Hafta.

Hydrology - C E 302
Prof. Dr. Oral YAĞCI

WEEK 4: Infiltration
Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, İnşaat Mühendisiliği Bölümü
Infiltration
A part of the precipitation falling on the earth’s surface
seeps into the soil by gravitation, capillary and molecular
forces (surface tension). This is called infiltration.
The force of attraction between molecules of the same kind is known as cohesion.
The force of attraction between unlike molecules is called adhesion.
Capillary action, or capillarity, is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces

without the assistance of, and in opposition to external forces like gravity.
Watch videos on Youtube Capilarity

Surface Tension & Capillarity-1
2
The amount of elevation, or
depression, is inversely
proportional to the diameter of the
tube
The amount of elevation or

depression decreases as the
temperature increases
Liquids rise in capillary tubes if

they wet the tubes. If they don’t wet
them they are depressed
3
Water surface tension allows some insects and other
animals to walk on water!
Water’s surface has a thin

skin that allows a glass to be
filled just above the brim
without spilling any of the
water.
Infiltrated water
1. Increaes the soil moisture
2. Produce subsurface flow,
3. Then moves into the deeper parts of the earth
(percolates) to join the groundwater
Watch videos on Youtube Porosity

Perm Capillarity.mov
Infiltration Capacity
Definition: Maximum rate of water that can infiltrate into

the soil in unit time is called infiltration capacity.
5
WHICH FACTORS AFFECT THE INFILTRATION CAPACITY?
1. Grain size and permeability of the soil:
(if porousity of soil

↑
then infiltartion ↑)
Ref: Haberlandt et al. (2011) 6
7
2. Initial moisture content of the soil:
In a wet soil capillary pores will be partly filled by water (this means
less infiltration capacity).
Ref: Haberlandt et al. (2010)

8
3. Vegetation and organic materials:
Presence of vegetation and organic
material
⚫ hinder surface flow,
⚫ facilitate the entry of water into the soil,
⚫ prevent the compression of soil by
raindrops, and
⚫ increase the permeability of the

soil
resulting in higher infiltration

capacity. 9
4. Surface condition of the soil: (Very fine grains on the surface
of the soil resist the entry of the water and reduces the infiltration
capacity. )
5. Air pockets in the soil reduce the infiltration:
6. Tilling of the soil affetcs the infiltration capacity.

(Infiltration capacity=0,25-25 mm/h when there is no veg on the
ground surface. It increases 3-7 times when surface is covered by
plants.)
10
Measurement of Infiltration Capacity
It cannot be measurured directly. Esimated by

water balance [in field or in an exprimental basin
(i.e. infiltrometer)].
What Is Infiltrometer and How Does It Work?
11
The purpose of the outer tube
is to eliminate to some extent
the edge effect of the
surrounding drier soil and to
prevent the water within the
inner space from spreading
over a larger area after
penetrating below the bottom
of the ring.
12
Standard infiltration curve
(Infiltration Capacity)
As the rainfall continues
the infiltration capacity will
be reduced because :
• soil moisture increases

• clay particles fill the
pores by swelling
• soil particles enter the
soil with water
• raindrops consolidate
the soil
13
Horton’s Equation
𝑓 = 𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓0 + 𝑓𝑐)𝑒−𝑘𝑡
where
f=infiltration capacity at time t after the initiation of
precipitation
f0= initial value of the infiltration capacity
fc =limit of the infiltration capacity reached in 1-3
hours .
f0, fc, k =func (soil type, vegetation cover, characteristic and timing of
previous precipitation)
14
Total infiltration depth up to time t
can be computed by the
integration of Horton’s Equation.
15
Infiltration rate
Definition: Infiltration rate is the actual rate of

infiltration into the soil in unit time during a storm.
i=intensity of precipitation
f=infiltration capacity
If i>f then infiltration
If i<f rate=f then
infiltration rate=i
16
LOOSING SNOWPACK LEAD TO
infiltration rate↘
groundwater recharge ↘
volume of runoff ↗
storage in basin↘
flooding risk ↗
suspended solids ↗
dry weather flows ↘
stream velocity
increases↗
aquatic life ↘
17
Let us assume:
i<f at the beginning of the precipitation and after a
while i>f
In this case, at the beginning, infiltration rate is lower than the infiltration capacity
and the amount of water infiltrated into the soil will be less than that given by the
standard infiltration curve.
Hence, the increase of soil moisture will be smaller than that in a storm where the
standard infiltration curve applies.
For this reason, the infiltration rate will be higher than that of infiltration curve
when the precipitation intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity.
18
19
Infiltration Indices
Infiltration index is the average infiltration capacity in a storm that

is assumed to remain constant in large regions.
It gives good results when

 the soil is initially wet,
 precipitation is heavy,
 precipitation has a short duration.
WHY: Because in this case infiltration capacity will not change

much during such a storm.
20
 index
A horizontal line is drawn across the hyetograph such that
the area between this line and hyetograph is equal to the
total depth of precipitation’ the ordinate of the line is 
index.
21
W index
𝑃−𝑅−𝑆
𝑊=
𝑡𝑝
P=Precipitation depth
R=Runoff depth
S=Surface storage depth
tp=time interval in
which i>infiltration
capacity
 Index has a larger value than the W index because

22
Additional References
• http://www.solitaryroad.com/c1023.html
23

Hafta.

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hafta.

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hafta.

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hydrology - C E 302

Prof. Dr. Oral YAĞCI

The force of attraction between unlike molecules is called adhesion.

Capillary action, or capillarity, is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces

Watch videos on Youtube Capilarity

The amount of elevation or

Liquids rise in capillary tubes if

Water’s surface has a thin

Watch videos on Youtube Porosity

Definition: Maximum rate of water that can infiltrate into

1. Grain size and permeability of the soil:

(if porousity of soil

Ref: Haberlandt et al. (2010)

⚫ hinder surface flow,

⚫ facilitate the entry of water into the soil,

⚫ prevent the compression of soil by

⚫ increase the permeability of the

resulting in higher infiltration

5. Air pockets in the soil reduce the infiltration:

6. Tilling of the soil affetcs the infiltration capacity.

It cannot be measurured directly. Esimated by

What Is Infiltrometer and How Does It Work?

• soil moisture increases

Definition: Infiltration rate is the actual rate of

Infiltration index is the average infiltration capacity in a storm that

It gives good results when

WHY: Because in this case infiltration capacity will not change

 Index has a larger value than the W index because

You might also like