A

Project Report On
“COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INFILTRATION CHARACTERISTICS”
In the partial fulfilment of the requirement for
Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering

Submitted By
Miss. Sakshi Gade (UCE19F1050)
Miss. Prajakta Wani (UCE20F2209)
Miss. Pradnya Jagtap (UCE20F2212)
Miss. Puja Shirke (UCE20F2220)

Under the Guidance of

Dr. C . L. Jejurkar

Department of Civil Engineering

SANJIVANI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, KOPARGAON
(An Autonomous Institute Affiliated to SPPU, Pune)
(Academic Year 2022-2023)

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 Sanjivani Rural Education Society’s
SANJIVANI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, KOPARGAON
(An Autonomous Institute Affiliated to SPPU, Pune)

Certificate
This is to certify that, report entitled

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INFILTRATION CHARACTERISTICS

Submitted By
Miss. Sakshi Gade (UCE19F1050)
Miss. Prajakta Wani (UCE20F2209)
Miss. Pradnya Jagtap (UCE20F2212)
Miss. Puja Shirke (UCE20F2220)
Towards partial fulfilment for the award of Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering

AN AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTE AFFILIATED TO SPPU, PUNE (2022-2023)

Dr. C. L. Jejurkar
(Guide)

Dr. M. V. Jadhav Dr. A. G. Thakur

(H.O.D) (Director)

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 CONTENT

Chapter No. Title Page No

Cover Page
Certificate
List of Tables
Acknowledgement
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Problem Definition
1.3 Objectives
2. Literature Review
3. Methodology
3.1 Site Location
3.2 Soil Parameters
3.3 Infiltration Methods
3.4 Model Study

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 List of Tables
Table No. Caption Page No.
1. Infiltration Process
2. Rainfall Simulation
3. Site Location
4. Single Ring Infiltrometer
5. Double Ring Infiltrometer

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 ACKONWLEDGEMENT

Apart from efforts of me, the success of any project report depends largely on the
encouragement and guidelines of many others. Firstly, my special thanks to Dr. M. V. Jadhav
(Head of Department for Civil Engineering). I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to
the people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this report.
I would like to show my greatest appreciation to Dr. C. L. Jejurkar. I can’t say thank you
enough for his tremendous support and help. I feel motivated and encouraged every time I attend
his meeting. Without his encouragement and guidance this report would not have materialized.
The guidance and support received from all the members who contributed and who are
contributing to this report, was vital for the success of the report. I am grateful for their constant
support and help.

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 ABSTRACT
In this research an experiment will be conducted on the soil. The setup is conduced to
analysis the infiltration process of soil and rock profile. The main objective of the study is to
calculate the infiltration rates in soil and rock. The infiltration in the hilly catchment not only
calculate the infiltration in the slope landcover but also the hill top. In the experiment the
infiltration rate is considered from different landcover based on the type of strata. As we know
that changes in land use leads to decrease or increase in rainfall infiltration volume to the ground.
The land which decrease the infiltration capacity with an increase with the surface runoff and
vise versa. The infiltration rate directly measured in the field using the double ring infiltrometer.
The analysis was carried out using normal, heavy, very heavy rainfall model and their size of
drops are calculated. The expected result should be the effect of rainfall decreasing factor after
the second day of rain, fourth day of rain, etc. The device for sensing can be used for measuring
the amount of infiltration.

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 CHAPTER 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Water infiltration is the first key for restoring economy. Storing water in the land gives
our ecosystem the moisture they need to function. Infiltration is the downward movement of
water from soil surface, into the soil mass through the soil pores. When the rainwater falls on the
ground a small part of it is initially absorbed by the top thin layer of soil so as to replenish the
soil moisture deficiency and therefore excess water infiltrate downward to join groundwater.
Infiltration reduce the magnitude of flood, it reduces the soil erosion, it recharges the ground
water reservoir. But there are some factors which affect infiltration that is condition of entry
surface, quality of water permeability characteristics of soil formation, temperature, intensity and
duration of rainfall and characteristics of soil particles. With the help of Double Ring
Infiltrometer the Infiltrate rate is calculated in the field which consists of two concentric hollow
rings it may be of any material. The water depth in inner and outer ring are maintain at constant
depth. The measurement includes the recording of volume by using a sensing device from which
observations are calculated automatically.

1.2 PROBLEM DEFINITION

Infiltration affect the runoff and other hydrological Characteristics. The study of
Infiltration gives idea of precipitation occurred and also runoff. The phenomenon is useful for
Irrigation scheduling and Erosion study.

Fig No. 1. Infiltration process.

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1.3 OBJECTIVES
 To study the Infiltration.
 To study the Soil Parameters.
 To determine the infiltration rate for summer season and
winter season
 Compare field Infiltration with Model.

Fig No. 2. Rainfall simulation.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW
Jiansheng et al., (2021),author has done experimental analysis of infiltration process and
hydraulic properties in soil and rock profile in the Taihang Mountains, North China this research
is conducted in the Taihang Mountains in China with a self-designed automatic soil and rock
water infiltration monitoring system and a time domain reflectometry (TDR) device to analyze
the infiltration process of disturbed soil and rock profile under constant head, unsaturated
seepage properties and permeability coefficient of discontinuous rock masses. The experiment
equipment consists of six components, including permeameter device, constant head water
supply device,tipping-bucket flow meter, water reservoir, pump and funnel. They conducted
three experiment The first experiment was to study the variation offlow in the permeameter
device and to analyze the infiltration process. Under the basis of steady infiltration rate, we
conducted the second and third experiments to estimate the permeability coefficient of soil and
rock dual-texture.The lateral soil water of soil and rock dual-texture mainly flows in the interface
of soil and rock. The infiltration rate of soil water can be as high as 2.42 × 10−4 cm/s,
accounting for about 20% of the stable infiltration rate. After the water infiltrated in the lower
rock layers, the water was mainly stored and flowed in the fissure network in the rocks, but did
not completely fill the whole fissure network. Firstly, the local priority channel is adopted to
infiltrate. With the increasing of rock saturation, the local priority channel will also expand and
finally extend to the whole fissure network. The permeability coefficient of the soil and rock
dual-texture in the study area is 1.26 × 10−3 cm/s.
M. A. Fulazzaky et al., (2014), author have developed the new technique using the aero-
infiltrometer to characterise the natural soils based on the measurements of infiltration rate and
soil moisture content.This paper proposes the measuring device that uses a simple method to
measure the rate of water infiltration into the ground and to determine the percentage of water
contained in the soil. Infiltrometer is a device to be used for measuring the rate of water
infiltration into the ground and also to determine the water content of the soil. The single- or
double- ring infiltrometers are commonly used for measuring the infiltration rates (f). The others
are disc permeameter, tension infiltrometer, turf-tec infiltrometer, and sprinkler 15
infiltrometer.Aero-infiltrometer was used to measure both the variations of f and θ at three
natural soil sites to contribute to operational water management issues and soil texture
identification. They found out that the ability of air movement from the land surface to
subsurface is dependent on permeability and capillary potential of the soil. They have studied the
Soil characteristics, air diffusion, and infiltration rate.
Isri Ronald Mangangka(2008), the author found that Infiltration capacity of soil mainly depends
on two factors; the particle size and the moisture content of the soil. Using a single ring
infiltrometer, the effect of groundwater in the infiltration rate was observed. Many methods have
been developed to model the infiltration processes using both physical and empi-rical
approaches. Among all the models, Kostiakov and Philip’s methods are the two models that are
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used because of the simplicity and the ease to calculate their parameters.This field experiment
result shows that the groundwater influences significantly the infiltration capacity of the soil, and
the infiltration rate follows a specific trendline.The experimental result also shows that the
groundwater reduces significantly the infiltration capacity of the soil.
Dr. J. N. Patel et al., (2015), Determination of Infiltration rate : Case study of Bhimrad area of
Surat district. The researchers aimed to determine the rate of infiltration in Bhimrad area of Surat
district. In this research they used the single ring infiltrometer and double ring infiltrometer
which uses two tipping bucket rain gauges. It is found that they use one gauge which measures
rainfall onto and other measures runoff from a 0.05m diameter small circular plot. They collected
the data in summer 2014. The different infiltrometer shows the capacity to capture different
infiltration rates and temporal variability associated with convective and cyclonic rainstorm. The
saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil was estimated using the data from different Infiltrometer.
It was found that the results matched after comparing Infiltration rate calculated by single
ring infiltrometer, double ring infiltrometer and horton's equation. It is found that double ring
infiltrometer is more accurate than single ring infiltrometer.

