Injection Mode Effects on Tracer Experiments in Columns
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 2, Issue 3
Abstract
In the study of solute transport through laboratory columns packed with natural porous media, tracers are commonly applied as a step input or as a square-wave pulse of several pore volumes duration. However, tracer applications such as a short-duration pulse (effectively simulating a Dirac input) should provide a more sensitive means of determining flow characteristics. We describe an experimental confirmation of this expectation using studies of tritiated water transport through soil columns. The porous media studied include both homogeneously packed sands and media with clearly defined paths of preferential flow. For all of the systems studied, the duration of the solute input pulse dramatically influenced our ability to discern the adequacy of a simple convection-dispersion model. In particular, the use of Dirac inputs was most effective at revealing situations in which physical/chemical processes other than convection and dispersion were present.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 2 • Issue 3 • July 1997
Pages: 113 - 119
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jul 1, 1997
Published in print: Jul 1997
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