Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.5516/NET.2010.42.5.562

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF HYDRAULIC PARAMETERS ON RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION IN AN UNSATURATED ZONE  

Kim, Gye-Nam (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
Moon, Jei-Kwon (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
Lee, Kune-Woo (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
Publication Information
Nuclear Engineering and Technology / v.42, no.5, 2010 , pp. 562-567 More about this Journal
Abstract
A One-Dimensional Water Flow and Contaminant Transport in Unsaturated Zone (FTUNS) code has been developed in order to interpret radionuclide migration in an unsaturated zone. The pore-size distribution index (n) and the inverse of the air-entry value ($\alpha$) for an unsaturated zone were measured by KS M ISO 11275 method. The hydraulic parameters of the unsaturated soil are investigated by using soil from around a nuclear facility in Korea. The effect of hydraulic parameters on radionuclide migration in an unsaturated zone has been analyzed. The higher the value of the n-factor, the more the cobalt concentration was condensed. The larger the value of $\alpha$-factor, the faster the migration of cobalt was and the more aggregative the cobalt concentration was. Also, it was found that an effect on contaminant migration due to the pore-size distribution index (n) and the inverse of the air-entry value ($\alpha$) was minute. Meanwhile, migrations of cobalt and cesium are in inverse proportion to the Freundich isotherm coefficient. That is to say, the migration velocity of cobalt was about 8.35 times that of cesium. It was conclusively demonstrated that the Freundich isotherm coefficient was the most important factor for contaminant migration.
Keywords
Hydraulic Parameter; Cobalt; Cesium; Migration; Unsaturated Zone;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
Times Cited By Web Of Science : 0  (Related Records In Web of Science)
Times Cited By SCOPUS : 0
연도 인용수 순위
1 “The Multimedia Contaminant Fate, Transport, and Exposure Model,” Environmental Protection Agency, USA, (2002).
2 C. Yu, A. J. Zielen, J. J. Cheng, D. J. LePoire, E. Gnanapragasam, S. Kamboj, J. Arnish, A. Wallo III, “User's Manual for RESRAD Version 6,” Argonne National Laboratory, (2001).
3 J. Grifoll and Y. Cohen, “Contaminant migration in saturated soil zone: an effect of rainfall and evaportranspiration,” Contaminant Hydrology, 23, 185 (1996).   DOI
4 D. Kuntz, P. Grathwohl, “Comparison of stead-state and transient flow conditions on reactive transport of contaminamts in the vadose soil zone,” J. of Hydrology, 369, 225(2009).   DOI
5 S. Brouyere, “Modelling the migration of contaminants through variably saturated dual-porosity, dual-permeability chalk,” J. of Contaminant Hydrology, 82, 195 (2006).   DOI
6 Jae Hah Cheong, “Simplified approximation method of the multi-compartments model on the migration of contaminant through unsaturated zone,” J. of Korean Radioactive Waste Society, 5(1), 29 (2007).   과학기술학회마을
7 Z. F. Zhang, A. L. Ward, and G. W. Gee, “Estimating soil hydraulic parameters of a field drainage experiment using inverse techniques,” Vadose Zone Journal, 2, 201 (2003).   DOI
8 G. J. Moridis, Y. Seol, and Y. Wu, “Modeling studies of mountain-scale radionuclide transport in an unsaturated zone at Yucca mountain, Nevada,” p. 12-14, Proc. TOUGH Symposium, Berkeley, California (2003).
9 M. Th. van Genuchten, “Aclosed from equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 892 (1980).   DOI
10 Y. Mualem, “A new model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media,” Water Resour. Res., 12, 513 (1976).   DOI
11 A. Ogata, “Theory of dispersion in agranular medium,” Prof. Paper 411, U. S. Geol. Surv. (1970).
12 D. L. Strenge, M. A. Smith, “Multimedia Environmental Pollutant Assessment System (MEPAS)”, PNNL-16164, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (2006).
13 R. A. Freeze and J. A. Cherry, “Groundwater,” p. 604, Prentice Hall Inc., Upper Saddle River (1979).