A preliminary study of rainfall infiltration on slope using a new coupled surface and subsurface flow model

For simplicity, a conventional approach in modeling subsurface transient flow in slopes is to uncouple the infiltration and runoff processes during a storm event. In reality, the time variation of infiltration amount during a storm event cannot be estimated easily unless interactions between rainfall, infiltration, and surface runoff processes are properly considered and modeled. In this paper, a new coupled surface-subsurface flow model is developed to consider the interaction between surface and subsurface flows during a transient seepage analysis of a rainfall-infiltrated slope. Comparisons between computed pore water pressure distributions from the conventional approach and the new model are illustrated.