Water Flow in Unsaturated Soils in Microgravity Environment

In this study, two types of soils with varying soil water potentials were used for evaluating the effect of gravity on water flow through unsaturated soils. Experiments were conducted in both 1- and 0-g environments. Water content distributions were evaluated as a function of distance from the source of water intake and time. The experimental results indicated that the capillary potential and the advective forces due to interfacial tension gradients are overshadowed by the gravitational potential in a 1-g environment. The fast water movement in the 0-g condition is attributed to the capillary potential as well as to the advective forces that developed. In addition, microstructural changes have contributed to water flow in the 0-g condition. Depending on soil type, the magnitude of such an effect (i.e., water movement) varies from three- to four-fold. To analyze the experimental results, a one-dimensional model, based on Darcy’s law and the conservation of mass equations, was developed and solved numerically by the finite difference method. A nondimensional Bond number was extracted from the resulting flow equation and used as a basis for incorporating the gravitational component of the flow process into the formulation. The numerical results compare quite well in some instances with the experimental results. In other cases, significant departures are noted. The departure was attributed to the significant changes in microstructure of soil samples under the 0-g condition. Consequently, the requisite water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions used in the model may not apply in outer space.     

RH循环流量水模实验研究

通过物理实验模拟考察了RH精炼过程中吹气量、吹气方式、真空度、气体行程等参数对循环流量的影响,并对实验结果进行了分析和论述,得出结论,吹气量低于120 m3/h时,循环流量随吹气量的增大而提高,多孔吹气、真空度升高及增加气体行程均有利于循环流量的提高。     

Analytical Modeling of Nitrogen Dynamics in Soils and Ground Water

An analytical model, known as RISK-N, is developed to simulate nitrogen cycling in soils, and nitrate transport and fate in soils and ground water. The soil is separated into upper-root, lower-root, and intermediate-vadose zones, each with uniform properties. Transport in each soil zone is modeled on the basis of complete mixing. Transport in the aquifer, however, is modeled using a two-dimensional advection-dispersion transport equation. A simulation is made with a hypothetical corn plot, using meteorological, soil, hydrologic, and hydrogeological data for the South Platte River region of northeastern Colorado. Sensitivity analyses are performed on model parameters. This study shows that the RISK-N model is capable of simulating nitrate leaching rates, as well as ground-water concentrations, that are consistent with those obtained by numerical models, while requiring fewer input variables.     

Dynamic Analysis of Multilayered Soils to Water Waves and Flow

In nature, a soil profile generally consists of several heterogeneous layers. This study is aimed at discussing the interactive problem of oscillatory water waves and flow passing over multilayered soils. The soil behavior is considered as viscoelastic in the present mathematical model modified from Biot’s poroelastic theory. Employing this model, the dynamic response including the profiles of pore water pressure and effective stress in the multilayered soils is discussed. The results reveal that the perturbed pore pressure is different from that inside a single-layered soil where the thickness of the first soil layer is less than the water wavelength. The discrepancy of the vertical effective stresses between multilayered and single-layered soils is even much more apparent under the same conditions. Moreover, seepage force is examined and is found to be larger near the bed surface and the bottom of the first soil layer where soils are easily disturbed by external disturbance. The locations where soil failure might happen are found near the troughs of surface water waves.     

Experimental and Modeling Studies of Permanent Strains of Subgrade Soils

Mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide for flexible pavements as per the AASHTO design guide requires characterization of subgrade soils using the resilient modulus (MR) property. This property, however, does not fully account for the plastic or permanent strain or rutting of subgrade soils, which often distress the overlying pavements. Soils such as silts exhibit moderate to high resilient moduli properties but they still undergo large permanent deformations under repeated loading. This explains the fallacy in the current pavement material characterization practice. A comprehensive research study was performed to measure permanent deformation properties of subgrade soils by subjecting various soils under repeated cycles of deviatoric loads. This paper describes test procedure followed and results obtained on three soils including clay, silt, and sandy soils. The influence of compaction moisture content, confining pressure, and deviatoric stresses applied on the measured permanent deformations of all three soils are addressed. A four-parameter permanent strain model formulation as a function of stress states in soils and the number of loading cycles was used to model and analyze the present test results. The model constants of all three soils were first determined and these results were used to explain the effects of various soil properties on permanent deformations of soils. Validation studies were performed to address the adequacy of the formulated model to predict rutting or permanent strains in soils.     