Dr. Avinash S. Kadam(2016), Determination of Infiltration Rate for site selection of artificial
water recharge: An experimental study. In this paper they determined the Infiltration rate and
discussed the various general physical parameters affecting on it. The special focus of this study
was to identify the site suitability for the application of direct surface runoff method. The single
ring floating infiltrometer has been used and quantitative determination of the Infiltration rates
has been made. For different seven sample locations there were four sites which have been taken
to check the Infiltration on the basis of experimental work. The rate of Infiltration becomes more
or less constant or showing rapid decline after completing an average period of 100 minutes. It
has also observed that the rate of Infiltration with time at an individual spot. It is necessary to
measure rate of Infiltration at micro level with scientific and experimental methods. The present
attempt focused experimental field work for measuring Infiltration rate. For actual micro site
selection for experiments, it is been considered all basis concern aspects like slope of the surface
land, percentage of sand , silt and day in the soil,etc.
Li Wi et al., (2022) Modeling Analysis on coupling mechanics of mountain- basin Human- Land
systems: Take Yuxi city as an example, In this research the Infiltration rates are found out by
equilibrium point. This study was carried out in Yuxi city in central part of Yunnan provinces on
Yunnan plateau. The factors that affect the Infiltration rate is permeability of rocks and
temperature, organic land cover. This rates are found out by using Matlab software. A new
varieties of new comprehensive method are used such as GIS and spatial analysis methods,
simulation methods and hybrid methods are applied. The result of a human land relationships in
geographic environment system in a human land coupling system which is a comprehensive
process and infiltration between human economic , social and natural ecosystem.

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Lukas Jacka et al.,( 2016) Assessment of evaluation methods using infiltration data measured in
heterogeneous mountain soils. This research was conducted In order to obtain infiltration
parameters and analytical expressions of the cumulative infiltration and infiltration rate, raw
infiltration data are often evaluated using various infiltration equations. Knowledge about the
evaluation variability of these equations in the specific case of extremely heterogeneous soils
provides important information for many hydrological and engineering applications. A total of
47 single ring infiltration experiments (datasets measured on three different sites of
hydrologically important mountain podzols) were evaluated using the seven Eqs. and also using
the methods for reference estimates of S and Ks. From the quality-of-fit perspective, all of the
seven Eqs. characterized large part of the datasets properly. In some cases, Philip, Kutílek and
Krejča, and Green and Ampt Eqs. led to poor fits of the datasets (measured mostly on site 3
characterized by the lowest thicknesses of the organic horizon, and a more bleached eluvial
horizon than on the other tested sites). They found that the Swartzendruber and Brutsaert Eqs.
exhibited 1) high quality of fitting and 2) good consistency of the Ks estimates with reference
values.

N. A. L. Archer et al., (2015) Rainfall infiltration and soil hydrological characteristics below
ancient forest, planted forest, and grassland in a temperate northern climate.In this study, they
studied that infiltration rate and soil hydrological characteristics were investigated under forests
of different ages and under grassland. Soil hydraulic characteristics were measured at different
scales under a 250 year old grazed grassland (GL), a six (6yr) and 48 (48yr) year old Scots pine
(Pinus sylvestris) plantation, remnant 300 year old individual Scots pines (OT) and a 4000 year
old Caledonian Forest (AF). In-situ field saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) was measured
and visible root:soil area was estimated from soil pits. Macroporosity, pore structure, and
macropore connectivity were estimated from X-ray tomography of soil cores, and from water-
release characteristics.They suggested that infiltration rates increased with forest age and that
macroporosity, macropore connectivity and presence of roots are important for determining
infiltration rates.
Hafiz Umar Farid et al., (2019) Estimation of infiltration models parameters and their
comparison to simulate the onsite soil infiltration characteristics
In this paper they got the Detailed knowledge about soil characteristics and site-specific final
steady infiltration rate could help to increase the irrigation water use efficiency and decrease
water losses in agricultural system. The experiments were conducted on Agricultural Research
Farm of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan during 2016. The cumulative
infiltration depth was measured using double ring infiltrometer at selected six points of the study
area. Most commonly used infiltration models such as Kostikov’s, Philip’s and Horton’s were
fitted to the field infiltration data for determination of model parameters and to find the best fit
model for the study area. Kostikov’s infiltration model’s parameters such as empirical constant
‘c’ and infiltration decay constants ‘k’ were obtained in the ranges of 0.140-0.290 and 0.307-
0.433, respectively. Philip’s infiltration model’s parameters such as sorptivity ‘S’ and
conductivity constant ‘A’ were found in the ranges of 0.167-0.288 cm/min1/2 and –0.001 to –
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0.009 cm/min, respectively. Similarly, the Horton’s model’s ‘parameter ‘k’ was obtained in the
range of –1.619 to –1.238. The value of infiltration capacity at onset of infiltration (fo) was
obtained as 1.744 to 3.491 for all the six points. The analysis showed that the infiltration models
using the estimated parameters have satisfactory prediction capability at all the selected
points.Horton’s model provided the lowest mean values for RMSE (0.235) and highest mean
values for ME (94%); and the lowest mean values for MPD (0.127). This indicated that
infiltration can be well-described by the Horton’s model at the selected site.
A.I. Jonson (2005) The field method for measurement of Infiltration.The researcher came to
know that the most of the investigation of infiltrometer rings or basins has been made by
scientists interested in their use for evaluation of agricultural soils. Because of this, the
infiltration rates were usually determined for the upper foot of surface soils, the heads applied
were low to simulate rainfall or the application of irrigation water, the time of application was
approximately 3 to 6 hours, and the maximurr rates were usually the ones used and reported.
These items must b^. considered in evaluating infiltration data or in considering the use of the
infiltrometer for other applications. For example, in the design of infiltration pits for waste
disposal, all the above items would be different; the infiltration rates must be representative of
the deeper sediments, the head applied may be several feet, the time of application would be
long, and the minimum rather than the maximum rate of infiltration probably would be the one
used.
Carol P. Harden et a., (2003) Infiltration on mountain slopes: a comparison of three
environments.At each study area, they found infiltration rates to vary considerably within site
groups. Often, the full range of infiltration rates for a study area occurred within a single site.
Table 3 summarizes the results of rainfall simulation experiments at all three study areas. At 34
of 72 sites in Tennessee, 15 of 54 in Puerto Rico, and 15 of 21 in Ecuador, the rate of rain
applied was not enough to generate surface runoff. For those sites, we report that infiltration
capacities exceed the rate of rainfall applied. Because the research goals, designs, and findings
differed between study areas, they presented the additional results from each area separately.
Their One exception was the significant difference between infiltration rates on alluvial versus
upland soils in the Andean study area. The other exception was the significant difference
between infiltration rates in topographic coves compared to other slope positions in the tabonuco
forest of one watershed in the Luquillo Mountains. Our research provides additional evidence of
the ability of forests and forest soils to preserve geomorphic features from denudation by surface
erosion, documents the importance of subsurface flow in mountain forests, and supports the need
for caution in extrapolating infiltration rates.
S. Chandramouli et al., (2015), the authors has done a Comparative Study on the Infiltration
Characteristics of Soils in Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh, India. In this study they aimed
to estimate the infiltration characteristics based on the experimental data obtained by using
double ring infiltrometer. This study has a scope for understanding the variation of the
infiltration capacity with respect to space as well as time and identification of the most suitable
mathematical model to be adopted for infiltration. The infiltration tests were conducted in the
study area at ten locations in three different seasons and the infiltration capacity was modelled

