The effect of neglecting spatial variations of the parameters in pollutant transport modeling in rivers

The effect of neglecting spatial variations of the parameters in pollutant transport modeling in rivers

For many environmental projects and plans, it is necessary to model pollutant transport in rivers. Pollutant transport modeling is a complex phenomenon with multiple factors affecting it. The basic governing equation describing pollutant transport is advection–dispersion equation. There are two main...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental fluid mechanics (Dordrecht, Netherlands : 2001) Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 587 - 603
Main Authors: Karami Cheme, Elham, Mazaheri, Mehdi
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-06-2021
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Advection
Classical Mechanics
Coefficients
Dispersion
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental Physics
Exact solutions
Flow velocity
Hydrogeology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Mathematical models
Modelling
Monte Carlo simulation
Nonuniform flow
Numerical methods
Numerical models
Oceanography
Original Article
Parameters
Pollutants
Pollution dispersion
Pollution transport
Rivers
Spatial variability
Spatial variations
Statistical methods
Transport
Transport equations
Uniform flow
Variability
Velocity
Water pollution
Peclet number
Dispersion coefficient
Fourier number
Pollutant transport
Advection–dispersion equation
Monte Carlo simulation
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:For many environmental projects and plans, it is necessary to model pollutant transport in rivers. Pollutant transport modeling is a complex phenomenon with multiple factors affecting it. The basic governing equation describing pollutant transport is advection–dispersion equation. There are two main parameters in this equation, namely, dispersion coefficient and flow velocity. In non-uniform flow regimes, these parameters are both spatially variable, therefore, solution of the advection–dispersion equation usually accomplished using numerical methods. Spatial variability of these parameters makes it hard to determine them, particularly for dispersion coefficient in which determining it for non-uniform flows using the corresponding formulas or calibration is an uncertain and challenging task. In this study, based on non-dimensionalized transport equation and the Monte Carlo simulation technique, a methodology is presented for evaluating the effects of spatial variability of the parameters on concentration distribution in rivers. The results imply that for many practical cases of pollutant transport modeling in rivers, spatial variations of flow velocity and dispersion coefficient can be neglected with a reasonable error. Consequently, for these cases, constant-coefficient pollutant transport equation can be applied instead of the variable-coefficient one, hence, simple analytical solutions can be employed rather than complicated numerical models. The proposed approach was applied for a real case study, successfully. It is emphasized that the results of the study are fairly general and can provide insight and simplification in different stages of pollutant transport modeling in rivers.
ISSN:1567-7419
1573-1510
DOI:10.1007/s10652-021-09787-5