Author(s): F. Stauffer; T. Dracos
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: A numerical two-dimensional model for the simulation of water flow and tracer transport in porous media is presented. Unsteady saturated-unsatur ated flow in non-ho mogeneous media are considered. The model is based on the Finite Element and Galerkin methods. Hysteresis effects in the relation between capillary pressure and water content are taken into account for rewetting processes which can be described by primary wetting curves. The tracer transport model is of the Lagrangian type, only the advective transport of marked fluid by the mean flow is considered. The model was tested by laboratory experiments with water and solute infiltration into a horizontally layered and initially drained sand packing. It is concluded from the simulations and the experiments, that the hysteresis strongly affects the response behaviour of the phreatic surface and the relating outflow. It is further shown that the solute transpor t is dominated by advection which itself is strongly influenced by the layering of the sand packing.
Year: 1985