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using Horton, Philip and Kostiakov. The model parameters obtained are highly fluctuating with
respect to time and space indicating that the infiltration equation is highly location and season
specific. The f 0 and f cvalues (Horton’s model) are very high in the pre-monsoon season when
compared to the post-monsoon season since the soil is dry and the ability of the soil to allow rain
to permeate through it is very high. The groundwater potential of any region mainly depends
upon the infiltration characteristics of the region which may vary with respect to time, space, soil
and climatic parameters. The infiltration process is a highly complex hydrological process to
determine as it has interactions with the stream/river network, land and oceans.Horton’s model is
considered as to be the best amongst the three models considered for this study based on the
comparison with the field data.By using the experimental data, the infiltration equations were
obtained by using regression analysis technique.

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 CHAPTER 3

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1. LOCATION DETAILS:

The site is located in pharmacy Campus of Sanjivani College of Engineering, Kopargon. The
measurements are taken in rainy season so as to know the infiltration rates in rainy season.The
site is selected so that there is no abstacles for rain water to reach to the ground.

Fig No 3. Site location.

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6.2. SOIL PARAMETERS:

a. Permeability/ percolation characteristics of soil:

Soil permeability is found out because it is the property of soil to transmit water and
air.
The more permeable the soil, the Infiltration rate will be more.

b. Precipitation:
Precipitation can impact infiltration in many ways. Rainfall leads to faster Infiltration
rates than any other precipitation events, such as anoe or sleet. The duration of rainfall
impacts the Infiltration capacity as well.If the rainfall occurs much faster than the
Infiltration capacity then the runoff occurs.

c. Soil Moisture Content:

If the soil is already saturated and has no more capacity to hold the water, therefore
Infiltration capacity has been recorded and rate cannot increase past this point. This may
lead to more runoff.

d. Organic Materials in soil:

Organic matter in the soil increases the Infiltration in the soil. Vegetation contains
roots that extent into the soil which creates cracks and fissures in the soil.

e. Land cover:
If the land covers by impermeable surfaces, such as pavement, Infiltration cannot occur
as the water cannot infiltrate through it.

f. Slope:
When the slope of land is higher runoff occurs more readily which leads to lower
Infiltration rates.

