Characterizing infiltration through reconstructed surface mine profiles

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:6254798

Ward, A D

The purpose of this study was to broaden the limited data base that is available for predicting infiltration into reclaimed surface mine profiles and to evaluate the capability of four commonly used infiltration models to predict infiltration through reconstructed surface mine materials. A large scale laboratory infiltrometer system was constructed at the University of Kentucky. The rainfall simulator system consists of three modules which generate rainfall intensities of up to 3 cm/h over a surface area of 1.7 m/sup 2/. The profiles were instrumented with a series of tensiometers to measure changes in soil suction and a dual probe gamma probe to monitor the movement of the wetting front through a profile. Profiles were constructed with surface mine materials from Western Kentucky. Three profiles consisted entirely of spoil material and three profiles consisted of spoil material and a 15 cm surface layer of topsoil. The profiles were compacted at densities typical of those found in reclaimed areas. Infiltration tests were conducted at intensities ranging from 0.9 to 3.2 cm/h, and over a range of initial soil moisture conditions. Field saturation for the spoil profiles occurred at less than total porosity, and field saturated hydraulic conductivities ranged from 0.04 to 0.2 cm/h. For the topsoil/spoil profile, the infiltration process was very complex, as cracks formed at the surface and penetrated down to the topsoil/spoil interface. The Richards' equation numerical model gave the best estimates although all the models gave poor estimates for the topsoil/spoil profiles. SCS curve numbers ranged from 58 to 91 for the spoil profiles and 81 to 89 for the topsoil/spoil profiles.

• OSTI ID: 6254798
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
520500 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
HYDROLOGY
LAND RECLAMATION
MINES
MINING
SURFACE MINING
SURFACE WATERS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
WATER INFLUX