Water vapor transport in the vicinity of imbibing saline solutions was investigated in two-dimensional (2-D) chambers using a light transmission technique. Concentrated NaNO3 solutions (brines) were applied as point sources to the surface of homogenous packs of prewetted silica sand for four different sand grades. The same solutions were applied...
Liquid saturation and gas-liquid interfacial area are important parameters for evaluating the transport and fate of contaminants in unsaturated subsurface environments. Recent findings indicate that interfacial surface area controls the relative degree of transmitted light in laboratory systems containing translucent porous media. Equations are derived to estimate the specific gas-liquid...
Surface tensions of high-salinity solutions are significantly different from those of pure water. Our objective was to develop and test a methodology to determine whether these surface tension effects predictably alter imbibition into dry and moist porous media. Static and dynamic experiments were performed using four grades of quartz sand...
Though many arid and contaminated sites have high salinity, prediction of effects of salinity on water movement in soils has been based on dilute solution approximations. Here a sensitivity analysis compares predicted liquid and vapor pressure in variably saturated porous media found using both the dilute approximations and a more...