Soil Hydrodynamics

Program:

• A Review of Soil Physics
• General Principles of Hydrostatics (concepts of adsorption, capillarity, and water energy potentials; principles of conservation of matter; soil retention curves)
• Flow in saturated and unsaturated soils (Darcy's law, Richards' equation, etc.)
• Concepts in the Numerical Solution of the Richards Equation
• Dynamics of Water Flow in the Field
• Methodology for Measuring the Hydrodynamic Properties of Soils

The EU places significant emphasis on guided instruction and hands-on exercises. Experiments will be conducted during sessions on agricultural plots. Calculation and simple modeling exercises will be carried out to illustrate the numerical application of all the physical concepts presented in lectures.  The examples covered in these exercises will be based, on the one hand, on these experimental results and, on the other hand, on specific problems encountered in the agricultural sector. 

Learning Objectives: To acquire basic knowledge of water transfer processes in porous media, with applications to cultivated soils, and to identify current research trends related to these processes.

Students must be able to understand the physical processes involved, interpret flow dynamics in soils, use models to simulate flow, and analyze processes at the farm plot scale.

Required prerequisites*:

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

Basic algebraic calculation skills; understanding of the concepts of numerical functions and derivatives

Proficiency with a spreadsheet program such as Excel

Recommended prerequisites*:

Knowledge of Soil Science

The EU is assessed through a written exam covering the lectures and tutorials held during the module.

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