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Item Open Access High-resolution spatio-temporal measurements of the colmation phenomenon under laboratory conditions(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2022) Mayar, Mohammad Assem; Wieprecht, Silke (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)The fine sediment infiltration and accumulation into the gravel bed of rivers, the so-called colmation phenomenon, is a pernicious process exacerbated by anthropogenic activities. Owing to the importance and complexity of this phenomenon, it has been widely studied over the last decades. Various devices and methods have been developed to assess this phenomenon, where most of them are destructive and sample-based, resulting in an alteration of the natural conditions. Therefore, non-intrusive techniques, which provide spatial and temporal details with a high-resolution, are required to discretize the mechanisms involved in the colmation process. To address these issues, investigations under laboratory conditions may simplify the complexity of nature and enable individual and exactly defined boundary conditions to be investigated. Therefore, this thesis aims at (i) developing a non-intrusive and undisturbed measurement method for the high-resolution spatio-temporal measurements of the sediment infiltration processes and the development of sediment accumulation in an artificial river bed under laboratory conditions, (ii) applying this method to certain experiments for the assessment of the effects of different boundary conditions on sediment infiltration, and (iii) investigating the colmation phenomenon (also known as clogging) of gravel beds. For this purpose, the gamma-ray attenuation method is used together with an artificial gravel bed arranged from the spheres with various diameters and placed in a laboratory flume. This new method works based on the gamma radiation that passes through the infiltrated sediments, water, and bed spheres, in which the gamma-ray attenuation is linked to the variations of the infiltrated sediments’ quantity. The main simplification of this approach is that gravel beds are represented by the combinations of different-sized spheres. This gives the opportunity to fully distinguish infiltrating sediments from the bed material, reduce the complexity of the natural environment, and allows for repetitive measurements of the same position with different boundary conditions. From the results of this study, first, the gamma-ray attenuation measurement method was optimized to resolve the inconsistencies in the measurements. Subsequently, the concept of the non-intrusive and undisturbed measurement is proved through box experiments. Additional reproducibility experiments in the laboratory flume, for a similar bed structure, showed only small deviations between two experiments with the same setup. Consequently, the established technique was used in a series of experiments to evaluate the effects of different supply rates, total supply masses, and sediment particle size boundary conditions on the sediment infiltration and colmation processes. Vertical profiles of the infiltrated sediment were quantified through high spatial resolution measurements. Furthermore, to evaluate the infiltrating sediment accumulation development, and the temporal variations of the infiltrated sediments, the vertical profile measurements were first repeated after a specific time-period to track interval-averaged variations in all positions of the vertical axis. Next, a specific position of the vertical axis was measured continuously during the entire experiment in a high temporal resolution. The measured vertical profiles illustrate the vertical distribution, colmation, and unimpeded percolation of the infiltrated sediments. The dynamic one-point measurement precisely identifies the three phases (the start of the pore-filling, the required time to fill the pore, and the final amount of infiltrated sediments including natural fluctuation during the ongoing experiments) of the sediment infiltration or the possible clogging. As a limitation, the gamma-ray attenuation system’s current configuration only works in artificial gravel beds because of the given density difference between infiltrated sediments and the artificial bed structure. Intense radiations that pass through the natural bed's thickness are capable of detecting a significant amount of infiltrated sediments. However, small amounts of infiltrated sediments will create only a minimal shift in attenuation, which might be confused with the statistical error. In addition, the legal restriction against using radioactive material in the natural environment is another reason for not applying it in the field. Furthermore, the gamma-ray attenuation method cannot resolve the sediment distribution in the measurement horizon and provides an integrative result for each measurement position. In addition, if a mixture of silt, clay, and sand is supplied to the experiment, the gamma-ray attenuation system will produce a bulk result of all the infiltrated materials. To conclude, despite the limitations mentioned above, the gamma-ray attenuation method offers a unique opportunity for the non-intrusive and undisturbed measurements of the sediment infiltration or the special case of colmation, with a high spatio-temporal resolution. This method has the potential to quantify the investigated processes on a millimetric spatial scale, if the measurement time is not a constraint, or vice versa, in a high temporal resolution (seconds) for a specific position, if spatial scale is not important. Moreover, the gamma-ray attenuation approach can simultaneously measure the longitudinal distribution of the sedimentological processes, if multiple instruments or a single device