Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “FEASIBILITY STUDIES”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 523 records · Page 29
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Optimal economic dispatch policy for prosumer with energy storage considering self-consumption demand

This paper analyzed the effects of self-consumption demand on the joint economic dispatch of prosumers (energy consumers who are also producers), particularly for prosumers with both energy storage and distributed energy sources (DERs). Studies in the existing literature on the economic dispatch scheduling policy of energy storage, mostly from the perspective of electricity merchants, do not address the impacts of self-consumption demand. However, due to the intermittent and high levels of uncertainty regarding DERs generation and the dynamic demand of the prosumer, production and consumption are not always simultaneous; there are two possible scenarios in each period depending on whether DERs generation can meet prosumers' self-consumption or not. Incorporating the self-consumption demand will pose modeling challenges since these two scenarios cannot occur simultaneously in each period, and different scenarios require different decisions for prosumers. Further, this paper analyzed the two scenarios separately to find the optimal storage scheduling strategy, and the results were combined to get the optimal global solution. We focused on prosumers' economic decision-making while considering self-consumption demand and the physical constraints of a battery based on dynamic programming. Our study showed that the feasible state of charge (SOC) range of storage can be segmented into several sub-ranges by SOC reference points under the above two scenarios. As a result, a prosumer's optimal scheduling can be uniquely and conveniently selected based on the sub-ranges within which the current SOC falls. The results, therefore, provided multistage decision-making guidance for prosumers with energy storage.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tree-level carbon stock estimations across diverse species using multi-source remote sensing integration

Forests are critical carbon sinks, and remote sensing has been increasingly widely used for forest monitoring and biomass estimations. However, species-specific tree-level studies remain limited. In this study, we demonstrated the feasibility of integrating UAV-based LiDAR with high-resolution optical satellite imagery (0.5 m) to estimate biomass for individual trees across different species. The proposed method accurately estimated biomass for 53 trees (R² = 0.82, rRMSE = 0.44), with species-specific datasets, showing an average 25.2% increase in R² and a 14.8% reduction in rRMSE. A novel vegetation index combining forest structure parameters with vegetation indices (VIs) was developed using high-resolution multispectral satellite data (3 m) to explore its relationship with individual tree biomass. Combining forest structural parameters with VIs further improved estimation accuracy, achieving an R²of 0.89 and an rRMSE of 0.34. Species-specific datasets show an 11.6% increase in R²compared to methods without VIs, and a 22.2% improvement over methods using only VIs. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis shows that the volume feature played a key role in model performance and remained stable throughout the training process. Altogether, the proposed approach enhances individual tree biomass and carbon sink estimations, showing great potential for large-scale precise forest carbon monitoring using multi-source remote sensing data.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Toward the application of the Risk-Based Maintenance approach to a hydrogen-fueled manufacturing plant

Safety, reliability, and maintenance of hydrogen-based equipment, including Risk-Based Maintenance (RBM), have recently gained increasing attention, as hydrogen, while key to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, raises safety concerns. However, two literature gaps limit the development of risk-based strategies for hydrogen technologies. First, existing RBM methodologies do not account for hydrogen-specific components, such as electrolyzers, which differ from conventional equipment. Second, available studies on electrolyzer reliability remain largely qualitative or laboratory-scale. This study addresses these gaps by proposing an adapted RBM methodology tailored to hydrogen-fueled manufacturing facilities. Integrating qualitative tools (e.g., FMEA) with probabilistic models (e.g., Bayesian Networks) enables comprehensive hazardous scenarios identification and likelihood estimation. A conceptual layout of a glass furnace supplied by a 3 MW PEM electrolyzer is considered as a case study to demonstrate the feasibility of the adapted RBM framework in identifying high-risk components and enabling maintenance prioritization, potentially improving plant safety.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Acoustic focusing of microplastics in microfabricated and steel tube devices: An experimental study on the effects from particle size and medium density

