Estimation of capillary rise in unsaturated gypseous sand soils

Abstract

AbstractThe phenomenon of capillary rise happens in soils, and it has a crucial effect on many engineering applications. Many researchers have concluded several experimental equations to estimate this height. This paper presents a comparative and practical study of the three most important equations used in most researches, which are Lane and Washburn, Fetter, and P-K equations. The estimated heights by these three equations were compared with the experimental tests on sand samples taken from Al-Adalah, Al-Furat, and Al-Jameah districts located in Al-Najaf city in the southwest of Iraq. The percentage change for each equation compared with the experimental work. The results illustrated that the Fetter equation is the closest equation to experimental height and gives moderate values, unlike the Lane and Washburn and P-K equations, to save estimation of the pollutants penetration in unsaturated soils.