Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• McBride, J.F.
• Simmons, C.S.
• Cary, J.W.

Titel

Interfacial spreading effects on one-dimensional organic liquid imbibition in water-wetted porous media

Ist Teil von

• Journal of contaminant hydrology, 1992, Vol.11 (1), p.1-25

Ort / Verlag

Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

1992

Quelle

Access via ScienceDirect (Elsevier)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The spreading coefficient, C sp, determines whether an organic immiscible liquid, OIL, will form a lens ( C sp < 0) or will spread spontaneously ( C sp > 0) on a water surface. An OIL that forms a lens does not perfectly wet the water surface and therefore has a contact angle greater than 0°. The one-dimensional rate at which an OIL spreads spontaneously on a water surface is proportional to the square root of C sp. Of the OIL's that pose a contaminant threat to the subsurface, the majority has a non-zero C sp. To test the influence of such interfacial spreading phenomena on OIL infiltration in a pristine vadose zone, upward OIL and water imbibition infiltration experiments were performed in glass-bead columns, moistened with water, by using OIL's with different C sp. An analytical model for saturated liquid front rise was used to inversely estimate the effective capillary pressure head at the front and the average liquid conductivity. A nonspreading OIL ( C sp ⪡ 0) exhibited a reduced capillary pressure head in the water-wetted glass beads. A spontaneously spreading OIL ( C sp ⪢0) manifested an enhanced capillary pressure head. Reduced capillary pressure head was associated with an increase in average conductivity, and enhanced capillary pressure head was associated with a decrease in average conductivity when compared to the average water conductivity during water imbibition. The employed experimental method and mathematical analysis of dynamic flow, subject to interfacial spreading phenomena, are practical for quantifying parameters for use in sharp-front OIL infiltration models, but more research is needed to determine how to incorporate the spreading coefficient in numerical multiphase flow models.