Experimental determination of three-dimensional dispersivities in homogeneous porous medium

Abstract

Laboratory tracer experiments were conducted to investigate longitudinal dispersivity (α x ) as well as the transversal (α y ) and vertical (α z ) dispersivities in homogeneous 3–5 mm sandy aquifer. The experiments were carried out in a channel 12-m long, 1.35-m wide and 0.60-m high which was built in the Hydraulics Laboratory of Civil Engineering Department in Dokuz Eylul University. NaCl was used as a tracer and conductivity values were measured at 220 measurement points. Mass Transport 3 Dimensional (Zheng and Wang in SERDP-99-1, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, 1999; MT3DMS code) which is a three-dimensional solute transport simulation model incorporating finite differences solution option was used to solve the three-dimensional advective–dispersive transport equation. The estimated dispersivity values were modified until an acceptable compatibility between the observed and calculated concentrations at measurement points was reached. The best match was obtained for α x = 12 cm, α y /α x = 0.2 and α z /α x = 0.05. These values are compatible with those encountered in the literature.