Evaluation of a simple lysimeter-design modification to minimize sidewall flow

A common criticism of many soil lysimeter designs has been the existence of artificial flowpaths along the soil–wall interface. This artificial flow is referred to as sidewall flow. A simple lysimeter-design modification was evaluated that utilizes annular rings to divert sidewall flow near the soil surface into the soil column to minimize the occurrence of sidewall flow along the remainder of the columnʹs length. A chloride-tracer experiment was used to evaluate the effectiveness of annular rings in minimizing sidewall flow in a mesoscale soil lysimeter (0.6 m in diameter and 1.83 m in height). The tracer-experiment data showed that even though sidewall flow may not have been completely eliminated it was reduced to an undetectable level based on chloride distributions and time domain reflectometry measurements. However, a delicate balance exists between minimizing sidewall flow and significantly altering the natural water-flow dynamics when using annular rings. The simple design modification provides a means of using a disturbed column of soil to evaluate models of solute transport, and to study preferential flow and contaminant mobility without concern for spurious data due to artificial flow along the soil–wall interface of the lysimeter.