Numerical modeling of toxic nonaqueous phase liquid removal from contaminated groundwater systems: mesh effect and discretization error estimation

Numerical modeling has now become an indispensable tool for investigating the fundamental mechanisms of toxic nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) removal from contaminated groundwater systems. Because the domain of a contaminated groundwater system may involve irregular shapes in geometry, it is necessary to use general quadrilateral elements, in which two neighbor sides are no longer perpendicular to each other. This can cause numerical errors on the computational simulation results due to mesh discretization effect. After the dimensionless governing equations of NAPL dissolution problems are briefly described, the propagation theory of the mesh discretization error associated with a NAPL dissolution system is first presented for a rectangular domain and then extended to a trapezoidal domain. This leads to the establishment of the finger‐amplitude growing theory that is associated with both the corner effect that takes place just at the entrance of the flow in a trapezoidal domain and the mesh discretization effect that occurs in the whole NAPL dissolution system of the trapezoidal domain. This theory can be used to make the approximate error estimation of the corresponding computational simulation results. The related theoretical analysis and numerical results have demonstrated the following: (1) both the corner effect and the mesh discretization effect can be quantitatively viewed as a kind of small perturbation, which can grow in unstable NAPL dissolution systems, so that they can have some considerable effects on the computational results of such systems; (2) the proposed finger‐amplitude growing theory associated with the corner effect at the entrance of a trapezoidal domain is useful for correctly explaining why the finger at either the top or bottom boundary grows much faster than that within the interior of the trapezoidal domain; (3) the proposed finger‐amplitude growing theory associated with the mesh discretization error in the NAPL dissolution system of a trapezoidal domain can be used for quantitatively assessing the correctness of computational simulations of NAPL dissolution front instability problems in trapezoidal domains, so that we can ensure that the computational simulation results are controlled by the physics of the NAPL dissolution system, rather than by the numerical artifacts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A model for moisture and heat flow in fractured unsaturated porous media

The present study investigates propagation of a cohesive crack in non‐isothermal unsaturated porous medium under mode I conditions. Basic points of skeleton deformation, moisture, and heat transfer for unsaturated porous medium are presented. Boundary conditions on the crack surface that consist of mechanical interaction of the crack and the porous medium, water, and heat flows through the crack are taken into consideration. For spatial discretization, the extended finite element method is used. This method uses enriched shape functions in addition to ordinary shape functions for approximation of displacement, pressure, and temperature fields. The Heaviside step function and the distance function are exploited as enrichment functions for representing the crack surfaces displacement and the discontinuous vertical gradients of the pressure and temperature fields along the crack, respectively. For temporal discretization, backward finite difference scheme is applied. Problems solved from the literature show the validity of the model as well as the dependency of structural response on the material properties and loading. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrologic response of engineered media in living roofs and bioretention to large rainfalls: experiments and modeling

The hydrologic response of engineered media plays an important role in determining a stormwater control measure's ability to reduce runoff volume, flow rate, timing, and pollutant loads. Five engineered media, typical of living roof and bioretention stormwater control measures, were investigated in laboratory column experiments for their hydrologic responses to steady, large inflow rates. The inflow, medium water content response, and outflow were all measured. The water flow mechanism (uniform flow vs. preferential flow) was investigated by analyzing medium water content response in terms of timing, magnitude, and sequence with depth. Modeling the hydrologic process was conducted in the HYDRUS‐1D software, applying the Richards equation for uniform flow modeling, and a mobile–immobile model for preferential flow modeling. Uniform flow existed in most cases, including all initially dry living roof media with bimodal pore size distributions and one bioretention medium with unimodal pore size distribution. The Richards equation can predict the outflow hydrograph reasonably well for uniform flow conditions when medium hydraulic properties are adequately represented by appropriate functions. Preferential flow was found in two media with bimodal pore size distributions. The occurrence of preferential flow is more likely due to the interaction between the bimodal pore structure and the initial water content rather than the large inflow rate.     

The effective stress concept and the evaluation of changes in pore air pressure under jacketed isotropic compression tests for dry sand based on the 2‐phase porous theory

The effective stress concept for solid‐fluid 2‐phase media was revisited in this work. In particular, the effects of the compressibility of both the pore fluid and the soil particles were studied under 3 different conditions, i.e., undrained, drained, and unjacketed conditions based on a Biot‐type theory for 2‐phase porous media. It was confirmed that Terzaghi effective stress holds at the moment when soil grains are assumed to be incompressible and when the compressibility of the pore fluid is small enough compared to that of the soil skeleton. Then, isotropic compression tests for dry sand under undrained conditions were conducted within the triaxial apparatus in which the changes in the pore air pressure could be measured. The ratio of the increment in the cell pressure to the increment in the pore air pressure, m, corresponds to the inverse of the B value by Bishop and was obtained during the step loading of the cell pressure. In addition, the m values were evaluated by comparing them with theoretically obtained values based on the solid‐fluid 2‐phase mixture theory. The experimental m values were close to the theoretical values, as they were in the range of approximately 40 to 185, depending on the cell pressure. Finally, it was found that the soil material with a highly compressible pore fluid, such as air, must be analyzed with the multi‐phase porous mixture theory. However, Terzaghi effective stress is practically applicable when the compressibilities of both the soil particles and the pore fluid are small enough compared to that of the soil skeleton.     

