CFEST Coupled Flow, Energy & Solute Transport Version CFEST005 Theory Guide
This document presents the mathematical theory implemented in the CFEST (Coupled Flow, Energy, and Solute Transport) simulator. The simulator is a three-dimensional finite element model that can be used for evaluating flow and solute mass transport. Although the theory for thermal transport is presented in this guide, it has not yet been fully implemented in the simulator. The flow module is capable of simulating both confined and unconfined aquifer systems, as well as constant and variable density fluid flows. For unconfined aquifers, the model uses a moving boundary for the water table, deforming the numerical mesh so that the uppermost nodes are always at the water table. For solute transport, changes in concentration of a single dissolved chemical constituent are computed for advective and hydrodynamic transport, linear sorption represented by a retardation factor, and radioactive decay. Once fully implemented, transport of thermal energy in the groundwater and solid matrix of the aquifer can also be used to model aquifer thermal regimes. Mesh construction employs “collapsible”, hexahedral finite elements in a three-dimensional coordinate system. CFEST uses the Galerkin finite element method to convert the partial differential equations to algebraic form. To solve the coupled equations for momentum, solute and heat transport, either Picard or Newton-Raphson iterative schemes are used to treat nonlinearities. An upstream weighted residual finite-element method is used to solve the advective-dispersive transport and energy transfer equations, which circumvents problems of numerical oscillation problems. Matrix solutions of the flow and transport problems are performed using efficient iterative solvers available in ITPACK and PETSc, solvers that are available in the public domain. These solvers are based on the preconditioned conjugate gradient and ORTHOMIN methods for symmetric and a nonsymmetric matrices, respectively.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 923691
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-15452 Rev. 1; 830403000; TRN: US200805%%272
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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