Evaporation from geological formations results from the interaction between the geomaterial and the atmosphere. Geotechnical engineering issues, such as slope stability, pollution containment and soil heave/shrinkage, require a deep understanding of the soil–atmosphere interaction ruled by evaporation. Evaporation is a multiphase thermo-hydraulic phenomenon that includes liquid water, vapour and heat fluxes. It is generally modelled considering the thermal energy and water mass balance equations of unsaturated soils. This paper presents a numerical model for reproducing evaporation processes under controlled environmental conditions. The model was implemented in the Comsol Multiphysics finite-element software and first validated against experimental data from the literature. Then, it was used to investigate the role of hydraulic and thermal properties in the evaporative response. The numerical results revealed differences in the evolution of the water content profiles over time due to the interplay between hydraulic conductivity and retention properties. Hydraulic conductivity mainly impacts the shape of water content isochrones: fast drying of superficial layers and slow desaturation of deeper layers occur with decreasing hydraulic conductivity values. On the other hand, the moisture capacity primarily impacts the thickness of the desaturating layer, which decreases for higher values of the moisture capacity.

中文翻译：

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土壤水力和热力特性在蒸发中的作用：数值洞察

地质构造的蒸发是地质材料与大气之间相互作用的结果。岩土工程问题，例如边坡稳定性、污染控制和土壤隆起/收缩，需要深入了解蒸发控制的土壤-大气相互作用。蒸发是一种多相热水现象，包括液态水、蒸汽和热通量。它通常考虑非饱和土壤的热能和水质量平衡方程进行建模。本文提出了一个在受控环境条件下重现蒸发过程的数值模型。该模型在 Comsol Multiphysics 有限元软件中实现，并首先根据文献中的实验数据进行验证。然后，它用于研究水力和热力特性在蒸发响应中的作用。数值结果揭示了由于导水率和保留特性之间的相互作用，含水量曲线随时间演变的差异。水力传导率主要影响含水量等时线的形状：随着水力传导率值的降低，浅层快速干燥和深层缓慢去饱和。另一方面，吸湿能力主要影响去饱和层的厚度，当吸湿能力的值较高时，去饱和层的厚度会减小。水力传导率主要影响含水量等时线的形状：随着水力传导率值的降低，浅层快速干燥和深层缓慢去饱和。另一方面，吸湿能力主要影响去饱和层的厚度，当吸湿能力的值较高时，去饱和层的厚度会减小。水力传导率主要影响含水量等时线的形状：随着水力传导率值的降低，浅层快速干燥和深层缓慢去饱和。另一方面，吸湿能力主要影响去饱和层的厚度，当吸湿能力的值较高时，去饱和层的厚度会减小。