6.3. INFILTRATION METHODS:

1. Single Ring Infiltrometer
2. Double Ring Infiltrometer.

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1. Single Ring Infiltrometer:
Step 1:
Drove the ring 15cm into the ground in the area of interest using the driving cap, wooden block
and hammer.
Step 2:
If the soil were disturbed more than 1/8 in from the wall of the ring, the ring would have been
reset with less disturbance.
Step 3:
When the soil was disturbed less than 1/8 in from the wall, the disturbed soil adjacent to the wall
was tamped until it was firm.
Step 4:
After covering the outer surface with splash guards, the ring was filled with water up to 5 cm
below the top of the ring
Step 5:
Immediately marked the starting point and timeMarked the water height in the ring every minute
for 30 min Did not let the water level drop more than 10 cm below the starting point to minimize
the effect of hydraulic pressure on infiltration rates.
Step 6:
When refilling was necessary, the new water height was marked and the time was recorded. This
“Refill” recording was the start of new measurement, but the time interval was not interrupted
Step 7:
Used a tape measurer to calculate changes in water depth based on the markings over the 30 min
Step 8:
Repeated the measurement process for Trial 2 slightly up-grade from the site of Trial 1 to ensure
none of the water infiltrated previously will alter the measurements.
Step 9:
Graphically and mathematically analyze the data to determine the Kostiakov coefficients.

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 Fig No 4. Single Ring Infiltrometer.

2. Double Ring Infiltrometer:

Equipment required
1. Shovel/hoe
2. Hammer (2 kg)
3. Watch or clock
4. 5 litre bucket
5. Timber (75 x 75 x 400)
6. Hessian (300 x 300) or jute cloth
7. At least 100 litres of water
8. Ring infiltrometer of 30 cm diameter and 60 cm diameter. Instead of the outer cylinder a
bund could be made to prevent lateral water flow.
9. Measuring rod graduated in mm (e.g. 300 mm ruler)

Step 1:
Hammer the 30 cm diameter ring at least 15 cm into the soil. Use the timber to protect the ring
from damage during hammering. Keep the side of the ring vertical and drive the measuring rod
into the soil so that approximately 12 cm is left above the ground.
Step 2:

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Hammer the 60 cm ring into the soil or construct an earth bund around the 30 cm ring to the
same height as the ring and place the hessian inside the infiltrometer to protect the soil surface
when pouring in the water.
Step 3:
Start the test by pouring water into the ring until the depth is approximately 70-100 mm. At the
same time, add water to the space between the two rings or the ring and the bund to the same
depth. Do this quickly.
The water in the bund or within the two rings is to prevent a lateral spread of water from the
infiltrometer.
Step 4:
Record the clock time when the test begins and note the water level on the measuring rod.
Step 5:
After 1-2 minutes, record the drop in water level in the inner ring on the measuring rod and add
water to bring the level back to approximately the original level at the start of the test. Record the
water level. Maintain the water level outside the ring similar to that inside.
Step 6:
Continue the test until the drop in water level is the same over the same time interval. Take
readings frequently (e.g. every 1-2 minutes) at the beginning of the test, but extend the interval
between readings as the time goes on (e.g. every 20-30 minutes).

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 Fig No 5. Double Ring Infiltrometer.

6.4. MODEL STUDY:

1. Kostiakov-Lewis model.
2. Horton model.

1.Kostiakov-Lewis model.
The Kostiakov infltration model has a limitation in predicting infltration behavior at a larger
time step. To overcome this limitation, the Kostiakov equation was modifed by adding a
constant, the ‘steady infltration rate’ term. Tis modifed form of the Kostiakov model is
popularly known as Kostiakov-Lewis model or Mezencev’s model. Te Kostiakov-Lewis model
for ‘cumulative infltration’ is given as:

where I=cumulative infltration at time t, a and b are empirical parameters and ib=‘quasi-steady
infltration rate’ representing saturated hydraulic conductivity.

2. Horton model.
Horton model is one of the most popularly used empirical infltration equations. Horton
presented a three-parameter empirical infltration model, popularly used in hydrologic modeling.
He observed that the infltration rate at the beginning of a storm event decreases exponentially
with time until it reaches a more
or less constant rate. Te Horton equation for cumulative infltration is as follows:

where i0=initial infltration rate; ic=quasi-steady infltration rate, providing an estimate of

saturated hydraulic conductivity, and m=decay constant. In this study, the three parameters, i0,
ic and m were treated as the ftting parameters.
Application of the empirical models are limited by a major disadvantage that they do not provide
insights into physical processes like process-based infltration models.
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