Modelling of variable density flow in karstic coastal aquifers | Modelación de flujo de densidad variable en acuíferos kársticos costeros
2008
López Llompart, María del Pilar
This master thesis aims at studying the effect that the presence of the caves has on salineintrusion in the aquifer. Thus, the final objective is to elaborate a numerical modeling of the groundwaterflow and salt transport in the karstic aquifer. Despite the fact that many researchers have invested theirefforts in studying the behavior of continental karsts, the modeling examples of coastal karstic aquifersare very rare. Due to the complexity of the problem, it is necessary to apply drastic simplifications. In thiscase, the karstic system has been characterized as a porous matrix crossed by one conduit. In the matrix itis considered that the water flow is driven by the variable density. The flow in the conduit does not takeinto account the mass transport processes and, thus, it is supposed to be governed by the Saint Venantequation. This approach has not been applied to coastal aquifers previously. The main advantage of thismethodology is that it considers the exchange between the conduit and the surrounding matrix. In order toreach the objective, different models have been implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics, a Finite ElementMethod code. Initially, the groundwater flow in the karstic system has been modeled without consideringthe variable density of the water. Next, the variable density problem in two dimensions with and withoutthe conduit is introduced. Finally, the whole problem is extended to three dimensions.
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