Jannis Valldorf, a doctoral student under Prof Dr Schlenkhoff at the Chair of Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering, is conducting research as part of his dissertation on the topic of ‘Determining infiltration during short heavy rainfall events under varying climatic and site-specific boundary conditions’.

Infiltration is an important component of the water balance during a heavy rainfall event, alongside the performance of the sewer network and surface runoff. The resulting surface runoff and the damage it causes are directly related to the infiltration properties of the catchment area concerned.

In laboratory tests, the relationships between the infiltration performance of an urban soil during a heavy rainfall event and the boundary conditions such as the pre-wetness, vegetation and the relief are to be investigated.

For this purpose, a soil sample was taken from the Hardt green space in Wuppertal, including the vegetation layer. The sample was installed in the laboratory lysimeter over a drainage layer in the correct position. The soil sample can be irrigated evenly using 3026 needles. The sprinkler system can simulate heavy rainfall with variable intensities of up to 250 mm/h. The water flowing off the surface and seeping through the soil sample is collected and continuously weighed. Soil moisture measurements record the changes in soil moisture in different layers.

With better knowledge of infiltration during heavy rainfall events, surface runoff simulations and the resulting damage scenarios can be designed more realistically. The effect of infiltration-influencing measures can also be estimated in more detail with better knowledge of the respective infiltration characteristics and the use of resources for damage prevention during heavy rainfall events can be optimised.

Contact:

Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Wasserwirtschaft und Wasserbau | Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Schlenkhoff | M.Sc. Jannis Valldorf