Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 September 2012
Last year we developed a two-dimensional deterministic heterogeneous matrixdiffusion model, which is capable of utilising porosity informationoriginating from real drill-core samples. The results of numericalinfiltration experiment we had performed with the model displayedsubstantial spatial variations in the penetration depth. Because it ispractically impossible to verify experimentally those two-dimensionalpenetration profiles we had computed, this time we decided to try modellingof measured leaching curves. Unfortunately we have not succeeded inacquiring such curves for the exact same samples, which we have used innumerical leaching experiments. Nevertheless it can be seen, that the shapeof leaching curves computed with the heterogeneous model is clearly closerto the shape of measured curves, than the shape of curves provided by thestandard model. These differences can be utilised as a basis for anapproximate numerical method of assessing the geometric factor, which hastraditionally been a purely empirical parameter.
The results of the new numerical experiments agree with our older resultsfrom last year: the heterogeneity of the rock matrix has highly significantimpact on the diffusion. However, when interpreting the results, one mustnot neglect numerous limitations of the model, and hence, one should notattempt to overgeneralise the conclusions.