WRRCTMR No.55 Numerical Modelling of Liquid Waste Injection into Porous Media Saturated with Density-Stratified Fluid: A Progress Report
Date
1977-12
Authors
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
Waste effluent injected into an aquifer saturated with denser ambient
brackish or salt water experiences a buoyant lift. As a result, the effluent
migrates both outward from the well and upward in response to the combined
effects of injection head and buoyant force. After the injection
process has begun, several phenomena can affect the density, shape, and
distribution in space and time of the resulting buoyant plume. The most
important of these include convection and mechanical dispersion and molecular
diffusion.
Previous sandbox and Hele-Shaw laboratory modelling work have provided
a basic qualitative understanding of buoyant plume movement in a porous
medium. However, these laboratory models cannot correctly simulate dispersion
phenomena which may have significant effects on buoyant plume movement
and distribution. Consequently, it is necessary to mathematically model
the problem using coupled sets of partial differential equations which take
into account the effects of dispersion and diffusion, as well as convection.
For this problem, there are four unknowns (density, concentration, velocity,
and pressure), requiring four equations. The four governing equations are:
a motion equation (Darcy's law), a continuity equation, a dispersion equation,
and an equation of state. In addition, boundary and initial conditions
must be stipulated. In this study, two sets of boundary conditions
are used: the first consists of conditions identical to those in the sandbox
model studies, and the second models the geology of a specific prototype
area. The resulting governing equations and boundary and initial conditions
are numerically solved by both the finite difference and the finite element
methods. Finally, the numerical models are calibrated with the results of
the sandbox model studies mentioned previously.
This report describes in detail formulation of the governing equations
and the initial and boundary conditions, and preliminary finite difference
modelling work completed to date.
Description
Keywords
Groundwater flow -- Mathematical models., Sewage disposal in the ground -- Mathematical models.
Citation
Wheatcraft SW. 1977. Numerical modelling of liquid waste injection into porous media saturated with density-stratified fluid: a progress report. Honolulu (HI): Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa. WRRC technical memorandum report, 55.
Extent
v + 23 pages
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Collections
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.