Investigations of hydraulic state functions with the help of geoelectrical and radar measurements

The objective of investigation was the determination of representative hydraulic state functions (capillary pressure vs. water saturation curves) on large sand and sandstone samples using a combination of traditional hydraulic and new geophysical techniques. Of practical interest are residual water saturation, residual air saturation and the hysteresis of imbibition and drainage processes (see fig 1). These parameters may be used for validation of multiphase flow processes as well as the estimation of effective porosities and other geohydraulic quantities. It was shown that petrophysical and geophysical methods contribute to the reduction of risk and uncertainties in forecast of groundwater related processes in former mining areas.