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Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

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Comparison Of Two-Dimensional And Three-Dimensional Simulations Of Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (Dnapls): Migration And Entrapment Of A Nonuniform Permeability Field, John A. Christ, Lawrence D. Lemke, Linda M. Abriola Jan 2005

Comparison Of Two-Dimensional And Three-Dimensional Simulations Of Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (Dnapls): Migration And Entrapment Of A Nonuniform Permeability Field, John A. Christ, Lawrence D. Lemke, Linda M. Abriola

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

The influence of reduced dimensionality (two-dimensional (2-D) versus 3-D) on predictions of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) infiltration and entrapment in statistically homogeneous, nonuniform permeability fields was investigated using the University of Texas Chemical Compositional Simulator (UTCHEM), a 3-D numerical multiphase simulator. Hysteretic capillary pressure–saturation and relative permeability relationships implemented in UTCHEM were benchmarked against those of another lab-tested simulator, the Michigan-Vertical and Lateral Organic Redistribution (M-VALOR). Simulation of a tetrachloroethene spill in 16 field-scale aquifer realizations generated DNAPL saturation distributions with approximately equivalent distribution metrics in two and three dimensions, with 2-D simulations generally resulting in slightly higher maximum …