Non-equilibrium alcohol flooding model for immiscible phase remediation: 1. Equation development

The equations for a compositional model for simulation of a two-phase, three-component system with inter-phase mass transfer are developed. Emphasis is placed on development of inter-phase mass transfer equations for incorporation of rate-limited inter-phase mass transfer. Due to the nature of the three-component systems considered, a single-film model may be inadequate and a two-film model must be utilized. A two-film model accounts for the simultaneous transfer of components in both directions across phase interfaces. The effect of interaction between components on diffusion is considered using a general form of Fick's Law. A Hand Plot representation of ternary phase behavior is chosen since it allows for straightforward calculation of miscibility of bulk phases under conditions of local non-equilibrium. The developed set of equations form the basis for a numerical model to simulate the enhanced removal of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) from porous media using single-component alcohol floods.     

Comparison of alternative upscaled model formulations for simulating DNAPL source dissolution and biodecay

This paper compares the performance of analytical and numerical approaches for modeling DNAPL dissolution with biodecay. A solution derived from a 1-D advective transport formulation (“Parker” model) is shown to agree very closely with high resolution numerical solutions. A simple lumped source mass balance solution in which with decay is assumed proportional to DNAPL mass (“Falta1” model) over- or underpredicts aqueous phase biodecay depending on the magnitude of the exponential factor governing the relationship between dissolution rate and DNAPL mass. A modification of the Falta model that assumes decay proportional to the source exit concentration is capable of accurately simulating source behavior with strong aqueous phase biodecay if model parameters are appropriately selected or calibrated (“Falta2” model). However, parameters in the lumped models exhibit complex interdependencies that cannot be quantified without consideration of transport processes within the source zone. Combining the Falta2 solution with relationships derived from the Parker model was found to resolve these limitations and track the numerical model results. A method is presented to generalize the analytical solutions to enable simulation of partial mass removal with changes in source parameters over time due to various remedial actions. The algorithm is verified by comparison with numerical simulation results. An example application is presented that demonstrates the interactions of partial mass removal, enhanced biodecay, enhanced mass transfer and source zone flow reduction applied at various time periods on contaminant flux reduction. Increasing errors that arise in numerical solutions with coarse discretization and high decay rates are shown to be controlled by using an adjusted decay coefficient derived from the Parker analytical solution.     

A modified monthly degree‐day model for evaluating glacier runoff changes in China. Part II: application

The glacier mass balance, area change, and glacier runoff in the Yarkant River Basin (YRB) and the Beida River Basin (BRB) were estimated from 1961 to 2006 by employing a modified monthly degree‐day model. Comparisons between the simulated and observed mass balance, equilibrium line altitude, and glacier runoff suggest that the model can be used to analyze the long‐term changes of glacier mass balance and runoff in the YRB and the BRB. The glacier mass balances of the YRB and the BYB both have a significantly decreasing trend with ?4.39 mm a^‐1 and ?8.15 mm a^‐1 from 1961 to 2006 because of a significant increase in ablation caused by increasing summer air temperatures, especially since 1996. The total runoff in glacier areas has a significant increasing trend with 0.23 × 10⁸ m³ a^‐1 and 0.02 × 10⁸ m³ a^‐1 in the YRB and the BRB, respectively. By comparing the mean mass balance during the period 1961 to 1986 with that of the 1987 to 2006, the BRB glacier mass balance's sensitivity to temperature is at 0.33 m a^‐1 °C, nearly twice as much as that of the YRB at 0.16 m a^‐1 °C. The difference between the glacier temperature sensitivity in the YRB and the BRB is primarily because the glacier elevation band area weighted altitude of the YRB is about 700 m higher than that of BRB. The glacier elevation band area weighted summer air temperature in the YRB is around 2 °C lower than that of the BRB. Therefore, the annual positive degree‐day of the YRB and the BRB increases by about 21.0 °C and 77.3 °C respectively when the summer air temperature increases by 1 °C, resulting into more glacier ablation and runoff in the BRB than in the YRB. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two‐dimensional physically based finite element runoff model for small agricultural watersheds: I. Model development

Soil erosion by water is the root cause of ecological degradation in the Shiwalik foothills of Northern India. Simulation of runoff and its component processes is a pre‐requisite to develop the management strategies to tackle the problem, successfully. A two‐dimensional physically based distributed numerical model, ROMO2D has been developed to simulate runoff from small agricultural watersheds on an event basis. The model employs the 2‐D Richards equation with sink term to simulate infiltration and soil moisture dynamics in the vadoze zone under variable rainfall conditions, and 2‐D Saint‐Venant equations under the kinematic wave approximation along with Manning's equation as the stage‐discharge equation for runoff routing. The various flow‐governing equations have been solved numerically by employing a Galerkin finite element method for spatial discretization using quadrilateral elements and finite difference techniques for temporal solutions. The ROMO2D computer program has been developed as a class‐based program, coded in C + + in such a way that with minor modifications, the model can be used to simulate runoff on a continuous basis. The model writes output for a runoff hydrograph of each storm. Model development is described in this paper and the results of model testing and field application are to be presented in a subsequent paper. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐empirical model for site effects on acceleration time histories at soft‐soil sites. Part 1: formulation and development

