Numerical Simulation of Evaporation Process in Stony Soil

The simplified evaporation experiment was simulated using HYDRUS 3D which numerically solves the Richard’s equation (Simunek et al., 2016). A three-dimensional evaporation process simulation (i.e., HYPROP apparatus) was performed for Millville silt loam with 40% coarse sandstone by volume. The soil hydraulic parameters for the Millville silt loam and coarse sandstone were determined by fitting the van Genuchten model to their measured WRC data. The initial condition was set to saturated water content for both soil and stone inclusions. The upper boundary condition was set as the temporally variable evaporation rate measured during the evaporation experiment. The bottom boundary condition was set as zero flux.