Abstract:
The theory for transient isothermal flow of water into nonswelling unsaturated soil has
been developed to a large extent in terms of solutions of the non-linear Richards equation. In
the field, the description of infiltration is highly complicated since the initial and boundary
conditions are usually not constant while the soil characteristics may vary with time and
space. In this study, a model h:>~ been formulated for finite difference solution of the nonlinear
Richards equation applicable to transient, one-dimensional water flow through the unsaturated
porous medium. The simulated soil moisture profiles for explicit, Crank-Nicolson
and implicit schemes have been compared with the quasi-analytical solution of Philip.
