J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 269 - 275, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0016
Scientific Paper, English

Miroslav Fér, Antonín Nikodem, Sára Trejbalová, Aleš Klement, Lenka Pavlů, Radka Kodešová: How various mulch materials can affect the soil hydro-physical properties

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• An application of different mulch materials may lead to changes in soil properties. Our previous study, focused on the impact of various mulches during the 4-year period, showed that the change in some properties can be very rapid (e.g., soil pH), but in other cases such as hydraulic properties, the changes can be gradual. To find out, whether the extension of the mulching period will further affect the studied soil properties, the experiment continued for another 2 years. Differences between values of organic carbon content (Cox), soil physical quality (Sinf), gravitational water (GW) and readily available water (RAW) of soils not covered by any mulch and under various mulches (bark chips; wood chips; wheat straw; Agrotex EKO+ decomposable matting; polypropylene fabric covered bark chips; crushed stone) were much larger than those observed in our previous study. On the other hand, the opposite trend was observed for the water stable aggregates (WSA) index or soil pH. Differences between additionally measured hydraulic conductivities at the pressure head of −2 cm and repellency index (RI) were mostly insignificant. Results indicated that organic mulches can either positively (e.g., increase WSA index and Cox, and decrease GW) or negatively (e.g., decrease Sinf and RAW, and increase RI) affect soil properties.
  
  KEY WORDS: Mulch; Aggregate stability; Soil hydraulic properties; Soil physical quality; Repellency index; Readily available water.
  
  Address:
  - Miroslav Fér, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: mfer@af.czu.cz)
  - Antonín Nikodem, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic.
  - Sára Trejbalová, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic.
  - Aleš Klement, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic.
  - Lenka Pavlů, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic.
  - Radka Kodešová, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 276 - 283, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0022
Scientific Paper, English

Miroslav Fér, Radka Kodešová, Aleš Klement, Antonín Nikodem: The impact of treated wastewater and biosolids from the municipal wastewater treatment plant on water and carbon dioxide effluxes from soils

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• The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of products from a municipal wastewater treatment plant on the H2O and CO2 effluxes from two soils. The net H2O and CO2 effluxes were measured at the surface of nine beds with two different soils (Cambisol and Arenosol) and two crops (maize or vegetables). Soils in some beds were amended with stabilized sewage sludge (bed with Cambisol and maize) or composted sewage sludge (two beds with Cambisol and both crops) or were irrigated with treated wastewater (two beds with Cambisol and both crops, and one bed with Arenosol and vegetable). Remaining beds were irrigated with tap water (two beds with Cambisol and both crops, and one bed with Arenosol and vegetable). While stabilized and composted sewage sludge positively affected the CO2 emission, the effect of treated wastewater was not confirmed. Different treatments had negligible effect on the water efflux, which was mainly affected by the plant canopy that influence the temperature of the soil surface. Statistical analyses showed that trends of the CO2 efflux with respect to various scenarios measured on different days changed during the season. No significant correlations were found between the average H2O and CO2 effluxes and measured soil properties.
  
  KEY WORDS: Soil respiration; Sewage sludge; Composted sewage sludge; Irrigation; Soil properties.
  
  Address:
  - Miroslav Fér, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: mfer@af.czu.cz)
  - Radka Kodešová, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic.
  - Aleš Klement, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic.
  - Antonín Nikodem, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Praha Suchdol, Czech Republic.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 284 - 294, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0015
Scientific Paper, English

Ágota Horel, Tibor Zsigmond, Sándor Molnár, Imre Zagyva, Zsófia Bakacsi: Long-term soil water content dynamics under different land uses in a small agricultural catchment

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• Longer term monitoring of soil water content at a catchment scale is a key to understanding its dynamics, which can assist stakeholders in decision making processes, such as land use change or irrigation programs. Soil water monitoring in agriculturally dominated catchments can help in developing soil water retention measurements, for assessment of land use change, or adaptation of specific land management systems to climate change. The present study was carried out in the Pannonian region (Upper-Balaton, Hungary) on Cambisols and Calcisols between 2015 and 2021. Soil water content (SWC) dynamics were investigated under different land use types (vineyard, grassland, and forest) at three depths (15, 40, and 70 cm). The meteorological data show a continuous decrease in cumulative precipitation over time during the study with an average of 26% decrease observed between 2016 and 2020, while average air temperatures were similar for all the studied years. Corresponding to the lower precipitation amounts, a clear decrease in the average SWC was observed at all the land use sites, with 13.4%, 37.7%, and 29.3% lower average SWC for the grassland, forest, and vineyard sites, respectively, from 2016 to 2020 (measured at the 15 cm depth of the soil). Significant differences in SWC were observed between the annual and seasonal numbers within a given land use (p < 0.05). The lowest average SWC was observed at the grassland (11.7%) and the highest at the vineyard (28.3%). The data showed an increasing average soil temperature, with an average 6.3% higher value in 2020 compared to 2016. The grassland showed the highest (11.3 °C) and the forest soil the lowest (9.7 °C) average soil temperatures during the monitoring period. The grassland had the highest number of days with the SWC below the wilting point, while the forest had the highest number of days with the SWC optimal for the plants.
  