The contamination of aquatic systems with microplastics is becoming a severe threat to living organisms. Microplastics found in the environment consist of a wide range of particle sizes thus give rise to several challenges to current purification methods. Acoustic focusing has been utilized as a particle concentrating method in biological and non-biological applications. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using acoustic focusing technology to isolate microplastics in aqueous samples and find that a two-stage mechanism is essential to concentrate microplastics of wide size ranges of the same material. We demonstrate for the first time experimentally that when the particle size is comparable to the resonance wavelength, they deviate from typical pressure nodal focusing and show pressure antinodal focusing. Further, we have expanded microplastics isolation beyond microfluidic systems and demonstrate their extraction capabilities relatively at higher flow rates using microplastics of polystyrene, polyethylene, and polymethyl methacrylate ranging from 6 µm to 300 µm diameter and in devices fabricated with cylindrical steel tubes. We could extract 70% of microplastics smaller than 180 µm and 82% of microplastics greater than 180 µm in diameter from an aqueous sample at a flow rate of 12 mL/min. In conclusion, we demonstrate that small microplastics focus on acoustic pressure nodes regardless of the medium density. However, focusing of large microplastics of the same material depends on the medium density.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluation of two inoculation routes of an adenovirus-mediated viral protein inhibitor in a Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever mouse model

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a tick-borne nairovirus with a wide geographic spread that can cause severe and lethal disease. No specific medical countermeasures are approved to combat this illness. The CCHFV L protein contains an ovarian tumor (OTU) domain with a cysteine protease thought to modulate cellular immune responses by removing ubiquitin and ISG15 post-translational modifications from host and viral proteins. Viral deubiquitinases like CCHFV OTU are attractive drug targets, as blocking their activity may enhance cellular immune responses to infection, and potentially inhibit viral replication itself. We previously demonstrated that the engineered ubiquitin variant CC4 is a potent inhibitor of CCHFV replication in vitro. A major challenge of the therapeutic use of small protein inhibitors such as CC4 is their requirement for intracellular delivery, e.g., by viral vectors. In this study, we examined the feasibility of in vivo CC4 delivery by a replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus (Ad-CC4) in a lethal CCHFV mouse model. Since the liver is a primary target of CCHFV infection, we aimed to optimize delivery to this organ by comparing intravenous (tail vein) and intraperitoneal injection of Ad-CC4. While tail vein injection is a traditional route for adenovirus delivery, in our hands intraperitoneal injection resulted in higher and more widespread levels of adenovirus genome in tissues, including, as intended, the liver. However, despite promising in vitro results, neither route of in vivo CC4 treatment resulted in protection from a lethal CCHFV infection.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Maximizing Marine Carbon Removal by Coupling Electrochemical and Biological Methods

Integrated development of emerging marine decarbonization strategies offers the possibility of lowering CO2 removal costs and enabling their widespread deployment. In this study we examine the feasibility and benefits of coupling electrochemical and biological marine carbon removal strategies. Bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BPMED) is used to generate acid and alkalinity from seawater and electricity, and the alkalinity is returned to the ocean for indirect CO2 removal from the atmosphere, but the acid stream is a waste product. Considering the large-scale of CO2 removal necessary, the acid storage, neutralization, and disposal have prohibitive costs and carbon footprint. Here we investigate the feasibility to valorize the acid stream to enhance the growth and CO2 uptake through photosynthesis in the fast-growing marine phytoplankter Picochlorum celeri. When added to active algae cultures, the BPMED-generated acidified seawater alters the carbonate-bicarbonate equilibrium thereby increasing the bioavailability of CO2 and the observed growth rates. Additions of up to 2 mM H+ from BPMED effluent streams increased algal productivity up to 3-fold. A high-level analysis conducted based on experimental data to estimate the potential of sequestered CO2 emissions when compared to conventional commercial means of acid utilization or disposal, is estimated to be ~30 kgCO2 / kgacid. Through further development and optimization in terms of choice of algal species, growth conditions, acid addition rates, etc. the combined electrochemical-biological approach has the potential to achieve higher net CO2 removal.

