The geotechnical engineering, among the problems related to water flow, is specifically interested in soil and water that it contains, and also on the movement of water through their pores, in addition to the laws governing this phenomenon. A very important subject is to quantify the retention and filtration of water within the soil structure; however, the emphasis should be not only on how much water flows through the soil but also on the state of pore water pressures because this pressure, either positive or negative, has a direct influence on the stress state and changes in volume of soil. Several publications address the issue of water flow in saturated state; however, only some of them consider the flow under unsaturated conditions. In this chapter, the main emphasis is focused on the study of water flow in unsaturated soils.
Part of the book: Groundwater