| The characterization of DNAPL source zones provides important information for evaluating cost-effective remediation schemes at contaminated sites. In this work, numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the influence of: the capillary pressure-saturation parameters; residual organic saturation; spill rate; hypothetical field structure; and dimensionality on the DNAPL migration and entrapment simulation in a highly heterogeneous aquifer.;The results indicate that, in highly heterogeneous aquifers, the determination of capillary pressure-saturation parameters has a critical influence on the modeling of the DNAPL migration, while the residual organic saturation has almost no influence on DNAPL distributions. The spill rate strongly affects the DNAPL spread. The location of low permeability layers has critical consequences on the prediction of the vertical migration. The maximum organic saturation and pool fraction for highly heterogeneous aquifers are higher than those for mildly heterogeneous aquifers. The feasibility of using 2-D simulation results to predict 3-D simulation trends needs additional work. |
