Experimental investigation on heat, moisture and salt transfer in soil

In this paper, experiments on coupled heat, moisture and salt transfer in yellow vegetable soil are conducted. A remarkable thermal permeant region in the soil column is found, along with moisture releasing, transition and absorbing zones in the soil column. The capillary flow is the dominant mechanism that governs the moisture transfer. With the moisture transfer, the salt moves from the groundwater and accumulates at the top of the column. However, with the salt accumulation, there will be a gradient of salt content and, as a result, the salt will also diffuse due to this gradient.