  KEY WORDS: Forest; Grassland; Soil water regime; Vineyard; Climate change.
  
  Address:
  - Ágota Horel, Centre for Agricultural Research, Institute for Soil Sciences, Herman O. St. 15, 1022 Budapest, Hungary.
  - Tibor Zsigmond, Centre for Agricultural Research, Institute for Soil Sciences, Herman O. St. 15, 1022 Budapest, Hungary.
  - Sándor Molnár, Centre for Agricultural Research, Institute for Soil Sciences, Herman O. St. 15, 1022 Budapest, Hungary. (Corresponding author. Tel.:+36-30-564-1384 Fax.: Email: molnar.sandor@atk.hu)
  - Imre Zagyva, Centre for Agricultural Research, Institute for Soil Sciences, Herman O. St. 15, 1022 Budapest, Hungary.
  - Zsófia Bakacsi, Centre for Agricultural Research, Institute for Soil Sciences, Herman O. St. 15, 1022 Budapest, Hungary.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 295 - 307, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0021
Scientific Paper, English

Martin Kuban, Juraj Parajka, Rui Tong, Isabella Greimeister-Pfeil, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Jan Szolgay, Silvia Kohnova, Kamila Hlavcova, Patrik Sleziak, Adam Brziak: The effects of satellite soil moisture data on the parametrization of topsoil and root zone soil moisture in a conceptual hydrological model

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• In a previous study, the topsoil and root zone ASCAT satellite soil moisture data were implemented into three multi-objective calibration approaches of the TUW hydrological model in 209 Austrian catchments. This paper examines the model parametrization in those catchments, which in the validation of the dual-layer conceptual semi-distributed model showed improvement in the runoff simulation efficiency compared to the single objective runoff calibration. The runoff simulation efficiency of the three multi-objective approaches was separately considered. Inferences about the specific location and the physiographic properties of the catchments where the inclusion of ASCAT data proved beneficial were made. Improvements were primarily observed in the watersheds with lower slopes (median of the catchment slope less than 15 per cent) and a higher proportion of farming land use (median of the proportion of agricultural land above 20 per cent), as well as in catchments where the runoff is not significantly influenced by snowmelt and glacier runoff. Changes in the mean and variability of the field capacity parameter FC of the soil moisture regime were analysed. The values of FC decreased by 20 per cent on average. Consequently, the catchments’ water balance closure generally improved by the increase in catchment evapotranspiration during the validation period. Improvements in model efficiency could be attributed to better runoff simulation in the spring and autumn month. The findings refine recommendations regarding when hydrological modelling could consider satellite soil moisture data added to runoff signatures in calibration useful.
  
  KEY WORDS: ASCAT; TUW model; Soil moisture; Multi-objective calibration; Parameter uncertainty.
  
  Address:
  - Martin Kuban, Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Land and Water Resources Management, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: martin.kuban@stuba.sk)
  - Juraj Parajka, Centre for Water Resource Systems, TU Wien, Vienna, 1040, Austria. Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, TU Wien, Vienna, 1040, Austria.
  - Rui Tong, Centre for Water Resource Systems, TU Wien, Vienna, 1040, Austria. Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, TU Wien, Vienna, 1040, Austria.
  - Isabella Greimeister-Pfeil, Centre for Water Resource Systems, TU Wien, Vienna, 1040, Austria. Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien, Vienna 1040, Austria.
  - Mariette Vreugdenhil, Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien, Vienna 1040, Austria. Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Land and Water Resources Management, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Jan Szolgay, Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Land and Water Resources Management, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Silvia Kohnova, Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Land and Water Resources Management, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Kamila Hlavcova, Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Land and Water Resources Management, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Patrik Sleziak, Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84104 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Adam Brziak, Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Land and Water Resources Management, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 308 - 320, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0019
Scientific Paper, English

