Upscaling reactive transport in porous media : laboratory visualization and stochastic models

Solute transport models are essential tools for understanding and forecasting chemical concentrations in groundwater. Advection-dispersion based models can adequately predict spatial averages of conservative solute concentrations without using explicit maps of pore structures or variations in hydraulic conductivity. However, coupling advection-dispersion based transport models to chemical reaction models is inaccurate because it implicitly assumes complete mixing. Mixing in natural porous media is a slow process that can control the overall rate of chemical reactions, and the lack of mixing causes concentrations to be spatially variable. This thesis develops and experimentally validates a new solute transport modeling framework that approximates the correct amount of chemical reaction and provides concentration probability density functions, which are needed to address laws and regulations based on maximum contaminant levels. To study solute mixing and reaction in porous media, we conducted highly detailed lab-scale experiments by digitally imaging the movement of colored dye tracers and colorimetric chemical reactions through illuminated clear homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Oates, Peter M. (Peter Michael), 1977-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Charles F. Harvey.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39353

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39353