with several radiation-emitting-holes is in operation. Last, but not least, rather than the spheres, artificial gravel beds could be made of any substance with a composition significantly different from the infiltrating sediments, and the boundary conditions of the experiments can be improved in order to attain conditions close to nature. Finally, the gamma-ray attenuation method can be integrated with advanced flow measurement instruments such as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and other high-resolution endoscopic devices to track the behavior of fine sediment infiltration and its clogging process in the porous gravel beds as it occurs in nature.Item Open Access Porosity and permeability alterations in processes of biomineralization in porous media - microfluidic investigations and their interpretation(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2022) Weinhardt, Felix; Class, Holger (apl. Prof. Dr.-Ing)Motivation: Biomineralization refers to microbially induced processes resulting in mineral formations. In addition to complex biomineral structures frequently formed by marine organisms, like corals or mussels, microbial activities may also indirectly induce mineralization. A famous example is the formation of stromatolites, which result from biofilm activities that locally alter the chemical and physical properties of the environment in favor of carbonate precipitation. Recently, biomineralization gained attention as an engineering application. Especially with the background of global warming and the objective to reduce CO2 emissions, biomineralization offers an innovative and sustainable alternative to the usage of conventional Portland cement, whose production currently contributes significantly to global CO2 emissions. The most widely used method of biomineralization in engineering applications, is ureolytic calcium carbonate precipitation, which relies on the hydrolysis of urea and the subsequent precipitation of calcium carbonate. The hydrolysis of urea at moderate temperatures is relatively slow and therefore needs to be catalyzed by the enzyme urease to be practical for applications. Urease can be extracted from plants, for example from ground jack beans, and the process is consequently referred to as enzyme-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (ECIP). Another method is microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP), which uses ureolytic bacteria that produce the enzyme in situ. EICP and MICP applications allow for producing various construction materials, stabilizing soils, or creating hydraulic barriers in the subsurface. The latter can be used, for example, to remediate leakages at the top layer of gas storage reservoirs, or to contain contaminant plumes in aquifers. Especially when remediating leakages in the subsurface, the most crucial parameter to be controlled is its intrinsic permeability. A valuable tool for predicting and planning field applications is the use of numerical simulation at the scale of representative elementary volumes (REV). For that, the considered domain is subdivided into several REV’s, which do not resolve the pore space in detail, but represent it by averaged parameters, such as the porosity and permeability. The porosity describes the ratio of the pore space to the considered bulk volume, and the permeability quantifies the ease of fluid flow through a porous medium. A change in porosity generally also affects permeability. Therefore, for REV-scale simulations, constitutive relationships are utilized to describe permeability as a function of porosity. There are several porosity-permeability relationships in the literature, such as the Kozeny-Carman relationship, Verma-Pruess, or simple power-law relationships. These constitutive relationships can describe individual states but usually do not include the underlying processes. Different boundary conditions during biomineralization may influence the course of porosity-permeability relationships. However, these relationships have not yet been adequately addressed. Pore-scale simulations are, in principle, very well suited to investigate pore space changes and their effects on permeability systematically. However, these simulations also rely on simplifications and assumptions. Therefore, it is essential to conduct experimental studies to investigate the complex processes during calcium carbonate precipitation in detail at the pore scale. Recent studies have shown that microfluidic methods are particularly suitable for this purpose. However, previous microfluidic studies have not explicitly addressed the impact of biomineralization on hydraulic effects. Therefore, this work aims to identify relevant phenomena at the pore scale to conclude on the REV-scale parameters, porosity and permeability, and their relationship. Contributions: This work comprises three publications. First, a suitable microfluidic setup and workflow were developed in Weinhardt et al. [2021a] to study pore space changes and the associated hydraulic effects reliably. This paper illustrated the benefits and insights of combining optical microscopy and micro X-ray computed tomography (micro XRCT) with hydraulic measurements in microfluidic chips. The elaborated workflow allowed for quantitative analysis of the evolution of calcium carbonate precipitates in terms of their size, shape, and spatial distribution. At the same time, their influence on differential pressure could be observed as a measure of flow resistance. Consequently, porosity and permeability changes could be determined. Along with this paper, we published two data sets [Weinhardt et al., 2021b, Vahid Dastjerdi et al., 2021] and set the basis for two other publications. In the second publication [von Wolff et al., 2021], the simulation results of