On the infiltration of a liquid front in an unsaturated, fractured porous medium
The unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, is currently under scientific investigation as a proposed site for the permanent storage of high-level nuclear waste. A deeper understanding of fracture-matrix interaction needed for the prediction of water movement around an in the repository. We show that the liquid front movement can be classified into physically interpretable, distinctive flow regimes. Asymptotic solutions for the front movement are given for each flow period and comparisons with numerical solutions are made. In addition to applications in nuclear waste storage, the results of our study is relevant to hazardous waste disposal, petroleum recovery, and flow in soil macropores. 17 refs., 13 figs., 6 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 137631
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL--100777; CONF-890928--19; ON: DE90006001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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On the movement of a liquid front in an unsaturated, fractured porous medium, Part 1
Infiltration of a liquid front in an unsaturated, fractured porous medium
Related Subjects
ASYMPTOTIC SOLUTIONS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
FLUID FLOW
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GROUND WATER
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
LAWRENCE LIVERMORE LABORATORY
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PENETRATION DEPTH
PETROLEUM
POROUS MATERIALS
ROCKS
SIMULATION
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SOILS
TUFF
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
WASTE DISPOSAL
YUCCA MOUNTAIN
Yucca Mountain Project