FUNDAMENTAL STUDY ON DNAPL VERTICAL MIGRATION BY FINGERING IN SATURATED POROUS MEDIA

Abstract

Dense Non Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs) are common sources of groundwater contamination in the subsurface where they remain entrapped within the pore space and dissolved in aqueous phase during long tarm. In this study a new experiment to predict the entrapped DNAPL is introduced and their results are reported. Three types of randomly packed glass beads with different diameters (1, 2, 3mm) were used on fingering penetration of TCE (trichloroethylene) into saturated porous media to evaluate two main parameters governing with DNAPL transport and entrapment within pores. The results suggest that the first parameter; the relative permeability coefficient (k_D) accounting for fingering, is related to finger Reynolds number (wd/v) and the second parameter; the entrapment rate coefficient K [T^-1] ranged from 1.2×10^-2 to 7.3×10^-2 (sec.^-1) and proportional to the ratio of the Reynolds number to the intrinsic permeability. The one-dimensional numerical computation with those parameters is used to compare with the experimental results.