International audiencetudying soil hydrological processes requires the determination of soil hydraulic parameters whose assessment using traditional methods is expensive and time-consuming. A specific method, Beerkan estimation of soil transfer parameters referred to as BEST was developed to facilitate the determination of both the water retention curve, {theta}(h), and the hydraulic conductivity curve, K({theta}), defined by their shape and scale parameters. BEST estimates shape parameters from particle-size distribution analysis and scale parameters from infiltration experiments at null pressure head. Saturated water content is measured directly at the end of infiltration. Hydraulic conductivity and water pressure scale parameters are calculated from the steady-state infiltration rate and prior estimation of sorptivity (S) This is provided by fitting transient infiltration data on the classical two-term equations with values from zero to a maximum corresponding to null hydraulic conductivity and using a data subset for which the two-term infiltration equations are verified as valid. BEST was compared with other fitting methods to estimate sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity from infiltration modeling data on the basis of the same infiltration equations for three contrasting soils: agricultural soil, sandy soil, and a coarser fluvioglacial deposit. The other methods failed sometimes to model accurately experimental data and to provide values in agreement with physical principles of water infiltration (negative values for hydraulic conductivity, too high steady-state infiltration rate). None of these anomalies was encountered when modeling cumulative infiltration with BEST. BEST appears to be a promising, easy, robust, and inexpensive way of characterizing the hydraulic behavior of soil

This book summarises the main results of many contributions from researchers worldwide who have used the water infiltration process to characterize soil in the field. Determining soil hydrodynamic properties is essential to interpret and simulate the hydrological processes of economic and environmental interest. This book can be used as a guide to soil hydraulic characterization and in addition it gives a complete description of the treated techniques, including an outline of the most significant research results, with the main points that still needing development and improvement

[1] In this paper, a set of analytical infiltration equations that are commonly used to evaluate one-and three-dimensional water infiltration from a surface disc source is studied. Both the quasi-exact analytical formulation and the related approximations for short and long times are assessed. The analytical properties of the quasi-exact formulation are evaluated using a proposed scaling procedure in order to define the validity domains of related approximations. Both quasi-exact and approximate analytical equations are then studied with respect to their ability to reproduce numerically generated cumulative infiltrations from a 10 cm radius disc source for four soils (sand, loam, silt, and silty clay) at several initial saturations. The quasi-exact formulation is suitable for sand, loam, and silt when their soil-dependent and saturation-independent shape parameters, g and b, are properly chosen (between 0.75 and 1 and 0.3 and 1.7, respectively). Approximations derived for the same shape parameters can also be used, provided that their use is restricted to proposed validity intervals. However, none of these equations applies for silty clay, since its hydraulic properties do not fulfill the conditions required for the use of the quasiexact formulation.

Newer urban soils, frequently composed of several types of anthropogenic materials, may contain basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag, which is a steel industry byproduct and considered a potential alternative material for road construction. An understanding of the flow and solute transfer processes through urban soils thus requires hydraulic characterization of these materials. The BEST (Beerkan Estimation of Soil Transfer Parameters) algorithm serves to estimate the full set of unsaturated soil properties by means of conducting an inverse analysis of Beerkan water infiltration data. This study aimed at characterizing unsaturated hydraulic properties of the BOF slag and its evolution during a 1‐yr period through water infiltration experiments and use of an adapted BEST method for inverse analysis. Results indicate the evolution with time of BOF slag hydraulic parameters due to their physicochemical changes when exposed to rainfall events. Moreover, the findings of this study highlight the initial spatial variability of hydrodynamic characteristics, which after a certain period shifts to mostly homogeneous behavior. This study has contributed to the hydrodynamic characterization of BOF slag by providing hydraulic conductivity and water retention curves, as required for modeling water and thus solute transfer processes vs. time, which is relevant to BOF slag reuse and environmental considerations.