Multicontinuum homogenization for Richards’ equation: The derivation and numerical experiments

Abstract In the present paper, the authors rigorously derive Richards’ multicontinuum model using the multicontinuum homogenization approach. This approach is based on formulating constraint cell problems and a homogenization-like expansion. We present numerical results for the two continua case with separable coefficients. First, we explore the relationships between the effective coefficients and the hydraulic conductivity. Then, we solve test problems with different contrasts to study the developed multicontinuum model.