Investigating the effect of porosity on the soil water retention curve using the multiphase Lattice Boltzmann Method

TL;DR

This study uses the multiphase Lattice Boltzmann Method to numerically analyze how porosity influences the soil water retention curve, revealing that lower porosity increases the air-entry value.

Contribution

It introduces a novel numerical approach to model the effect of porosity on SWRC using the multiphase Lattice Boltzmann Method, comparing results with the van Genuchten model.

Findings

Simulated SWRCs fit well with the van Genuchten model at high saturation.

Decreasing porosity raises the air-entry value.

The shape of SWRCs varies with porosity levels.

Abstract

The soil water retention curve (SWRC) is the most commonly used relationship in the study of unsaturated soil. In this paper, the effect of porosity on the SWRC is investigated by numerically modeling unsaturated soil using the Shan-Chen multiphase Lattice Boltzmann Method. The shape of simulated SWRCs are compared against that predicted by the van Genuchten model, demonstrating a good fit except at low degrees of saturation. The simulated SWRCs show an increase in the air-entry value as porosity decreases.