Processes, mechanisms, parameters, and modeling approaches for partially saturated flow in soil and rock media; Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

Wang, J.S.Y.; Narasimhan, T. N.

doi:10.2172/139248

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 61 publications

(91 reference statements)

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“…Detailed analyses of the distributions and the correlations of soil and tuff parameters are in the report by Wang and Narasimhan (1989). In this review, we focus on two parameters: the saturated permeability and the unsaturated air entry scaling factor.…”

Section: Parameter Distributions: Difference Between Tight Tuffmatrixmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6, Wang et aI., 1988;Wang and Narasimhan, 1989) will be needed to characterize the fractured, tuff fonnations and to scale the hydrological parameters. As site characterization activities at Yucca Mountain (DOE, 1989) proceed, the uncertainties about the ambient conditions will be better quantified and models for performance assessment will be better calibrated and validated.…”

Section: Review and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unsaturated Flow in Fractured Porous Media

Wang

Narasimhan²

1993

Flow and Contaminant Transport in Fractured Rock

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Section: Parameter Distributions: Difference Between Tight Tuffmatrixmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Review and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Unsaturated Flow in Fractured Porous Media

Wang

Narasimhan²

1993

Flow and Contaminant Transport in Fractured Rock

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“…Knowledge of K, Rf, and d, as a function of .the volumetric water content, referred to as the characteristic behaviors of a porous medium, is particularly important in the near-field transition zone around high-level waste packages where changes in temperature, water content, compaction of backfill, infiltration of fines, and secondary mineralization will alter transport characteristics. An excellent discussion of transport parameters, processes, and mechanisms in partially saturated media can be found in Wang and Narasimhan, 1993. However, transport parameters have generally been difficult to obtain as a function of the volumetric water content. Traditional methods of investigating unsaturated systems require very long times to attain homogeneous distributions of water because normal gravity does not provide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CRADA with Beckman Instruments and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNL-013): Development and commercialization of the Unsaturated Flow Apparatus (UFA) using characterization of aridisols

Wright¹,

Conca²

1996

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PURPOSEThe objective of this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was to develop and commercialize a technology conceived by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and manufactured by Beckman Instruments , Inc. (Beckman), and to apply this technology to the characterization of arid soils. The technology is the Unsaturated Flow Apparatus P A ) . ' The UFA provides a highly efficient method of direct, rapid measurement of hydraulic conductivity and other flow properties according to DarcyBuckingham principles because the operator controls both the.fluid driving force, using an ultracentrifuge, and the flow into the sample while it is spinnhig, with a rotating seal assembly. The concept of using centrifugation to significantly decrease the time needed, from years or months to days, for study of subsurface transport, particularly under unsaturated conditions, was conceived by James Conca,'Ph.D., and Judith Wright, Ph.D., in 1986. The prototype UFA was developed in 1988 because there was a need to rapidly and accurately determine transport parameters in soils, sediments, and rocks for the Grout Waste Disposal Program. Transport parameters are critical to modeling outcomes for site-specific solutions to environmental remediation and waste disposal problems.The objective of the CRADA was to design and develop a commercially viable UFA instrument using arid western soils from DOE sites as test materials. Under the original plan, this would expand Beckman's product market from largely biomedical instruments to include an instrument with applications to the environmental, waste disposal, soils, hydrological and agricultural fields. However, during the implementation of the CRADA, Beckman's application research scientists decided that they could not provide appropriate technical application support for these new fields that are outside of their,expertise. Therefore, the UFA technology and its commercial development and application became the centerpiece for a DOE spinoff business as the final objective of the CRADA. This business, Northwest Environmental Services, Testing and Training (NESTT): 1) is an innovative soil ; testing laboratory providing analytical service work to DOE DoD, and private industry, using the UFA Method and other techniques; 2) continues to develop and test new generations of the UFA instrument; and 3) markets and sells the instrument. All of these objectives have been fulfilled. 1 Established Need For New TechnologyBoth commercial and government facilities have generated significant amounts of wastes, categorized as hazardous, radioactive, or mixed (both hazardous and radioactive). Much liquid and solid hazardous waste has been directiy discharged to shallow land sites above the water Figure 1 shows a time line summarizing activities and events significant to this CRADA Project (see also SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES Commercial Instrument Development (Ofice of Energy Research)During the course of this CRADA, scientists at PNNL and WSU worked with Beckman engineers t...

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“…Knowledge of K, Rf, and D, as a function of the volumetric water content, referred to as the characteristic behaviors of a porous medium, is particularly important in the near-field transition zone around high-level waste packages where changes in temperature, water content, compaction of backfill, infiltration of fines, and secondary mineralization will alter transport characteristics. An excellent discussion of transport parameters, processes, and mechanisms in partially saturated media can be found in Wang and Narasimhan, 1993. However, transport parameters have generally been difficult to obtain as a function of the volumetric water content. Traditional methods of investigating unsaturated systems require very long times to attain homogeneous distributions of water because normal gravity does not provide a large enough driving force relative to the low hydraulic conductivities that characterize unsaturated conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and chemical transport in Yucca Mountain Tuff: Milestone Report 3044-WBS1.2.3.4.1.4.1

Conca¹

1993

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Processes, mechanisms, parameters, and modeling approaches for partially saturated flow in soil and rock media; Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

Cited by 6 publications

References 61 publications

Unsaturated Flow in Fractured Porous Media

Unsaturated Flow in Fractured Porous Media

CRADA with Beckman Instruments and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNL-013): Development and commercialization of the Unsaturated Flow Apparatus (UFA) using characterization of aridisols

Measurement of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and chemical transport in Yucca Mountain Tuff: Milestone Report 3044-WBS1.2.3.4.1.4.1

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