carbon dioxide, marine, marine algae↗
DOE OSTI2022

Heteroatom-Doped Flash Graphene

Heteroatom doping can effectively tailor the local structures and electronic states of intrinsic two-dimensional materials, and endow them with modified optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. Recent studies have shown the feasibility of preparing doped graphene from graphene oxide and its derivatives via some post-treatments, including solid-state and solvothermal methods, but they require reactive and harsh reagents. However, direct synthesis of various heteroatom-doped graphene in larger quantities and high purity through bottom-up methods remains challenging. Here, we report catalyst-free and solvent-free direct synthesis of graphene doped with various heteroatoms in bulk via flash Joule heating (FJH). Seven types of heteroatom-doped flash graphene (FG) are synthesized through millisecond flashing, including single-element-doped FG (boron, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur), two-element-co-doped FG (boron and nitrogen), as well as three-element-co-doped FG (boron, nitrogen, and sulfur). Here, a variety of low-cost dopants, such as elements, oxides, and organic compounds are used. The graphene quality of heteroatom-doped FG is high, and similar to intrinsic FG, the material exhibits turbostraticity, increased interlayer spacing, and superior dispersibility. Electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction of different heteroatom-doped FG is tested, and sulfur-doped FG shows the best performance. Lithium metal battery tests demonstrate that nitrogen-doped FG exhibits a smaller nucleation overpotential compared to Cu or undoped FG. The electrical energy cost for the synthesis of heteroatom-doped FG synthesis is only 1.2 to 10.7 kJ g –1 , which could render the FJH method suitable for low-cost mass production of heteroatom-doped graphene.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2026

Technoeconomic Analysis of a Novel Microwave Process to Produce Ethylene from Methane

Ethylene is a critical feedstock in industrial processes, serving as a raw material in the petrochemical industry to produce plastics and commodity chemicals. Conventional ethylene production routes are energy-intensive and contribute substantially to the carbon footprint of chemical manufacturing. In this study, an industrial-scale novel microwave process was simulated using ASPEN Plus to assess its economic viability. Technoeconomic analysis confirmed the economic competitiveness of the novel microwave process, with a levelized cost of ethylene of USD 0.51/kg compared to USD 0.56/kg for the conventional base case. Key economic drivers of the process were identified, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate their impact on project economics. Furthermore, 87.7% of the total utility consumption in the novel microwave process is electricity, highlighting its potential to contribute to the electrification of the chemical industry. The findings of this study confirm the economic feasibility of both industrial-scale microwave reactors and modular plant configurations for the production of ethylene from methane, offering a promising alternative to conventional processes.

electromagnetic radiation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Fracture Characterization Via AI‐Assisted Analysis of Temperature Logs

Abstract Fractures control fluid flow, mass transport, and heat transfer in a geothermal reservoir. This makes accurate characterization of fracture networks a prerequisite for optimal design and control of a reservoir's exploitation. We develop a deep‐learning procedure to identify fracture locations via interpretation of temporally and spatially continuous downhole temperature measurements. A long short‐term memory fully convolutional network (LSTM‐FCN) is used both to capture long‐term dependencies in sequential temperature data and to distill local features around fractures. A wellbore and fractured‐reservoir thermal model is established to generate temperature data for network training. The trained LSTM‐FCN exhibits a unique ability to detect multiple fractures intersecting a borehole. We use the LSTM‐FCN algorithm to evaluate the effectiveness of different‐stage wellbore temperature measurements on fracture detection in a complex fractured system. Our experiments reveal that the use of various‐stage temperature information as an input feature set improves the robustness of fracture detection to noise interference. This study indicates the practical feasibility of obtaining accurate fracture‐network reconstructions from temperature signals, at reasonable computational cost.