A criterion is developed for the simulation of realistic artificial ground motion histories at soft‐soil sites, corresponding to a detailed ground motion record at a reference firm‐ground site. A complex transfer function is defined as the Fourier transform of the ground acceleration time history at the soft‐soil site divided by the Fourier transform of the acceleration record at the firm‐ground site. Working with both the real and the imaginary components of the transfer function, and not only with its modulus, serves to keep the statistical information about the wave phases (and, therefore, about the time variation of amplitudes and frequencies) in the algorithm used to generate the artificial records. Samples of these transfer functions, associated with a given pair of soft‐soil and firm‐ground sites, are empirically determined from the corresponding pairs of simultaneous records. Each function included in a sample is represented as the superposition of the transfer functions of the responses of a number of oscillators. This formulation is intended to account for the contributions of trains of waves following different patterns in the vicinity of both sites. The properties of the oscillators play the role of parameters of the transfer functions. They vary from one seismic event to another. Part of the variation is systematic, and can be explained in terms of the influence of ground motion intensity on the effective values of stiffness and damping of the artificial oscillators. Another part has random nature; it reflects the random characteristics of the wave propagation patterns associated with the different events. The semi‐empirical model proposed recognizes both types of variation. The influence of intensity is estimated by means of a conventional one‐dimensional shear wave propagation model. This model is used to derive an intensity‐dependent modification of the values of the empirically determined model parameters in those cases when the firm‐ground earthquake intensity used to determine these parameters differs from that corresponding to the seismic event for which the simulated records are to be obtained. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple strategy for dynamic substructuring: I. Concept and development

Dynamic substructuring refers to physical testing with computational models in the loop. This paper presents a new strategy for such testing. The key feature of this strategy is that it decouples the substructuring controller from the physical subsystem. Unlike conventional approaches, it does not explicitly include a tracking controller. Consequently, the design and implementation of the substructuring controls are greatly simplified. This paper motivates the strategy and discusses the main concept along with details of the substructuring control design. The focus is on configurations that use shake tables and active mass drivers. An extensive experimental assessment of the new strategy is presented in a companion paper, where the influence of various factors such as virtual subsystem dynamics, control gains, and nonlinearities is investigated, and it is shown that robustly stable and accurate substructuring is achieved.     

Two‐dimensional physically based finite element runoff model for small agricultural watersheds: II. Model testing and field application

Mathematical models are useful analysis tools to understand problems in watersheds associated with runoff, and to find solutions through land use changes and best management practices. However, before a model is applied in the field, it must be tested and checked to ensure that the model represents the real world adequately. In this paper, a two‐dimensional physically based finite element runoff model ROMO2D has been verified and validated by comparing the model output with analytic solution under simplified conditions, published data, and field measurements. Calibration of the model was done manually through a multi‐objective calibration procedure, using observed field data. Before going for field validation/application of ROMO2D, analysis was carried out to determine the optimum number of finite elements into which the watershed should be discretized and the size of the time step. A sensitivity analysis of the model was performed using the observed values of watershed parameters. The model was applied to a 1·45 ha agricultural watershed located in the Shiwalik foothills (India) to simulate runoff. The results demonstrated the potential of the model to simulate runoff from small agricultural watersheds for individual storm events with reasonable accuracy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐empirical model for site effects on acceleration time histories at soft‐soil sites. Part 2: calibration

A previously developed simplified model of ground motion amplification is applied to the simulation of acceleration time histories at several soft‐soil sites in the Valley of Mexico, on the basis of the corresponding records on firm ground. The main objective is to assess the ability of the model to reproduce characteristics such as effective duration, frequency content and instantaneous intensity. The model is based on the identification of a number of parameters that characterize the complex firm‐ground to soft‐soil transfer function, and on the adjustment of these parameters in order to account for non‐linear soil behavior. Once the adjusted model parameters are introduced, the statistical properties of the simulated and the recorded ground motions agree reasonably well. For the sites and for the seismic events considered in this study, it is concluded that non‐linear soil behavior may have a significant effect on the amplification of ground motion. The non‐linear soil behavior significantly affects the effective ground motion duration for the components with the higher intensities, but it does not have any noticeable influence on the lengthening of the dominant ground period. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A one‐dimensional model for simulating armouring and erosion on hillslopes: 1. model development and event‐scale dynamics

This paper presents an erosion model, ARMOUR, which simulates time‐varying runoff, erosion, deposition and surface armour evolution down a hillslope either as a result of a single erosion event or as the cumulative impact of many events over periods up to decades. ARMOUR simulates sediment transport for both cohesive and non‐cohesive soil and dynamically differentiates between ‘transport‐limited’ and ‘source‐limited’ processes. A variety of feasible processes for entrainment of different size classes can be modelled and evaluated against data. The generalized likelihood of uncertainty estimation (GLUE) technique was used to calibrate and validate ARMOUR using data collected during rainfall simulator experiments at two contrasting sites: (1) non‐cohesive stony sediments at Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Territory, Australia; and (2) cohesive silty sediments at Northparkes Gold Mine, NSW, Australia. The spatial and temporal variations of model predictions within the individual runoff events showed that some entrainment processes could not model the spikes in concentration and subsequent depletion, while the hiding model of Andrews and Parker best simulated the concentration trends for both calibrated and independent runoff events. ARMOUR also successfully captured the coarsening of the surface material, though small, over the duration of the rainfall simulator trials. This was driven by the depletion of the finest size class of the soil. For a constant discharge, ARMOUR simulated higher sediment flux at the start of the storm with the sediment flux and concentration diminishing with time. For natural rainfall a power law relationship between sediment flux and discharge was observed. The calibration exercise showed that sediment concentration and discharge alone are insufficient to calibrate all aspects of the physics, in particular the armour depth. This appears to be because the armouring during the short duration events is driven by depletion of the finest classes of the sediments (diameters less then 62·5 mm), which are not normally measured. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A kinetic approach for simulating redox‐controlled fringe and core biodegradation processes in groundwater: model development and application to a landfill site in Piedmont,Italy

A three‐dimensional model for predicting redox controlled, multi‐species reactive transport processes in groundwater systems is presented. The model equations were fully integrated within a MODFLOW‐family reactive transport code, RT3D. The model can simulate organic compound biodegradation coupled to different terminal electron acceptor processes. A computational approach, which uses the spatial and temporal distribution of the rates of different redox reactions, is proposed to map redox zones. The method allows one to quantify and visualize the biological degradation reactions occurring in three distinct patterns involving fringe, pseudo‐core and core processes. The capabilities of the numerical model are demonstrated using two hypothetical examples: a batch problem and a simplified two‐dimensional reactive transport problem. The model is then applied to an unconfined aquifer underlying a leaking landfill located near the city of Turin, in Piedmont (Italy). At this site, high organic load from the landfill leachate activates different biogeochemical processes, including aerobic degradation, denitrification, manganese reduction, iron reduction, sulfate reduction and methanogenesis. The model was able to describe and quantify these complex biogeochemical processes. The proposed model offers a rational framework for simulating coupled reactive transport processes occurring beneath a landfill site. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A one‐dimensional model for simulating armouring and erosion on hillslopes: 2. Long term erosion and armouring predictions for two contrasting mine spoils

This paper investigates the dynamics of soil armouring as a result of fluvial erosion for a non‐cohesive sandy gravel spoil from the Ranger Mine, Australia, and a cohesive silt loam spoil from the Northparkes Mine, Australia, using a model for hillslope soil armouring. These long term predictions concentrate on the temporal and spatial changes of the spoil grading and erosion over 100–200 years for the flat cap regions (1–2%) and steep batter edges (10–30%) typically encountered on waste rock dumps. The existence of a significant rock fragment fraction in the Ranger spoil means that it armours readily, while Northparkes does not. For Ranger the waste rock showed reductions in (1) cumulative erosion of up to 81% from that obtained by extrapolating the initial erosion rate out 100 years and (2) the erosion/year by more than 10‐fold. For Northparkes reductions were less marked, with the maximum reduction in erosion/year being 37% after 200 years. For Ranger the reductions were greatest and fastest for intermediate gradient hillslopes. For the steepest hillslopes the armouring decreased because the flow shear stresses were large enough to mobilize all material in the armour layer. Model uncertainty was assessed with probabilistic confidence limits demonstrating that these erodibility reductions were statistically significant. A commonly used hillslope erosion model (sediment flux = β₁ discharge m₁ slope n₁) was fitted to these predictions. The erodibility, β₁, and m₁ decreased with time, which was consistent with our physical intuition about armouring. At Ranger the parameter m₁ asymptoted to 1·5–1·6 while at Northparkes it asymptoted to 1·2–1·3. At Ranger transient spatial trends in armouring led to a short term (50–200 years in the future) reduction in n₁, to below zero under certain circumstances, recovering to an asymptote of about 0·5–1. At Northparkes n₁ asymptoted to about 0·6, with no negative transients predicted. The m₁ and n₁ parameters predicted for Ranger were shown to be consistent with field data from a 10‐year‐old armoured hillslope and consistent with published relationships between erodibility and rock content for natural hillslopes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Excess seawater nutrients,enlarged algal symbiont densities and bleaching sensitive reef locations: 2. A regional-scale predictive model for the Great Barrier Reef,Australia

A spatial risk assessment model is developed for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR, Australia) that helps identify reef locations at higher or lower risk of coral bleaching in summer heat-wave conditions. The model confirms the considerable benefit of discriminating nutrient-enriched areas that contain corals with enlarged (suboptimal) symbiont densities for the purpose of identifying bleaching-sensitive reef locations. The benefit of the new system-level understanding is showcased in terms of: (i) improving early-warning forecasts of summer bleaching risk, (ii) explaining historical bleaching patterns, (iii) testing the bleaching-resistant quality of the current marine protected area (MPA) network (iv) identifying routinely monitored coral health attributes, such as the tissue energy reserves and skeletal growth characteristics (viz. density and extension rates) that correlate with bleaching resistant reef locations, and (v) targeting region-specific water quality improvement strategies that may increase reef-scale coral health and bleaching resistance.