Comparing Pipes and Aquifers

Aquifer and Pipe pathways are both intended to represent a feature that essentially behaves as a fluid conduit. They provide a way to simulate processes such as vertical transport through an unsaturated (vadose) zone or horizontal transport in aquifers, rivers, channels and pipelines.

Under what circumstances should one pathway be used instead of the other? Some general rules are provided below:

• If solubility limits are being approached within the pathway, you should use an Aquifer.

• If the pathway (or solute) properties, including flow rates, are changing significantly over the simulation, you should use an Aquifer.

• If you need to simulate processes that occur in fractured rock masses, such as matrix diffusion, you should use a Pipe.

If none of the above conditions occur, then either a Pipe or an Aquifer could be used.