András Szabó, Zoltán Gribovszki, Péter Kalicz, Ján Szolgay, Bence Bolla: The soil moisture regime and groundwater recharge in aged forests in the Sand Ridge region of Hungary after a decline in the groundwater level: an experimental case study

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• The decline in groundwater levels is a cause of concern in many regions of the world, including the Sand Ridge of Hungary. The causes of the regional depletion range from rising air temperatures, changes in precipitation, domestic and agricultural groundwater use and past amelioration and recent afforestation, including the effects of drilling for crude oil exploration. The relations between the decline, the soil water regime and groundwater recharge under existing aged forests remained unclear thus far. Based on our monitoring of groundwater and soil moisture we aim to clarify this interplay in a new experimental site on the hilltop of the Sand Ridge. We compared three land-uses: a 41-year-old black locust (Robinia Pseudoacacia) offshoot forest, an 83-year-old first generation black pine (Pinus nigra) forest, and a grassland control site. The observed differences in the soil moisture profiles and dynamics were connected to the use of water by the given type of vegetation. We indicated a connection between the disruption of the groundwater recharge and the loss of contact of the rooting system of the forests with the deepening of the unconfined aquifer. Even if the aged forests could locally contribute to the decline, we conclude that the decline at the hilltop site that may be more strongly driven by other regional factors.
  
  KEY WORDS: Recharge; Groundwater decline; Soil moisture monitoring; Forest hydrology; Black locust; Black pine.
  
  Address:
  - András Szabó, Forest Research Institute, University of Sopron, Várkerület 30/A., 9600 Sárvár, Hungary. (Corresponding author. Tel.:+36-30-70-903-8682 Fax.: Email: szabo.andras@uni-sopron.hu)
  - Zoltán Gribovszki, Institute of Geomatics and Civil Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, University of Sopron, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky u. 4., 9400 Sopron, Hungary.
  - Péter Kalicz, Institute of Geomatics and Civil Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, University of Sopron, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky u. 4., 9400 Sopron, Hungary.
  - Ján Szolgay, Department of Land and Water Resources Management Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinského 11, SK 81005 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Bence Bolla, Forest Research Institute, University of Sopron, Várkerület 30/A., 9600 Sárvár, Hungary.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 321 - 329, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0018
Scientific Paper, English

Lenka Botyanszká, Peter Šurda, Justína Vitková, Ľubomír Lichner, Dušan Igaz: Effect of microplastics on silty loam soil properties and radish growth

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• Microplastics (particles of plastics <5 mm) affect the physical, biological and hydrological properties of agricultural soil, as well as crop growth. We investigated the effect of the addition of three microplastics (high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polystyrene (PS)) at a concentration of 5% (w/w) to a silty loam soil on selected soil properties and growth of radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. sativus). Changes in the soil properties and radish growth in three microplastic treatments were compared with the control. Soil properties (bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, sorptivity, water repellency) were estimated for each treatment at the beginning and at the end of the radish growing period (GP). The bulk density was significantly lower in the HDPE and PVC treatments compared to the control within the measurement at the beginning of the GP and in all microplastic treatments compared to the control at the end of the GP. The values of hydraulic conductivity and water sorptivity did not show significant differences between any treatments within the measurement at the beginning of GP, but they were significantly higher in the HDPE treatment compared to the control at the end of the GP. The growth of radish was characterized by the plant biomass and effective quantum yield of Photosystem II (Y (II)). We did not find a statistically significant difference in the total biomass of radish between any of the experimental treatments, maybe due to used concentration of microplastics. The mean value of Y (II) was significantly higher in all microplastic treatments compared to control only within the last measurement at the end of the GP. A statistically significant change of Y(II) in all microplastic treatments may indicate functional shift in soil properties; however, the measured values of the soil characteristics have not shown the significant changes (except for the bulk density values in all microplastic treatments and hydraulic conductivity together with sorptivity in HDPE treatment within the measurement at the end of GP).
  
  KEY WORDS: Microplastics; Silty loam soil; Radish; Soil properties.
  