Two-Phase (Air and Water) Flow through Rock Joints: Analytical and Experimental Study

This research study deals with the characterization of two-phase flow in a fractured rock mass. A comprehensive mathematical model with which to predict the quantity of each flow component in a single joint is developed. A joint with two parallel walls filled with layers of water and air (stratified) is analyzed. The effects of mechanical deformation of the joint, the compressibility of fluids, the solubility of air in water, and the phase change between fluids have been taken into account to develop analytical expressions which describe the behavior at the air–water interface. The model was calibrated using a newly designed two-phase (high-pressure) triaxial cell. Tests were conducted on fractured hard rock samples for different confining pressures with inlet water and inlet air pressures. As in single-phase flow, it was found both experimentally and theoretically, that the flow quantities of each phase decreases considerably with an increase in confining stress. The results also confirm that the effect of joint deformation and compressibility of fluids governs the flow volume of two-phase flow. Good agreement was obtained between the experimental data and numerical predictions.     

Postconstruction Changes in the Hydraulic Properties of Water Balance Cover Soils

Hydraulic properties of soils used for water balance covers measured at the time of construction and one to four years after construction are compared to assess how the hydraulic properties of cover soils change over time as a result of exposure to field conditions. Data are evaluated from ten field sites in the United States that represent a broad range of environmental conditions. The comparison shows that the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) can increase by a factor of 10,000, saturated volumetric water content (θs) by a factor of 2.0, van Genuchten’s α parameter by a factor of 100, and van Genuchten’s n parameter can decrease by a factor of 1.4. Larger changes occur for denser or more plastic fine-textured soils that have lower as-built Ks, α, and θs and higher as-built n, resulting in a reduction in the variation in hydraulic properties that can be attributed to compaction. After two to four years, many water balance cover soils can be assumed to have Ks between 10?5 and 10?3?cm/s, θs between 0.36 and 0.40, α between 0.002 and 0.2?kPa?1, and n between 1.2 and 1.5. The data may be used to estimate changes in hydraulic properties for applications such as waste containment, where long-term maintenance of hydraulic properties in shallow engineered soil layers is important.     

Water Modeling of Optimizing Tundish Flow Field

 In the water modeling experiments, three cases were considered, ie, a bare tundish, a tundish equipped with a turbulence inhibitor, and a rectangular tundish equipped with weirs (dams) and a turbulence inhibitor. Comparing the RTD curves, inclusion separation, and the result of the streamline experiment, it can be found that the tundish equipped with weirs (dams) and a turbulence inhibitor has a great effect on the flow field and the inclusion separation when compared with the sole use or no use of the turbulent inhibitor or weirs (dams). In addition, the enlargement of the distance between the weir and dam will result in a better effect when the tundish equipped with weirs (dam) and a turbulence inhibitor was used.     

Numerical Modeling of Contaminant Transport through Soils: Case Study

This paper presents the development and validation of a numerical model for simulation of the flow of water and air and contaminant transport through unsaturated soils. The governing differential equations include two mass balance equations for the water phase and air phase together with a balance equation for contaminant transport through the two phases. In the model the nonlinear system of the governing differential equations was solved using a finite-element method in the space domain and a finite difference scheme in the time domain. The governing equation of the miscible contaminant transport including advection, dispersion-diffusion and adsorption effects are presented. The mathematical framework and the numerical implementation of the model are described in detail. The model is validated by application to standard experiments on contaminant transport in unsaturated soils. The application of the model to a case study is then presented and discussed. Finally, the merits and limitations of the model are highlighted.     

