Considerations of a nonhomogeneous fluid in the deep groundwater flow system at Hanford

This report presents such a general theory capable of describing the flow on nonhomogeneous fluids in porous media, theory that is a composite from several disciplines including groundwater hydrology, soil physics, civil engineering, petroleum reservoir engineering, mechanics, and mathematical physics. The report discussed the conceptual basis for considering the flow of nonhomogeneous fluids. From this conceptual basis emphasis shifts to providing complete definitions and then appropriately describing those definitions in mathematical terms. Throughout the report, the necessary assumptions are stated in detail because the limitations of any theory are best assessed through careful scrutiny of the assumptions. From the mathematical definitions with appropriate functional dependence the results and constraints needed are derived to provide the general theory necessary to describe the flow of nonhomogeneous fluids in porous media. Particular attention is given to comparing the general theory with the classical theory of flow for a homogeneous fluid. Such comparison provides significant insight to the effects of variable fluid properties on subsurface flow systems. The comparisons also indicate the importance of carefully formulating subsurface flow models within the more general theoretical framework describing the flow of nonhomogeneous fluids in porous media. 29 refs.; 6 figs.; 1 tab