Numerical solution of the flow and transport equations with the dual permeability conceptual approach

Abstract

The problem of predicting fluid movement in a variably saturated porous medium is important in many fields ranging from agriculture via hydrology to technical applications of dangerous waste disposal in a deep rock formations. Numerical approximation of the coupled processes of the Darcian flow and soluble contaminant transport is intensively studied since 70th of the last century, nevertheless search for an accurate and reliable method is is still a subject of a recent scientific investigation.As the problem of a search for a generally reliable finite element approximation of the Richards' equation is extendible beyond the limits of this thesis, this proposed work focuses mainly on problems associated with the Civil Engineering area, particularly it is a numerical approximation of transport processes related to a problem of the nuclear waste facility Richard, Litoměřiice, the Czech Republic. Computer program DRUtES has been released as a part of this research, it is a two dimensional finite element solver of the coupled model - a variably saturated flow and a soluble transport with a dual permeability conceptual approach.

The problem of predicting fluid movement in a variably saturated porous medium is important in many fields ranging from agriculture via hydrology to technical applications of dangerous waste disposal in a deep rock formations. Numerical approximation of the coupled processes of the Darcian flow and soluble contaminant transport is intensively studied since 70th of the last century, nevertheless search for an accurate and reliable method is is still a subject of a recent scientific investigation.As the problem of a search for a generally reliable finite element approximation of the Richards' equation is extendible beyond the limits of this thesis, this proposed work focuses mainly on problems associated with the Civil Engineering area, particularly it is a numerical approximation of transport processes related to a problem of the nuclear waste facility Richard, Litoměřiice, the Czech Republic. Computer program DRUtES has been released as a part of this research, it is a two dimensional finite element solver of the coupled model - a variably saturated flow and a soluble transport with a dual permeability conceptual approach.