a pore-scale numerical model, developed by Lars von Wolff, were compared to the experimental data of the first paper [Weinhardt et al., 2021b]. We observed a good agreement between the experimental data and the model results. The numerical studies complemented the experimental observations in allowing for accurate analysis of crystal growth as a function of local velocity profiles. In particular, we observed that crystal aggregates tend to grow toward the upstream side, where the supply of reaction products is higher than on the downstream side. Crystal growth during biomineralization under continuous inflow is thus strongly dependent on the locally varying velocities in a porous medium. In the third publication [Weinhardt et al., 2022a], we conducted further microfluidic experiments based on the experimental setup and workflow of the first contribution and published another data set [Weinhardt et al., 2022b]. We used microfluidic cells with a different, more realistic pore structure and investigated the influence of different injection strategies. We found that the development of preferential flow paths during EICP application may depend on the given boundary conditions. Constant inflow rates can lead to the development of preferential flow paths and keep them open. Gradually reduced inflow rates can mitigate this effect. In addition, we concluded that the coexistence of multiple calcium carbonate polymorphs and their transformations could influence the temporal evolution of porosity-permeability relationships.Item Open Access Modellierung von Bodenerosion und Sedimentaustrag bei Hochwasserereignissen am Beispiel des Einzugsgsgebiets der Rems(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2022) Schönau, Steffen; Bárdossy, András (Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr.-Ing.)Die vorliegende Dissertation untersucht Bodenerosion und Sedimentaustrag bei Hochwasserereignissen und Starkniederschlägen im Einzugsgebiet der Rems (Flussgebiet Neckar, Stromgebiet Rhein). Es werden die Grundlagen des Zusammenspiels von (Stark-) Niederschlag, Hochwasser und Sturzfluten, Bodenerosion und Sedimentaustrag sowie deren messtechnische und modellbasierte Erfassung dargestellt. Die Anwendung empirischer Modellansätze im Untersuchungsgebiet beinhaltet Modellparametrisierung, -kalibrierung und -validierung sowie Regionalisierung für die Übertragbarkeit auf unbeobachtete Gebiete. Es erfolgt eine Untersuchung des räumlichen Zusammenhangs der flächenhaften Eingangsdaten und Modellergebnisse sowie die Beurteilung der Wirkung von konservierender Bodenbearbeitung auf die Bodenabtrags- und Sedimentaustragsschätzungen. Es werden sowohl langandauernde advektive, zu Flusshochwasser führende Niederschlagsereignisse betrachtet als auch kurzzeitige konvektive Sommerereignisse, die nur zu wenig Abfluss oder aber auch zu Sturzfluten führen. Mit der entwickelten Methodik können saisonale und gebietsspezifische Eigenheiten wie Niederschlagscharakteristika, Landnutzung und Landbedeckung sowie Anfangsbodenfeuchte berücksichtigt werden. Ein Ergebnis ist die Bereitstellung von Eingangsdaten für die Optimierung der Steuerung von Hochwasserrückhaltebecken und Speichern zur gezielten Retention stofflicher Belastungen. Teile der Untersuchungen für diese Dissertation haben ihren Ursprung im RIMAX-Verbundvorhaben "Entwicklung eines integrativen Bewirtschaftungskonzepts für Trockenbecken und Polder zur Hochwasserrückhaltung".Item Open Access Investigations on functional relationships between cohesive sediment erosion and sediment characteristics(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2021) Beckers, Felix; Wieprecht, Silke (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Item Open Access A surrogate-assisted Bayesian framework for uncertainty-aware validation benchmarks(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2023) Mohammadi, Farid; Flemisch, Bernd (apl. Prof. Dr. rer. nat.)Over the last century, computational modeling in geoscience, especially in porous media research, has witnessed tremendous improvement. After decades of development, the state-of-the-art simulators can now solve coupled partial differential equations governing the complex subsurface multiphase flow system within a practically large spatial and temporal domain. Given the importance of computational modeling, quality assessment of these models in light of the purpose of a given simulation is of paramount importance to engineering designers and managers, public officials, and those affected by the decisions based on the predictions. Users and developers of computational simulations deal with a challenging question: How should confidence in modeling and simulation be critically assessed? Validation is one of the primary methods for building and quantifying confidence in modeling and simulation. It investigates the degree to which a model accurately represents reality from the perspective of the intended application of the model. Usually, this comparison between model outputs and experimental data constitutes plotting the model results against data on the same axes to provide a visual assessment of agreement or lack thereof. While comparisons between model and data are at the heart of any validation procedure, there are several concerns with such naive comparisons. First, these comparisons tend to provide qualitative rather than quantitative assessments and are clearly insufficient as a basis for making decisions regarding model validity. Second, naive comparisons often disregard or only partly account for existing uncertainties in the experimental observations or the model input parameters. Third, such comparisons can not reveal whether the model is appropriate for the intended purposes, as they mainly focus on the agreement in the observable