Important Note: This interactive tool is designed for educational use.
Interactive models for groundwater flow and contaminant transport have been developed at the University of Illinois over the past 25 years. Most of the models are available as Java Applets. There are two ways to run the Applets: (1) open on Chrome or Edge browser after installing the CheerPJ applet runner extension; (2) download applet as a jar file and run on your local computer after installing the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Click on the Go To Interactive Tool Button for further information.
The models were developed as tools for use in undergraduate and graduate courses in groundwater hydrology and contaminant transport. The user can display contaminant breakthrough curves and spatial profiles, and multiple plots can be viewed to study the effect of changing parameter values and conditions. Each model has a tutorial about the user interface and the model theory. A brief summary of the models is shown below.
1D Non-reactive and Reactive Solute Transport
Equilibrium and Kinetic Sorption with Solute Decay – These models simulate 1D flow and dispersion with pulse or continuous input of contaminant; options include first-order decay and sorption/desorption reactions
Multiple Solutes, Equilibrium Sorption with Sequential Decay – These models simulate pulse injection of a contaminant with chain decay reactions that create daughter solutes
Multidimensional Non-reactive and Reactive Solute Transport
Contaminant transport from a constant source with 1D flow and 2D or 3D dispersion. Options include first-order decay and equilibrium sorption.
Interactive Groundwater Flow Model to study groundwater-streamflow interactions and impact of pumping
This application is NOT a Java applet. A MODFLOW model runs remotely as a web application. The model simulates a 2D unconfined aquifer connected to a river. Users can interact with the model through a web browser to add pumping wells and make other changes.
2D Steady Flow in Homogeneous Aquifers with Particle Tracking
This model simulates steady flow in a homogeneous aquifer with uniform flow. The user can place injection and extraction wells, adjust the pumping rates, and visualize flowlines.
Generation of 2D Log Normal Spatially Correlated Heterogeneous Hydraulic Conductivity Field
This application generates a realization of a random 2D field of hydraulic conductivity with spatial correlation. The user can change statistical parameters, and plot results in order to study how uncertainty affects the spatial patterns of hydraulic conductivity.
Citation: A. J. Valocchi ([email protected]), C. J. Werth ([email protected]), J. J. Decker, G. Hammond, P. Zhou, M. Hafiz, M. G. Chen. Supported by Provost’s Initiative on Teaching Advancement ( University of Illinois Educational Technologies Board), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National Science Foundation.