ALBERT

Description: The dissolution rate of non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) often governs the remediation time frame at subsurface hazardous waste sites. Most formulations for estimating this rate are empirical and assume that the NAPL is the non-wetting fluid. However, field evidence suggests that some waste sites might be organic-wet. Thus, formulations that assume the NAPL is non-wetting may be inappropriate for estimating the rates of NAPL dissolution. An exact solution to the Young-Laplace equation, assuming NAPL resides as pendular rings around the contact points of porous media idealized as spherical particles in a hexagonal close packing arrangement, is presented in this work to provide a theoretical prediction for NAPL-water interfacial area. This analytic expression for interfacial area is then coupled with an exact solution to the advection-diffusion equation in a capillary tube assuming Hagen-Poiseuille flow to provide a theoretical means of calculating the mass transfer rate coefficient for dissolution at the NAPL-water interface in an organic-wet system. A comparison of the predictions from this theoretical model with predictions from empirically-derived formulations from the literature for water-wet systems showed a consistent range of values for the mass transfer rate coefficient, despite the significant differences in model foundations (water-wetting vs NAPL-wetting, theoretical vs. empirical). This finding implies that, under these system conditions, the important parameter is interfacial area, with a lesser role played by NAPL configuration. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: Abstract Modern forest management seeks to balance multiple social, economic, and ecological goals. Different management approaches create different types of disturbances in a forest ecosystem, and thus also differ in their impacts on plants, animals, and insects. Understanding these impacts is important for conservation of forest ecosystem function, but challenging due to the large spatial and temporal scale over which management occurs. Most past research has focused on relatively small areas, short time scales, and/or a small number of species. To address this, we examined the effects of two common silvicultural systems (even‐ and uneven‐aged) on abundance and richness of three vertebrate taxa (birds, small mammals, and herpetofauna) over a two‐decade period in a temperate hardwood forest in Missouri, USA. The two systems removed a similar amount of biomass overall, but differed in the intensity, number, and configuration of harvests applied. We found that vertebrate population responses varied by taxa, occurred at multiple spatial scales, and were concentrated in the period following the first harvest entry. Birds generally had the largest changes in relative abundance, both positive and negative, following management. Small mammals and reptiles had smaller, but generally positive, responses; amphibians were mixed. Bird species tended to respond in the same way to both silvicultural systems, while small mammals and herpetofauna did not respond consistently. Thus, for birds, the total amount of harvest disturbance across the landscape drives population responses, while for others the size and configuration of individual harvests is likely more important. Synthesizing results across the vertebrate community at large spatial and temporal scales allows managers to better understand tradeoffs when making decisions that will affect wildlife in contrasting ways. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: The present contribution deals with the mechanics of metallic microlattices from selective laser melting (SLM). Finite element analyses with elasto-plastic material parameters identified in experiments investigate the structural load bearing behavior of different unit cell topologies. Typical failure modes like local buckling as well as global localization in shear bands are analyzed in simulations and experiments for compression tests. Ashby diagrams for the scaling behavior of stiffness and strength at various densities are determined for both bending- and stretch-dominated lattice types. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Description: A novel approach to harden magnesium phosphate cements was tested using phytic acid (C 6 H 18 O 24 P 6 ) solutions as chelation agent. In addition to complex formation, a cementitious dissolution and precipitation reaction led to the formation of newberyite (MgHPO 4 ·3H 2 O) as the hydrated form of the farringtonite [Mg 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ] raw powder. The set cements showed good mechanical properties (up to 65 MPa in compression) displaying a doubling of the compressive strength of conventional newberyite forming cements despite of a significantly lower degree of cement conversion. An increasing phytic acid concentration from 10% to 30% had a retarding effect on the setting time (11–16 min), decreased the pH close to acidic conditions (pH = 5–4) and increased the maximum setting temperature (26°C–31°C), but none of these factors reached critical values. The presented strategy was successful in fabricating a good workable, novel mineral biocement with promising characteristics for biomedical applications.

Description: Each simulation algorithm, including Truncated Gaussian Simulation, Sequential Indicator Simulation and Indicator Kriging is characterized by different operating modes, which variably influence the facies proportion, distribution and association of digital outcrop models, as shown in clastic sediments. A detailed study of carbonate heterogeneity is then crucial to understanding these differences and providing rules for carbonate modelling. Through a continuous exposure of Bajocian carbonate strata, a study window (320 m long, 190 m wide and 30 m thick) was investigated and metre-scale lithofacies heterogeneity was captured and modelled using closely-spaced sections. Ten lithofacies, deposited in a shallow-water carbonate-dominated ramp, were recognized and their dimensions and associations were documented. Field data, including height sections, were georeferenced and input into the model. Four models were built in the present study. Model A used all sections and Truncated Gaussian Simulation during the stochastic simulation. For the three other models, Model B was generated using Truncated Gaussian Simulation as for Model A, Model C was generated using Sequential Indicator Simulation and Model D was generated using Indicator Kriging. These three additional models were built by removing two out of eight sections from data input. The removal of sections allows direct insights on geological uncertainties at inter-well spacings by comparing modelled and described sections. Other quantitative and qualitative comparisons were carried out between models to understand the advantages/disadvantages of each algorithm. Model A is used as the base case. Indicator Kriging (Model D) simplifies the facies distribution by assigning continuous geological bodies of the most abundant lithofacies to each zone. Sequential Indicator Simulation (Model C) is confident to conserve facies proportion when geological heterogeneity is complex. The use of trend with Truncated Gaussian Simulation is a powerful tool for modelling well-defined spatial facies relationships. However, in shallow-water carbonate, facies can coexist and their association can change through time and space. The present study shows that the scale of modelling (depositional environment or lithofacies) involves specific simulation constraints on shallow-water carbonate modelling methods.

