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RETC CODE FOR QUANTIFYING THE HYDRAULIC FUNCTIONS OF UNSATURATED SOILS
Citation:
Genuchten, M., F. Leij, AND S. Yates. RETC CODE FOR QUANTIFYING THE HYDRAULIC FUNCTIONS OF UNSATURATED SOILS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-91/065.
Description:
This report describes the RETC computer code for analyzing the soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions of unsaturated soils. hese hydraulic properties are key parameters in any quantitative description of water flow into and through the unsaturated zone of soils. he program uses the parametric models of Brooks-Corey and van Genuchten to represent the soil water retention curve, and the theoretical pore-size distribution models of Mualem and Burdine to predict the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function from observed soil water retention data. he report gives a detailed discussion of the different analytical expressions used for quantifying the sail water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions. rief review is also given of the nonlinear least-squares parameter optimization method used for estimating the unknown coefficients in the hydraulic models. everal examples are presented to illustrate a variety of program options. he program may be used to predict the hydraulic conductivity from observed soil water retention data assuming that one observed conductivity value (not necessarily at saturation) is available. he program also permits one to fit analytical functions simultaneously to observed water retention and hydraulic conductivity data. he report serves as both a user manual and reference document. etailed information is given on the computer program along with the instructions for data input preparation and sample input and output files. isting of the source code is also provided.