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A Double Tube Method for Measuring Hydraulic Conductivity of Soil in Situ above a Water Table¹

ABSTRACT

A method for measuring hydraulic conductivity of soil in situ above a water table is proposed. The method consists essentially of saturating a limited soil region below an auger hole in which two concentric tubes are placed. Hydraulic conductivity is calculated from measurements of the rate of change of the water level in the inner tube. The procedure is based on separating the flow between the tubes due to different water levels in the tubes from the total flow, which includes continued intake of water by the soil. Dimensionless parameters describing the flow component due to different water levels in the tubes are used in the calculation of the conductivity. These parameters were determined with a resistance network analog for three soil conditions, a uniform soil, a soil underlain by material of much lower conductivity, and a soil underlain by material of much higher conductivity. The depth to the material of different conductivity was taken as a variable. The method is illustrated with an example.

¹ Contribution from the Soil and Water Conservation Research Division, ARS, USDA.

² Research Agricultural Engineer, U. S. Water Conservation Laboratory, Southwest Branch, Soil and Water Conservation Research Division, ARS, USDA, Tempe, Ariz.

Received for publication November 25, 1960. Accepted for publication March 28, 1961.