Yang, Xiaoyu↗
DOE OSTI2023

Topological superconductivity from forward phonon scatterings

Searching for topological superconductors with non-Abelian states has been attracting broad interest. The most commonly used recipe for building topological superconductors utilizes the proximity effect, which significantly limits the working temperature. Here, we propose a mechanism to attain topological superconductivity via forward phonon scatterings. Our crucial observation is that electron-phonon interactions with small momentum transfers favor spin-triplet Cooper pairing under an applied magnetic field. This process facilitates the formation of chiral topological superconductivity even without Rashba spin-orbit coupling. As a proof of concept, we propose an experimentally feasible heterostructure to systematically study the entangled relationship among forward-phonon scatterings, Rashba spin-orbit coupling, pairing symmetries, and the topological property of the superconducting state. This theory not only deepens our understanding of the superconductivity induced by the electron-phonon interaction but also sheds light on the critical role of the electron-phonon coupling in pursuing non-Abelian Majorana quasiparticles.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electron Weibel instability induced magnetic fields in optical-field ionized plasmas

Generation and amplification of magnetic fields in plasmas is a long-standing topic that is of great interest to both plasma and space physics. The electron Weibel instability is a well-known mechanism responsible for self-generating magnetic fields in plasmas with temperature anisotropy and has been extensively investigated in both theory and simulations, yet experimental verification of this instability has been challenging. Recently, we demonstrated a new experimental platform that enables controlled initialization of highly nonthermal and/or anisotropic plasma electron velocity distributions via optical-field ionization. Using an external electron probe bunch from a linear accelerator, the onset, saturation, and decay of the self-generated magnetic fields due to electron Weibel instability were measured for the first time to our knowledge. In this paper, we will first present experimental results on time-resolved measurements of the Weibel magnetic fields in non-relativistic plasmas produced by Ti:Sapphire laser pulses (0.8 μm) and then discuss the feasibility of extending the study to a quasi-relativistic regime by using intense CO 2 (e.g., 9.2 μm) lasers to produce much hotter plasmas.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Laser heating of ferroelectric cubes for tunable electromagnetic properties in metamaterials

In this experimental study, we demonstrate the feasibility of a thermally tunable, resonant dielectric microwave metasurface based on sub-wavelength Mie resonances of ferroelectric dielectric cubes (Calcium titanate, CaTiO 3 ) in which the temperature of the meta-atoms can be locally and dynamically controlled by heating with an optical laser beam over a large range of temperatures and, consequently, values of the dielectric constant of the cube and corresponding resonance frequency of the meta-atoms. Further, this avoids any interference of otherwise necessary heating elements or power supply wires with the propagation of the microwave signal and can be made spatially addressable. The concept scales at least to the THz domain. This contactless approach opens up an alternative avenue to tunability and active control of metamaterials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

RANGE: A robust adaptive nature-inspired global explorer of potential energy surfaces

With the growing demand for realistic representations of chemical structures and the advent of exascale computing, the intelligent sampling of potential energy surfaces and efficient identification of global minima have become more essential but also more feasible. Building on prior studies demonstrating the efficiency of the Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) swarm intelligence algorithm, we report a hybrid metaheuristic framework that integrates the adaptive exploration capabilities of ABC coupled with the exploitation strengths of genetic algorithms (GA) in a scalable, Python-based implementation. The resulting tool, RANGE (Robust Adaptive Nature-inspired Global Explorer), provides seamless interfaces to multiple potential energy evaluators, either directly or via widely used Python libraries, and is designed for high-performance computing environments. We describe the implementation details of RANGE and evaluate its performance, relative to ABC- or GA-alone based algorithms, on a variety of chemical systems, including molecular clusters and heterogeneous surfaces. In conclusion, our results demonstrate RANGE’s efficiency, robustness, and broad applicability in addressing challenging global optimization problems in computational chemistry and materials science.