Analytical solutions for advective–dispersive solute transport in double‐layered finite porous media

Analytical solutions for advection and dispersion of a conservative solute in a one‐dimensional double‐layered finite porous media are presented. The solutions are applicable to five scenarios that have various combinations of fixed concentration, fixed flux and zero concentration gradient conditions at the inlet and outlet boundaries that provide a wide number of options. Arbitrary initial solute concentration distributions throughout the media can be considered via explicit formulations or numerical integration. The analytical solutions presented have been verified against numerical solutions from a finite‐element‐based approach and an existing closed‐form solution for double‐layered media with an excellent correlation being found in both cases. A practical application pertaining to advective transport induced by consolidation of underlying sediment layers on contaminant movement within a capped contaminated sediment system is presented. Comparison of the calculated concentrations and fluxes with alternative approaches clearly illustrates the need to consider advection processes. Consideration of the different features of contaminant transport due to varying pore‐water velocity fields in primary consolidation and secondary consolidation stages is achieved via the use of non‐uniform initial concentration distributions within the proposed analytical solutions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅谈现代测绘技术装备在国土资源管理中的应用

进入新世纪以来,随着计算机技术、信息技术等新技术的发展,测绘技术装备也得到迅速发展,现代测绘技术装备在自动化、高效化方面的能力越来越突出,获取的数据类型也更加多样化。利用现代测绘技术装备服务于国土资源管理已经是大势所趋。本文结合现代测绘技术装备在国土资源管理中的应用范例,给出了相应建议,旨在提高现代测绘技术装备的应用能力,为国土资源管理提供全方位的服务。     

中国人口城镇化质量评价及省际差异分析

新型城镇化是中国的重要国策,对人的城镇(市)化的科学评价是正确认识城镇化和制定相关政策的重要基础.目前城--乡二元分析框架下的以城镇化率和城镇(或区域)城镇化质量为主的评价方法,难以反映城镇化过程中社会结构的变化,同时乡村人口的城镇化发展也被忽略.本文提出人口城镇化质量的概念,建立了衡量人口城镇化质量的指标体系.对1995,2000,2005,2010和2012年全国及各省市的城镇人口,乡村人口及总人口的城镇化质量进行了分析.研究发现:① 尽管城镇人口的城镇化速度显著快于乡村人口,但城镇化并非城镇人口独有的社会过程.② 城乡两类人口的城镇化质量在省域尺度上正逐步形成差异明显的空间格局.③ 北京,上海,浙江等少数省市乡村人口的城镇化质量已经超越部分内地省市城镇人口的城镇化质量.建议更新对城镇化的认识和评价标准,探索在城镇化发达的地区调整城--乡二元体制的新途径,促进中国城镇化的健康发展.     

FAVO反演技术及其在深水砂岩储层中的应用

在AVO理论的基础上,利用时频分析技术获得频率依赖的反射系数信息,通过FAVO(Frequency dependent AVO)反演可以获得速度频散程度属性。由于地震波速度频散主要由孔隙流体的相关性,该属性可以作为识别因子实现储层流体检测。笔者推导了FAVO技术的反演公式,并选择刚果地区深水砂岩储层作为目标,通过一维数值模型和二维实际剖面,进行了含气砂体刻画和含气性识别研究。反演结果与钻井吻合程度较好,证明了该技术在深水砂岩储层流体识别中的有效性。     

Revisiting the death of geography in the era of Big Data: the friction of distance in cyberspace and real space

Many scholars have argued that the importance of geographic proximity in human interactions has been diminished by the use of the Internet, while others disagree with this argument. Studies have noted the distance decay effect in both cyberspace and real space, showing that interactions occur with an inverse relationship between the number of interactions and the distance between the locations of the interactors. However, these studies rarely provide strong evidence to show the influence of distance on interactions in cyberspace, nor do they quantify the differences in the amount of friction of distance between cyberspace and real space. To fill this gap, this study used massive amounts of social media data (Twitter) to compare the influence of distance decay on human interactions between cyberspace and real space in a quantitative manner. To estimate the distance decay effect in both cyberspace and real space, the distance decay function of interactions in each space was modeled. Estimating the distance decay in cyberspace in this study can help predict the degree of information flow across space through social media. Measuring how far ideas can be diffused through social media is useful for users of location-based services, policy advocates, public health officials, and political campaigners.