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Title: The Subsurface Flow and Transport Experimental Laboratory: A New Department of Energy Users Facility for Intermediate-Scale Experimentation.

Conference ·
OSTI ID:15007645

Intermediate-scale experiments (ISEs) for flow and transport are a valuable tool for simulating subsurface features and conditions encountered in the field at government and private sites. ISEs offer the ability to study, under controlled laboratory conditions, complicated processes characteristic of mixed wastes and heterogeneous subsurface environments, in multiple dimensions and at different scales. ISEs may, therefore, result in major cost savings if employed prior to field studies. A distinct advantage of ISEs is that researchers can design physical and/or chemical heterogeneities in the porous media matrix that better approximate natural field conditions and therefore address research questions that contain the additional complexity of processes often encountered in the natural environment. A new Subsurface Flow and Transport Experimental Laboratory (SFTEL) has been developed for ISE users in the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The SFTEL offers a variety of columns and flow cells, a new state-of-the-art dual-energy gamma system, a fully automated saturation-pressure apparatus, and analytical equipment for sample processing. The new facility, including qualified staff, is available for scientists interested in collaboration on conducting high-quality flow and transport experiments, including contaminant remediation. Close linkages exist between the SFTEL and numerical modelers to aid in experimental design and interpretation. In this paper, the new facility and recently conducted research are described.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of Energy (US)
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
15007645
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-41099; KP1301030; TRN: US200419%%334
Resource Relation:
Conference: Hydrology Days. Proceedings of the 24th American Geophysical Union Annual Hydrology Days, Fort Collins, CO (US), 03/10/2004--03/12/2004; Other Information: PBD: 7 Apr 2004
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English