2D Flow in Transparent Synthetic Soils

Abstract

In this chapter, 2D multiphase flow and surfactant flushing tests were simulated using a variety of transparent synthetic soils including silica gel, fused silica, and Aquabeads. The developed technology allows for visualizing the contamination concentration profiles and the surfactant’s sweeping efficiency. The breakthrough curves of dye through both materials were typical of the bell-shape reported for natural soil. Image analysis shows both the advection and dispersion processes clearly visible in the tests, which demonstrates that transparent synthetic soil can be used to visualize and non-invasively measure pollutant transport in natural soil.