Algorithms and data structure↗
DOE OSTI2020

Visualizing a viral genome with contrast variation small angle X-ray scattering

Despite the threat to human health posed by some single-stranded RNA viruses, little is understood about their assembly. The goal of this work is to introduce a new tool for watching an RNA genome direct its own packaging and encapsidation by proteins. Contrast variation small-angle X-ray scattering (CV-SAXS) is a powerful tool with the potential to monitor the changing structure of a viral RNA through this assembly process. The proteins, though present, do not contribute to the measured signal. As a first step in assessing the feasibility of viral genome studies, the structure of encapsidated MS2 RNA was exclusively detected with CV-SAXS and compared with a structure derived from asymmetric cryo-EM reconstructions. Additional comparisons with free RNA highlight the significant structural rearrangements induced by capsid proteins and invite the application of time-resolved CV-SAXS to reveal interactions that result in efficient viral assembly.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

PpIX‐enabled fluorescence‐based detection and photodynamic priming of platinum‐resistant ovarian cancer cells under fluid shear stress

Over 75% percent of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed with advanced-stage disease characterized by unresectable intraperitoneal dissemination and the presence of ascites, or excessive fluid build-up within the abdomen. Conventional treatments include cytoreductive surgery followed by multi-line platinum and taxane chemotherapy regimens. Despite an initial response to treatment, over 75% of patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer will relapse and succumb to platinum-resistant disease. Recent evidence suggests that fluid shear stress (FSS), which results from the movement of fluid such as ascites, induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and confers resistance to carboplatin in ovarian cancer cells. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that FSS-induced platinum resistance correlates with increased cellular protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), the penultimate downstream product of heme biosynthesis, the production of which can be enhanced using the clinically approved pro-drug aminolevulinic acid (ALA). These data suggest that, with further investigation, PpIX could serve as a fluorescence-based biomarker of FSS-induced platinum resistance. Additionally, this study investigates the efficacy of PpIX-enabled photodynamic therapy (PDT) and the secretion of extracellular vesicles under static and FSS conditions in Caov-3 and NIH:OVCAR-3 cells, two representative cell lines for high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), the most lethal form of the disease. FSS induces resistance to ALA-PpIX-mediated PDT, along with a significant increase in the number of EVs. Finally, the ability of PpIX-mediated photodynamic priming (PDP) to enhance carboplatin efficacy under FSS conditions is quantified. These preliminary findings in monolayer cultures necessitate additional studies to determine the feasibility of PpIX as a fluorescence-based indicator, and mediator of PDP, to target chemoresistance in the context of FSS.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Molecular Imaging of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 in Atherosclerosis Using a Smart Multifunctional PET/MRI Nanoparticle

Matrix metalloproteinases from macrophages are important intraplaque components that play pivotal roles in plaque progression and regression. This study sought to develop a novel multifunctional positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents based on MMP-2 cleavable nanoparticles to noninvasive assessment of MMP-2 activity in mouse carotid atherosclerotic plaques. Macrophage-rich vascular lesions were induced by carotid ligation plus high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced diabetes in CL57/BL6 mice. To render iron oxide nanoparticles (IONP) specific for the extracellular MMP-2, the magnetic nanoparticle base material has been derivatized with 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetic acid (NOTA) for the nuclear tracer 64 Cu labeling and the MMP-2-cleavable peptide modified with polyethylene glycol 2000, yielding a multi-modality reporter ( 64 Cu-NOTA-IONP@MMP2c-PEG2K, MMP2cNPs) for PET/MR imaging. Small animal PET imaging and biodistribution data revealed that MMP2cNPs exhibited remarkable plaque uptake (3.06 ± 0.87% ID/g and 1.83 ± 0.28% ID/g at 4 and 12 h, respectively). And MMP2cNPs were rapidly cleared from the contralateral normal carotid artery, resulting in excellent plaque-to-normal carotid artery contrasts. Furthermore, in vivo MRI showed a preferential accumulation of MMP2cNPs in atherosclerotic lesions compared with the non-cleavable reference compound, MMP2ncNPs. In addition, histological analyses revealed iron accumulations in the carotid atherosclerotic plaque, in colocalization with MMP-2 expression and macrophages. Using a combination of innovative imaging modalities, in this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of applying the novel smart MMP2cNPs as a PET/MR hybrid imaging contrast agent for detection of MMP-2 in atherosclerotic plaque in vivo.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multiclass classification experiments

