Nodal Failure Index Approach to Groundwater Remediation Design
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 10
Abstract
Computer simulations often are used to design and to optimize groundwater remediation systems. We present a new computationally efficient approach that calculates the reliability of remedial design at every location in a model domain with a single simulation. The estimated reliability and other model information are used to select a best remedial option for given site conditions, conceptual model, and available data. To evaluate design performance, we introduce the nodal failure index (NFI) to determine the number of nodal locations at which the probability of success is below the design requirement. The strength of the NFI approach is that selected areas of interest can be specified for analysis and the best remedial design determined for this target region. An example application of the NFI approach using a hypothetical model shows how the spatial distribution of reliability can be used for a decision support system in groundwater remediation design.
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded by Grant No. UNSPECIFIEDR-827126-01-0 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program. The work has not been subjected to either EPA or USGS review and does not necessarily reflect the views of the EPA and U.S. Geological Survey. The writers wish to thank Prof. T. Igusa of the Department of Civil Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and Prof. A. J. Graettinger of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama. Their advice and discussions have been very helpful.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 10 • October 2008
Pages: 1554 - 1557
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 12, 2007
Accepted: Dec 19, 2007
Published online: Oct 1, 2008
Published in print: Oct 2008
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