important Terms

1. Infiltration rate ,f (t): Rate at which water is infiltrating. Unit cm/hr

2. Cumulation Infiltration, F(t): Accumulation of infiltration over time since

the start of infiltration process . Unit cm

3. Infiltration Capacity (fc) or Potential Infiltration: Maximum rate at which

soil can absorb the water (During summer, when the soil is very dry, the soil will
absorb alot of moisture content). Unit cm/hr

4. Actual rate of infiltration(fa): At a given time, in a given place the actual rate
of infiltration
Relationship between infiltration rate and cumulative Infiltration

𝑡
F(t)=‫׬‬0 𝑓 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
Or if we have F(t), just differentiate to get f (t)
Relationship between fc, fa and i

i >= fc then fa = fc
i < fc then fa = i

fa = actual infiltration rate

i = rate of rainfall
fc = infiltration capacity or sometime called
potential infiltration
Measurement of
Infiltration
Measurement of Infiltration

❑We can measure by 3 methods:

1. Physical Method (Infiltrometer)

2. Horton Infiltration (Empirical, many more empirical formula

are available)

3. Infiltration index
Infiltrometer is a device used to measure the rate of water
infiltration into soil.
S i n g l e R i n g Infiltrometer .
❑ Thin cylindrical ring which is driven into the soil around 30 cm
depth
❑ Water is filled in the ring upto 5 to 10 cm
❑ A constant level of water is maintained. The rate at which the
water is added to the inner ring gives the infiltration rate
❑ This experiment needs to continue until the constant rate of
infiltration is obtained

❑ Assumption of 1 Dimension flow

❑ This assumption is not valid as the water spread out laterally

at the side of the ring
D o u b l e R i n g Infiltrometer .
2. Double Ring
❑Infiltrometer
Consist of two concentrated cylinders
❑ Ring diameter of inner and outer -30 cm & 60 cm
❑ Ring driven into soil – 15 cm ( use the hammering
cross to protect the ring from damage ).
❑ Start the test by pouring water in the outer ring until
the depth is approximately 5 cm
❑ The water in the outer ring is to prevent the
lateral spread of water from the inner ring
❑ Then pour water inside the inner rings till its water
level matches with the outer ring.
❑ Record the drop in water level in the inner ring
❑ The rate at which the water is added to the inner ring
gives the infiltration rate
Water in inner ring remain 1 Dimensional
Numerical Problem.

The cumulative infiltration depth from the infiltrometer experiment

is given below. Determine the infiltration rate and plot the
infiltration curve

Time (min) 1 2 4 6 8 10 15 20 30 45 60 90 120 180 240

Cumulative 1.2 2.1 3.8 5.6 7.1 8.7 12.2 15.6 20.7 26.7 31.7 39 44.4 55 65.2
depth (cm)

Time (min) 360 480 600 900 1200

Cumulative 85.4 104.8 125.1 175 225.2

depth (cm)
Time Cumulative Incremental Incremental Infiltration
Time (h)
(min) Depth (cm) time (h) depth (cm) Rate (cm/hr)
0 0 0.0000
1 1.2 0.0167 0.0167 1.20 72.00
2 2.1 0.0333 0.0167 0.90 54.00
4 3.8 0.0667 0.0333 1.70 51.00
6 5.6 0.1000 0.0333 1.80 54.00
8 7.1 0.1333 0.0333 1.50 45.00
10 8.7 0.1667 0.0333 1.60 48.00
15 12.2 0.2500 0.0833 3.50 42.00
20 15.6 0.3333 0.0833 3.40 40.80
30 20.7 0.5000 0.1667 5.10 30.60
45 26.7 0.7500 0.2500 6.00 24.00
60 31.7 1.0000 0.2500 5.00 20.00
90 39 1.5000 0.5000 7.30 14.60
120 44.4 2.0000 0.5000 5.40 10.80
180 55 3.0000 1.0000 10.60 10.60
240 65.2 4.0000 1.0000 10.20 10.20
360 85.4 6.0000 2.0000 20.20 10.10
480 104.8 8.0000 2.0000 19.40 9.70
600 125.1 10.0000 2.0000 20.30 10.15
900 175 15.0000 5.0000 49.90 9.98
1200 225.2 20.0000 5.0000 50.20 10.04
Initially there is high infiltration rate,
then it comes down and reach a steady
state value
Rainfall Simulator.

