Articles | Volume 9, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-9-517-2005
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-9-517-2005
31 Oct 2005
31 Oct 2005

Do effective properties for unsaturated weakly layered porous media exist? An experimental study

A. Bayer, H.-J. Vogel, O. Ippisch, and K. Roth

Abstract. In a multi-step outflow experiment we found that a weak heterogeneity within a sand column prevents the estimated effective hydraulic parameters from being unique. We compared vertical water content profiles calculated from these parameters with profiles measured by x-ray attenuation. A layered material model based on x-ray data was able to reproduce the outflow curve and also the water content distribution inside the column. We also calculated effective parameters for the layered model turned upside down and obtained large differences to the set of values of the original sample.