  Address:
  - Lenka Botyanszká, Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: botyanszka@uh.savba.sk)
  - Peter Šurda, Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Justína Vitková, Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Ľubomír Lichner, Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia.
  - Dušan Igaz, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Institute of Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, Hospodárska 7, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 330 - 340, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0014
Scientific Paper, English

István Mihály Kulmány, Ákos Bede-Fazekas, Ana Beslin, Zsolt Giczi, Gábor Milics, Barna Kovács, Márk Kovács, Bálint Ambrus, László Bede, Viktória Vona: Calibration of an Arduino-based low-cost capacitive soil moisture sensor for smart agriculture

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• Agriculture faces several challenges to use the available resources in a more environmentally sustainable manner. One of the most significant is to develop sustainable water management. The modern Internet of Things (IoT) techniques with real-time data collection and visualisation can play an important role in monitoring the readily available moisture in the soil. An automated Arduino-based low-cost capacitive soil moisture sensor has been calibrated and developed for data acquisition. A sensor- and soil-specific calibration was performed for the soil moisture sensors (SKU:SEN0193 - DFROBOT, Shanghai, China). A Repeatability and Reproducibility study was conducted by range of mean methods on clay loam, sandy loam and silt loam soil textures. The calibration process was based on the data provided by the capacitive sensors and the continuously and parallelly measured soil moisture content by the thermo-gravimetric method. It can be stated that the response of the sensors to changes in soil moisture differs from each other, which was also greatly influenced by different soil textures. Therefore, the calibration according to soil texture was required to ensure adequate measurement accuracy. After the calibration, it was found that a polynomial calibration function (R2 ≥ 0.89) was the most appropriate way for modelling the behaviour of the sensors at different soil textures.
  
  KEY WORDS: IoT; Precision Agriculture; Low-cost capacitive soil moisture sensor; Thermo-gravimetric method; Repeatability and Reproducibility study; Non-linear regression.
  
  Address:
  - István Mihály Kulmány, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Széchenyi István University, Vár tér 2, 9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: kulmanyi@gmail.com)
  - Ákos Bede-Fazekas, Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány utca 2-4, 2163 Vácrátót, Hungary. Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Science, Department of Environmental and Landscape Geography, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.
  - Ana Beslin, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Mathematics and Informatics, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21102 Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia.
  - Zsolt Giczi, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Széchenyi István University, Vár tér 2, 9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary.
  - Gábor Milics, Institute of Agronomy, Department of Precision Agriculture and Digital Farming, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly utca 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary.
  - Barna Kovács, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Bem rkp. 47, 1027 Budapest, Hungary.
  - Márk Kovács, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, 1111 Budapest, Hungary.
  - Bálint Ambrus, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Széchenyi István University, Vár tér 2, 9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary.
  - László Bede, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Széchenyi István University, Vár tér 2, 9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary.
  - Viktória Vona, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Széchenyi István University, Vár tér 2, 9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 341 - 356, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0020
Scientific Paper, English

César Antonio Rodríguez González, Ángel Mariano Rodríguez-Pérez, Julio José Caparrós Mancera, José Antonio Hernández Torres, Nicolás Gutiérrez Carmona, Manuel I. Bahamonde García: Applied methodology based on HEC-HMS for reservoir filling estimation due to soil erosion

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• Authors propose a beneficial methodology for hydrological planning in their study. Prospective evaluations of the basins' net capacity can be done using the technique presented. The HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Modelling System) software can be used to estimate in a basin, the sediment emitted. For a certain precipitation, this methodology allows estimating, within a certain range, the gradual blockage of a reservoir, and even a projected date for total blockage. This has some applications to adopt corrective measures that prevent or delay the planned blockage deadlines. The model is of the semi-distributed type, estimating the generation and emission of sediments by sub-basins. The integration of different return periods in HEC-HMS with a semi-distributed model by sub-basins and the application of a mathematical model are the differentiating element of this research. The novelty of this work is to allow prognosing the reservoir sedimentation rate of basins in a local and regional scale with a medium and large temporary framework. The developed methodology allows public institutions to take decisions concerning hydrological planning. It has been applied to the case of "Charco Redondo" reservoir, in Cádiz, Andalusia, in southern Spain. Applying the methodology to this case, an average soil degradation of the reservoir basin has been estimated. Therefore, it is verified that in 50 years the reservoir is expected to lose 8.4% of its capacity.
  
  KEY WORDS: Soil loss; HEC-HMS; Sediments; USLE; MUSLE; Return period.
  