❑ plot of land (2m X

4m) size
❑ raindrops falling
from height of 2m
❑ Producing various
intensities of
rainfall
❑ Under controlled
condition
❑ Surface runoff
volume and rate are
measured
❑ Used water budget
equation to estimate
infiltration
Empirical and Theoretical
Equation for Infiltration
Empirical Equations.
❑ Empirical equations are derived by conducting several experiments. Based on
the experiment findings equation are propose
❑ Various empirical equations are available. Some of the popular are :
1. Horton’s equation
2. Kostiakov equation
3. Holtans equation

Theoretical Equations.
❑ Theoretical equations are derived based on Fundamental laws

1. Green Ampt- Equation

2. Phillips equation
Horton’s Infiltration Equation.
❑ Horton conducted many experiments and he concluded that initially the infiltration
capacity is maximum and with time is decrease exponentially and attend a steady
rate and remain with that value forever
❑ He proposed an exponential relationship for infiltration rate observed
under ponding conditions (assumption is that sufficient amount of water in ponded
on the surface)
Horton’s Infiltration Equation.
❑ Infiltration begins at some rate f0 and exponentially decrease until it reach a constant rate fc

𝑓 𝑡 = 𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 𝑓𝑜

f(t)= infiltration rate at any time t

f0= Initial infiltration rate
fc= steady constant infiltration rate 𝑓𝑐
k = Exponential decay constant (1/time) depending u p o n soil type &
vegetable cover. dependent upon hydraulic
conductivity .
Most widely used method
Cumulative Infiltration from Horton’s Infiltration
Equation.
𝑡
F(t)=‫׬‬0 𝑓 𝑡 𝑑𝑡

𝑡
=‫׬‬0 [𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 ]𝑑𝑡
−𝑘𝑡 𝑡
𝑒
= 𝑓𝑐 [𝑡]𝑡0 +(𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )
−𝐾 𝑜
(𝒇𝒐 −𝒇𝒄 )
F(t)= 𝒇𝒄 𝒕 + (𝟏 − 𝒆−𝒌𝒕 )
𝑲
 Estimation of Infiltration parameters from measured
infiltration data .
𝑓 𝑡 = 𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
𝑓 𝑡 − 𝑓𝑐 = (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
ln (𝑓 𝑡 − 𝑓𝑐 ) = ln (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 ) + ln (𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 )
ln (𝑓 𝑡 − 𝑓𝑐 ) = ln (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 ) − 𝐾𝑡

P l o t a c u r v e b e t w e e n ln (𝑓 𝑡 − 𝑓𝑐 ) vs t

Fit the best straight line and find the parameters

I n t e r c e p t w i l l g i v e ln (𝑓 𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 ), slope will give horton′ s paramter ′ s K

Numerical Problem on Horton equation.

Infiltration capacity data obtained from Infiltrometer reading are

given below. Determine the parameters of Horton’s Infiltration
equation

Time (h) 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2

Infiltration capacity 0 5.6 3.2 2.1 1.5 1.2 1.1 1 1

(mm/hr)
 4
Time Infiltration (fp – fc) ln(fp – fc)
2
(h) capacity
y = -3.1x + 2.3466

ln(fp – fc)
fp (mm/h) 0
0 - - - -2
0.25 5.6 4.6 1.526056 -4
−𝑘𝑡
0.5 3.2 2.2 0.788457 𝑓𝑝 = 𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒
-6
0.75 2.1 1.1 0.09531 Time (hr)
1 1.5 0.5 -0.69315
𝑓 𝑝 − 𝑓𝑐 = (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
1.25 1.2 0.2 -1.60944
Ln(𝑓 𝑝 − 𝑓𝑐 ) = Ln (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )- Kt
1.5 1.1 0.1 -2.30259
1.75 1 0 - Y = mx + C Ln (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )= 2.35
2 1 0 - (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )= 10.49
Y = -3.1 x + 2.35
K =3.1

