Simulation of Contaminant Migration Through a Soil Layer Due to an Instantaneous Source

Analytical and numerical simulation models help civil and environmental engineering students to understand the physical and chemical processes that influence contaminant transport through a saturated soil layer, including advective and dispersive transport as well as sorption. The basic principles for simulation of contaminant migration through a saturated soil were introduced. Using the spreadsheet program MS Excel, based on existing analytical solution for two-dimensional transport of contaminants in a saturated soil layer, concentrations at several coordinates at several times were calculated. A MATLAB code was developed using finite difference approach for numerical solution. The programming steps followed for analytical and numerical solutions were explained. The analytical and numerical solution was compared. An example of the simulation models for the contaminant transport through a saturated soil layer is given. The study shows that the analytical solution and the numerical solution, for the given problem, match in an acceptable range. (c) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 19: 385-398, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com; DOI 10.1002/cae.20320