quantities. These pitfalls give rise to the need for an uncertainty-aware framework that includes a validation metric. This metric shall provide a measure for comparison of the system response quantities of an experiment with the ones from a computational model while accounting for uncertainties in both in a rigorous way. To address this need, we developed a statistical framework incorporating a probabilistic modeling technique using a fully Bayesian approach. The dissertation aims to help modelers perform uncertainty aware model validation benchmarks. A two-stage Bayesian multi-model framework is discussed for modeling tasks where a set of models are at hand. To make this framework applicable for computationally demanding models, it is extended to a surrogate-assisted framework, keeping the computational costs at a reasonable level. Moreover, correction factors were introduced to compensate for the surrogate error in the Bayesian hypothesis testing and Bayesian model selection, as using surrogate representations instead of the full-fidelity computational models introduces additional errors to the validation metrics. In this dissertation, I show how the Bayesian formalism could be materialized by employing the concept of polynomial chaos expansion to achieve more accurate surrogates with a sparse representation and account for the uncertainty in the surrogate’s predictions. I also highlight how such surrogate models could be constructed with as few simulations as the computational budget allows. To this end, sequential adaptive sampling strategies are discussed, in which one attempts to augment the initial design iteratively. By doing so, informative regions in the parameter space are adequately explored. These regions are more likely to provide valuable information on the behavior of the original model responses. Using a sequential sampling strategy avoids the waste of computational resources, as opposed to the so-called one-shot designs. A series of benchmark studies are conducted to investigate the predictive capabilities of different sparsity and sequential adaptive sampling methods. Moreover, I introduce BayesValidRox, an open-source, object-oriented Python package that provides an automated workflow for surrogate-based sensitivity analysis, Bayesian calibration, and validation of computational models with a modular structure. The uncertainty-aware validation framework was applied to a range of cases in the field of subsurface hydro-system modeling, mainly to flow and transport in porous media, such as flow simulation models in fractured porous media, coupling free flow and porous medium flow, and microbially induced calcite precipitation. However, this validation framework can be transferred to other disciplines in which models are used for prediction.Item Open Access Immobilization of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) : experimental and model-based analysis of leaching behavior(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2024) Bierbaum, Thomas; Haslauer, Claus (PD Dr.-Ing.)Die Dissertation untersucht die Elution und Immobilisierung von per- und polyfluorierten Alkylsubstanzen (PFAS) in belasteten Böden, insbesondere unter Verwendung von aktivkohlebasierten und zementbasierten Immobilisierungsansätzen. Ziel der Arbeit war es, das Elutionsverhalten von PFAS unter verschiedenen experimentellen Bedingungen zu charakterisieren, die Langzeitstabilität von Immobilisierungsmitteln zu untersuchen und die Anwendbarkeit verschiedener experimenteller Methoden zur Bewertung der PFAS-Immobilisierung zu prüfen. Die PFAS-Elution wurde in Batch-, Säulen- und Lysimeterexperimenten untersucht. Mathematische Modelle (Kontinuummodell und Random-Walk-Particle-Tracking-Modell) wurden eingesetzt, um Retentionsmechanismen wie Gleichgewichtssorption, kinetische Sorption und Sorption an Luft-Wasser-Grenzflächen (AWI) zu analysieren. Die PFAS-Elution konnte durch AC-basierte Produkte um über 95 % reduziert werden, allerdings wurde eine verzögerte Desorption von kurzkettigen Perfluoralkylsäuren (PFAAs) wie PFBA und PFPeA festgestellt. Langkettige PFAAs wurden effektiv immobilisiert, während die Elution kurzkettiger PFAAs (besonders unter alkalischen Bedingungen) nur geringfügig beeinflusst wurde. Lysimeterexperimente zeigten die Relevanz der AWI-Sorption bei variabel-gesättigten Bedingungen für die Retardierung langkettiger PFAAs. Langfristig wird die Elution durch die Kombination von kinetischer Sorption, Biotransformation und kompetitiver Sorption beeinflusst. Teilweise ist eine Verlängerung der Laufzeit der Experimente notwendig, da die Elution von PFAS, insbesondere durch kinetische Prozesse und Biotransformation, langfristig anhält. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass einzelne Elutionsverfahren ungenügend sind, um alle relevanten Prozesse abzubilden. Zur Untersuchung der PFAS-Immobilisierung wird eine Kombination verschiedener Methoden empfohlen. Die Arbeit trägt zu einem besseren Verständnis der PFAS-Transport in der ungesättigten Zone und der PFAS-Immobilisierung bei. Darüber hinaus wird die Notwendigkeit weiterer Untersuchungen zu Schlüsselprozessen wie Transformation von Vorläufersubstanzen und kompetitiver Sorption betont.Item Open Access Long-term lumped projections of groundwater balances in the face of limited data(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2024) Ejaz, Fahad; Nowak, Wolfgang (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Item Open Access Bedload transport estimation in mountainous intermittent rivers and streams(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2023) Sadid, Najibullah; Wieprecht, Silke (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Rivers and streams with the flow, sediment, and habitat seasonality are termed as intermittent