An experimental study of lateral infiltration based on sand samples from ephemeral streams

Lateral infiltration tests were conducted in a horizontal soil bin filled with sand samples from ephemeral streams in order to explore the characteristics of unsaturated lateral infiltration of ephemeral streams. According to test results, lateral infiltration can be divided into two stages, unsteady infiltration stage and steady infiltration stage. The initial water content and texture of the sand samples have effects on the infiltration characteristics. The lateral infiltration rate decreases with the increase of initial water content, and increases with the increase of grain size of the sand samples. The steady lateral infiltration rate of coarse sand with initial water content of 2.6% and 13.98% is around 0.0020cm/s and 0.0008cm/s respectively. The steady lateral infiltration rate of fine sand with initial water content of 3.20%and 16.20% is around 0.0026cm/s and 0.0016cm/s respectively.