Modeling the Behavior of Flow Regulating Devices in Water Distribution Systems Using Constrained Nonlinear Programming

Currently the modeling of check valves and flow control valves in water distribution systems is based on heuristics intermixed with solving the set of nonlinear equations governing flow in the network. At the beginning of a simulation, the operating status of these valves is not known and must be assumed. The system is then solved. The status of the check valves and flow control valves are then changed to try to determine their correct operating status, at times leading to incorrect solutions even for simple systems. This paper proposes an entirely different approach. Content and co-content theory is used to define conditions that guarantee the existence and uniqueness of the solution. The work here focuses solely on flow control devices with a defined head discharge versus head loss relationship. A new modeling approach for water distribution systems based on subdifferential analysis that deals with the nondifferentiable flow versus head relationships is proposed in this paper. The water distribution equations are solved as a constrained nonlinear programming problem based on the content model where the Lagrangian multipliers have important physical meanings. This new method gives correct solutions by dealing appropriately with inequality and equality constraints imposed by the presence of the flow regulating devices (check valves, flow control valves, and temporarily closed isolating valves). An example network is used to illustrate the concepts.     

Characterization of Heterogeneous Soils Using Surface Waves: Homogenization and Numerical Modeling

Seismic surface waves are well-adapted to study the elastic parameters, and hence the mechanical properties, of soils. The aim herein is to evaluate whether Rayleigh waves in heterogeneous soils may be used to estimate average elastic parameters and to determine how these parameters are influenced by heterogeneities. The heterogeneous medium, underlain by a homogeneous half-space, is considered as a homogeneous matrix with one or several types of randomly distributed inclusions (with a normal distribution) in the matrix. Seismic waves generated by surface loads and propagating in this medium were calculated using the finite element method (FEM) and then compared with single- and multiple-scattering homogenization methods. For the FEM calculation, special care was taken to reduce numerical dispersion through the use of elements smaller than 1/20 of the dominant wavelength. The group and phase velocity dispersion curves were measured and inverted in order to obtain the effective shear wave velocity of the heterogeneous medium. The results show a clear dependence of the wave velocity with respect to the nature, concentration, and size of the inclusions. The dependence with respect to the nature and concentration of inclusions coincides with that obtained from a multiple-scattering homogenization method up to an inclusion concentration of approximately 50%.     

Heat Flow through Soils and Effects on Thermal Storage Cycle in High-Mass Structures

The solar radiation absorbed in massive building components is stored and later emitted as long-wave thermal radiation into the interior space. Heat storage capacity is directly related to the mass of the building envelope surrounding this space and particularly that of high-mass, homogeneous earthen or cementitious material. A thermal storage cycle is created by the time-lag effect if sufficient mass is available. A similar strategy applied to the lunar and/or Martian regolith would provide a surface structure with micrometeorite and radiation protection, thermal insulation, and natural supplemental heat energy that would significantly reduce the energy requirements met by mechanical equipment. HEAT2 is an energy simulation program that solves heat transfer problems using the partial differential heat conduction equation in two dimensions with the method of explicit finite differences. HEAT2 simulation data suggests that, although thermal mass is most suitable for climates where desired indoor temperatures fall within a large daily external temperature gradient, the heat storage cycle is least effective at the annual extremes occurring in midwinter and in midsummer. A more moderate climate will allow the heat storage cycle to modulate between positive and negative heat flows which are then shifted to align with peak load conditions, reducing energy demand. Also, diurnal and seasonal temperature gradients can initiate a sequence of phase transitions in the soil’s moisture content affecting the overall conductivity. This study will present a more accurate explanation of the heat transfer processes occurring in soils of varying compositions when thermal properties are altered by transient climatic conditions.     

Depth-Averaged Drag Coefficient for Modeling Flow through Suspended Canopies

Aquatic suspended canopies are porous obstacles that extend down from the free-surface but have a gap between the canopy and bed. Examples of suspended canopies include those formed by aquaculture structures or floating vegetation. The major difference between suspended canopies and the more common submerged canopies, which are located on the bottom boundary, is the influence of the bottom boundary layer beneath the suspended canopy. Data from laboratory experiments are presented which explore aspects of the flow through and beneath suspended canopies constructed from rigid cylinders. The experiments, using both acoustic Doppler and two-dimensional (2D) particle tracking velocimetry, give details of the flow structure that may be divided vertically into a bottom boundary layer, a canopy shear layer, and an internal canopy layer. The experimental data show that the penetration of the shear layer into the canopy is limited by the distance between the canopy and bottom boundary layer. Peaks in velocity spectra indicate an interaction between the bottom boundary and canopy shear layer. An analytical model is also developed that can be used to calculate a drag coefficient that includes the effect of both canopy drag and bed friction. This drag coefficient is suitable for use in 2D (depth-averaged) hydrodynamic modeling. The model also allows the average velocity within and beneath the canopy to be calculated, and is used to investigate the effect of canopy density and thickness on both total drag and bottom friction.     