rivers and streams (IRS). IRS are the main water bodies in arid and semi-arid regions of the world but are also found in the temperate and humid environment, where they are particularly draining headwater streams. Thus, a large part of headwater streams in the mountainous regions behave as intermittent water bodies, where the steep channel slope and a wide variety of sediment sizes add to their hydrosedimentological complexity. Bedload transport as an important sedimentological characteristic of mountainous IRS and essential for planning sediment management strategies, is far from being well understood. Often the knowledge of lowland perennial rivers is adapted to steep IRS, which may lead to an overestimation of bedload transport mainly due to the overestimation of near-bed flow characteristics. Despite the development of numerous methods for modifying near-bed flow parameters for steep IRS such as Double-averaging of Navier-Stokes equation and flow resistance methods modifications for steep IRS, their application is limited to small domains and laboratory conditions. In this research, the flow resistance, main determinant of near-bed flow characteristic is estimated using a regime channel approach. In this approach, the flow resistance is estimated on reach-scale based on the channel’s regime dimension, slope and bankfull discharge assuming an IRS is in regime state (equilibrium condition). A channel’s regime state represents a long-term average characteristic of a river and does not significantly change over time. A channel reach of a constant slope develops a certain flow resistance during its regime state development to resist the change imposed by bankfull discharge and maintain a specific regime geometry, slope, and sediment grain size. 2D- hydromorphological computer simulations are employed to simulate the development of channel regime state for several cases of initial geometries, slopes, and grain sizes by steering the flow resistance. This modifies the riverbed shear stress by the ratio of total flow resistance to grain resistance also known as relative flow resistance µ in order to account for flow energy dissipation on resistance sources such as macro-roughness elements (MRE), and bedforms. Alternatively, two cases of MRE as a main flow resistance inducer is built as non-erodible trapezoidal shapes (i) randomly distributed over the channel bed, and (ii) arranged in cascade bedforms are used in regime channel simulations. MRE protects the channel by reducing the exposed riverbed to erosion and changing the flow characteristics in their vicinity. Regime channel simulations are performed on artificial channels of initial slopes between 0.0% to 10% and initial dimensions of 5.5 m x 200 m and 16.5 m x 200 m resembling a fixed (laboratory) and an extended-width (natural wide channel) condition. Three channel slope combination cases representing a natural channel reach which can be composed of one or more constant slope stretch are also studied beside single slope channels. Steady state simulations are performed for six sediment grain size (GSD) sets, which cover a wide spectrum of naturally occurring sediment sizes. The simulation results show a power-law relationship between µ and regime channel slopes for all channel dimensions, reach combinations, GSD, initial slopes and with (R1) and without sediment feeding (R). The increase in relative flow resistance (µ) with regime channel slope is well reproduced in form of bedforms. Regime channels developed step-pool to cascade bedforms for steep slopes and plane- to riffle bed for gentle slopes channels. The relationship between µ and regime slope derived using regime channel simulation approach exhibits good agreement with some field measurement of flow resistance for mountainous rivers and streams. The approach is applied on two IRS case studies with observed data in Kabul River basin, Afghanistan to estimate bedload transport. The relative flow resistance resulted from models calibration showed good agreement with those derived from test channels regime development simulation. The outcome of channel regime simulation with presence of MRE as geometrical shapes produced a logarithmic-law with a horizontal asymptote relationship between MRE concentrations and channel regime slopes. Similar results are also reported from flume experiments that the ratio of drag to total shear stress increases rapidly when the MRE are sufficiently distant. Regime channels develop micro-channels around MRE, where the bulk of bedload transport occur. For MRE arrangements as cascades, the results show a power-law relationship between channel regime slope and step-pool dimensions λ = LD/DB. The results obtained are in good agreement with field measurement of naturally occurring and artificially built λ relationship with SR. Future studies can further enrich the validation of this approach by applying it to other study sites. Present modelling tools have their limitations when dealing with strong geometries which is often the case for mountain rivers, therefore, improvement in modelling techniques is required to flexibly deal with abrupt changes in riverbed geometry for instance when implementing MRE as main flow resistance inducer.Item Open Access Data processing and model choice for flood prediction(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2022) Herma, Felix; Bárdossy, András (Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr.-Ing.)Item Open Access Bayesian inversion and model selection of heterogeneities in geostatistical subsurface modeling(Stuttgart : Eigenverlag des Instituts für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung der Universität Stuttgart, 2021) Reuschen, Sebastian; Nowak, Wolfgang (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)