Measuring Air-Water Interfacial Area in Unsaturated Porous Media Using the Interfacial Partitioning Tracer Test Method
Author
El Ouni, AsmaIssue Date
2013Keywords
Interfacial areaIPTT
Virtual Communitiesnsaturated porous media
Soil, Water & Environmental Science
Air-water interface
Advisor
Brusseau, Mark L.
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
Interfacial partitioning tracer tests (IPTT) are one method available for measuring air-water interfacial area (A(ia)).This study used the standard approach comprising tracer injection under steady unsaturated-flow conditions with a uniform water-saturation distribution within the column. Sodium dodecylbezene sulfonate (SDBS) and pentafluorobenzoic acid (PFBA) were used as the partitioning and nonreactive tracers, respectively. Three types of porous media were used for the study: a sandy soil, a well-sorted sand, and glass beads. Initial water saturations, S(w), were approximately 80%, 80%, and 26 % for the soil, sand, and glass beads, respectively. Water saturation was monitored gravimetrically during the experiments. The maximum interfacial areas (A(ia)/(1-S(w))) calculated from the results of the experiments are compared among the three porous media used in this work, and compared to previous air-water interfacial area studies.Type
textElectronic Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.Degree Level
mastersDegree Program
Graduate CollegeSoil, Water and Environmental Science