Capillary-Tube Model and Experiment of Multiphase Flow in Capillary Fringes

IntroductionUrbanization and industrial activities havesignificant potential to cause soil and groundwatercontamination through leakage,spill and disposalof industrial and household chemicals.Organicchemicals are used everywhere in the world andbecause most are very toxic to human beings anddo not easily degrade naturally13] ,theircontamination of the soil and groundwater iscausing more and more problems worldwide.　Many contaminants are organic liquids with lowwater miscibility,which may mov…

Capillary-Tube Model and Experiment of Multiphase Flow in Capillary Fringes

Contamination of soil and groundwater by organic substances is causing more and more problems worldwide. Analysis of the movement and distribution of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) in subsurface domain is critical for contaminant remediation. Two-dimensional experiments were conducted in a transparent plexiglass trough (105.0 cm×70.0 cm×1.5 cm) to simulate the release and redistribution of gasoline and kerosene in porous media. The results show that before the contaminant distribution reaches equilibrium, the movement of light NAPLs (LNAPLs) can be divided into four sub-stages. After the contaminant front reaches the upper boundary of the capillary fringe, contaminant movement along the upper boundary of the capillary fringe is the primary transport process. Most of the contaminants then move into the capillary fringe except for the residual part. One-dimensional and two-dimensional capillary tube models were developed to analyze the movement of LNAPLs in the capillary fringe.