Measuring transient water flow in unsaturated municipal solid waste - a new experimental approach

This research investigated transient water flow in unsaturated municipal solid waste (MSW) packed in columns using neutron scattering. The method developed was able to measure absolute moisture content and moisture variation in a sample of MSW produced in the city of Fortaleza (Brazil) during a simu...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Capelo Neto, José, Castro, Marco Aurélio Holanda de
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2007
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ufc.br:riufc/73549
Acceso en línea:http://www.repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/73549
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Transient water flow
Unsaturated municipal solid waste (MSW)
Moisture variation in a sample of MSW
Descripción
Sumario:This research investigated transient water flow in unsaturated municipal solid waste (MSW) packed in columns using neutron scattering. The method developed was able to measure absolute moisture content and moisture variation in a sample of MSW produced in the city of Fortaleza (Brazil) during a simulated tropical rain event. The technique was proven to be efficient, showing that channeling flow accounts for most of the unsaturated flow conditions. The most important effect of micro-porous flow was on water accumulation and small long-term outflow. Furthermore, the definition of field capacity used in soil sciences does not seem to apply to flow in unsaturated MSW; the MSW layers kept increasing in moisture content long after water was allowed through. Finally, the long-term draining experiment demonstrated that the macro-porous matrix may not be a continuous medium, which makes experimental procedures that rely on matrix potential in specific points of the solid waste mass inaccurate.