Modeling Water and Sulfuric Acid Transport through Coated Cement Concrete

The behavior of coated cement concrete in water and sulfuric acid was investigated over a three-year period. Two epoxy-based coatings were selected and cylindrical concrete specimens were coated and used in this investigation. The concrete-to-coating mass transfer coefficient ratio varied from 8 to 10. The penetration of liquids through bulk coating materials and coated concrete with and without holidays (pinholes) was studied. The mass change of the specimens was measured at regular intervals and a total of 64 coated specimens were tested. Coated concrete specimens with and without holidays had different performance with long-term immersion in deionized (DI) water and 3% sulfuric acid. Mass transfer models were developed using film and bulk concepts and were used to predict the increase in mass in coated concrete in nonreactive DI water and reactive 3% sulfuric acid solutions. The mass transfer model parameters for various solution-coating combinations were obtained from experiment data. The parameters of the effect of holiday size on the liquid transport process were also identified based on the experiment results.     

Water Modeling of Swirling Flow Tundish for Steel Continuous Casting

A conventional turbulence inhibitor is compared with a swirling chamber from the points of view of fluid flow and removal rate of inclusion in the tundish. Comparing the RTD curves, inclusion removals, and the stream-lines in water model experiments, it can be found that the tundish equipped with a swirling chamber has a great effect on improving the flow field, and the floatation rate of inclusion is higher than the tundish with a turbulence inhibitor. Because of the introduction of the swirling chamber, the flow field and inclusion removal in a two-strand swirling flow tundish are asymmetrical. Rotating the inlet direction of swirling chamber 60 degree is a good strategy to improve the asymmetrical flow field.     

Evaluation of Drinking Water Biostability Using Biofilm Methods

A biofilm based, annular reactor method was developed and used to measure the biological regrowth potential of effluent water from various pilot treatment processes at the New York City Croton Lake Pilot Plant. A series of studies were carried out over the year-long study to collect bacterial growth and organic carbon biodegradation data for waters from six treatment options, including the raw source water. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations were made to determine the effects of filter media type, direct filtration, preozonation, and primary chlorination on the relative biostability of the produced waters compared to that of the original source water and water currently being distributed to consumers. In addition, results were compared to those obtained using traditional biodegradable organic material measuring methods such as assimilable organic carbon and biodegradable organic carbon. Quantitative biostability factors were developed that take into account both biological growth potential and biodegradability of the tested waters. Results from these studies were used to compare various piloted treatment processes and to assess pilot plant operation, design parameters, and seasonal source water quality.     

2. Numerical Simulations of Water Flow and Solute Transport Applied to Acid Sulfate Soils

Field investigations of Rassam et al. in 2001 have highlighted the effects of infiltration, drainage, and evapotranspiration on the dynamics of water flow and solute transport in acid sulfate (AS) soils. In this work, HYDRUS-2D is adopted as the modeling tool to elucidate the trends observed in that field experiment. Hypothetical simulations have shown that the relative contribution of drains to lowering the water table is significant only when closely spaced drains are installed in coarse textured soils, evapotranspiration being the main driving force in all other cases. AS soils reaction products that are close to a drain are readily transportable during infiltration and early drainage, but those produced farther away from it near the midpoint between drains are only slowly transported during a prolonged drainage process. Simulating the field trial of Rassam et al. has shown that drain depth and evapotranspiration significantly affect solute fluxes exported to the ecosystem. Managing AS soils should target minimal drain depth and density. Partial or full lining of the drains should be considered as a management option for ameliorating the environmental hazards of AS soils.