Dual‐gamma attenuation for the determination of porous medium saturation with respect to three fluids

Abstract

A dual‐gamma attenuation technique may be applied to the laboratory determination of the degree of saturation with respect to three immiscible fluids in a porous medium whose bulk density is independent of time. A proposed calibration technique uses samples of the medium containing only two of the fluids at one time and does not require spatial uniformity of porosity or of fluid contents within the sample. Given gamma attenuation data, the system parameters so obtained allow calculation of fluid contents in three‐fluid samples. An experimental application of the technique in which the relative saturations of water, trichloroethylene, and air in a sand were measured demonstrates its potential for use in laboratory studies relevant to the transport of separate phase organic contaminants in groundwater.