𝑓𝑝 = 1 + 10.49𝑒 −3.1𝑡
The vertical hydraulic conductivity of the top soil is 0.2 cm/hr. A
storm of intensity 0.5 cm/hr occurs over the top soil for an
indefinite period. Assuming the surface drainage to be adequate, the
infiltration rate after the storm has lasted for a very long time shall
be

A. Smaller than 0.2 cm/hr

B. 0.2 cm/hr
C. Between 0.2 and 0.5 cm/hr
D. 0.5 cm/hr
T h e p a r a m e t e r s i n H o r t o n ’ s i n f i l t r a t i o n e q u a t i o n 𝑓 𝑡 = 𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
are as given , 𝑓𝑜 = 7.62 cm/hr, 𝑓𝑐 = 1.34 cm/hr, and k =-4.182/hour. For assumed continuous
ponding, find the cumulative infiltration at the end of 2 hours
 Infiltration Indices
Infiltration Indices.
❑ Infiltration capacity of soil does not remain constant.
❑ In hydrological computations involving flood, it is found convenient to use a constant value of
infiltration rate for the duration of the storm
Infiltration
capacity curve
The average
infiltration rate is
called infiltration
indices.
 Infiltration Indices
Infiltration Indices.

The average constant rate of infiltration is known as the infiltration

indices.

There are two infiltration Indices;

1. Ø- Index (pronounced as phi)

2. W-Index
 1. Ø - Index
❑ It is the average rate of infiltration above which the rainfall volume is equal to the
surface runoff volume.
❑ The intial loss is also considered as losses

Pe – R
Ø =
te

Ø - Index - cm/hr
Pe – effective rainfall in cm
R – runoff in cm
te = time period for rainfall excess in hr ,
i.e when rainfall intensity is greater
than Ø index
 1. Ø - Index
❑ For determination of Ø - Index , a horizontal line is drawn on the hyetograph such that the
shaded area above that line is equal to the volume of surface runoff.
❑ The unshaded area below the horizontal line actually represents all losses including
interception, depression storage and infiltration, but it is assumed that all these
losses are due to infiltration only.
 2. W - Index
❑ W – index also represents average rate of infiltration
❑ Here we calculate the average infiltration for the entire storm duration
❑ We have to separately subtract the initial loses

W-index = P – R – S
t

W – index is average rate of infiltration (cm/hr)

P = total rainfall (cm) R = total runoff (cm) S = total losses (cm) t = total time period (hr)
W index is the average infiltration rate for the entire duration of the storm

whereas

Ø - index is the average infiltration during only excess rainfall

2. W - Index

W – index is more accurate than the Ø - Index because the interception and depression
losses, which are considered as a part of infiltration.

Thus W – index is always less than Ø - Index

It is difficult to estimate interception and depression losses, W – index is not commonly used in
practice.
Rain= 14 cm , Runoff = 8cm, assume other loses as zero

Infiltration in 7hr of rainfall = 14-8 = 6cm

In 7hour we have 6cm of infiltration, what is the average rate of infiltration ?

6𝑐𝑚
Average infiltration for the whole storm period= =0.857cm/hr
7ℎ𝑟

W – Index= 0.857cm/hr

Because this is the average infiltration rate for the whole storm period

In the question we are asked to find Ø - index

Ø – index > W index

Rainfall that do not produce runoff among these 7 rainfall= 0.6 cm

Infiltration during rain that do not produce runoff= 0.6 cm

Infiltration during rainfall that produces runoff = 6cm -0.6 cm= 5.4 cm in 6 hours

5.4𝑐 𝑚
Ø – index = =0.9 cm/hr
6ℎ𝑟
A 6-hour rainstorm with hourly intensities of
7, 18, 25, 17, 11 and 3mm /hour produced a
runoff of 39 mm. Then, the phi-index is