  Address:
  - César Antonio Rodríguez González, Higher Technical School of Engineering, Campus “El Carmen”, University of Huelva, 21007, Huelva, Spain. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: cesar@didp.uhu.es)
  - Ángel Mariano Rodríguez-Pérez, Higher Technical School of Engineering, Campus “El Carmen”, University of Huelva, 21007, Huelva, Spain.
  - Julio José Caparrós Mancera, Higher Technical School of Engineering, Campus “El Carmen”, University of Huelva, 21007, Huelva, Spain.
  - José Antonio Hernández Torres, Higher Technical School of Engineering, Campus “El Carmen”, University of Huelva, 21007, Huelva, Spain.
  - Nicolás Gutiérrez Carmona, Higher Technical School of Engineering, Campus “La Cartuja”, University of Seville, Américo Vespucio street, 41092 Seville, Spain.
  - Manuel I. Bahamonde García, Higher Technical School of Engineering, Campus “El Carmen”, University of Huelva, 21007, Huelva, Spain.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 357 - 375, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0017
Scientific Paper, English

Marco Maio, Gustavo Marini, Nicola Fontana, Paola Gualtieri, Gerardo Caroppi: Impact of reconfiguration on the flow downstream of a flexible foliated plant

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• This paper explores the impacts of reconfiguration and leaf morphology on the flow downstream of a flexible foliated plant. 3D acoustic Doppler velocimetry and particle image velocimetry were used to experimentally investigate the hydrodynamic interaction between a foliated plant and the flow, testing two plants with different leaves morphology under different bulk flow velocities. The model vegetation was representative of riparian vegetation species in terms of plants hydrodynamic behavior and leaf to stem area ratio. To explore the effects of the seasonal variability of vegetation on the flow structure, leafless conditions were tested. Reconfiguration resulted in a decrease of the frontal projected area of the plants up to the 80% relative to the undeformed value. Such changes in plant frontal area markedly affected the spatial distributions of mean velocity and turbulence intensities, altering the local exchanges of momentum. At increasing reconfiguration, the different plant morphology influenced the mean and turbulent wake width. The leafless stem exhibited a rigid behavior, with the flow in the wake being comparable to that downstream of a rigid cylinder. The study revealed that the flexibility-induced reconfiguration of plants can markedly affect the local distribution of flow properties in the wake, potentially affecting transport processes at the scale of the plant and its subparts.
  
  KEY WORDS: Flow-vegetation interaction; Riparian vegetation; Plant reconfiguration; Leaf morphology; Turbulence; Particle image velocimetry; Acoustic Doppler velocimetry.
  
  Address:
  - Marco Maio, University of Sannio, Department of Engineering, Piazza Roma 21, 82100, Benevento, Italy.
  - Gustavo Marini, University of Sannio, Department of Engineering, Piazza Roma 21, 82100, Benevento, Italy. (Corresponding author. Tel.:+39 0824 305516 Fax.: Email: gustavo.marini@unisannio.it)
  - Nicola Fontana, University of Sannio, Department of Engineering, Piazza Roma 21, 82100, Benevento, Italy.
  - Paola Gualtieri, University of Naples Federico II, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Via Claudio 21, 80125, Napoli, Italy.
  - Gerardo Caroppi, University of Naples Federico II, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Via Claudio 21, 80125, Napoli, Italy. Aalto University School of Engineering, Department of Built Environment, Tietotie 1E, 02150, Espoo, Finland.

J. Hydrol. Hydromech., Vol. 70, No. 3, 2022, p. 376 - 384, doi: 10.2478/johh-2022-0023
Scientific Paper, English

Lubomír Petrula, Jaromír Říha: A new small-scale experimental device for testing backward erosion piping

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• Backward erosion piping is driven by seepage forces acting on the soil grains at the downstream end of the seepage path. A new device for the laboratory testing of backward erosion progression was developed and tested. The device consists of a plexiglass prism at which the seepage path has been predefined. The prism was equipped with an inflow consisting of gravel separated from tested sand by a strainer. The hydraulic gradient along the seepage pipe was observed by a set of piezometers and pressure cells, and the seepage discharge was measured volumetrically. The transported sediment was trapped in a vertical cone located downstream from the device. The progression of the seepage path, the piezometric heads and the trapped material was observed by two synchronous cameras. 15 trial tests have been carried out to date, and from these, the interim results are presented.
  
  KEY WORDS: Backward erosion piping; Seepage; Experimental research; Critical hydraulic gradient.
  
  Address:
  - Lubomír Petrula, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Veveri 95, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic. (Corresponding author. Tel.: Fax.: Email: petrula.l@fce.vutbr.cz)
  - Jaromír Říha, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Veveri 95, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic.