Study on the selection of unsaturated flow model for the different types of soil and soft rock

Precise estimation of unsaturated hydraulic properties of porous media is indispensable in various study areas, such as analyzing the moisture flow, the drying process occurring from the surface, and the pollutant migration beneath the ground surface. Although many empirical/theoretical models describing the unsaturated hydraulic properties have been proposed by several previous researchers, the best model for the different types of soil/rock may not be identical. Thus, the model selection process and the estimation technique of the parameters included in the models should be developed. In the present study, the inverse technique based on the transient evaporation change was investigated to select the model and estimate the model parameters. The experimental work was based on a relatively low permeable soft rock and a relatively high permeable sandy soil (Toyoura standard sand). Experimental equipment was developed to precisely measure the evaporation rate for the high permeable sandy soil. The Genetic Algorithm (GA) was adopted in the inverse technique as an optimization tool. In order to simplify the problem, only the drying process from the saturated condition was considered. It was established that the information concerning the transient evaporation change could be used for the model selection and parameter estimation. Further, the saturation distribution could be used for the selection of the models. The present study provides important information for the development of the model selection process.     

How basin model results enable the study of multi-layer aquifer response to pumping: the Paris Basin, France

The Albian aquifer of the Paris Basin (France) has been exploited since 1841 and shows drastic drawdown. A three-dimensional (3D) groundwater flow model is used to study the hydrodynamic response of the multi-layered aquifers to pumping activity in the Albian, at basin scale over 167 years. This 3D flow model uses geometry and hydrodynamic parameter distributions that are inherited from a genetic approach through basin modelling, the basin model creating a geometric pattern of hydrodynamic properties constrained by geological history. The paper aims to promote the use of the basin model approach (long time scale, 248 Ma) for the study of deep-aquifer response to anthropogenic perturbation (short time scale, 167 years) in situations for which hydrodynamic data are scarce but geological data are numerous. The results show that parameter distribution is insufficient to reproduce the Albian aquifer behaviour, notably highlighting a different meaning of the specific storage coefficient between basin modelling and groundwater-flow modelling. Dividing the storage coefficient by 100 and including available transmissivity data significantly improved the model/data comparison. The potential impact on a deep aquitard is then discussed. This study sheds light on the advantages and limitations of the basin model approach for groundwater-flow modelling in 3D.     

Investigation of water pressure transients beneath temperate glaciers using numerical groundwater flow experiments

Recent work has identified groundwater flow through basal till aquifers as a key control on melt‐season pressure transients beneath alpine glaciers, with potential implications for climate change studies, glacial geomorphology, tracer test interpretation, and the sediment load and chemistry of glacially derived waters. In this study, we investigate heuristically such subglacial Darcian flow processes using standard groundwater modelling techniques. Our primary result is that a one‐dimensional, transient, confined flow model with recharge, implemented numerically using time‐varying specified‐head and no‐flow boundaries, reproduces overall observed subglacial hydraulic behaviour very well and permits effective visualisation of aquifer responses under different conditions. Spatial variability in hydrogeological parameters is shown to have significant effects, but may be difficult to incorporate reliably into site‐specific models and to identify unambiguously in borehole pressure data. Time‐variance in areal recharge, if present, is apparently not observably expressed in the system, but time‐variance in transmissivity may be significant for some glaciers. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

流体包裹体研究对成矿流体动力学模式的制约

热液矿床的形成既包括地球化学过程也包括流体动力学过程,后者主要研究成矿流体的驱动力、流动方向、速度及持续时间。流体及金属的来源,金属在热液中的溶解度及溶解机制,以及矿石的沉淀机制等可以通过多种地球化学手段来研究,而流体动力学过程的确定相对比较困难。流体包裹体分析不仅可以为成矿地球化学过程,而且可为流体动力学过程提供制约,因为流体包裹体研究所得到的流体P-V-T-X性质与流体流动、热传导及质量迁移等控制方程直接相关。本文阐述流体包裹体与流体动力学研究的理论关系,流体包裹体研究对已有成矿流体动力学模式的贡献,以及未来的研究方向。从流体包裹体研究得出的流体压力状态为岩浆热液及造山型成矿系统的超压驱动模式提供了关键的证据。流体包裹体均一温度及其分布为沉积盆地成矿流体动力学模式提供了重要的制约。流体包裹体研究在揭示流体混合及流体相分离等重要成矿过程方面提到了至关重要的作用,但它们在研究流体混合及多相流体流动的物理过程方面的潜力有待进一步开发。精心设计的流体包裹体研究有可能应用于古流体流动数值模型的调试。     

Hydrogeological implications of paleo-fluvial architecture for the Paskapoo Formation, SW Alberta, Canada: a stochastic analysis

Fluvial systems tend to deposit sediment in well-defined relational geometries and in vertically and laterally repeating patterns. These sedimentary deposits are preserved to varying degrees depending on how much the fluvial system reworks the deposits. The Paskapoo bedrock aquifer system in southern Alberta, Canada, was deposited in a foreland depositional basin during uplift of the Rocky Mountains, and both the geomorphic model and field evidence indicate that the upper 100 m of the local aquifer system contains well-preserved, highly connected paleo-channels and associated overbank deposits. In order to evaluate the value of different types of data, a simplified stochastic-numerical groundwater flow model was developed to examine the sensitivity of results to model parameters. Parameters examined include: fraction of the formation made up of channel sands; meander and sinuosity factors; width-to-depth ratios of preserved channels; and crevasse splay conductivity. In all cases examined, the system exhibited anisotropic behavior with the along-channel flow direction being the most permeable and the vertical direction being least permeable. In general, the strongest control on the resulting effective anisotropic hydraulic conductivities was channel fraction, but geometric factors that control between-channel connectivity (e.g., channel sinuosity) had an appreciable effect on the across-channel flow direction effective permeability.     

成矿流体动力学的原理、研究方法及应用

流体流动是热液成矿作用不可或缺的一部分,其研究是建立成矿模式的重要组成部分。成矿流体动力学主要研究流体流动的驱动力、压力状态、流速、流动方向以及它们与矿床定位的关系。文中总结了成矿流体动力学的基本原理和方法,并对其在成矿作用研究和矿产勘查上的重要性和局限性进行了讨论。流体流动的驱动力可以是流体的超压、地势差、构造变形以...     

Simulating flows in multi-layered and spatially-variable permeability media via a new Gray Lattice Boltzmann model

The simulation of flow in porous and fibrous permeable media is of high importance in many scientific and industrial applications. Although the finite element models at the representative elementary volume scales are used to solve a huge amount of scientific and engineering problems, they are hardly used to efficiently simulate pore-fluid flow problems at the particle scales. This encourages the development of numerical models to match the needs of such studies. In this paper, we propose a new Gray Lattice Boltzmann numerical model for simulating fluid flow in permeable media. Unlike most previous models, our proposed model has the ability to simulate multi-layers and space-variable permeability while preserving the continuity of the macroscopic velocity field. The model is verified with the available analytical solutions and a derived analytical expression for the case of variable porosity. In addition, we examine the importance of introducing a transition layer with a defined porosity function near the boundaries and interfaces. If this layer exists in practice, then the numerical results reveal that it cannot be neglected, and its impact is significant on the obtained velocity distribution. Finally, in the light of the obtained results, we can state that the proposed model has great potential to simulate complex and heterogeneous media with smoothness and accuracy, so that it may enrich the research content of the emerging computational geosciences.     

Dynamical evolution properties of debris flows controlled by different mesh-sized flexible net barriers

Because the flexible net barrier is a gradually developed open-type debris-flow counter-measure, there are still uncertainties in its design criterion. By using several small-scale experimental flume model tests, the dynamical evolution properties of debris flows controlled by large and small mesh-sized (equal to D₉₀ and D₅₀, respectively) flexible net barriers are studied, including the debris flow behaviors, segregation, and permeability of sediments, as well as the energy absorption rates and potential overtopping occurring when debris flows impact the small mesh-sized one. Experimental results reveal that (a) two sediment deposition patterns are observed depending on variations in debris flow textures and mesh sizes; (b) the aggregation against flexible net barriers is dominated by flow dynamics; (c) the segregation and permeable functions of the barrier are determined by the mesh size, concentration, and flow dynamics; and (d) the smaller mesh-sized flexible net barrier tends to be more efficient in restraining more turbulent debris flows and can absorb greater rate of kinematic energy, and finally, the great kinematic energy dissipation that occurs when secondary debris flows interact with the post-deposits in front of the small mesh-sized flexible net barrier is believed to cause the failure of overtopping phenomenon. The mesh size is concluded to be the decisive parameter that should be associated with debris flow textures to design the control functions of flexible net barriers.     

Role of hydrodynamic factors in controlling the formation and location of unconformity-related uranium deposits: insights from reactive-flow modeling

The role of hydrodynamic factors in controlling the formation and location of unconformity-related uranium (URU) deposits in sedimentary basins during tectonically quiet periods is investigated. A number of reactive-flow modeling experiments at the deposit scale were carried out by assigning different dip angles and directions to a fault and various permeabilities to hydrostratigraphic units). The results show that the fault dip angle and direction, and permeability of the hydrostratigraphic units govern the convection pattern, temperature distribution, and uranium mineralization. A vertical fault results in uranium mineralization at the bottom of the fault within the basement, while a dipping fault leads to precipitation of uraninite below the unconformity either away from or along the plane of the fault, depending on the fault permeability. A more permeable fault causes uraninite precipitates along the fault plane, whereas a less permeable one gives rise to the precipitation of uraninite away from it. No economic ore mineralization can form when either very low or very high permeabilities are assigned to the sandstone or basement suggesting that these units seem to have an optimal window of permeability for the formation of uranium deposits. Physicochemical parameters also exert an additional control in both the location and grade of URU deposits. These results indicate that the difference in size and grade of different URU deposits may result from variation in fluid flow pattern and physicochemical conditions, caused by the change in structural features and hydraulic properties of the stratigraphic units involved.     

Quantification of riverbank erosion and application in risk analysis

The estimation of river bank erosion requires the knowledge of both local hydrodynamic and erodibility characteristics. Models exist in literature that allow the estimation of the river bank shear stress, the fundamental parameter in evaluating the retreat given the discharge flow and the geometry of the river channel. In this study, two hydrodynamic models (1-D and 2-D) were combined with three shear stress models in order to obtain an estimation of the retreat on a study case on the river Cecina in Tuscany, Central Italy. A calibration of the models was performed based on observations from aerial photos of the region over a period of 10 years (1994–2004), and the results of the different combinations of the models are discussed and compared. A framework was developed for the risk analysis of land loss due to bank erosion based on the analyses of discharge flow time series and an excess shear stress erosion model. An application to the study case is provided by using the results of fluvial erosion modelling.     

基于水动力学模型的沿海城市洪水实时演进模拟

为了准确分析洪涝灾害对防洪体系现状的影响，做出相应的防洪减灾措施，以浙江省台州市灵江下游流域为研究区域，构建了基于Saint-Venant方程的水动力学耦合模型，对河道溃决洪水过程进行实时仿真模拟。综合考虑研究区域地形、气象、水文资料、水利工程、下垫面条件等因素，在一维河网模型和二维水动力学模型耦合衔接中，最大程度还原真实地形中河槽内外的水流交互淹没，借助研究区域内典型台风暴雨资料，率定验证本文建立的一维-二维耦合水动力学模型，检验后的模型可实现灵江下游沿岸城市不同量级设计洪水及历史洪水的实时淹没过程模拟。模型计算结果表明，该模型模拟复杂地形条件情况下流域洪水实时演进过程达到了较高精度，在水系沿程典型断面水位计算值与实测值误差不超过0.1 m。     

城市洪涝水文水动力耦合模型构建与评估

为降低暴雨洪涝灾害损失,利用数值模拟方法研究城市洪涝过程,提前获取可靠的洪涝水情信息,具有重要的现实意义。根据城市洪涝过程的水文水动力学原理和方法,以SWMM模型与自主研发的二维模型为基础,提出一、二维模型耦合的具体方法,通过水平和垂直方向的连接构建水文水动力耦合模型。研究提出基于DLL的一、二维模型耦合策略,以垂向连接问题为理论案例,将模拟结果与InfoWorks ICM软件结果进行对比分析,阐明该垂向连接方式的合理性。以广州市东濠涌流域为实际案例,构建了东濠涌流域城市洪涝水文水动力耦合模型,选用2场实测降雨对模型进行模拟分析,发现模型在一维排水系统排水能力和二维地表积水的模拟均具有较好的精度和可靠性。结果表明所提出的连接算法合理可行,所构建的水文水动力耦合模型具有一定的可靠性,对城市洪涝模拟分析具有较好的应用价值。     

松辽盆地西斜坡水动力场与油气的聚集成藏

本文以松辽盆地西斜坡大量水化学分析数据和钻井、地球化学等资料为基础,利用对水动力场的计算,通过平面和纵向上的研究认为,西斜坡高台子油层和萨尔图油层地层水化学性质和分布特征较为相似,表明两者间应该存在允许地下流体（包括油气）相互连通的窗口,从而导致高台子油层的规模弱于萨尔图油层;研究区内地层水以压实流和渗人流两种为主,由四周向中心交汇,在水动力方面,泥岩层以向上下排出为主,砂岩层则是顺层向上倾方面流动;寻找有利勘探区应以压实流和渗人流的交汇区为主,在其中以高矿化度的浓缩亚区为主要目标,即高台子油层应富裕构造带以南至泰康隆起带中部,萨尔图油层应以齐齐哈尔至平洋地区为下一步的重点考虑对象。     

Influence of numerical precision on the calibration of AEM-based groundwater flow models

Groundwater modelers have embraced the use of automated calibration tools based on classical nonlinear regression techniques. While clearly an improvement over trial-and-error calibration, it is not clear to what extent these popular inverse modeling tools yield accurate parameter sets for groundwater flow models. The impact of model configuration and precision upon automated parameter estimation is also unclear. An extensive set of numerical experiments was performed to explore the influence of model configuration on the calibration of a regional groundwater flow model developed using the analytic element method. The results provided insight into the manner in which the specified level of model precision and the location of observation points influence the results of inverse modeling based on nonlinear regression. While the importance of these issues is application-specific, obtaining an accurate model calibration for the case study required both a careful placement of test observations and a greater-than-anticipated level of model precision. The required level of model precision for calibration was more than necessary to produce an acceptable flow solution.     

Detection and hydrologic modeling of aquifers in unconsolidated alluvial plains through combination of borehole data sets: a case study of the Arao area, Southwest Japan

In addition to spatial distribution of groundwater-flow parameters, aquifer properties of location and shape are also significant for assessing groundwater resources because they strongly affect water flow. We present a selection of geologic data suitable for aquifer analysis, a mathematical method of processing them, and a combination of several maps produced by it. The data used in the analysis are typically obtained by borehole investigation. Our targets are the areas underlain by geologic bodies with different ages and lithologies; the spatial correlation structures of geologic data over the areas tend to change locally. The processing method should be a versatile one that is applicable to areas where geostatistical stationarity is not satisfied. The aquifer analysis consistent with that requirement consists of two steps: the first is the transformation of screen locations, locations of sand and gravel layers, and resistivity by electric logging into indicator values, and the second is three-dimensional interpolation of these using the optimization principle method to produce three kinds of distribution models. A stochastic simulation is also used for modeling the resistivity distribution. The three distribution models are integrated to generate a value for evaluating the possibility of aquifer existence. A case study of an alluvial coastal plain, situated in southwest Japan, describes an aquifer model that contains three permeable layers. Each layer has about 10-m thickness and is lens shaped. To confirm the validity of the model, we have drilled two wells that reached one of the middle and bottom permeable layers, observing the water level change. Low correlation of the temporal changes of levels between the wells indicates that the two layers are hydrologically independent of each other. Additionally, groundwater-flow patterns have been estimated by transforming the simulation model parameter into hydraulic conductivity through a simple function and using a finite difference method for flow analysis. The procedure proposed by this study can be applied to other areas by changing the weights assigned to each geologic and geotechnical factor in the generation of the coefficient for aquifer existence, considering the reliability of each factor and hydrologic properties of study area.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111000387

Fluid flow is an integral part of hydrothermal mineralization,and its analysis and characterization constitute an important part of a mineralization model.The hydrodynamic study of mineralization deals with analyzing the driving forces,fluid pressure regimes,fluid flow rate and direction,and their relationships with localization of mineralization.This paper reviews the principles and methods of hydrodynamic studies of mineralization,and discusses their significance and limitations for ore deposit studies and mineral exploration. The driving forces of fluid flow may be related to fluid overpressure,topographic relief,tectonic deformation, and fluid density change due to heating or salinity variation,depending on specific geologic environments and mineralization processes.The study methods may be classified into three types,megascopic(field) observations, microscopic analyses,and numerical modeling.Megascopic features indicative of significantly overpressured (especially lithostatic or supralithostatic) fluid systems include horizontal veins,sand injection dikes,and hydraulic breccias.Microscopic studies,especially microthermometry of fluid inclusions and combined stress analysis and microthermometry of fluid inclusion planes(FIPs) can provide important information about fluid temperature,pressure,and fluid-structural relationships,thus constraining fluid flow models.Numerical modeling can be carried out to solve partial differential equations governing fluid flow, heat transfer,rock deformation and chemical reactions,in order to simulate the distribution of fluid pressure, temperature,fluid flow rate and direction,and mineral precipitation or dissolution in 2D or 3D space and through time.The results of hydrodynamic studies of mineralization can enhance our understanding of the formation processes of hydrothermal deposits,and can be used directly or indirectly in mineral exploration.     

盆地中地下水运动与油气藏勘探

介绍了３种地下水运动模型及相应的应用条件，并在吐 哈盆地进行了实际应用。把吐 哈盆地地下水活动划分为２个阶段，相应的油气有利聚集区分为４大类。认为在水动力条件活跃的地区，油气藏可能偏移构造高部位。另外还介绍了勘探此类油藏的ＵＶＺ法，以及在柳赞油田的应用实例，不仅预测了油藏的分布位置，还合理地解释了所谓“水洗层”现象     

Non-isothermal flow in low permeable porous media: a comparison of Richards’ and two-phase flow approaches

The present work compares the performance of two alternative flow models for the simulation of thermal-hydraulic coupled processes in low permeable porous media: non-isothermal Richards’ and two-phase flow concepts. Both models take vaporization processes into account: however, the Richards’ model neglects dynamic pressure variations and bulk flow of the gaseous phase. For the comparison of the two approaches first published, data from a laboratory experiment are studied involving thermally driven moisture flow in a partially saturated bentonite sample. Then a benchmark test of longer-term thermal-hydraulic behavior in the engineered barrier system of a geological nuclear waste repository is analyzed (DECOVALEX project). It was found that both models can be used to reproduce the vaporization process if the intrinsic permeability is relative high. However, when a thermal-hydraulic coupled problem has the same low intrinsic permeability, only the two-phase flow approach provides reasonable results.     

水库型滑坡复合水动力增载位移响应比物理预测模型及其应用

众所周知,库水位变化和降雨复合动力往往是水库型滑坡的变形和破坏主因。本文在系统分析水库型边坡位移、库水位及降雨变化规律基础上,提出与确定了降雨与库水动力转换系数k的计算方法,并通过转换系数k将降雨动力与库水动力这两种不同的水动力增载效应进行了有机耦合叠加,建立了复合水动力增载参数的计算方法。并将复合水动力变化量及其位移变化量作为动力增载及其响应参数,建立了水库型滑坡复合水动力增载位移响应比物理预测参数与模型。同时,运用该模型对白水河滑坡复合水动力作用下的稳定性演化规律进行了系统分析与评价,结果表明该滑坡复合水动力增载位移响应比的变化规律与其稳定性动态演化规律相吻合,表明复合水动力增载位移响应比参数是一种水库型滑坡有效的物理评价参数,可运用该物理评价参数与预测模型对该类滑坡稳定性进行分析与评价。     

Effects of different boundary conditions on the simulation of groundwater flow in a multi-layered coastal aquifer system (Taranto Gulf,southern Italy)

The evaluation of the accuracy or reasonableness of numerical models of groundwater flow is a complex task, due to the uncertainties in hydrodynamic properties and boundary conditions and the scarcity of good-quality field data. To assess model reliability, different calibration techniques are joined to evaluate the effects of different kinds of boundary conditions on the groundwater flow in a coastal multi-layered aquifer in southern Italy. In particular, both direct and indirect approaches for inverse modeling were joined through the calibration of one of the most uncertain parameters, namely the hydraulic conductivity of the karst deep hydrostratigraphic unit. The methodology proposed here, and applied to a real case study, confirmed that the selection of boundary conditions is among the most critical and difficult aspects of the characterization of a groundwater system for conceptual analysis or numerical simulation. The practical tests conducted in this study show that incorrect specification of boundary conditions prevents an acceptable match between the model response to the hydraulic stresses and the behavior of the natural system. Such effects have a negative impact on the applicability of numerical modeling to simulate groundwater dynamics in complex hydrogeological situations. This is particularly important for management of the aquifer system investigated in this work, which represents the only available freshwater resource of the study area, and is threatened by overexploitation and saltwater intrusion.