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Simulation of the ground contamination based on a novel three-phase water-NAPL-air pressure-saturation model

Contamination of the ground and the groundwater by Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (NAPLs) is a major geoenvironmental issue. Ground contamination usually occurs from the surface of the ground due to the spill of the contaminant liquid and the liquid flows downward into the vadose zone where air, water and NAPL exist in the void space of soil particles. Therefore, a rational method which can simulate the transport process of NAPL in the unsaturated ground is necessary in order to grasp the mechanism of the NAPL flow into the subsurface ground. In this study, a novel model which relates the pressures and the degrees of the saturations of NAPL, water and air is firstly developed. A numerical method for simulating the transport phenomena of the three-phase fluids both in saturated and unsaturated soils is then formulated and applied for the simulation of the contamination phenomena by NAPLs in the subsurface ground.

Author(s):

Keita Nakamura    
Yokohama National University
Japan

Mamoru Kikumoto    
Yokohama National University
Japan