A dual‐porosity model for simulating the preferential movement of water and solutes in structured porous media

Abstract

A one‐dimensional dual‐porosity model has been developed for the purpose of studying variably saturated water flow and solute transport in structured soils or fractured rocks. The model involves two overlaying continua at the macroscopic level: a macropore or fracture pore system and a less permeable matrix pore system. Water in both pore systems is assumed to be mobile. Variably saturated water flow in the matrix as well as in the fracture pore system is described with the Richards' equation, and solute transport is described with the convection‐dispersion equation. Transfer of water and solutes between the two pore regions is simulated by means of first‐order rate equations. The mass transfer term for solute transport includes both convective and diffusive components. The formulation leads to two coupled systems of nonlinear partial differential equations which were solved numerically using the Galerkin finite element method. Simulation results demonstrate the complicated nature of solute leaching in structured, unsaturated porous media during transient water flow. Sensitivity studies show the importance of having accurate estimates of the hydraulic conductivity near the surface of soil aggregates or rock matrix blocks. The proposed model is capable of simulating preferential flow situations using parameters which can be related to physical and chemical properties of the medium.