Award for Creavivity in Engineering

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This research project resides in the field of geotechnical engineering and groundwater resources. The problem addresses the efficiency of near surface aquitards (a relatively impermeable layer comprised of glacial sill or alluvial silt) to retard the entry of hydrocarbons into shallow confined aquifers. The proposed effort involves the study of the pattern and parameters of immiscible (non-mixable) fluid flow near the interface between two strata with moderately dissimilar permeabilities (hydraulic conductivity). A hydraulic gradient causing lateral flow is implanted in the lower, more permeable stratum. The effects of relative permeability and varying artesian pressure on the movement of immisable fluids at strata interfaces and the resulting vertical distribution of the containment within the aquifer are the central focus of this investigation. The subsurface environment will be modelled in a clear rectangular container as a confined aquifer. To simulate localized contamination of the confined aquifer, the penetration of an immisicible fluid (probably kerosene for safety reasons) will be permitted to penetrate a small area of the aquitard. This study will extend flow analysis to stratified subsurface environment subject to flucuating flow pressures and velocities which better approximates in-situ conditions.