The heterogeneity of the unsaturated zone plays an important role in the water and solutes transfer as it accentuates both the development of stagnant zones for water and preferential flow. Therefore, the validation of predictive models requires the development of specific experimental tools to observe and quantify the transport mechanisms involved in a heterogeneous unsaturated system. The aim of this thesis is to describe the combined effect of infiltration, capillary barrier and sloping layered soil on both flow and solute transport processes in a large physical model (1x1x1.6 m3) called LUGH (Lysimeter for Urban Groundwater Hydrology) and a 3D numerical flow model. Sand and a soil composed of a bimodal sand-gravel mixture were placed in the lysimeter represent one of the commun structural and textural elements of the heterogeneity observed in the vadose zone under an infiltration basin of Lyon (France). The soil was compacted in two configurations: a uniform profile and a profile with two layers having a slope of 14°. Water and an inert tracer (KBr) were injected from the top of the lysimeter using a specific water sprinkler system and collected at 15 different outlets at the bottom. The 15 breakthrough curves obtained presented high heterogeneity, emphasising the establishment of a preferential flow resulting from both capillary barrier and soil layer dip effects. Numerical modelling led to better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for these heterogeneous transfers and it was also used to perform a sensitivity analysis of the effects of water velocity (water and solute flux fed by the sprinkler) and the slope interface. The results show that decreasing velocity and increasing the slope of the interface can lead to the development of preferential flows. In addition, the offset of the centre of gravity of the flow distribution at the output increases linearly as a function of the slope angle of the layered soil. This paper allows coupling the hydrodynamic approach with the transfer of pollutants in unsaturated heterogeneous soil and highlighting preferential flow by flow modeling.