We seek a multiclass classifier that can satisfy the following requirements. 1. Predict among at least three classes. 2. Handle a moderately large number of correlated predictors. 3. Handle mixed categorical and continuous predictors. 4. Handle missing values (in some way). 5. Be trained with about n = 1,000 responses, and 6. Quantify prediction uncertainty. Based on 5. above, it is assumed that accuracy of prediction is paramount (relative to, say, runtime). All methods considered in this document take on the order of minutes (most take seconds) on a 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB RAM. Secondly, quantification of uncertainty is assumed to be a secondary task, since, with this small data size, resampling methods (i.e. bootstrapping) are possible. Further studies should quantify the feasibility and accuracy of resampling methods, and/or other methods, for quantifying uncertainty. R was used for all software.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluation of Electrical Resistivity Tomography to Monitor the Transport of Past Releases Beneath Tank Farms

Underground storage tanks at the Hanford Site, in southeastern Washington State, hold radioactive waste generated from four decades of plutonium production. The 149 single-shell tanks and the 28 double-shell tanks have all exceeded their initial design life of approximately 25 years. At least 67 tanks are assumed to have leaked in the past, resulting in radioactive releases into the vadose zone. Gamma ray logging within dry monitoring wells is currently the primary method for tracking the migration of leaked tank waste through the vadose zone. While this approach provides an accurate assessment of radioactive contamination, that information is only provided near (within ~1m) the borehole, leaving most of the vadose zone unmonitored, particularly the important region directly beneath the tank. This report describes a numerical study that investigates the feasibility and performance of time-lapse 3D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) for long-term monitoring of a hypothetical tank waste location and migration through the vadose zone. ERT is a method of remotely imaging the bulk electrical conductivity (EC) of the subsurface, which is significantly impacted by the presence of conductive solid and liquid tank waste. The release of liquid tank wastes increases subsurface fluid conductivity and saturation over time, creating a target to use time-lapse ERT for long-term monitoring. Although the presence of metallic infrastructure can cause ERT interference, recent advancements in ERT data processing enable the deleterious effects of buried metallic infrastructure (e.g. pipes, wellbore casings, tanks) to be removed to better determine the liquid tank waste migration over time. Three hypothetical realistic scenarios were simulated in the ERT evaluation. The first two scenarios assume the same leak amount and rate (i.e., between 1/1/1951 and 12/31/1951 at the rate of 347 m 3 per year) but different leaky tanks. Scenario 1 assumes leaks under tank B-102, which is located on the edge of the B-tank farm and surrounded by a few metallic infrastructure including cased pipes/wells/tanks. Scenario 2 assumes leaks under tank B-108, which is located near the center of the B-tank farm and surrounded by larger amount of metallic infrastructure than B-102. Scenario 3 assumes the same metallic infrastructure as B-102, with a more recent contaminant leak that was simulated to have occurred between 1/1/2018 and 12/31/2023 at a rate of 1.89 m 3 per year. The leak time in Scenarios 1 and 2 corresponds to a historical overfill event in 1951 and Scenario 3 corresponds to a recent found tank leak in 2019. In each scenario, a “true” bulk EC model vs. time reflecting contaminant migration was generated. ERT data was simulated from these “true” bulk EC models and a time-lapse ERT inversion produced “imaged” bulk EC vs. time. Three electrode configurations in two, four and eight boreholes surrounding the leak tank were used in the ERT simulations in each scenario. These borehole configurations were considered logistically feasible and cost-effective for monitoring. The hypothetical ERT boreholes are assumed to have non-metallic casing. By comparing the “imaged” bulk EC with the “true” bulk EC, it was demonstrated that the three configurations of wells used (two, four, and eight wells) were able to successfully monitor the migration of tank leaks through the vadose zone, with bulk EC resolution increasing with the number of down borehole ERT arrays for all scenarios. Therefore, the use of eight boreholes to perform ERT monitoring beneath the tanks provided the best spatiotemporal information.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