Coupling of unsaturated zone and saturated zone in radionuclide transport simulations

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• 作者：Raffaella Testoni^a ; ^{raffaella.testoni@polito.it} ; Riccardo Levizzari^b ; Mario De Salve^a
• 关键词：Unsaturated zone ; Saturated zone ; Radionuclide transport ; Software tool coupling ; Release of radionuclide ; Radiological monitoring
• 刊名：Progress in Nuclear Energy
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：March 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：95
• 期：Complete
• 页码：84-95
• 全文大小：2240 K
• 卷排序：95

文摘

In the management of radionuclide release in the environment, the unsaturated zone could be a natural barrier to delay or to stop the radionuclide migration through the environment and to protect the groundwater from radiological risks. Thus, a suitable scientific evaluation of any radionuclide transport problems related to groundwater may to take into account the processes affecting flow through the unsaturated zone. In this work, an approach that involves the interactions between unsaturated zone and saturated zone both from hydrogeological and radionuclide transport point of view is proposed. This approach was tested developing a case study on an Italian nuclear site. The behavior of unsaturated zone as protective barrier for the groundwater was highlighted and identified as a fundamental aspect in the development of environmental analysis concerning the radionuclide transport into the environment. Promising results were found to improve the design of a radiological monitoring network.