Description: Liquid-liquid equilibrium experiments indicate that there is a strong thermodynamic driving force for the reversible sequestration of cis-dichloroethene (DCE) within microbially active dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zones containing chlorinated ethene solvents. Assessment of the importance of degradation product sequestration, however, requires accurate description of the mass transfer kinetics. Partitioning kinetics of cis-DCE were assessed in a series of transport experiments conducted in sandy columns containing uniformly entrapped tetrachloroethene (PCE)-nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPL). Effluent data from these experiments were simulated using an analytical solution adapted from the sorption literature. The solution permits interrogation of the relative importance of mass transfer resistance in the aqueous phase and NAPL. Column data and simulations suggest that the kinetic exchange of cis-DCE may be described with mass transfer correlations developed for the dissolution of pure component NAPLs. Diffusive transport within the entrapped ganglia was relatively fast, offering limited resistance to mass exchange. These results (1) establish the applicability of dissolution-based mass transfer correlations for modeling both absorption and dissolution of degradation products, (2) quantify the thermodynamic driving force for the partitioning of cis-DCE in PCE-NAPL by assessing the ternary phase behavior, and (3) guide incorporation and deployment of partitioning kinetics into multiphase compositional simulators when assessing or designing metabolic reductive dechlorination within DNAPL source zones. While focus is placed on examining degradation product partitioning in DNAPL source zones, results may also be useful when considering rate limitations in other liquid-liquid partitioning processes, such as partitioning tracer tests.

Description: Each simulation algorithm, including Truncated Gaussian Simulation, Sequential Indicator Simulation and Indicator Kriging is characterized by different operating modes, which variably influence the facies proportion, distribution and association of digital outcrop models, as shown in clastic sediments. A detailed study of carbonate heterogeneity is then crucial to understanding these differences and providing rules for carbonate modelling. Through a continuous exposure of Bajocian carbonate strata, a study window (320 m long, 190 m wide and 30 m thick) was investigated and metre-scale lithofacies heterogeneity was captured and modelled using closely-spaced sections. Ten lithofacies, deposited in a shallow-water carbonate-dominated ramp, were recognized and their dimensions and associations were documented. Field data including height sections were georeferenced and input into the model. Four models were built in the present study. The Model A used all sections and Truncated Gaussian Simulation during the stochastic simulation. For the three other models, Model B was generated using Truncated Gaussian Simulation as for Model A, Model C was generated using Sequential Indicator Simulation and Model D was generated using Indicator Kriging. These three additional models were built by removing two out of eight sections from data input. The removal of sections allows direct insights on geological uncertainties at inter-well spacings by comparing modelled and described sections. Other quantitative and qualitative comparisons were carried out between models to understand the advantages/disadvantages of each algorithm. The Model A is used as base case. Indicator Kriging (Model D) simplifies the facies distribution by assigning continuous geological bodies of the most abundant lithofacies to each zone. Sequential Indicator Simulation (Model C) is confident to conserve facies proportion when geological heterogeneity is complex. The use of trend with Truncated Gaussian Simulation is a power tool for modelling well-defined spatial facies relationships. However, in shallow-water carbonate, facies can coexist and their association can change through time and space. The present study shows that the scale of modelling (depositional environment or lithofacies) involves specific simulation constraints on shallow-water carbonate modelling methods.

Description: Laboratory-scale aquifer cells are commonly used to investigate processes governing contaminant fate and transport in heterogeneous subsurface systems. In recent years, dramatic improvements in image processing methods have led to increasingly refined image resolution in these experiments. With these enhanced imagining methodologies, system parameters, such as nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) saturation, can now be quantified at the submillimeter scale. This fine level of resolution, however, is generally inconsistent with the typical scale of a representative elementary volume (REV), the averaging volume associated with property evaluation in continuum-based flow and transport models. Such inconsistency of scales calls into question the practice of directly comparing laboratory observations with continuum-based model simulations. This work explores the application of alternative approaches to image data processing for characterization of NAPL source zone architecture in aquifer cells and examines the implications of data processing on the interpretation of experimental-model comparisons. The utility of two alternative upscaling methods, a continuity-equation based (CB) and discrete-block based (DBB) approach are considered. Examination of the stability of point averages of saturation demonstrates that a REV length scale can be defined as ∼30 × d50 for the thickness-averaged, two-dimensional aquifer cell experiments examined. Quantification of upscaled source zone metrics, including the average saturation, the second spatial moment in the vertical direction, and the ganglia-to-pool (GTP) mass ratio reveals that the GTP is strongly sensitive to observation scale. Use of GTP values computed from upscaled images is shown to improve mathematical model predictions of experimental effluent concentrations by nearly 50%.

Description: A two-dimensional model for stage I short crack propagation on multiple slip planes under the influence of hydrogen is presented. It considers elastic-plastic material behaviour by allowing sliding on the active slip planes in the corresponding slip directions. A crack propagation law based on the crack tip sliding displacement is used to simulate crack growth. The activation of slip bands and the sliding on these active slip bands will be influenced by the local hydrogen concentration. The model is solved numerically using the boundary element method. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)