Evaluating the relative air permeability of porous media from their water retention curves

Abstract

Accurate modeling of water and air flow in porous media requires the definition of the relevant hydraulic properties, namely, the water retention curve (WRC) and the relative hydraulic conductivity function (RHC), as well as the definition of the relative air permeability function (RAP). Capitalizing on the approach developed previously to represent the RHC, a new model allowing the prediction of RAP based on information resulting from the WRC is proposed. The power value ηa in the model is a decreasing exponential function of the coefficient of variation, ɛ, characterizing the pore size distribution of the porous medium, and derived from its WRC. The model was calibrated using data from 22 disturbed and undisturbed soil samples and was validated using data from eight soil types ranging from quartz sand to silty clay loam. The proposed model provided accurate prediction of the soil RAP and performed in some cases (sandy loam and silty clay loam soils) better than available alternative models.