A Numerical Experiment to Determine the Soil Water Contents in the Unsaturated Zone and the Water Table Response under Transient Ponding Conditions

A model based on analytical solutions derived from the 2-phase flow theory for infiltration and drainage processes under transient supply conditions is presented here. The mathematical derivations are based on the knowledge of unsaturated flow in porous media, on the continuity equation and Darcy equation. The main assumption concerns the rectangular shape of the water content profile with depth which leads to an abrupt change of the water contents as the front goes by. A sequence of infiltration and drainage fronts are analysed and the results are presented. New is the approach of combining the saturated and the unsaturated zones in one efficient methodology using analytical solutions.