An Active Region Model for Capturing Fractal Flow Patterns inUnsaturated Soils: Model Development
Preferential flow commonly observed in unsaturated soils allows rapid movement of solute from the soil surface or vadose zone to the groundwater, bypassing a significant volume of unsaturated soil and increasing the risk of groundwater contamination. A variety of evidence indicates that complex preferential patterns observed from fields are fractals. In this study, we developed a relatively simple active region model to incorporate the fractal flow pattern into the continuum approach. In the model, the flow domain is divided into active and inactive regions. Flow occurs preferentially in the active region (characterized by fractals), and inactive region is simply bypassed. A new constitutive relationship (the portion of the active region as a function of saturation) was derived. The validity of the proposed model is demonstrated by the consistency between field observations and the new constitutive relationship.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.Waste Management System
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 882088
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-58197; JCOHE6; R&D Project: G60631; BnR: DF0961000; TRN: US0603187
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol. 80, Issue 1-2; Related Information: Journal Publication Date: 11/2005; ISSN 0169-7722
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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