Scaling considerations for modelling the in situ vitrification process

Thermal-electric field interactions occur in many areas of engineering. An example is the in situ vitrification process, a relatively new technology for remediating hazardous wastes. Mathematical and physical modelling of this process requires knowledge of the similarity constraints involving thermal- electric fields. This paper addresses this issue and derives the scaling relationships for modelling the remediation process from fundamental principles. Requirements for maintaining temperature and electric potential field similarity between the model and the prototype are determined as well as requirements for maintaining similarity in off-gas generation rates. A scaling rationale for designing reduced scale experiments is presented, and the results are assessed numerically.