Groundwater Flow Simulation Model
Faculty Mentor
Chad Pritchard
Document Type
Interactive Presentation
Start Date
10-5-2023 9:00 AM
End Date
10-5-2023 10:45 AM
Location
PUB NCR
Department
Geology
Abstract
This interactive presentation will display and operate a groundwater flow simulation model. This model was designed and built to be used as an interactive visual teaching aid for use by professors in conjunction with related subjects. Almost all groundwater models available to educators can fit in an oversized briefcase, and this can oftentime lead to students having difficulty clearly seeing the processes at work within the model, especially when many students attempt to gather around for viewing. This combined with the drawback of current models being manually operated via gravity draining for flow and a hand pump to produce vacuum created an opportunity to analyze and improve upon the current "industry standard" groundwater model. With the intention that this project be used as a teaching aid for the foreseeable future, safety and ease of use were of the utmost importance during the design phase. Because of this, the final design of this project presents a roughly 50% larger model that mounts to a linear actuation system contained inside a storage cabinet that doubles as a display stand for when in use. Unlike current gravity-fed models, this project will utilize an electric water pump and reservoir to provide continuous water flow and recirculation. The use of a hand vacuum pump has also been circumvented by utilizing a venturi tube to provide an on-demand vacuum to multiple locations within the model at any given time. This interactive presentation will showcase various design improvements in comparison to current groundwater models while presenting an accurate simulation of groundwater flow in a clear and concise manner.
Recommended Citation
Morris, Seth, "Groundwater Flow Simulation Model" (2023). 2023 Symposium. 40.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2023/res_2023/p1_2023/40
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Groundwater Flow Simulation Model
PUB NCR
This interactive presentation will display and operate a groundwater flow simulation model. This model was designed and built to be used as an interactive visual teaching aid for use by professors in conjunction with related subjects. Almost all groundwater models available to educators can fit in an oversized briefcase, and this can oftentime lead to students having difficulty clearly seeing the processes at work within the model, especially when many students attempt to gather around for viewing. This combined with the drawback of current models being manually operated via gravity draining for flow and a hand pump to produce vacuum created an opportunity to analyze and improve upon the current "industry standard" groundwater model. With the intention that this project be used as a teaching aid for the foreseeable future, safety and ease of use were of the utmost importance during the design phase. Because of this, the final design of this project presents a roughly 50% larger model that mounts to a linear actuation system contained inside a storage cabinet that doubles as a display stand for when in use. Unlike current gravity-fed models, this project will utilize an electric water pump and reservoir to provide continuous water flow and recirculation. The use of a hand vacuum pump has also been circumvented by utilizing a venturi tube to provide an on-demand vacuum to multiple locations within the model at any given time. This interactive presentation will showcase various design improvements in comparison to current groundwater models while presenting an accurate simulation of groundwater flow in a clear and concise manner.
