Speaker
Description
To address escalating water shortages and the necessity for resilient urban infrastructure, this research explores a novel hybrid green roof system designed for decentralized circular water management. The system, experimentally tested by Petreje et al. (2023), combines a rooftop constructed wetland with a semi-intensive two-layer green roof, functioning as a nature-based solution for the onsite treatment and reuse of greywater/wastewater.
The complexity of modeling flow through these engineered, heterogeneous porous media is addressed through the development of a digital twin using the HYDRUS-2D software environment. Richards’ equation is used to simulate variably saturated water flow and the advection–dispersion equation to model Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) transport with first-order degradation kinetics. The model is being calibrated and validated using experimental data from a testbed incorporating high-resolution irrigation schedules, local climate conditions, and measured inflow/outflow data to ensure the model accurately reflects physical system behavior. To evaluate modeling uncertainties and sensitivity to selected van Genuchten parameters, Latin Hypercube Sampling was used to discretize parameters.
The simulation results confirmed a strong alignment with the observed behavior of the physical system, providing detailed insights into how water moves through the internal structure. Interestingly, the model revealed that the majority of the flow is captured and transported by the green roof’s bottom mineral wool layer, which acts as the primary hydraulic pathway. Understanding this internal behavior is a key step toward optimizing the system's design.
Building on these findings, we aim to use the model as a decision-support tool to test how the system holds up under different real-world stresses. This ongoing work involves running scenario-based simulations to explore various system configurations and irrigation strategies, aiming to put the system to the test across different climatic conditions, ranging from temperate to semi-arid.
| References | Marek Petreje, Michal Sněhota, Tomáš Chorazy, Michal Novotný, Barbora Rybová, Petra Hečková, Performance study of an innovative concept of hybrid constructed wetland-extensive green roof with growing media amended with recycled materials, Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 331, 2023, 117151, ISSN 0301-4797, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117151. |
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| Country | Czechia |
| Green Housing & Porous Media Focused Abstracts | This abstract is related to Green Housing |
| Student Awards | I would like to submit this presentation into the Earth Energy Science (EES) and Capillarity Student Poster Awards. |
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