DNAPL migration through a fractured perching layer

The migration of a DNAPL (TCA) was demonstrated by a laboratory flow visualization experiment. The system consists of two unconfined aquifers separated by a siltstone perching layer containing a single fracture that conducts water flow downward. The TCA migrated along a tortuous path in the upper sandy aquifer and moved rapidly through the fracture. We observed no DNAPL pooling above the fracture prior to its entry into the fracture, in contrast to existing mathematical solutions of hydrostatic initial conditions and full saturation below the fracture. A multiphase flow model predicted the experimentally observed mean behavior