SOIL-WATER RESPONSE BENEATH A TENSION INFILTROMETER - COMPUTER-SIMULATION

A two-phase flow, two-dimensional, transient finite element model was used to evaluate the soil moisture response at a depth of 0.076 m beneath a tension infiltrometer. Four simulations using sand, silt loam, layered soil, and wet and dry initial conditions were performed. It was determined that the gradient beneath a tension infiltrometer was affected by the initial moisture content. Under a tension of 0.1 m of water, the gradient varied from essentially 1.0 in a sand profile to 37 in an initially dry silt loam profile.