Soil hydrodynamics

Program:

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

The EU places significant emphasis on tutorials and practical work. Experiments will be conducted during sessions on agricultural plots. Simple calculation or modeling exercises will be carried out to illustrate the numerical application of all the physical concepts presented in lectures.  The examples used in these exercises will be based on these experimental results on the one hand, and on specific problems in the agricultural sector on the other. 

Skills objectives: acquire basic knowledge of water transfer processes in porous media with applications to cultivated soils and identify current scientific frontiers in these processes.

Students must 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 calculation skills, understanding of numerical functions and derivatives

Proficiency in Excel-type spreadsheets

Recommended prerequisites:

Knowledge of soil science

The EU is assessed by a written test covering the lectures and tutorials completed during the module.

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