COMPARISON OF THE THEORETICAL AND NUMERICAL SOLUTION BY THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR STEADY STATE AIR FLOW IN SOIL TOWARD AN EXTRACTION WELL

Abstract

Soil vapor extraction, Air sparging and Bioveting methods are commonly used for the remediation of the soil and ground water polluted by toxic volatile organic chemicals. The coefficient of air permeability and the influence radius of vacuum pumping are the important indices for the application of these methods. In order to meet to these demands, the in-situ vacuum tests are often conducted. However, very little attention has been paid for analyzing the data taken from the in-situ vacuum tests due to the lack in the reliable and quantitative studies. In the present paper, the numerical solutions by the finite element method and the analytical solutions for air extraction from the vacuum well and borehole were examined. It was concluded that the present method for determining the coefficient of air permeability and the influence radius of vacuum pumping is applicable for the in-situ vacuum tests.