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An implicit dispersive transport algorithm for the US Geological Survey MOC3D solute-transport model

January 1, 1998

This report documents an extension to the U.S. Geological Survey MOC3D transport model that incorporates an implicit-in-time difference approximation for the dispersive transport equation, including source/sink terms. The original MOC3D transport model (Version 1) uses the method of characteristics to solve the transport equation on the basis of the velocity field. The original MOC3D solution algorithm incorporates particle tracking to represent advective processes and an explicit finite-difference formulation to calculate dispersive fluxes. The new implicit procedure eliminates several stability criteria required for the previous explicit formulation. This allows much larger transport time increments to be used in dispersion-dominated problems. The decoupling of advective and dispersive transport in MOC3D, however, is unchanged. With the implicit extension, the MOC3D model is upgraded to Version 2. A description of the numerical method of the implicit dispersion calculation, the data-input requirements and output options, and the results of simulator testing and evaluation are presented. Version 2 of MOC3D was evaluated for the same set of problems used for verification of Version 1. These test results indicate that the implicit calculation of Version 2 matches the accuracy of Version 1, yet is more efficient than the explicit calculation for transport problems that are characterized by a grid Peclet number less than about 1.0.

Publication Year 1998
Title An implicit dispersive transport algorithm for the US Geological Survey MOC3D solute-transport model
DOI 10.3133/wri984234
Authors K.L. Kipp, Leonard F. Konikow, G.Z. Hornberger
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Water-Resources Investigations Report
Series Number 98-4234
Index ID wri984234
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Toxic Substances Hydrology Program