UnSat Suite Plus

UnSat Suite Plus

Simulation of Migration of Water and Contaminants trough the Vadose Zone

  • Graphical User Interface for the simulation of the unsaturated zone
  • One-dimensional contaminant transport and groundwater flow modeling codes
  • SESOIL, PESTAN, VS2DT, VLEACH, HELP modules are integrated in the software

 

Overview

UnSat Suite Plus uses an advanced graphical environment designed to simulate one-dimensional contaminant transport and groundwater flow through unsaturated zones. This one dimensional model simulates the downward vertical flow of groundwater and migration of dissolved contaminants in the groundwater through a thin column of soil.

The UnSat Suite Plus interface allows you to quickly and easily create a one-dimensional unsaturated zone model using the simulation code that best suits your site conditions. It uses software engineering techniques to integrate the existing technologies in unsaturated zone modeling and to introduce many new methods for visualizing and managing your projects, generating input data, presenting modeling results, and sharing data between models.

The Models

SESOIL

  • EPA screening tool in performing exposure assessments and for analyzing and prioritizing chemical exposures at contaminated sites
  • Applied in Risk Assessments for estimating the potential impacts of surface spills on uderlying aquifers.
  • 1-D compartment balance model. Simulates leaching in a soil polygon.
  • The contaminant may be present in the soil as initial condition and may be introduced or removed from any layer at any time during the simulation.
  • The total mass of contaminant within each cell is partitioned among three phases: liquid (dissolved in water), vapor, and sorbed to solid surfaces.
  • Surface Processes: weather boundary condition -> WHI Weather Generator, surface runoff, soil erosion, pollutant washload
  • Subsurface Processes: variable flow as function of average moisture content, advective transport through the soil affected by sorption, volatilization, degradation, cation exchane, hydrolysis and metal complexation

VLEACH

  • One-dimensional finite difference model
  • Estimates the impact due to the mobilization and migration of a sorbed organic contaminant located in the vadose zone on the underlying groundwater resource
  • Describes movement of organic contaminants within and between three different phases: (1) as a solute dissolved in water, (2) as a gas in the vapor phase, and (3) as an adsorbed compound in the solid phase
  • It takes into account horizontal hetrogeneity, but is limited in simulating vertical heterogeneity
  • It models linear adsorption, but does not model dispersion and decay

PESTAN

  • Originally developed for the US EPA Office of Pesticides Program for initial screening assessments to evaluate potential for groundwater contamination by currently registered pesticides
  • One dimensional simulation of transport of dissolved pollutants through the vadose zone as a „slug" of contaminated water that migrates into homegeneous soil
  • Homogeneous soil conditions, steady-state conditions with rerspect to groundwater flow
  • Takes into account linear sorption, dispersion and first-order decay (both for dissolved and sorbed contaminants)

VS2DT

  • Uses the finite diferences method for cross-sectional, variably saturated flow & transport in porous media.
  • Multilayer hetrogeneous profile model with option for anisotropy
  • It models advective contaminant transport with dispersion, decay and ion exchange
  • It includes a database of soil materials

HELP

  • Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance; testing effectiveness of landfill designs => may predict failure resulting in g/w contamination
  • Multilayered profile model as a combination of natural soils and artificial materials
  • Quasi-two-dimensional model
  • Numerical solution techniques accounting for: surface storage, snowmelt, runoff, infiltration, evapotranspiration, vegetative growth, soil moisture storage, lateral subsurface drainage, leachate recirculation, unsaturated vertical drainage, or leakage through soil, geomembrane, or composite liners
  • Built-in Databases and Tools: (1) Weather Generator -> synthetic generation for max. 100 years of daily values of precip., temp. and solar radiation, (2) Soil, waste and geomembrane database with params. for 42 materials
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Features

Unified Modeling Environment
Interface design accommodates the specialized features and analysis capabilities of each model while maintaining a consistent look and feel for each data set.

New Project Wizard
Guides you through the process of setting up a model data set for any of the available programs.

Input Data
The Project Data Tree allows you to quickly view and modify the profile data structure for each model profile, or to easily duplicate the model data files for performing sensitivity analyses.

Graphical Display
The profile display shows the geometry, dimensions, layer structure and stratigraphy of the model profile.

Database Links
A customizable database of soil and chemical parameters is linked to the various input forms for automatic entry of selected property values.

SWS Weather Generator
The built-in Weather Generator generates up to 100 years of statistically reliable weather data to use as input for either SESOIL or Visual HELP.

Seamless Integration
Create the model profile(s), run the simulation(s), visualize the results, and create the report documents; all in the same graphical modeling environment.

Presentation of Results
The UnSat Suite comes with a powerful graphical component for visualizing the simulation results for any of the models.

Data Sharing
Export data from Unsat Suite unsaturated zone modeling results to use as flow and transport boundary condition data in saturated zone groundwater models such as Visual MODFLOW.

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Product Matrix

UnSat Suite Plus is available in the following software configurations:

 UnSat Suite PlusUnSat SuiteVisual HELP
SESOIL check check
VLEACH check check
PESTAN check check
VS2DT check check
HELP check check

System Requirements

UnSat Suite Plus requires the following minimum system configuration:

  • PC Pentium
  • 32 Mb RAM
  • 25 Mb free disk space
  • VGA display and mouse
  • Windows 2000/XP