ISSN:
1365-2389
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
Network models are idealized geometrical representations of porous media. They allow the simulation of effective hydraulic properties and of solute transport for well-defined porous structures. In this paper, the relation between pore structure and effective properties is studied using a network model which can be adjusted to predefined pore-size distributions and pore topologies. I show that pore topology can be adjusted such that quite different pore-size distributions lead to essentially identical water retention curves. This puts into question the common interpretation of the retention curve as being indicative of the pore-size distribution. However, I also found that both the hydraulic conductivity and the dispersion of a solute depend on the water retention curve and not on the particular combination of pore-size distribution and topology which make it up. This corroborates the widely used approach of inferring relative permeabilities from water retention data.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2389.2000.00275.x
