Volume 36, N. 1

January-April 2013

Explicit Numerical Iterative Methods Applied to the Three-Parameter Infiltration Equation

Technical Note

Volume 36, N. 1, January-April 2013 | DOWNLOAD PDF (8 downloads)

Abstract

Finding explicit solutions to the partial differential equations governing the infiltration phenomenon tend to be a challenging issue. On account of such complexity, researchers have proposed algebraic equations to model this phenomenon. This paper deals with the solution of the general three-parameter infiltration equation, which is an implicit equation corresponding to the interpolation between the Green-Ampt and Talsma-Parlange infiltration models. By means of the Householders method, the cumulative infiltration is obtained by a rapidly converging iterative procedure. The results are further manipulated in order to obtain the infiltration rate explicitly. The effect of variables involved on the solution is also discussed. A case study is included to demonstrate the use of the proposed algorithm. The formulas proposed provide easy-to-use equations which enable calculations on the fly while considering practical applications.

Keywords: Three-parameter infiltration formula, Green-Ampt, Householder`s Methods, Talsma-Parlange,


Submitted on August 12, 2011.
Final Acceptance on April 19, 2013.
Discussion open until August 30, 2013.
DOI: 10.28927/SR.361129