Prediction of tilted capillary barrier performance

Conference · Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:475668

Webb, S W; McCord, J T; Dwyer, S F

Capillary barriers, consisting of tilted fine-over-coarse layers under unsaturated conditions, have been suggested as landfill covers to divert water infiltration away from sensitive underground regions, especially for arid and semi-arid regions. The Hydrological Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) computer code is an evaluation tool for landfill covers used by designers and regulators. HELP is a quasi-two-dimensional model that predicts moisture movement into and through the underground soil and waste layers. Processes modeled within HELP include precipitation, runoff, evapotranspiration, unsaturated vertical drainage, saturated lateral drainage, and leakage through liners. Unfortunately, multidimensional unsaturated flow phenomena that are necessary for evaluating tilted capillary barriers are not included in HELP. Differences between the predictions of the HELP and those from a multidimensional unsaturated flow code are presented to assess the two different approaches. Comparisons are presented for the landfill covers including capillary barrier configurations at the Alternative Landfill Cover Demonstration (ALCD) being conducted at Sandia.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 475668
• Report Number(s): SAND-97-0906C; CONF-970208-13; ON: DE97004651; TRN: 97:003217
• Resource Relation: Conference: International containment technology conference and exhibition, St. Petersburg, FL (United States), 9-12 Feb 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
99 MATHEMATICS
COMPUTERS
INFORMATION SCIENCE
MANAGEMENT
LAW
MISCELLANEOUS
SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SOILS
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
COMPACTING
CAPILLARY FLOW
SANITARY LANDFILLS
DIFFUSION BARRIERS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
GROUND DISPOSAL
H CODES