Soil hydrodynamics

Program :

• Reminder of soil physics
• General principles of hydrostatics (notions of adsorption, capillarity, energy potential of water, principles of conservation of matter, retention curves of soils)
• Flow in saturated and unsaturated soils (Darcy's law, Richards' equation...)
• Notions of numerical solution of Richards' equation
• Water flow dynamics in the field
• Methodology for measuring the hydrodynamic properties of soils

The EU gives an important part to the directed lessons and practical work. Experiments will be conducted during sessions on agricultural plots. Calculation or simple modeling exercises will be carried out to illustrate the numerical application of all the physical concepts presented in lectures. The examples treated during these exercises will be based on these experimental results on the one hand, and on specific problems of the agricultural environment on the other. 

Competence objectives: to acquire basic knowledge on water transfer processes in porous media with applications to the case of cultivated soils and to identify current scientific fronts on these processes.

Students should be able to understand the physical processes involved, interpret flow dynamics in soils, use models to simulate flows, and analyze processes at the scale of an agricultural plot.

Required prerequisites*:

Basic knowledge of physics: concepts of mass, weight, energy, work and understanding of the corresponding physical units

Basic algebraic skills, understanding of numerical functions and derivatives

Mastery of a spreadsheet program such as Excel

Recommended prerequisites*:

Knowledge in pedology

The UE is evaluated by a written test relating to the courses and TD carried out during the module.

Water balance, water potential, hydrostatics, hydrodynamics, soil infiltrability, water cycle in the field, measurement methods, Darcy's law, Richards' law, modeling