In situ determination of field-saturated hydraulic conductivity of subsurface soil of vadose zone by technique of Pressure Infiltrometer

For reducing or bridging gap between small scale laboratory investigations and large scale field investigations, a simple and portable model which is based on real situation and has a compatibility to laboratory core sampling, the pressure infiltrometer technique is introduced for determination of field-saturated hydraulic conductivity. The field -saturated hydraulic conductivity, K(FS), is obtained from measurements of steady flow rates applying constant head as well as falling head principle. The device is also used for field core sampling on which laboratory constant head as well as falling head tests is carried out. The field device is validated through comparison to laboratory core sample experiment and other existing methods. This paper describes first time a versatile field device representing good performance for in situ determination of hydraulic parameters in a short time.