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Title: Mathematical Basis and Test Cases for Colloid-Facilitated Radionuclide Transport Modeling in GDSA-PFLOTRAN

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1373522· OSTI ID:1373522
 [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

This report provides documentation of the mathematical basis for a colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport modeling capability that can be incorporated into GDSA-PFLOTRAN. It also provides numerous test cases against which the modeling capability can be benchmarked once the model is implemented numerically in GDSA-PFLOTRAN. The test cases were run using a 1-D numerical model developed by the author, and the inputs and outputs from the 1-D model are provided in an electronic spreadsheet supplement to this report so that all cases can be reproduced in GDSA-PFLOTRAN, and the outputs can be directly compared with the 1-D model. The cases include examples of all potential scenarios in which colloid-facilitated transport could result in the accelerated transport of a radionuclide relative to its transport in the absence of colloids. Although it cannot be claimed that all the model features that are described in the mathematical basis were rigorously exercised in the test cases, the goal was to test the features that matter the most for colloid-facilitated transport; i.e., slow desorption of radionuclides from colloids, slow filtration of colloids, and equilibrium radionuclide partitioning to colloids that is strongly favored over partitioning to immobile surfaces, resulting in a substantial fraction of radionuclide mass being associated with mobile colloids.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1373522
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-17-26560
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English