Groundwater Lab

Facilities for flow and transport investigations in porous and fractured media:

For the investigation of saturated and unsaturated flow and transport in porous media diverse devices and tools are at our disposal. The devices include sand filled tanks and fracture models. The water content in porous media probes is measured by the gamma ray absorption technique using the isotope Am-241 as gamma source and NaJ-scintillation detectors. Transport in fracture models is recorded with CCD cameras.

For details please contact Fritz Stauffer.

Reference:

Stauffer F. and W. Kinzelbach, Cyclic hysteretic flow in porous medium column: model, experiment, and simulations. J. Hydrology 240, 264-275, 2001.

Ustohal P., F. Stauffer, and T. Dracos, Measurement and modelling of hydraulic characteristics of unsaturated porous media with mixed wettability. J. Contaminant Hydrol. 33, 5-37, 1998.

Lunati, I., Kinzelbach, W. and Sorensen, I. (2003) Effects of pore volume-transmissivity correlation on transport phenomena. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 67, 195-217.

Facility for borehole flowmeter calibration:

Borehole flowmeters are used for the detection of lateral inflow and outflow in wells and boreholes. They allow the measurement of non-uniformly distributed lateral flux along boreholes, which is often caused by heterogeneities in the vertical aquifer profile. For the calibration of such borehole flowmeters a vertical device with tube of diameter 100mm and length 8m is available. The set-up consists of a water tank with pump, discharge measurement, and flow conditioning. During calibration the borehole flowmeter can be fixed at a prescribed location along the tube or can be moved with constant velocity. We welcome other groups to test their logging devices in our lab.

For details please contact Thomy Keller.