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Title: UNSAT-H Version 1. 0: unsaturated flow code documentation and applications for the Hanford Site

Abstract

Waste mangement practices at the Hanford Site have relied havily on near-surface burial. Predicting the future performance of any burial site in terms of the migration of buried contaminants requires a model capable of simulating water flow in the unsaturated soils above the buried waste. The model currently being developed to meet this need is UNSAT-H, which was developed at Pacific Northwest Laboratory for assessing the water dynamics of near-surface waste-disposal sites at the Hanfrod Site. The code will primarily be used to predict deep drainage (i.e., recharge) as a function of environmental conditions such as climate, soil type, and vegetation. UNSAT-H will also simulate various waste-management practices such as placing surface barriers over waste sites. UNSAT-H is a one-dimensional model that simulates the dynamics processes of infiltration, drainage, redistribution, surface evaporation, and uptake of water from soil by plants. UNSAT-H is designed to utilize two auxiliary codes. These codes are DATAINH, which is used to process the input data, and DATAOUT, which is used to process the UNSAT-H output. Operation of the code requires three separate steps. First, the problem to be simulated must be conceptualized in terms of boundary conditions, available data, and soil properties. Next, the datamore » must be correctly formatted for input. Finally, the unput data must be processed, UNSAT-H run, and the output data processed for analysis. This report includes three examples of code use. In the first example, a benchmark test case is run in which the results of UNSAT-H simulations of infiltration are compared with an analytical solution and a numerical solution. The comparisons show excellent agreement for the specific test case, and this agreement provides vertification of the infiltration portion of the UNSAT-H code. The other two examples of code use are a simulation of a layered soil and one of plant transpiration.« less

Authors:
; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
5368246
Report Number(s):
PNL-5899
ON: DE87000273
DOE Contract Number:  
AC06-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; 58 GEOSCIENCES; FLOW MODELS; RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION; U CODES; DOCUMENTATION; COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION; GROUND WATER; SEDIMENTS; SOILS; TRANSPIRATION; COMPUTER CODES; ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT; HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS; MASS TRANSFER; MATHEMATICAL MODELS; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; SIMULATION; WATER; 053000* - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects; 520301 - Environment, Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Water- (1987); 510301 - Environment, Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987); 052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage; 580100 - Geology & Hydrology- (-1989)

Citation Formats

Fayer, M J, Gee, G W, and Jones, T L. UNSAT-H Version 1. 0: unsaturated flow code documentation and applications for the Hanford Site. United States: N. p., 1986. Web. doi:10.2172/5368246.
Fayer, M J, Gee, G W, & Jones, T L. UNSAT-H Version 1. 0: unsaturated flow code documentation and applications for the Hanford Site. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/5368246
Fayer, M J, Gee, G W, and Jones, T L. 1986. "UNSAT-H Version 1. 0: unsaturated flow code documentation and applications for the Hanford Site". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/5368246. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/5368246.
@article{osti_5368246,
title = {UNSAT-H Version 1. 0: unsaturated flow code documentation and applications for the Hanford Site},
author = {Fayer, M J and Gee, G W and Jones, T L},
abstractNote = {Waste mangement practices at the Hanford Site have relied havily on near-surface burial. Predicting the future performance of any burial site in terms of the migration of buried contaminants requires a model capable of simulating water flow in the unsaturated soils above the buried waste. The model currently being developed to meet this need is UNSAT-H, which was developed at Pacific Northwest Laboratory for assessing the water dynamics of near-surface waste-disposal sites at the Hanfrod Site. The code will primarily be used to predict deep drainage (i.e., recharge) as a function of environmental conditions such as climate, soil type, and vegetation. UNSAT-H will also simulate various waste-management practices such as placing surface barriers over waste sites. UNSAT-H is a one-dimensional model that simulates the dynamics processes of infiltration, drainage, redistribution, surface evaporation, and uptake of water from soil by plants. UNSAT-H is designed to utilize two auxiliary codes. These codes are DATAINH, which is used to process the input data, and DATAOUT, which is used to process the UNSAT-H output. Operation of the code requires three separate steps. First, the problem to be simulated must be conceptualized in terms of boundary conditions, available data, and soil properties. Next, the data must be correctly formatted for input. Finally, the unput data must be processed, UNSAT-H run, and the output data processed for analysis. This report includes three examples of code use. In the first example, a benchmark test case is run in which the results of UNSAT-H simulations of infiltration are compared with an analytical solution and a numerical solution. The comparisons show excellent agreement for the specific test case, and this agreement provides vertification of the infiltration portion of the UNSAT-H code. The other two examples of code use are a simulation of a layered soil and one of plant transpiration.},
doi = {10.2172/5368246},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5368246}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1986},
month = {Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1986}
}