Parameter and State Estimation of One-Dimensional Infiltration Processes: A Simultaneous Approach

The Richards equation plays an important role in the study of agro-hydrological systems. It models the water movement in soil in the vadose zone, which is driven by capillary and gravitational forces. Its states (capillary potential) and parameters (hydraulic conductivity, saturated and residual soi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Song Bo, Soumya R. Sahoo, Xunyuan Yin, Jinfeng Liu, Sirish L. Shah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
Series:Mathematics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/8/1/134
Description
Summary:The Richards equation plays an important role in the study of agro-hydrological systems. It models the water movement in soil in the vadose zone, which is driven by capillary and gravitational forces. Its states (capillary potential) and parameters (hydraulic conductivity, saturated and residual soil moistures and van Genuchten-Mualem parameters) are essential for the accuracy of mathematical modeling, yet difficult to obtain experimentally. In this work, an estimation approach is developed to estimate the parameters and states of Richards equation simultaneously. In the proposed approach, parameter identifiability and sensitivity analysis are used to determine the most important parameters for estimation purpose. Three common estimation schemes (extended Kalman filter, ensemble Kalman filter and moving horizon estimation) are investigated. The estimation performance is compared and analyzed based on extensive simulations.
ISSN:2227-7390