HR: 1340h
AN: H33E-0511 [Abstracts]
TI: High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Forward Simulations of Flow Into Heterogeneous Unsaturated Media:
Comparison of Simulated and Geophysical Data
AU: * Brainard, J R
EM: jrbrain@sandia.gov
AF: Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800
M.S. 0735, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0735
United States
AU: Mehdi, E
EM: meliass@sandia.gov
AF: Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800
M.S. 0735, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0735
United States
AU: Glenn, H E
EM: gehammo
AF: Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800
M.S. 0735, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0735
United States
AU: Alumbaugh, D L
EM: alumbaug@cae.wisc.edu
AF: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2258 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Dr
, Madison, WI 53706
United States
AU: LaBrecque, D J
EM: dlabrec887@yahoo.com
AF: Multi-Phase Technologies, 310 Rebecca Drive, Sparks, NV 89436
United States
AB:
High-resolution subsurface flow and transport simulations using PorSalsa, a massively-parallel, two-phase, three-dimensional
finite element flow code, are performed and compared to data from the Sandia-Tech Vadose Zone Facility (STVZ). The STVZ is a
state-of-the-art infiltration facility where a variety of hydrologic sensors and geophysical imaging techniques are employed
for monitoring water flow and salt tracer transport through highly heterogeneous fluvial sediments. Current research at the
STVZ involves an assessment of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and cross-well ground penetrating radar (XGPR)
measurement resolution as employed at the STVZ. We present and discuss results from high-resolution unsaturated flow
simulations based on the STVZ infiltration test that play a vital role in this research. These simulations employ layered
homogeneous and heterogeneous hydraulic property fields, where the hysteretic hydraulic properties have been measured on
samples from the STVZ using standard laboratory techniques, and GSLIB is used to generate geostatistically correlated
heterogeneous fields of porosity, permeability, and air entry values. We will discuss the effects of grid resolution,
up-scaling techniques for the heterogeneous fields, and the impact of uncertainty in the measured properties on the
simulations. We will also present and discuss the differences between the simulated results and measured field data from
hydrologic/geophysical sensors.
DE: 1800 HYDROLOGY
DE: 1875 Unsaturated zone
DE: 1894 Instruments and techniques
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting