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The

Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill


Performance (HELP) Model
User’s Guide for HELP-D (Version 3.95 D)

Klaus Berger 1 & Paul R. Schroeder 2


1 Institute of Soil Science, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
2Environmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment
Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180-6199, USA

6th, revised edition for version HELP 3.95 D

2013

Institute of Soil Science, University of Hamburg, Germany


Disclaimer
This User’s Guide is a completely revised edition of the User’s Guide for HELP version 3.0x
SCHROEDER, P. R., AZIZ, N. M., LLOYD, C. M. & ZAPPI, P. A.; 1994a:
The Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) Model: User’s Guide
for Version 3. EPA/600/9-94/168a, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Risk
Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
which has been adapted to HELP 3.95 D. The information in the User’s Guide for HELP 3.0x
has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
under Interagency Agreement No. DW21931425 to the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways
Experiment Station.

The adaptation HELP 3.07 D (1998) of the HELP model for the use in Germany and the
translation of the User’s Guide into German were funded by the German “Bundesministerium
für Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie” under the support code 1471038.
The User’s Guide was translated into German by Klaus Berger, Tamara Tödter, and Mathias
Boysen. The HELP model was adapted for use in Germany by Klaus Berger. The enhance-
ments of the HELP model from version HELP 3.50 D including the revisions of the German
user’s guide were accomplished by Dr. Klaus Berger at the Institute of Soil Science,
University of Hamburg, Germany.
The enhancements of the HELP model and the revision of this User’s Guide were
accomplished very carefully. However, errors cannot be excluded. There is no warranty for
the correctness or completeness of this User’s Guide and any other documents of the HELP
model and for the suitability of the HELP model for applications of any kind. Neither the
University of Hamburg nor the persons who accomplished the revision and enhancements are
responsible for loss or damages of any kind that may possibly follow from the application of
the HELP program or the documents.

Trade marks and trade names are the property of their respective holders. Mention of trade
names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
Contents 3

Contents
Disclaimer .................................................................................................................................. 2
Contents ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Figures ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Tables ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Foreword .................................................................................................................................... 7
Foreword of the User’s Guide of HELP 3 (USA) ...................................................................... 9
Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 10

1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 11
1.1 Purpose and Structure of the User’s Guide ........................................................ 11
1.2 Background and History of the HELP Model .................................................... 12
2 Basic Landfill Design Concepts ...................................................................... 15
2.1 Background ........................................................................................................ 15
2.2 Leachate Production ........................................................................................... 15
2.3 Design for Leachate Control .............................................................................. 16
3 Input Data and Input Options ........................................................................ 19
3.1 Data to Calculate Evapotranspiration ................................................................ 19
3.1.1 Default Evapotranspiration Option .................................................................... 19
3.1.2 Manual Option.................................................................................................... 21
3.1.3 Import from a Visual HELP File ........................................................................ 23
3.2 Daily Weather Data ............................................................................................ 23
3.2.1 Precipitation Data (Daily Depths) ...................................................................... 23
3.2.1.1 Synthetic Precipitation Option (Weather Generator) ..................................... 23
3.2.1.2 Import of Precipitation Data from a File of the German Weather Service..... 25
3.2.1.3 Import from Text Files ................................................................................... 25
3.2.1.4 Create/Edit Precipitation Option .................................................................... 25
3.2.1.5 Import from a Visual HELP File .................................................................... 26
3.2.2 Air Temperature Data (Daily Means) ................................................................ 26
3.2.2.1 Synthetic Temperature Option (Weather Generator) ..................................... 26
3.2.2.2 Import of Air Temperature Data from a File of the German Weather
Service ............................................................................................................ 27
3.2.2.3 Import from Text Files ................................................................................... 27
3.2.2.4 Create/Edit Air Temperature Option .............................................................. 27
3.2.2.5 Import from a Visual HELP File .................................................................... 27
4 Contents

3.2.3 Solar Radiation Data (Daily Sums) .................................................................... 27


3.2.3.1 Synthetic Solar Radiation Option (Weather Generator) ................................. 27
3.2.3.2 Import of Solar Radiation Data from a File of the German Weather
Service DWD (Old Format) ........................................................................... 28
3.2.3.3 Import from Text Files ................................................................................... 28
3.2.3.4 Create/Edit Solar Radiation Option ................................................................ 28
3.2.3.5 Import from a Visual HELP File .................................................................... 28
3.3 Soil and Design Data.......................................................................................... 29
3.3.1 Overview of Soil and Design Data ..................................................................... 29
3.3.2 Landfill General Information ............................................................................. 30
3.3.3 Landfill Profile and Layer Descriptions ............................................................. 31
3.3.4 Soil Characteristics ............................................................................................. 34
3.3.4.1 Default Soil and Material Characteristics ....................................................... 34
3.3.4.2 Manual Input................................................................................................... 36
3.3.5 Lateral Drainage Layer Characteristics .............................................................. 38
3.3.6 Geomembrane Characteristics............................................................................ 38
3.3.7 Runoff Curve Number Information.................................................................... 40
3.4 Validity Ranges of Input Data ........................................................................... 42
4 The Modeling Procedure and its Limitations ................................................ 43
4.1 Overview of Modeling Procedure ...................................................................... 43
4.2 Assumptions and Limitations............................................................................. 44
5 Program Use ..................................................................................................... 47
5.1 Introduction and General Notes ......................................................................... 47
5.2 Main Menu ......................................................................................................... 48
5.3 The Project Manager .......................................................................................... 49
5.4 Data Input ........................................................................................................... 49
5.4.1 Region ................................................................................................................ 49
5.4.2 Daily Weather Data of Precipitation, Air Temperature and Solar Radiation..... 50
5.4.2.1 Synthetic Generation with the Weather Generator ......................................... 50
5.4.2.2 Import from DWD-Files (German Weather Service) ..................................... 51
5.4.2.3 Import from Text File(s) ................................................................................. 51
5.4.2.4 Manual Input of Weather Data (Create New and Open File & Edit) ............. 52
5.4.3 Soil and Design Data .......................................................................................... 53
5.5 Simulation .......................................................................................................... 54
5.5.1 Overview ............................................................................................................ 54
5.5.2 Input of Simulation Control Data of a Simulation Run ..................................... 55
5.5.3 Modification of Vegetation Properties and/or Soil and Design Data within
a Simulation Run................................................................................................ 56
Contents 5

5.6 Simulation Results ............................................................................................. 58


5.7 Configuration ..................................................................................................... 65

6 Appendix ........................................................................................................... 67
6.1 Required Units of Input Data ............................................................................. 67
6.2 Input and Output Files........................................................................................ 68
6.3 Literature (HELP 3 USA) .................................................................................. 69
6.4 Literature (Complement for HELP-D) ............................................................... 71
6.5 Bibliography (HELP 3 USA) ............................................................................. 72
6.6 Index................................................................................................................... 73
6 Figures, Tables

Figures
Figure 1 Schematic of Landfill Profile Illustrating Typical Landfill Features .................... 17
Figure 2 Valid Layer Type Sequences of Subprofiles ......................................................... 33
Figure 3 Relation between SCS Curve Number and Default US Soil Texture Number
for Various Levels of Vegetation .......................................................................... 41

Tables
Table 1 Cities in the Region U.S.A. with Evapotranspiration Parameters and Synthetic
Temperature and Solar Radiation Parameters ....................................................... 19
Table 2 Typical Values of the Maximum Leaf Area Index................................................ 22
Table 3 Cities in the Region U.S.A. with Synthetic Precipitation Parameters ................... 24
Table 4 Default Soil, Waste, and Geosynthetic Characteristics ......................................... 35
Table 5 Validity Ranges of Input Data ............................................................................... 42
Table 6 Structure of the Summary Output Files (.OUT) (Model Version HELP 3.9x D) . 59
Table 7 Structure of the Daily Output Files (.DAY) .......................................................... 63
Table 8 Structure of the Monthly Output Files (.MON) ..................................................... 63
Table 9 Structure of the Yearly Output Files (.YR) .......................................................... 64
Table 10 Structure of the Summary Output Files (.OUT) (Model Version HELP 3.07)..... 65
Foreword 7

Foreword
This User’s Guide is a completely revised edition of the User’s Guide for HELP version 3.0x
(USA) (SCHROEDER, P. R., AZIZ, N. M., LLOYD, C. M. & ZAPPI, P. A.; 1994a: The Hydrologic
Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) Model: User’s Guide for Version 3. EPA/600/9-
94/168a, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory,
Cincinnati, OH) which has been adapted to HELP 3.95 D. The revision of the User’s Guide
and the enhancements of the HELP model were accomplished by Klaus Berger from the
Institute of Soil Science, University of Hamburg, Germany.

The following lists summarize the modifications of HELP 3.95 D compared to HELP 3.80 D.

Modifications of HELP 3.95 D Compared to HELP 3.90 D

1. In the Windows user interface context sensitive help texts were added.
2. A project manager was added to the user interface which gives an overview of the
simulation runs in a chosen folder.
3. Optionally simulations may be executed with the current original model version HELP
3.07. This version has been newly recompiled to be executable also under 64-bit
versions of Windows. Necessary adaptations refer to technical issues like the maxi-
mum length of file names, but not to the model itself, see the included source code.
4. Optionally the weather generator may be executed in the original version without the
modifications mentioned below on page 7 under 4 and 5.
5. Basic settings of the user interface may be stored in a configuration file which is read
in at every start of HELP 3.95 D.
6. There are some minor improvements of the user interface, especially concerning the
manual input of daily weather data and of soil and design data.
7. All Fortran programs (i.e. the model versions HELP 3.95 D and HELP 3.07, and the
weather generator, respectively) were recompiled with a new Fortran compiler (Intel
Visual Fortran 12).
8. The model HELP 3.95 D itself has remained unchanged compared to HELP 3.90 D.

Modifications of HELP 3.90 D Compared to HELP 3.80 D

1. The DOS user interface of HELP 3.80 D was replaced by a Windows user interface
which is also executable under the 64-bit versions of Windows.
2. The HELP model was technically adapted to the Windows user interface; in particular
path and file names may be longer under Windows than under DOS.
3. The calculation of leap years in the user interface, the weather generator, and the
HELP model was adapted to the Gregorian calendar. Years divisible by 100 except
those divisible by 400 are no longer leap years in HELP 3.9 D.
4. In the HELP model, the weather generator, and the user interface the conversion factor
of the solar radiation from US customary to metric units was specified more precisely.
8 Foreword

Therefore, usage of solar radiation data in metric units yields slightly different
simulation results in HELP 3.9 D than in HELP 3.80 D.
5. Due to a program modification the weather generator of HELP 3.9 D yields slightly
different weather data beginning with the 5th year compared to the original version
used until HELP 3.80 D.
6. The weather generator was recompiled to be executable under 64-bit versions of
Windows.
7. The routines to read in weather data of the German Weather Service (DWD) were
simplified and enhanced. The import of DWD-files may be restricted to a range of
years. The option to calculate mean daily air temperatures from daily minimum and
maximum temperatures was deleted. A default format file is available to import
weather data that can be downloaded in the standard formats from the internet site of
the German Weather Service.
8. The import routines for daily weather data of North American providers (NOAA
Tape, ClimatedataTM and Canadian Climatological Data) are no longer available in
HELP 3.9 D because their programs are not executable under the 64-bit versions of
Windows.
9. The Default Precipitation Option (in HELP 3.0x USA import of 5 years historic
precipitation data from a data base of 139 cities) was deleted.
10. An option to import data from Visual HELP files with evapotranspiration parameters
or daily weather data (precipitation, air temperature, solar radiation) was added
(developed for files of Visual HELP version 2.2).
11. In the data base with evapotranspiration parameters for German locations the start of
the growing season was set 14 days earlier for all locations which is more realistic.
12. The soil data bases for US-American soil textures and other materials and for user
defined and German soil textures were merged. The option of the user interface to
store new user-defined soil textures in the soil data base is no longer available.
However, the data base file may be (carefully) edited outside the user interface with an
editor. The data of German soil textures originate mainly from the 5th edition of the
“Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung” [pedological field mapping instructions] (AG
BODEN 2005).
Foreword of the User’s Guide of HELP 3 (USA) 9

Foreword of the User’s Guide of HELP 3 (USA)


Today’s rapidly developing and changing technologies and industrial products and practices
frequently carry with them the increased generation of materials that, if improperly dealt with,
can threaten both public health and the environment. Abandoned waste sites and accidental
releases of toxic and hazardous substances to the environment also have important environ-
mental and public health implications. The Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory assists in
providing an authoritative and defensible engineering basis for assessing and solving these
problems. Its products support the policies, programs and regulations of the Environmental
Protection Agency, the permitting and other responsibilities of State and local governments,
and the needs of both large and small businesses in handling their wastes responsibly and
economically.

This report presents guidance on the use of the Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill
Performance (HELP) computer program. The HELP program is a quasi-two-dimensional
hydrologic model for conducting water balance analysis of landfills, cover systems, and other
solid waste containment facilities. The model accepts weather, soil and design data, and uses
solution techniques that account for the effects of surface storage, snowmelt, runoff,
infiltration, evapotranspiration, vegetative growth, soil moisture storage, lateral subsurface
drainage, leachate recirculation, unsaturated vertical drainage, and leakage through soil,
geomembrane or composite liners. Landfill systems including various combinations of
vegetation, cover soils, waste cells, lateral drain layers, low permeability barrier soils, and
synthetic geomembrane liners may be modeled. The model facilitates rapid estimation of the
amounts of runoff, evapotranspiration, drainage, leachate collection and liner leakage that
may be expected to result from the operation of a wide variety of landfill designs. The
primary purpose of the model is to assist in the comparison of design alternatives. The model
is a tool for both designers and permit writers.

E. Timothy Oppelt, Director


Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
10 Abstract

Abstract
The Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) computer program is a quasi-
two-dimensional hydrologic model of water movement across, into, through and out of
landfills. The model accepts weather, soil and design data and uses solution techniques that
account for the effects of surface storage, snowmelt, runoff, infiltration, evapotranspiration,
vegetative growth, soil moisture storage, lateral subsurface drainage, leachate recirculation,
unsaturated vertical drainage, and leakage through soil, geomembrane or composite liners.
Landfill systems including various combinations of vegetation, cover soils, waste cells, lateral
drain layers, low permeability barrier soils, and synthetic geomembrane liners may be
modeled. The program was developed to conduct water balance analysis of landfills, cover
systems, and solid waste disposal and containment facilities. As such, the model facilitates
rapid estimation of the amounts of runoff, evapotranspiration, drainage, leachate collection,
and liner leakage that may be expected to result from the operation of a wide variety of
landfill designs. The primary purpose of the model is to assist in the comparison of design
alternatives as judged by their water balances. The model, applicable to open, partially closed,
and fully closed sites, is a tool for both designers and permit writers.

This report explains how to use Version 3.95 D of the HELP model. Section 1 provides
background and overview of the model. Section 2 describes basic landfill design and liquids
management concepts. Section 3 presents definitions, options and limitations for input
parameters as well as detailed guidance for selecting input values. Section 4 provides an
overview of the modeling procedure and its assumptions and limitations. Section 5 provides
detailed instructions on how to enter input, run the simulation and view output. The Appendix
in section 6 comprises references and a bibliography, some useful tables, and an index.

HELP 3.9 D has a newly developed user interface for Windows and is completely adapted to
Windows including 64-bit versions. HELP 3.9 D was developed and tested in detail under
Windows XP Professional, further more it was tested under Windows 7 Professional (64-bit).
1 Introduction 11

1 Introduction
1.1 Purpose and Structure of the User’s Guide

The Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) computer program is a quasi-


two-dimensional hydrologic model of water movement across, into, through and out of
landfills. The model accepts weather, soil and design data, and uses solution techniques that
account for the effects of the following hydrologic processes: surface storage, snowmelt,
runoff, infiltration, evapotranspiration, vegetative growth and decay, soil moisture storage,
lateral subsurface drainage, leachate recirculation, unsaturated vertical drainage, and leakage
through soil, geomembrane or composite liners. Landfill systems including various
combinations of vegetation, cover soils, waste cells, lateral drain layers, low permeability
barrier soils, and synthetic geomembrane liners may be modeled. The program was developed
to conduct water balance analysis of landfills, cover systems and solid waste disposal and
containment facilities. As such, the model facilitates rapid estimation of the amounts of
runoff, evapotranspiration, drainage, leachate collection and liner leakage that may be
expected to result from the operation of a wide variety of landfill designs. The primary
purpose of the model is to assist in the comparison of design alternatives as judged by their
water balances. The model, applicable to open, partially closed, and fully closed sites, is a tool
for both designers and permit writers.
The principal purpose of this User’s Guide is to provide the basic information needed to
use the computer program, and to provide information on input values and how to choose
their values. Section 1 provides background and overview of the model and its history.
Section 2 describes basic landfill design and liquids management concepts. Section 3 presents
definitions and options for input parameters as well as detailed guidance for selecting their
input values. Section 4 provides an overview of the modeling procedure and its assumptions
and limitations. Section 5 provides instructions on how to enter input, run the simulation and
view the output.
A detailed documentation of the theory, the assumptions on which the model is based
and of the internal logic of the program is available in SCHROEDER et al. (1994b) modified and
supplemented by BERGER (2012). The validation study BERGER (1998) deals with application
limits of HELP version 3.06/3.07 under German climate from a scientific point of view (see
also BERGER 2000). BERGER (2002) deals with application limits from a practical point of
view.

Note: Potential HELP users are strongly encouraged to study the documentation, this
User’s Guide, and literature on the validation of the model before attempting to use
the program to evaluate a landfill design.

Note: The first author recommends the use of model version HELP 3.95 D. For particular
designs HELP 3.0x (USA and D) yield erroneous results (see BERGER 2002).

Note: Ongoing information for HELP-D users is published on:


www.geowiss.uni-hamburg.de/i-boden/helpdcurr.htm
12 1.1 Purpose and Structure of the User’s Guide

1.2 Background and History of the HELP Model

The HELP program, Versions 1, 2 and 3, was developed by the U.S. Army Engineer Water-
ways Experiment Station (WES), Vicksburg, MS, for the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, in response to needs
in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, better known as Superfund) as
identified by the EPA Office of Solid Waste, Washington, DC. The enhancements HELP-D
beginning with HELP 3.07 D were developed at the Institute of Soil Science, University of
Hamburg, Germany.

HELP Version 1 (SCHROEDER et al. 1984) represented a major advance beyond the
Hydrologic Simulation on Solid Waste Disposal Sites (HSSWDS) program (PERRIER &
GIBSON 1980; SCHROEDER & GIBSON 1982), which was also developed at WES. The
HSSWDS model simulated only the cover system, did not model lateral flow through
drainage layers, and handled vertical drainage only in a rudimentary manner. The infiltration,
percolation and evapotranspiration routines were almost identical to those used in the
Chemicals, Runoff, and Erosion from Agricultural Management Systems (CREAMS) model,
which was developed by KNISEL (1980) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The
runoff and infiltration routines relied heavily on the Hydrology Section of the National
Engineering Handbook (USDA, Soil Conservation Service, 1985). Version 1 of the HELP
model incorporated a lateral subsurface drainage model and improved unsaturated drainage
and liner leakage models into the HSSWDS model. In addition, the HELP model provided
simulation of the entire landfill including leachate collection and liner systems.

Version 2 (SCHROEDER et al. 1988a, 1988b) represented a great enhancement of the


capabilities of the HELP model. The WGEN synthetic weather generator developed by the
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) (RICHARDSON & WRIGHT, 1984) was added to
the model to yield daily values of precipitation, temperature and solar radiation. This replaced
the use of normal mean monthly temperature and solar radiation values and improved the
modeling of snow and evapotranspiration. Also, a vegetative growth model from the
Simulator for Water Resources in Rural Basins (SWRRB) model developed by the ARS
(ARNOLD et al. 1989) was merged into the HELP model to calculate daily leaf area indices.
Modeling of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and flow and lateral drainage computations
were improved. Accuracy was increased with the use of double precision. Default soil data
were improved, and the model permitted use of more layers and initialization of soil moisture
content. Input and editing were simplified. Output was clarified, and standard deviations were
reported.

In Version 3, the HELP model has been greatly enhanced beyond Version 2. The number of
layers that can be modeled has been increased. The default soil/material texture list has been
expanded to contain additional waste materials, geomembranes, geosynthetic drainage nets
and compacted soils. The model also permits the use of a user-built library of soil textures.
1 Introduction 13

Computation of leachate recirculation between soil layers and groundwater drainage into the
landfill has been added. Moreover, HELP Version 3 accounts for leakage through geo-
membranes due to manufacturing defects (pinholes) and installation defects (punctures, tears
and seaming flaws) and by vapor diffusion through the liner. The estimation of runoff from
the surface of the landfill has been improved to account for large landfill surface slopes and
slope lengths. The snowmelt model has been replaced with an energy-based model; the
Priestley-Taylor potential evapotranspiration model has been replaced with a Penman method,
incorporating wind and humidity effects as well as long wave radiation losses (heat loss at
night). A frozen soil model has been added to improve infiltration and runoff predictions in
cold regions. The unsaturated vertical drainage model has also been improved to aid in
storage computations. Input and editing have been further simplified with interactive, full-
screen, menu-driven input techniques.
In addition, the HELP Version 3 model provides a variety of methods for specifying
precipitation, temperature and solar radiation data. Up to HELP 3.80 D, data from the most
commonly available government and commercial sources of North America can be imported
easily. Moreover, data used in HELP Version 2 could still be used with minimum user effort
until version HELP 3.80 D. Specifying weather data manually and editing previously entered
weather data can be easily done by using built-in spreadsheet facilities. The German
adaptation HELP-D allows importing weather data of the German Weather Service (DWD).
The use of data files in Version 3 is much simpler and more convenient than in HELP
Version 2 because data are saved permanently in user defined file names at a user specified
location. Similarly, the user has more flexibility to define units for every type of data needed
to run the HELP model. Finally, the DOS-versions of HELP 3 provided on-line help at every
step of the data preparation process. Beginning with HELP 3.50 D a basic project manage-
ment is supported.

To determine limits of application of HELP 3.06/3.07 for the use in Germany a validation
study was accomplished under German climate (BERGER 1998, see also BERGER 2000). The
results of this study and of further investigations were used to develop the enhanced version
HELP 3.50 D. In this version the sub models of unsaturated and saturated percolation,
interception of precipitation, evapotranspiration, growth and decay of the vegetation and the
frozen soil state were enhanced or replaced. In HELP 3.55 D the user interface was
completely reprogrammed, the online-help was revised, and the model was enhanced in a few
details. The major improvement of HELP 3.80 D was the option to modify soil and vegetation
properties of a landfill profile within a simulation run. This allows simulating the aging of a
design, for example by succession of the vegetation, by precipitation of calcium carbonate or
iron oxides in lateral drainage layers or by the formation of macro pores in mineral liners, if
the appropriate values are entered by the user. Furthermore, the handling was enhanced in
some details in particular by storing daily, monthly, and yearly simulation results as tables in
separate output files for a further processing in spreadsheet or graphics programs.

In version HELP 3.90 D the previous DOS user interface was replaced by a Windows user
interface and HELP-D was completely adapted to Windows (32-bit- and 64-bit versions).
Some routines not executable under 64-bit Windows were dropped (import routines for
weather data of North American providers). Some input options were simplified or enhanced
14 1.2 Background and History of the HELP Model

like the import routines for weather data of the German Weather Service. The option to
import files with evapotranspiration or daily weather data of Visual HELP was added,
developed for Visual HELP version 2.2. The data bases of evapotranspiration parameters for
German locations and for data of German soil textures were updated. The calculation of leap
years was adapted to the Gregorian calendar. In the version HELP 3.95 D the user interface
was complemented by context sensitive help texts, a project manager, and a configuration
option. Furthermore, the current original model version HELP 3.07 was made available for
simulation. The changes of HELP 3.95 D compared to 3.80 D are listed in more detail in the
Foreword. The major modeling changes of HELP 3.90 D compared to HELP 3.07 are
described in BERGER (2012) which modifies and supplements the engineering documentation
of HELP 3.0x (SCHROEDER et al. 1994b).

Although applicable to most landfill applications, the HELP model was developed
specifically to perform hazardous and municipal waste disposal landfill evaluations as
required by RCRA. Hazardous waste disposal landfills generally should have a liner to
prevent migration of waste from the landfill, a final cover to minimize the production of
leachate following closure, careful controls of runon and runoff, and limits on the buildup of
leachate head over the liner to no more than 1 ft. The HELP model is useful for predicting the
amounts of runoff, drainage, and leachate expected for reasonable designs as well as the
buildup of leachate above the liner. However, the model should not be expected to produce
credible results from input unrepresentative of landfills.
2 Basic Landfill Design Concepts 15

2 Basic Landfill Design Concepts


2.1 Background

Over the past decades, the sanitary landfill has come to be widely recognized as an economic
and effective means for disposal of municipal and industrial solid wastes. Today, modern
methods of landfill construction and management are sufficiently developed to ensure that
even large volumes of such materials can be handled and disposed of in such a way as to
protect public health and minimize adverse effects on the environment.
Recently, public attention has been focused on a special class of materials commonly
referred to as hazardous wastes. The chemical and physical diversity, environmental
persistence, and acute and chronic detrimental effects on human, plant and animal health of
many of these substances are such that great care must be exercised in their disposal.
Hazardous wastes are produced in such large quantities and are so diverse that universally
acceptable disposal methods have yet to be devised. However, for the present, disposal or
storage in secure landfills is usually a prudent approach. The current state of the art is an
extension of sanitary landfill technology using very conservative design criteria. Some
important basic principles and concepts of landfill design are summarized below. Specific
emphasis is given to disposal of hazardous materials, but the discussion is also applicable to
ordinary sanitary landfills.

2.2 Leachate Production

Storage of any waste material in a landfill poses several potential problems. One problem is
the possible contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water that may occur as leachate
produced by water or liquid wastes moving into, through and out of the landfill migrates into
adjacent areas. This problem is especially important when hazardous wastes are involved
because many of these substances are quite resistant to biological or chemical degradation
and, thus, are expected to persist in their original form for many years, perhaps even for
centuries. Given this possibility hazardous waste landfills should be designed to prevent any
waste or leachate from ever moving into adjacent areas. This objective is beyond the
capability of current technology but does represent a goal in the design and operation of
today’s landfills. The HELP model has been developed specifically as a tool to be used by
designers and regulatory reviewers for selecting practical designs that minimize potential
contamination problems.
In the context of a landfill, leachate is described as liquid that has percolated through
the layers of waste material. Thus, leachate may be composed of liquids that originate from a
number of sources, including precipitation, groundwater, consolidation, initial moisture
storage, and reactions associated with decomposition of waste materials. The chemical quality
of leachate varies as a function of a number of factors, including the quantity produced, the
original nature of the buried waste materials, and the various chemical and biochemical
reactions that may occur as the waste materials decompose. In the absence of evidence to the
contrary, most regulatory agencies prefer to assume that any leachate produced will
16 2.2 Leachate Production

contaminate either ground or surface waters; in the light of the potential water quality impact
of leachate contamination, this assumption appears reasonable.
The quantity of leachate produced is affected to some extent by decomposition reactions
and initial moisture content; however, it is largely governed by the amount of external water
entering the landfill. Thus, a key first step in controlling leachate migration is to limit
production by preventing, to the extent feasible, the entry of external water into the waste
layers. A second step is to collect any leachate that is produced for subsequent treatment and
disposal. Techniques are currently available to limit the amount of leachate that migrates into
adjoining areas to a virtually immeasurable volume, as long as the integrity of the landfill
structure and leachate control system is maintained.

2.3 Design for Leachate Control

A schematic profile view of a somewhat typical hazardous waste landfill is shown in Figure 1.
The bottom layer of soil may be naturally existing material or it may be hauled in, placed and
compacted to specifications following excavation to a suitable subgrade. In either case, the
base of the landfill should act as a liner with some minimum thickness and a very low
hydraulic conductivity (or permeability). Treatments may be used on the barrier soil to reduce
its permeability to an acceptable level. As an added factor of safety, an impermeable synthetic
membrane may be placed on the top of the barrier soil layer to form a composite liner.
Immediately above the bottom composite liner is a leakage detection drainage layer to
collect leakage from the primary liner, in this case, a geomembrane. Above the primary liner
are a geosynthetic drainage net and a sand layer that serve as drainage layers for leachate
collection. The drain layers composed of sand are typically at least 1-ft thick and have
suitably spaced perforated or open joint drain pipe embedded below the surface of the liner.
The leachate collection drainage layer serves to collect any leachate that may percolate
through the waste layers. In this case where the liner is solely a geomembrane, a drainage net
may be used to rapidly drain leachate from the liner, avoiding a significant buildup of head
and limiting leakage. The liners are sloped to prevent ponding by encouraging leachate to
flow toward the drains. The net effect is that very little leachate should percolate through the
primary liner and virtually no migration of leachate through the bottom composite liner to the
natural formations below. Taken as a whole, the drainage layers, geomembrane liners, and
barrier soil liners may be referred to as the leachate collection and removal system (drain/liner
system) and more specifically a double liner system.
After the landfill is closed, the leachate collection and removal system serves basically
in a back-up capacity. However, while the landfill is open and waste is being added, these
components constitute the principal defense against contamination of adjacent areas. Thus,
care must be given to their design and construction.
Day-to-day operation of a modern sanitary landfill calls for wastes to be placed in
relatively thin lifts, compacted, and covered with soil each day. Thus, wastes should not
remain exposed for more than a few hours. Although the daily soil cover serves effectively to
hide the wastes and limit the access of nuisance insects and potential disease vectors, it is of
limited value for preventing the formation of leachate. Thus, even though a similar procedure
can be used for hazardous wastes, the drainage/liner system must function well throughout
and after the active life of the landfill.
2 Basic Landfill Design Concepts 17

Precipitation Evapotranspiration
(Surface, Soil, Plant)

Layer Vegetation
No. Runoff

(1) Vertical percolation layer Infiltration


(topsoil)
First Unsaturated flow Cover system
subprofile (2)
Lateral drainage layer
(3) GML Lateral drainage
(4) Barrier soil layer

(5) Vertical percolation layer


(Foundation layer)
Percolation

Second Vertical percolation layer


(6) (Waste)
subprofile Unsaturated flow Waste

(7) Lateral drainage layer Geomembrane


(8) Lateral drainage liner system
net
(9) GML Drain
(10)
Lat. drain layer Percolation Lateral drainage
(11) GML Composite
Third liner system
subprofile
(12) Barrier soil layer

Percolation

GML: Geomembrane liner

Figure 1 Schematic of Landfill Profile Illustrating Typical Landfill Features

When the capacity of the landfill is reached, the waste cells may be covered with a cap or
final cover, typically composed of four or five distinct layers as shown in Figure 1. At the
base of the cap is a foundation layer that may be combined with a gas collection layer if
needed. Above follow a drainage layer and a liner system layer similar to that used at the base
of the landfill. Again, a geomembrane liner would normally be used in conjunction with the
barrier soil layer for hazardous waste landfill but has been used less frequently in municipal
waste landfills. The top of the barrier soil layer is graded so that water percolating into the
drainage layer will tend to move horizontally toward some removal system (drain) located at
the edge of the landfill or subunit thereof.
A layer of soil suitable for vegetative growth is placed at the top of final cover system to
complete the landfill. A soil layer of reasonable thickness having a loamy, silty nature serves
18 2.3 Design for Leachate Control

this purpose well. The upper surface is graded so that runon is restricted and infiltration is
controlled to provide moisture for vegetation while limiting percolation through the topsoil.
Runoff is promoted but controlled to prevent excessive erosion of the cap. The vegetation
used should be selected for ease of establishment in a given area, promotion of evapo-
transpiration and year-round protection from erosion. The root system should not penetrate,
disrupt or desiccate the upper liner system (Layers # 3 and # 4). Grasses are usually best for
this purpose; however, local experts should be consulted to aid in selection of appropriate
species.
The combination of site selection, surface grading, transpiration from vegetation, soil
evaporation, drainage through the sand, and the low hydraulic conductivity of the barrier soil
liner serves effectively to minimize leachate production from external water. Added
effectiveness is gained by the use of geomembrane liners in the cap in conjunction with the
barrier soil layer. The cap should be no more permeable than the leachate collection and
removal system so that the landfill will not gradually fill and overflow into adjacent areas
following abandonment of the landfill. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as the
"bathtub" effect.
3 Input Data and Input Options 19

3 Input Data and Input Options


This section describes data requirements, nomenclature, and options to input data into the
program. Furthermore, information is provided to choose values. The input data can be
divided into three groups:
1. daily weather data of 1 to 100 complete calendar years (precipitation (daily depths),
air temperature (daily means) and solar radiation (daily sums); see section 3.2)
2. data to calculate evapotranspiration (vegetation parameters, further weather data, and
others; see section 3.1), and
3. soil data and design data (see section 3.3).
The data can be input in metric units or in units customary in the U.S.A., see Appendix 6.1
for an overview.

3.1 Data to Calculate Evapotranspiration

The evapotranspiration data can be entered in one of three ways:

3.1.1 Default Evapotranspiration Option

This option uses the data provided by the HELP model for selected cities of a selected region.
Currently available regions are the U.S.A. and Germany. The available cities in the U.S.A. are
listed in Table 1.
The program recommends values for geographic latitude, the Julian dates starting and
ending the growing season, the annual average wind speed, and the quarterly average relative
humidity for the location. More information on these parameters is given in section 3.1.2. The
data needed for this option are:
• Location (city and state; select for the chosen region, see Table 1 for the U.S.A.)
• Evaporative zone depth (metric: cm; US customary: inch)
• Maximum leaf area index (area/area)
The program provides you with a maximum leaf area index value typical for the
location selected if the value entered by yourself cannot be supported without
irrigation because of low rainfall or a short growing season. This message is shown
only once after selecting a location and should be considered only as a warning.

Table 1 Cities in the Region U.S.A. with Evapotranspiration Parameters and Synthetic
Temperature and Solar Radiation Parameters

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4


ALABAMA ILLINOIS NEBRASKA RHODE ISLAND
Birmingham Chicago Grand Island Providence
Mobile East St. Louis North Platte SOUTH CAROLINA
Montgomery INDIANA Omaha Charleston
ALASKA Evansville Scottsbluff Columbia
Annette Fort Wayne
20 3.1 Data to Calculate Evapotranspiration

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4


Bethel Indianapolis NEVADA SOUTH DAKOTA
Fairbanks IOWA Elko Huron
ARIZONA Des Moines Ely Rapid City
Flagstaff Dubuque Las Vegas TENNESSEE
Phoenix KANSAS Reno Chattanooga
Tucson Dodge City Winnemucca Knoxville
Yuma Topeka NEW HAMPSHIRE Memphis
ARKANSAS Wichita Concord Nashville
Fort Smith KENTUCKY Mt. Washington TEXAS
Little Rock Covington Nashua Abilene
CALIFORNIA Lexington NEW JErsey Amarillo
Bakersfield Louisville Edison Austin
Blue Canyon LOUISIANA Newark Brownsville
Eureka Baton Rouge Seabrook Corpus Christi
Los Angeles Lake Charles NEW MEXICO Dallas
Fresno New Orleans Albuquerque El Paso
Mt. Shasta Shreveport Roswell Galveston
Sacramento MAINE NEW YORK Houston
San Diego Augusta Albany Midland
San Francisco Bangor Buffalo San Antonio
Santa Maria Caribou Central Park Temple
COLORADO Portland Ithaca Waco
Colorado Springs MARYLAND New York UTAH
Denver Baltimore Schenectady Cedar City
Grand Junction MASSACHUSETTS Syracuse Milford
Pueblo Boston NORTH CAROLINA Salt Lake City
CONNECTICUT Nantucket Asheville VERMONT
Bridgeport Plainfield Charlotte Burlington
Hartford Worchester Greensboro Montpelier
New Haven MICHIGAN Raleigh Rutland
Windsor Locks Detroit NORTH DAKOTA VIRGINIA
DELAWARE E. Lansing Bismarck Lynchburg
Wilmington Grand Rapids Williston Norfolk
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Sault Ste. Marie OHIO Richmond
Washington MINNESOTA Cincinnati WASHINGTON
FLORIDA Duluth Cleveland Olympia
Jacksonville Minneapolis Columbus Pullman
Miami St. Cloud Put-in-Bay Seattle
Orlando MISSISSIPPI Toledo Spokane
Tallahassee Jackson OKLAHOMA Stampede Pass
Tampa Meridian Oklahoma City Walla Walla
W. Palm Beach MISSOURI Tulsa Yakima
GEORGIA Columbia OREGON WEST VIRGINIA
Atlanta Kansas City Astoria Charleston
Augusta St. Louis Burns WISCONSIN
Macon MONTANA Meacham Green Bay
Savannah Billings Medford Lacrosse
Watkinsville Glasgow Pendleton Madison
HAWAII Great Falls Portland Milwaukee
Honolulu Havre Salem WYOMING
IDAHO Helena Sexton Summit Cheyenne
Boise Kalispell PENNSYLVANIA Lander
Pocatello Miles City Philadelphia PUERTO RICO
Pittsburgh San Juan
3 Input Data and Input Options 21

3.1.2 Manual Option

The data needed for this option are:


• Location (state and city)
• Geographic latitude (degree; 0 - 90 for the Northern hemisphere, 0 - -90 for the
Southern hemisphere, to be input as decimal value, not with minutes and seconds, that
means e. g. 53°30’ has to be input as 53.5)
• Evaporative zone depth (metric: cm; US customary: inch)
The evaporative zone depth is the maximum depth from which water may be removed
by evapotranspiration. The depth specified should be characteristic of the maximum
depth to which the moisture changes near the surface due to drying over the course of
a year, typically occurring during peak evaporative demand or when peak quantity of
vegetation is present. The value specified influences the storage of water near the
surface and therefore directly affects the computations for evapotranspiration and
runoff.
Where surface vegetation is present, the evaporative depth should equal the
expected average depth of root penetration plus the depth of the soil below where
capillary rise up to the roots may occur. The rooting depth depends on many factors:
plant species (e. g. deep rooting species or shrubs and trees with tap roots), moisture
availability, maturation, soil properties and plant density. In humid areas where
moisture is readily available near the surface, grasses may have rooting depths of 6 to
24 inches. In drier areas, the rooting depth is very sensitive to plant species and to the
depth to which moisture is stored and may range from 6 to 48 inches. The depth of
capillary rise to the root zone or to the surface without vegetation depends on soil type
and bulk density. It may be only a few inches in gravels; in sands it may be about 4 to
8 inches, in silts and loams about 8 to 18 inches, and in clays about 12 to 40 inches.
The evaporative zone depth must also be specified for bare ground to account for
direct evaporation from the soil; this depth would be a function of the soil texture and
vapor and heat flux at the surface. It should equal the depth of capillary rise mentioned
above.
The evaporative zone depth must be greater than zero. The program does not
permit the evaporative depth to exceed the depth to the top of the topmost liner.
Usually, the evaporative zone depth would not be expected to extend very far into a
lateral drainage layer.

• Maximum leaf area index (area/area)


You must enter a maximum value of leaf area index (LAI) for the vegetative cover.
LAI is defined as the dimensionless ratio of the leaf area of actively transpiring
vegetation to the nominal surface area of the land on which the vegetation is growing.
Maximum LAI depends on plant species and on conditions for plant growth like soil
properties (soil texture, bulk density, and soil structure), water and nutrient supply and
pollutants. Surface soils may be shallow and provide little moisture storage for dry
periods. Usually covers have lateral drainage layers to remove infiltrated water
quickly, reducing moisture storage. Similar, covers may have liners near the surface
restricting root penetration and causing frequent saturation of the surface soil which
22 3.1 Data to Calculate Evapotranspiration

limits oxygen availability to the roots. Some landfills produce large quantities of gas
which, if uncontrolled, reduces the oxygen availability in the rooting zone and
therefore limits plant growth. If the vegetative species limit plant transpiration (such
as succulent plants) the maximum LAI value should be reduced to a value equivalent
of the LAI for a stand of grass that would yield a similar quantity of plant
transpiration. Typical values of the maximum LAI are shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Typical Values of the Maximum Leaf Area Index

Kind of vegetation Maximum LAI


Bare ground 0
Poor stand of grass 1.0
Fair stand of grass 2.0
Good stand of grass 3.5
Excellent stand of grass 5.0
Shrubbery 4 – 12
Deciduous forest 7 – 15
Coniferous forest 10 – 20

Note: HELP was developed for grasses. The program is not very sensitive to maxi-
mum LAI values above 5. The evapotranspiration calculated for plants with
higher maximum leaf area indices (shrubbery, forest) tends to be too small
especially for dense shrubbery and coniferous forest.

• Dates starting and ending the growing season (Julian date)


The growing season is based on mean daily temperature and plant species. Typically,
the start of the growing season for grasses is the Julian date (number of the day in the
year beginning with 1 on January 1st) when the normal mean daily temperature rises
above 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 12.8 °C). The growing season ends when the
normal mean daily temperature falls below 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. In cooler
climates the start and end would be at lower temperatures and in warmer climates at
higher temperatures. (In countries like Germany the threshold temperatures should be
lowered to 8 to 10 °C.)
Data on normal mean daily temperature is available from “Climates of the
States” (RUFFNER 1985) and the “Climatic Atlas of the United States” (NOAA 1974).
In locations where the growing season extends year-round, the start of the growing
season should be reported as day 0 and the end as day 367. The values for the growing
season should be checked carefully to agree with the germination and harvesting (end
of seasonal growth) dates for your type of vegetation. For example, grasses in southern
California would germinate in the fall when the rains occur and die off in late spring
when the soil moisture is depleted. This contrasts with a typical growing season which
would start in the spring and end in the fall.
3 Input Data and Input Options 23

• Normal average annual wind speed (metric: km/h; US customary: miles/h)


This data is available from NOAA annual climatological data summary, “Climates of
the States” (RUFFNER 1985) and the “Climatic Atlas of the United States” (NOAA
1974).
The wind speed depends significantly on local surroundings (like topography,
exposition and vegetation) and on the height above ground. For HELP the wind speed
in 2 m height above ground is required. With the following equation from DVWK
238/1996, p. 85 the wind speed in 2 m height (v2) can be approximately calculated
from the wind speed in z m height (vz) above ground:
4.2
v2 = vz
ln(z) + 3.5
• Normal average quarterly relative humidity (metric and US customary: %)
The program requires four values, one for the first quarter of the year (January to
March), and one each for the second (April to June), third (July to September), and
fourth quarter (October to December), respectively. This data is available from NOAA
annual climatological data summary, "Climates of the States" (RUFFNER 1985) and the
"Climatic Atlas of the United States" (NOAA 1974).

3.1.3 Import from a Visual HELP File

HELP allows converting evapotranspiration and daily weather data files from Visual HELP
(Version 2.2) to files with its own format. This option needs the following data:
• Path of the Visual HELP file with evapotranspiration data
More information is given in section 3.2.1.5.

3.2 Daily Weather Data

3.2.1 Precipitation Data (Daily Depths)

3.2.1.1 Synthetic Precipitation Option (Weather Generator)

The program will generate from 1 to 100 years of daily precipitation data (metric: mm; US
customary: inch) stochastically for the selected location using a synthetic weather generator.
The precipitation data will have approximately the same statistical characteristics as the
historic data at the selected location. If desired, you can enter normal mean monthly
precipitation values for the project site to improve the statistical characteristics of the
resulting daily values or to simulate for example scenarios in the context of a global change.
You are advised to enter normal mean monthly precipitation values if the project site is
located more than a few miles from the city selected from Table 3 or if the land use or
topography varies between the site and city. The daily values will vary from month to month
and from year to year and will not equal the normal values entered. The same data is produced
every time the option is used for a given location. The data required by the synthetic weather
generator are:
24 3.2 Daily Weather Data

• Location (select for the chosen region, see Table 3 for the U.S.A.)
• Number of years of data to be generated
• Normal mean monthly precipitation for January to December (metric: mm; US
customary: inch; optional, default values are available)

Table 3 Cities in the Region U.S.A. with Synthetic Precipitation Parameters

ALABAMA INDIANA NEBRASKA RHODE ISLAND


Birmingham Evansville Grand Island Providence
Mobile Fort Wayne North Platte SOUTH CAROLINA
Montgomery IOWA Scottsbluff Charleston
ARIZONA Des Moines NEVADA Columbia
Flagstaff Dubuque Elko SOUTH DAKOTA
Phoenix KANSAS Las Vegas Huron
Yuma Dodge City Reno Rapid City
ARKANSAS Topeka Winnemucca TENNESSEE
Fort Smith Wichita NEW HAMPSHIRE Chattanooga
Little Rock KENTUCKY Concord Knoxville
CALIFORNIA Covington Mt. Washington Memphis
Bakersfield Lexington NEW JERSEY Nashville
Blue Canyon Louisville Newark TEXAS
Eureka LOUISIANA NEW MEXICO Abilene
Fresno Baton Rouge Albuquerque Amarillo
Mt. Shasta New Orleans Roswell Austin
San Diego Shreveport NEW YORk Brownsville
San Francisco MAINE Albany Corpus Christi
COLORADO Caribou Buffalo Dallas
Colorado Springs Portland New York El Paso
Denver MARYLAND Syracuse Galveston
Grand Junction Baltimore NORTH CAROLINA Houston
Pueblo MASSACHUSETTS Asheville San Antonio
CONNECTICUT Boston Charlotte Temple
Windsor Locks Nantucket Greensboro Waco
DELAWARE MICHIGAN Raleigh UTAH
Wilmington Detroit NORTH DAKOTA Milford
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Grand Rapids Bismarck Salt Lake City
Washington MINNESOTA Williston VIRGINIA
FLORIDA Duluth OHIO Norfolk
Jacksonville Minneapolis Cleveland Richmond
Miami MISSISSIPPI Columbus WASHINGTON
Tallahassee Jackson Toledo Olympia
Tampa Meridian OKLAHOMA Spokane
GEORGIA MISSOURI Oklahoma City Stampede Pass
Atlanta Columbia Tulsa Walla Walla
Augusta Kansas City OREGON Yakima
Macon St. Louis Burns WEST VIRGINIA
Savannah MONTANA Meacham Charleston
IDAHO Billings Medford WISCONSIN
Boise Great Falls Pendleton Green Bay
Pocatello Havre Portland Lacrosse
ILLINOIS Helena Salem Madison
Chicago Kalispell Sexton Summit Milwaukee
Indianapolis Miles City PENNSYLVANIA WYOMING
Philadelphia Cheyenne
Pittsburgh
3 Input Data and Input Options 25

3.2.1.2 Import of Precipitation Data from a File of the German Weather Service

HELP allows converting daily precipitation data of particular standard files (data base
excerpts) of the German Weather Service (DWD). This option requires a format file; two
default format files are included, DWD_KL.KLFmt and DWD_download_KL_KX_KG_KF.KLFmt.
More information is only available in the German user’s guide (“Benutzerhandbuch”).

3.2.1.3 Import from Text Files

The HELP model converts daily precipitation data from one or more text files to the HELP
format (metric: mm; US customary: inch). In the former versions HELP 3.0x (USA) and
HELP-D until 3.80 D the text files were denoted as ASCII files. This option may be used to
convert precipitation data from spreadsheet files by first exporting the data to a text file.
Section 5.4.2.3 outlines how to prepare a spreadsheet in a spreadsheet program and export it
as a text file.
A text file must contain precipitation data of 1 to 100 complete calendar years without
gaps, continuously and without the dates. Two daily values must be separated by one or more
blank or horizontal tabulator characters or one or more new lines. Other separators like
comma or semicolon are not considered. Use the dot as decimal separator in numbers and do
not use a number group (thousands) separator.
The unit of the data in the text file may be different from the target unit either metric
(mm) or US customary (inch). In this case the data will be converted to the target unit.
Alternatively you may input parameters for a linear unit conversion according to the
following equation:
Value in HELP = Value in the text file * Factor + Summand
Inadequate data will yield an error. The following data are required for this option:
• Location
• Text file(s) with precipitation data
• Unit of the data in the Text files (metric: mm; US customary: inch) or parameters for a
linear unit conversion
• Year(s)

3.2.1.4 Create/Edit Precipitation Option

Under the Create option, you may enter from 1 to 100 years of daily precipitation data
(metric: mm; US customary: inch) manually. The years, which need not be consecutive, can
be entered in any order. You may add or delete years of data or rearrange the order of the
years of data. This same option can be used to edit the daily values of any year of data;
commonly, this is used to add severe storm events, such as the 25-year, 24-hour precipitation
event. The data required are:
• Location
• One or more years of daily precipitation data (metric: mm; US customary: inch)
26 3.2 Daily Weather Data

3.2.1.5 Import from a Visual HELP File

HELP allows converting evapotranspiration and daily weather data files from Visual HELP
(Version 2.2) to files with its own format. This option needs the following data:
• Path of the Visual HELP file with precipitation data

The evapotranspiration and weather files of Visual HELP 2.2 are stored in project folders
which are named according to the pattern C:\WHI\UNSAT22\data\Pnnn.VHP (with a three-
digit number nnn). The files are named uniformly in the following way:

File name File content


_weather1.dat Precipitation data
_weather2.dat Air temperature data
_weather3.dat Solar radiation data
_weather4.dat Evapotranspiration parameters

Note: The file conversion was developed and tested for Visual HELP version 2.2.0.1.
Possibly it works also with other Visual HELP versions.

3.2.2 Air Temperature Data (Daily Means)

3.2.2.1 Synthetic Temperature Option (Weather Generator)

The program will generate from 1 to 100 years of daily air temperature data (metric: °C; US
customary: °F) stochastically for the selected location using a synthetic weather generator.
The synthetic generation of daily temperature values is a weak function of precipitation and as
such you must first specify the precipitation. Generation of temperature data is limited to the
number of years of precipitation data available. The temperature data will have approximately
the same statistical characteristics as the historic data at the selected location. If desired, you
can enter normal mean monthly temperature values for the project site to improve the
statistical characteristics of the resulting daily values or to simulate for example scenarios in
the context of a global change. You are advised to enter normal mean monthly temperature
values if the project site is located more than 100 miles from the city selected from Table 1 or
if the difference in elevation between the site and the city is more than 500 feet. The daily
values will vary from month to month and from year to year and will not equal the normal
values entered. The same data is produced every time the option is used for a given location.
The data required by the synthetic weather generator are:
• Location (select for the chosen region, see Table 1 for the U.S.A.)
• Number of years of data to be generated
• Normal mean monthly air temperature for January to December (metric: °C; US
customary: °F; optional, default values are available)
• HELP file with daily precipitation data
3 Input Data and Input Options 27

3.2.2.2 Import of Air Temperature Data from a File of the German Weather Service

HELP allows converting daily air temperature data of particular standard files (data base
excerpts) of the German Weather Service (DWD). This option requires a format file; two
default format files are included, DWD_KL.KLFmt and DWD_download_KL_KX_KG_KF.KLFmt.
More information is only available in the German user’s guide (“Benutzerhandbuch”).

3.2.2.3 Import from Text Files

The HELP model converts daily air temperature data from one or more text files (formerly
ASCII files) to the HELP format (metric: °C; US customary: °F). More information on this
option is given in section 3.2.1.3.

3.2.2.4 Create/Edit Air Temperature Option

Under the Create option, you may enter 1 to 100 years of daily temperature data (metric: °C;
US customary: °F) manually. The years, which need not be consecutive, can be entered in any
order. You may add or delete years of data or rearrange the order of the years of data. This
same option can be used to edit the daily values of any year of data. The data required are:
• Location
• One or more years of daily temperature data (metric: °C; US customary: °F)

3.2.2.5 Import from a Visual HELP File

HELP allows converting evapotranspiration and daily weather data files from Visual HELP
(Version 2.2) to files with its own format. This option needs the following data:
• Path of the Visual HELP file with air temperature data
More information is given in section 3.2.1.5.

3.2.3 Solar Radiation Data (Daily Sums)

3.2.3.1 Synthetic Solar Radiation Option (Weather Generator)

The program will generate from 1 to 100 years of daily solar radiation data (metric: MJ/m2;
US customary: Langley (ly)) stochastically for the selected location. The synthetic generation
of daily solar radiation values is a strong function of precipitation and as such you must first
specify the precipitation. Generation of solar radiation data is limited to the number of years
of precipitation data available. The synthetic solar radiation data will have approximately the
same statistical characteristics as the historic data at the selected location. If desired, you can
enter the latitude of the project site to improve the computation of potential solar radiation
and the resulting daily values. You are advised to enter the latitude if the project site is more
than 50 miles north or south of the city selected from Table 1. The data required by the
synthetic weather generator are:
28 3.2 Daily Weather Data

• Location (select for the chosen region, see Table 1 for the U.S.A.)
• Number of years of data to be generated
• HELP file with daily precipitation data
• Geographic latitude (optional; degree, 0 - 90 for the Northern hemisphere, 0 - -90 for
the Southern hemisphere; to be input as decimal number, not with minutes and
seconds, that means e. g. input 53°30’ as 53.5)

3.2.3.2 Import of Solar Radiation Data from a File of the German Weather Service
DWD (Old Format)

HELP allows converting daily solar radiation data of the German Weather Service (DWD)
from standard files in an old format which is not delivered anymore. More information is only
available in the German user’s guide.

3.2.3.3 Import from Text Files

The HELP model converts daily solar radiation data from one or more text files (formerly
ASCII files) to the HELP format (metric: MJ/m2; US customary: ly). More information on
this option is given in section 3.2.1.3.

3.2.3.4 Create/Edit Solar Radiation Option

Under the Create option, you may enter 1 to 100 years of daily solar radiation data (metric:
MJ/m2; US customary: ly) manually. The years, which need not be consecutive, can be
entered in any order. You may add or delete years of data or rearrange the order of the years
of data. This same option can be used to edit the daily values of any year of data. The data
required are:
• Location
• One or more years of daily solar radiation data (metric: MJ/m2; US customary: ly)

3.2.3.5 Import from a Visual HELP File

HELP allows converting evapotranspiration and daily weather data files from Visual HELP
(Version 2.2) to files with its own format. This option needs the following data:
• Path of the Visual HELP file with solar radiation data
More information is given in section 3.2.1.5.
3 Input Data and Input Options 29

3.3 Soil and Design Data

3.3.1 Overview of Soil and Design Data

In this section the required soil and design data are summarized. Detailed information on the
data is given in the sections 3.3.2 to 3.3.7. The data may be entered either in metric or in US
customary units.

Landfill General Information

1. Project title
2. Landfill area (metric: ha; US customary: acre)
3. Percentage of area where runoff is possible (%)
4. Method of initialization of moisture storage (user-specified or program initialized
to near steady-state)
5. Initial snow water storage (optional, only needed when moisture storage is user-
specified; metric: mm; US customary: inch)

Layer Data

1. Layer type
Four types of layers are permitted: (1) vertical percolation layer, (2) lateral
drainage layer, (3) barrier soil layer and (4) geomembrane liner.
2. Layer thickness (metric: cm; US customary: inch)
3. Soil texture
The following data are needed:
• Porosity/total pore volume (vol/vol)
• Field capacity (water content at 330 hPa water suction) (vol/vol)
• Permanent wilting point (vol/vol)
• Saturated hydraulic conductivity (cm/sec)
You can input these data with the following options:
• Selection from a data base with default data from soil texture commonly
used in the U.S.A., of further material, and of soil texture of natural and
agricultural soils of different levels of compaction commonly used in
Germany
• Manual input
4. Initial volumetric soil water content (initial moisture; vol/vol) (optional, only
needed when moisture storage is user-specified)
5. Rate of subsurface inflow to layer (metric: mm/yr; US customary: inch/yr)

Lateral Drainage Layer Design Data

1. Maximum drainage length (metric: m; US customary: feet)


2. Drain slope (%)
3. Percentage of leachate collected from drainage layer that is recirculated (leachate
recirculation; %)
30 3.3 Soil and Design Data

4. Layer to receive recirculated leachate from drainage layer (recirculate to layer no.,
number of the layer)

Geomembrane Liner Data

1. Pinhole density in geomembrane liner (metric: 1/ha; US customary: 1/acre)


2. Geomembrane liner installation defects (metric: 1/ha; US customary: 1/acre)
3. Geomembrane liner placement quality (six available options)
4. Geomembrane liner (equivalent) saturated hydraulic conductivity (vapor
diffusivity) (cm/sec; default values are available)
5. Geotextile transmissivity (cm2/sec; optional, needed only when placed with geo-
membrane)

Runoff Curve Number Information

Three methods are available to define a runoff Curve Number of the Soil Conservation
Service for medium Antecedent Moisture Conditions (abbreviated SCS CN AMC-II):
1. User-specified curve number used without modification
2. User-specified curve number modified for surface slope and slope length
3. Curve number computed by HELP program based on surface slope, slope length,
default soil texture, and quantity of vegetative cover (only available for soil
textures commonly used in the U.S.A.)

3.3.2 Landfill General Information

The project title is only used as a comment in the output file.

HELP internally calculates the water balance components as the depth of a water column
(volume per unit area). The landfill area is only used to calculate the water balance
components also as volume from the depth of a water column.

To calculate runoff you have to enter the percentage of area where runoff is possible. The
runoff calculated by HELP with the curve number method is multiplied with this area fraction
to determine the final runoff. The difference of the runoff calculated with the curve number
method and the final runoff is added to the infiltration.

There are two options to determine the initial water content of the layers, the interception
storage, and the snow cover:
1. Initialization by the program
2. User-defined initial water content
In this option you have to enter the water content of the snow cover and the soil
water content of every layer except for the liners at the beginning of the simulation
period.
Further information is given in section 3.3.4.
3 Input Data and Input Options 31

3.3.3 Landfill Profile and Layer Descriptions

The HELP program may be used to model landfills with up to twenty layers of materials
(soils, geosynthetics, wastes or other materials). Figure 1 shows a typical landfill profile with
twelve layers. The program recognizes four general types of layers:
1. Vertical percolation layer (abbreviated VPL)
2. Lateral drainage layer (LDL)
3. Barrier soil layer (BSL)
4. Geomembrane liner (GML)

Note: Correct classification of layers is very important because the program models the
flow of water through the four types of layers in different ways.

Flow in a vertical percolation layer (e.g., layers 1, 5 and 6 in Figure 1) is by unsaturated or


saturated vertical drainage downward due to gravity drainage; upward flux due to evapo-
transpiration is modeled as an extraction. The rate of gravity drainage (percolation) in a
vertical percolation layer is a function of soil moisture and soil parameters. The saturated
hydraulic conductivity specified for a vertical percolation layer should be in the vertical
direction for anisotropic materials. The main role of a vertical percolation layer is to provide
moisture storage. Reclamation/recultivation layers designed to support vegetation and provide
evaporative storage, gas collection and foundation layers, and waste layers are normally
designated as vertical percolation layers.

Lateral drainage layers (e.g., layers 2, 7, 8 and 10 in Figure 1) are layers directly above liners
that are designed to promote drainage laterally to a collection and removal system. Vertical
flow in a lateral drainage layer is modeled in the same manner as in a vertical percolation
layer, but saturated lateral drainage is allowed. The saturated hydraulic conductivity specified
for a lateral drainage layer should be in the lateral direction (down slope) for anisotropic
materials. A lateral drainage layer may be underlain by only another lateral drainage layer or a
liner. The drainage slope specified for a lateral drainage layer should be the slope of the
surface of the liner underlying the drainage layer in the direction of flow (the maximum
gradient for a section of liner in a single plane) and may range from 0 to 50 percent. The
drainage length specified for a lateral drainage layer is the length of the horizontal projection
of a representative flow path from the crest to the collector rather than the distance along the
slope. For slopes of less than 10 percent, the difference is negligible. The drainage length
must be greater than zero but does not have a practical upper limit. Recirculation is permitted
from lateral drainage layers directly above a liner where 0 to 100 percent of the drainage
collected can be recirculated and redistributed in a user-specified vertical percolation or
lateral drainage layer.

Barrier soil layers (e.g., Layers 4, and 12 in Figure 1) are intended to restrict vertical drainage
(percolation/leakage). These layers should have saturated hydraulic conductivities substanti-
ally lower than those of the other types of layers. Barrier soil layers are assumed to be
saturated at all times but leak only when there is a positive head on the top surface of the
liner. The percolation rate depends upon the depth of water-saturated soil (head) above the
32 3.3 Soil and Design Data

base of the liner, the thickness of the liner and the saturated hydraulic conductivity. The
saturated hydraulic conductivity specified for a barrier soil layer should be its value for
passing the expected fluid in the vertical direction for anisotropic materials. The program
allows only downward saturated flow in barrier soil layers. Evapotranspiration and lateral
drainage are not permitted from a liner. Thus, any water moving into a barrier soil layer will
eventually percolate through it.

Geomembrane liners (e.g., Layers 3, 9 and 11 in Figure 1) are virtually impermeable synthetic
membranes that reduce the area of vertical drainage / percolation / leakage to a very small
fraction of the area located near manufacturing flaws and installation defects (punctures, tears
and faulty seaming). A small quantity of vapor transport across the membrane also occurs and
can be modeled by specifying the vapor diffusivity as the saturated hydraulic conductivity of
the geomembrane. Geomembranes leak only when there is a positive head on the top surface
of the liner. The leakage rate depends on the depth of saturated soil (head) above the liner, the
saturated hydraulic conductivity of the drainage limiting soil layer adjacent to the membrane,
the contact between the membrane and the adjacent drainage limiting soil layer,
geomembrane properties and the size and number of holes in the geomembrane liner. Aging
of geomembranes is not considered.

In HELP version 3 composite liners are modeled as two layers, a geomembrane liner and a
barrier soil layer as shown in Figure 1 (layers 3 and 4, and 11 and 12, respectively).

While the HELP program is quite flexible, there are some basic rules that must be followed
regarding the arrangement of layers in the profile:
1. The top layer may not be a barrier soil layer.
2. The top layer may not be a geomembrane liner.
3. A vertical percolation layer may not be underlying a lateral drainage layer.
4. A barrier soil layer may not be underlying another barrier soil layer.
5. A geomembrane liner may not be underlying another geomembrane liner.
6. A geomembrane liner may not be placed directly between two barrier soil layers.
7. A barrier soil layer may not be placed directly between two geomembrane liners.
8. When a barrier soil layer or a geomembrane liner is not placed directly below the
lowest lateral drainage layer, all lateral drainage layers below the lowest liner are
treated as vertical percolation layers. Thus, no lateral drainage is computed for the
bottom section of the landfill.
9. The profile can contain no more than a total of five liners. (A liner may be a barrier
soil layer, a geomembrane liner, or a composite liner with the geomembrane liner
either above or below the barrier soil layer).

The HELP model does not permit two barrier soil layers to be adjacent to each other. If a
design has two soil layers adjacent to each other that would be expected to act as a single liner
and both soils will remain nearly saturated and contribute significantly to the head loss and
restriction of vertical drainage, then the thickness of the two layers should be summed and an
effective saturated hydraulic conductivity should be computed for the combined layer as
follows:
3 Input Data and Input Options 33

𝑇𝑒 ∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑇𝑖
𝐾𝑒 = =
𝑇 𝑇
∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑖 ∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑖
𝐾𝑖 𝐾𝑖
where Ke = effective saturated hydraulic conductivity of combined liner
Te = effective thickness of combined liner
Ti = thickness of liner soil i
Ki = saturated hydraulic conductivity of liner soil i
n= number of liner soils in the combined liner

For computational purposes, the soil profile is partitioned into subprofiles. Subprofiles are
defined in relation to the location of the liners. The first (top) subprofile shown in Figure 1
extends from the landfill surface to the bottom of the highest liner system (bottom of the
composite liner, layer 4, upper barrier soil layer). The second subprofile extends from the top
of the layer (layer 5) below the bottom of the first liner system to the base of the second liner
system (layer 9). The third (bottom) subprofile extends from the top of the layer below the
second liner system (the leakage detection drainage layer, layer 10) to the base of the lowest
liner (layer 12). The program allows up to five liner systems and, therefore, five subprofiles
plus an additional subprofile of one or more vertical percolation layers below the bottom liner
system. The program models the flow of water through one subprofile at a time from top to
bottom, with the percolation or leakage from one subprofile serving as the inflow to the
underlying subprofile.

Valid subprofiles:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Valid liners:
Barrier Geo- Composite “Inverted”
1 1 1 1 soil mem- liner composite
layer brane liner

No further
subprofiles 1
below

Layer types:
Vertical percolation layer
Lateral drainage layer
Liner; Liner components:
Barrier soil layer
Geomembrane
1 One or more layers of this layer type

Figure 2 Valid Layer Type Sequences of Subprofiles


34 3.3 Soil and Design Data

3.3.4 Soil Characteristics

You can assign soil and material characteristics to a layer using the default option or the
manual option. Some properties can only be input manually.

3.3.4.1 Default Soil and Material Characteristics

In the default option you can choose data from a data base with 44 soil or materials from
HELP 3 (USA), and additionally many soil textures commonly used in Germany. Table 4
shows the default characteristics for 44 soil/material types. The soil texture types are
classified according to two standard systems, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
textural classification system and the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). The default
characteristics of types 1 through 15 are typical of surficial and disturbed agricultural soils,
which may be less consolidated and more aerated than soils typically placed in landfills
(BREAZEALE & MCGEORGE 1949; ENGLAND 1970; LUTTON et al. 1979; RAWLS et al. 1982).
Clays and silts in landfills would generally be compacted except within the vegetative layer,
which might be tilled to promote vegetative growth. Untilled vegetative layers may be more
compacted than the loams listed in Table 4. Soil texture types 22 through 29 are compacted
soils. Type 18 is representative of typical municipal solid waste that has been compacted; type
19 is the same waste but it accounts for 75 percent of the waste being in dead zones not
contributing to drainage and storage. Soil types 16 and 17 denote very well compacted clay
soils and a bentonite mat, respectively, that might be used for barrier soil liners.

When a default soil texture from Table 4 is used to describe the top soil layer, the program
adjusts the saturated hydraulic conductivities of the soils in the top half of the evaporative
zone for the effects of root channels. The saturated hydraulic conductivity value is multiplied
by an empirical factor that is computed as a function of the user-specified maximum leaf area
index. Example values of this factor are 1.0 for a maximum LAI of 0 (bare ground), 1.8 for a
maximum LAI of 1.0 (poor stand of grass), 3.0 for a maximum LAI of 2.0 (fair stand of
grass), 4.6 for a maximum LAI of 3.5 (good stand of grass) and 5.0 for a maximum LAI of
5.0 (excellent stand of grass).

Abbreviations of Table 4 (next page):


USDA USCS
G Gravel G Gravel
S Sand, sandy S Sand
Si Silt, silty M Silt
C Clay C Clay
L Loam, loamy P poorly graded
Co coarse W well graded
F fine H high plasticity
L low plasticity
3 Input Data and Input Options 35

Table 4 Default Soil, Waste, and Geosynthetic Characteristics

HELP- Classification Total Field Permanent Saturated


No. Porosity Capacity Wilting Hydraulic
Point Conductivity
USDA USCS vol/vol vol/vol vol/vol cm/sec
1 CoS SP 0.417 0.045 0.018 1.0 x 10-2
2 S SW 0.437 0.062 0.024 5.8 x 10-3
3 FS SW 0.457 0.083 0.033 3.1 x 10-3
4 LS SM 0.437 0.105 0.047 1.7 x 10-3
5 LFS SM 0.457 0.131 0.058 1.0 x 10-3
6 SL SM 0.453 0.190 0.085 7.2 x 10-4
7 FSL SM 0.473 0.222 0.104 5.2 x 10-4
8 L ML 0.463 0.232 0.116 3.7 x 10-4
9 SiL ML 0.501 0.284 0.135 1.9 x 10-4
10 SCL SC 0.398 0.244 0.136 1.2 x 10-4
11 CL CL 0.464 0.310 0.187 6.4 x 10-5
12 SiCL CL 0.471 0.342 0.210 4.2 x 10-5
13 SC SC 0.430 0.321 0.221 3.3 x 10-5
14 SiC CH 0.479 0.371 0.251 2.5 x 10-5
15 C CH 0.475 0.378 0.265 1.7 x 10-5
16 Barrier Soil 0.427 0.418 0.367 1.0 x 10-7
17 Bentonite Mat (0.6 cm) 0.750 0.747 0.400 3.0 x 10-9
18 Municipal Waste (312 kg/m3) 0.671 0.292 0.077 1.0 x 10-3
19 Municipal waste (channeling, dead zones) 0.168 0.073 0.019 1.0 x 10-3
20 Drain Net (0.5 cm) 0.850 0.010 0.005 1.0 x 10+1
21 Gravel 0.397 0.032 0.013 3.0 x 10-1
22 L* ML 0.419 0.307 0.180 1.9 x 10-5
23 SiL* ML 0.461 0.360 0.203 9.0 x 10-6
24 SCL* SC 0.365 0.305 0.202 2.7 x 10-6
*
25 CL CL 0.437 0.373 0.266 3.6 x 10-6
26 SiCL* CL 0.445 0.393 0.277 1.9 x 10-6
27 SC* SC 0.400 0.366 0.288 7.8 x 10-7
*
28 SiC CH 0.452 0.411 0.311 1.2 x 10-6
29 C* CH 0.451 0.419 0.332 6.8 x 10-7
30 Coal-Burning Electric Plant Fly Ash* 0.541 0.187 0.047 5.0 x 10-5
31 Coal-Burning Electric Plant Bottom Ash* 0.578 0.076 0.025 4.1 x 10-3
32 Municipal Incinerator Fly Ash* 0.450 0.116 0.049 1.0 x 10-2
33 Fine Copper Slag* 0.375 0.055 0.020 4.1 x 10-2
34 Drain net (0.6 cm) 0.850 0.010 0.005 3.3 x 10+1
35 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) 2.0 x 10-13
36 Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) 4.0 x 10-13
37 Polyvinylchloride (PVC) 2.0 x 10-11
38 Butyl Rubber 1.0 x 10-12
39 Chlorinated Polyethylene (CPE) 4.0 x 10-12
Hypalon or Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene
40 3.0 x 10-12
(CSPE)
Ethylene-Propylene Diene Monomer
41 2.0 x 10-12
(EPDM)
42 Neoprene 3.0 x 10-12
50 Gravel 0.320 0.050 0.020 2.0 x 10-1
51 Bentonite 0.550 0.400 0.200 1.0 x 10-9
*
Moderately compacted (Abbreviations see previous page)
36 3.3 Soil and Design Data

Furthermore, you may select soil textures commonly used in Germany from soils of different
levels of compaction (less compacted soils: HELP numbers 101 to 131; moderately compact-
ed soils: 301 to 331, and highly compacted soils: 501 to 531). The data were taken from the
“Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung” [pedological field mapping instructions] (AG BODEN
2005) and supplemented by RENGER & HENSELER (1968), and originate from natural and
agricultural soils. Therefore the data may not be representative for soils in landfill liner
systems which may be more compacted and usually have a disturbed soil structure. When
using these data please note that there are some differences between the U.S.A. and Germany
in the definitions and the classifications. The threshold diameter between the sand and the silt
fraction is 0.050 mm in the classifications of the U.S.A. but 0.063 mm in the German classifi-
cation. The soils are classified to a different number of soil texture classes using different
fractions of sand, silt and clay. More information is given in the German user’s guide
(“Benutzerhandbuch”); see especially the figure “Abbildung 2” for the superposition of the
USDA and the German soil textures diagrams. Furthermore, the term field capacity is con-
ventionally defined as water content at a water suction of 330 hPa in the U.S.A., but at 60 hPa
in Germany.

You may assign default soil characteristics to a layer by specifying the corresponding HELP
number for the material type or by selection from a list.

3.3.4.2 Manual Input

The manual option requires values for porosity, field capacity, wilting point, and saturated
hydraulic conductivity, and optionally for the initial soil water content. These and related soil
properties are defined below.
• Total porosity (total pore volume; vol/vol): the soil water storage/volumetric content at
saturation (fraction of total volume)
• Field capacity (vol/vol): the soil water storage/volumetric content after a prolonged
period of gravity drainage from saturation; in the U.S.A. conventionally corresponding
to the soil water storage when a soil exerts a soil suction of 1/3 bar.
• Permanent wilting point (wilting point; vol/vol): the lowest soil water storage /
volumetric content that can be achieved by plant transpiration, that is the moisture
content where a plant will be permanently wilted; conventionally corresponding to the
soil water storage when a soil exerts a soil suction of 15 bars.
• Soil water storage (volumetric content; vol/vol): the ratio of the volume of water in a
soil to the total volume occupied by the bulk soil and the voids (filled with water or
air).
• Initial moisture (vol/vol): the volumetric soil water storage content at the beginning of
the simulation period.
• Saturated hydraulic conductivity (cm/sec): the rate at which water drains through a
saturated soil under a unit pressure gradient.

Porosity, field capacity and wilting point are all dimensionless numbers between 0 and 1.
Porosity must be greater than field capacity, which in turn must be greater than the wilting
point. The values for porosity, field capacity and wilting point are not used for barrier soil
3 Input Data and Input Options 37

layers and geomembrane liners, except for initializing the soil water storage of barrier soil
layers to the porosity value.

The soil moisture retention properties of a layer should be adjusted downward if some volume
of the layer does not participate in the drainage and storage of infiltrated water. This condition
commonly exists in shallow layers of municipal solid waste because municipal solid waste is
very heterogeneous and poorly compacted. The plastics in the waste also channel the
drainage, limit the spreading of infiltration, and restrict the wetting of the waste and,
therefore, the storage. Default soil texture number 19 provides adjusted retention values for a
municipal solid waste with significant channeling; it assumes that only 25 percent of the
volume is actively involved in drainage and storage of infiltration. As the values were
computed by multiplying the values for municipal solid waste (default texture number 18) by
0.25, the initial soil water content would also be multiplied by 0.25.

You have the option of specifying the initial volumetric water storage content (initial
mnoisture) of all layers except for barrier soil layers. The initial soil water content must be
between wilting point and porosity. Barrier soil layers are assumed to remain saturated at all
times. If you choose not to specify initial water contents, the program estimates values near
steady-state and then runs one year of initialization with the weather data of the first year to
refine the estimates before starting the simulation. The soil water contents and the snow water
at the end of this year of initialization are taken as the initial values for the simulation period.
The program then runs the complete simulation, starting again from the beginning of the first
year of data. The program always runs through the initialization year to initialize internal
variables. However, the results for the initialization period are not reported.
The initial moisture content of municipal solid waste is a function of the composition of
the waste; reported values for fresh wastes range from about 0.08 to 0.20 vol/vol. The average
value is about 0.12 vol/vol for compacted municipal solid waste. If using default waste texture
19, where 75% of the volume is inactive, the initial moisture content should be that of only
the active portion, 25% of the values reported above.

The soil water storage or content used in the HELP model is on a per volume basis (θ),
volume of water (Vw) per total soil volume (bulk-soil, water and air; Vt = Vs + Vw + Va), which
is characteristic of practice in agronomy and soil physics. Engineers more commonly express
moisture content on a per mass basis (w), mass of water (Mw) per mass of soil (Ms). The two
can be related to each other by knowing the dry bulk density (ρdb), dry bulk specific gravity
(Γdb) of the soil (ratio of dry bulk density to water density (ρw)), wet bulk density (ρwb), and
wet bulk specific gravity (Γwb) of the soil (ratio of wet bulk density to water density):

𝜌𝑑𝑏
𝜃 = 𝑤 = 𝑤 Γ𝑑𝑏
𝜌𝑤

𝑤 𝜌𝑤𝑏 𝑤
𝜃= = Γ
1 + 𝑤 𝜌𝑤 1 + 𝑤 𝑤𝑏
38 3.3 Soil and Design Data

Furthermore, you may optionally enter a subsurface inflow from the ground water (metric:
mm/yr; US customary: inch/yr) into each vertical percolation layer or lateral drainage layer
except for the layer at the bottom of the profile (but not for barrier soil layers or geomembrane
liners). The HELP model assumes that this inflow occurs with a constant flow rate all over the
year.

3.3.5 Lateral Drainage Layer Characteristics

The following design parameters are required for lateral drainage layers:
• The maximum drainage length (metric: m; US customary: feet) which is the length of
the horizontal projection of a representative flow path from the crest to the collector;
the drainage length must be greater than zero but does not have a practical upper limit.
• The drain slope (metric and US customary: %) should be the slope of the surface of
the liner underlying the drainage layer in the direction of flow (the maximum gradient
for a section of liner in a single plane) and may range from 0 to 50 percent.

Usually the drainage water is removed from the system. However, HELP 3 allows
recirculating a part or the entire drainage water of a lateral drainage layer into another layer
except for a liner (recirculation). In this case the following data are required:
• The percentage of the drainage water to be recirculated (leachate recirculation; %)
• The number of the layer where to recirculate the drainage water (recirculation
destination; recirculate to layer no.). The destination layer must be of the type vertical
percolation or lateral drainage layer.

You may arrange more than one lateral drainage layer (LDL) upon each other, building a
multi-layered LDL (e. g., layers 7 and 8 in Figure 1). Lateral drainage is calculated only from
the bottommost of these layers which is located directly above the liner. Accordingly, the
lateral drainage layer characteristics must be entered only for the bottommost lateral drainage
layer of a multi-layered LDL. Internally these characteristics are assigned to the other LDLs
of the multi-layer LDL, and HELP calculates an effective saturated hydraulic conductivity for
the multi-layer LDL according to the average head on the liner.

3.3.6 Geomembrane Characteristics

You can assign geomembrane liner characteristics (vapor diffusivity/saturated hydraulic


conductivity) to a layer using the default option or the manual option. Saturated hydraulic
conductivity for geomembranes is defined in terms of its equivalence to the vapor diffusivity.
The porosity, field capacity, wilting point and initial moisture content are not needed for
geomembranes. Table 4 shows the default characteristics for 8 geomembrane liner materials
(HELP Nos. 35 to 42).

Regardless of the method of specifying the geomembrane characteristics, the program also
requires values for geomembrane liner thickness, pinhole density, installation defect density,
3 Input Data and Input Options 39

geomembrane placement quality, and the transmissivity of geotextiles, if any, separating


geomembranes and drainage limiting soils. These parameters are defined below.
• Pinhole Density (metric: 1/ha; US customary: 1/acre): the number of defects (dia-
meter of hole equal to or smaller than the geomembrane thickness; hole estimated as
1 mm in diameter) in a given area generally resulting from manufacturing flaws such
as polymerization deficiencies.
• Installation Defect Density (metric: 1/ha; US customary: 1/acre): the number of
defects (diameter of hole larger than the geomembrane thickness; hole estimated as
1 cm2 in area) in a given area resulting primarily from seaming faults and punctures
during installation.
• Placement Quality (six available values): the closeness of the contact between the
geomembrane and the drainage limiting soil.
• Geotextile Transmissivity (metric and US customary: cm2/sec): the product of the in-
plane saturated hydraulic conductivity and thickness of the geotextile; needed only
when a geotextile is placed with the geomembrane.

The density of pinholes and installation defects is a subject of speculation. Ideally, geo-
membranes would not have any defects. If any were known to exist during construction, the
defects would be repaired. However, geomembranes are known to leak and therefore
reasonably conservative estimates of the defect densities should be specified to determine the
maximum probable leakage quantities.
The density of defects has been measured at a number of landfills and other facilities
and reported in the literature. These findings provide guidance for estimating the defect
densities. Typical geomembranes may have about 0.5 to 1 pinholes per acre (1 to 2 pinholes
per hectare) from manufacturing defects. The density of installation defects is a function of
the quality of installation, testing, materials, surface preparation, equipment, and QA/QC
program. Representative installation defect densities as a function of the quality of installation
are given below for landfills being built today [USA, approximately 1990] with the state-of-
the art in materials, equipment and QA/QC. In the last column the frequency of achieving a
particular installation quality is given. The estimates are based on limited data but are
characteristic of the recommendations provided in the literature.

Installation Defect Density Defect Density Frequency


quality (number / acre) (number / ha) (%)
Excellent Up to 1 Up to 2 10
Good 1 to 4 2 to 10 40
Fair 4 to 10 10 to 25 40
Poor 10 to 20* 25 to 50* 10
* Higher defect densities have been reported for older landfills
with poor installation operations and materials; however, these
high densities are not characteristic of modern practice.

You must also enter the placement quality of the geomembrane liner. There are six different
possible entries for the geomembrane liner placement quality. The program selects which
equation will be used to compute the flow through the geomembrane based on the placement
40 3.3 Soil and Design Data

quality specified and the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the lower permeability soil
(called the drainage limiting soil) adjacent to the geomembrane. The program has different
equations for three ranges of saturated hydraulic conductivity: greater than or equal to 0.1
cm/sec; less than 0.1 and greater than or equal to 0.0001 cm/sec; and less than 0.0001 cm/sec.

Available values of the placement quality are:


1. Perfect: Assumes perfect contact between geomembrane and adjacent soil that limits
drainage rate (no gap, "sprayed-on" seal between membrane and soil formed in place).
2. Excellent: Assumes exceptional contact between geomembrane and adjacent soil that
limits drainage rate (typically achievable only in the lab or small field lysimeters).
3. Good: Assumes good field installation with well-prepared, smooth soil surface and
geomembrane wrinkle control to insure good contact between geomembrane and
adjacent soil that limits drainage rate.
4. Poor: Assumes poor field installation with a less well-prepared soil surface and/or
geomembrane wrinkling providing poor contact between geomembrane and adjacent
soil that limits drainage rate, resulting in a larger gap for spreading and greater
leakage.
5. Worst case: Assumes that contact between geomembrane and adjacent soil does not
limit drainage rate, resulting in a leakage rate controlled only by the hole.
6. Geotextile separating geomembrane liner and drainage limiting soil: Assumes
leakage spreading and rate is controlled by the in-plane transmissivity of the geotextile
separating the geomembrane and the adjacent soil layer that would have otherwise
limited the drainage. This quality would not normally be used with a geosynthetic clay
liner (GCL) as the controlling soil layer. Upon wetting, the bentonite swells and ex-
trudes into the geotextile, filling its voids and reducing its transmissivity below the
point where it can contribute significantly to spreading of leakage. GCL’s, when
properly placed, tend to have intimate contact with the geomembrane (HARPUR et al.
1993).

3.3.7 Runoff Curve Number Information

Runoff is calculated using the curve number method of the USDA Soil Conservation Service
(SCS). You must supply a value of the SCS runoff curve number for medium soil water
contents (Antecedent Moisture Condition II, abbreviated AMC-II) or provide information so
that a curve number can be computed. Unlike Version 2 of the HELP model, Version 3
accounts for surface slope effects on curve number and runoff. The curve number is limited to
values above 0 up to 100; values below 50 are hardly realistic and should not be used; 100
means complete sealing. Generally runoff increases with increasing curve number, but not
linearly. Internally HELP 3 calculates a second curve number used for frozen soil.
3 Input Data and Input Options 41

There are three options by which a curve number can be obtained.


1. You enter the curve number (user specified CN).
2. You enter the curve number and the program modifies it according to the surface slope
and slope length of the landfill also entered by yourself (modify specified CN).
3. HELP calculates the curve number based on landfill surface slope, slope length, soil
texture of the top layer and the vegetation cover (HELP computed CN). This option is
only available for soil textures commonly used in the U.S.A. (HELP Nos. 1 to 19 and
20 to 29 in Table 4).

Some general guidance for selection of runoff curve numbers is provided in Figure 3 (USDA,
SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE 1985). The equations used in options (2) and (3) to modify the
curve number according to surface slope and surface length were developed for slopes
ranging from 1 percent to as high as 50 percent and for slope lengths ranging from 50 feet to
2000 feet (15 to 610 m), see the Engineering Documentation (SCHROEDER et al. 1994b) for
more information.

100

80

60

SCS curve number as a function


40 of default soil texture and stand of grass
bare ground
poor stand of grass
20 fair stand of grass
good stand of grass
excellent stand of grass
0
CoS S LS LFS SL FSL L SiL SCL SiCL C
FS CL SiC
Soil texture

Figure 3 Relation between SCS Curve Number and Default US Soil Texture Number for
Various Levels of Vegetation
42 3.4 Validity Ranges of Input Data

3.4 Validity Ranges of Input Data

Table 5 summarizes validity ranges of input data as determined by the HELP model.

Table 5 Validity Ranges of Input Data

Input Value Range of Valid Values


Number of sets with soil and design data or 1 – 10
vegetation parameters within a simulation run
to change soil or vegetation properties
(corresponding number of properties changes) (0 – 9)
Number of layers 1 – 20
Number of liners 0–5
(Number of subprofiles) (1 – 6)
Number of layers in a liner 1 – 2; if 2 then different layer types
Simulation period 1 – 100 calendar years
Maximum leaf area index 0 – 5.0; higher values are also valid
Evaporative zone depth > 0 cm up to the top of the topmost liner
Drain slope > 0 – 50 %
Drain length > 0 m, practically no upper limit
Calculation of curve number:
- Surface slope 1 – 50 %
- Slope length 15 – 610 m (50 – 2000 ft)
4 The Modeling Procedure and its Limitations 43

4 The Modeling Procedure and its Limitations


In this section an overview is given of the modeling procedure and its assumptions and
limitations. Detailed information is presented in the Engineering Documentation (SCHROEDER
et al. 1994b) modified and complemented by BERGER (2012).

4.1 Overview of Modeling Procedure

The hydrologic processes modeled by the program can be divided into two categories: surface
processes and subsurface processes. The surface processes modeled are the accumulation of
precipitation as snow in the snow cover, snowmelt, interception of rainfall by the vegetation,
surface runoff, and surface evaporation (interception evaporation, evaporation of snow and of
melt water). The subsurface processes modeled are evaporation from soil profile, plant
transpiration, unsaturated and saturated vertical drainage, barrier soil liner percolation,
geomembrane leakage and saturated lateral drainage. Furthermore, frozen soil and growth and
decay of the vegetation are modeled.
Daily infiltration into the landfill is determined indirectly from a surface water balance.
Infiltration is assumed to equal the sum of rainfall, surface storage and snowmelt, minus the
sum of runoff, additional storage on plant surfaces and in snowpack and evaporation of
surface water. Liquid water can be held in surface storage from one day to the next on plant
surfaces (interception) and in the snowpack or when the top soil is saturated and runoff is not
permitted. Each day, the free available water for infiltration, runoff, or evaporation from water
on the surface is determined from the surface storage, discharge from the snowpack, and
rainfall. Snowfall is added to the surface snow storage, which is depleted by either
evaporation or melting. Snowmelt is added to the free available water and is treated as rainfall
except that it is not intercepted by vegetation. The free available water is used to compute the
runoff by the SCS rainfall-runoff relationship. Surface evaporation is then computed.
Potential evaporation from the surface is first applied to the interception (interception
evaporation); any excess is applied to the snowmelt, then to the snowpack and finally to the
ground melt. Potential evaporation in excess of the evaporation from the surface is applied to
the soil column and plant transpiration. The snowmelt and rainfall that does not run off or
evaporate is assumed to infiltrate into the landfill along with any ground melt that does not
evaporate.
The first subsurface processes considered are soil evaporation and plant transpiration
from the evaporative zone of the upper subprofile. A vegetative growth and decay model
accounts for the daily growth and decay of the vegetation. The other subsurface processes are
modeled one subprofile at a time, from top to bottom, using a design-dependent time step
ranging mostly from 45 minutes to 6 hours. A storage-routing procedure is used to
redistribute the soil water among the modeling segments that comprise the subprofile. This
procedure accounts for infiltration or percolation into the subprofile and evapotranspiration
from the evaporative zone. Then, if the subprofile contains a liner, the program computes the
head on the liner. The head on the liner is then used to compute the leakage/percolation
44 4.1 Overview of Modeling Procedure

through the liner and, if lateral drainage is permitted above the top of the liner, the lateral
drainage to the collection and removal system.

4.2 Assumptions and Limitations

The modeling procedures documented in the previous section are necessarily based on many
simplifying assumptions. Generally, these assumptions are reasonable and consistent with the
objectives of the program when applied to standard landfill designs. However, some of these
assumptions may not be reasonable for unusual designs. The major assumptions and
limitations of the program are summarized below.

Runoff is computed using the SCS curve number method based on daily amounts of rainfall
and snowmelt. The program assumes that areas adjacent to the landfill do not drain onto the
landfill. The time distribution of rainfall intensity is not considered. The program cannot be
expected to give accurate estimates of runoff volumes for individual storm events on the basis
of daily rainfall data. However, because the SCS rainfall-runoff relation is based on
considerable daily field data, long-term estimates of runoff should be reasonable. The SCS
method does not explicitly consider the length and slope of the surface over which overland
flow occurs. This limitation has been removed by developing and implementing into the
HELP input routine a procedure for computing curve numbers that take into consideration the
effect of slope and slope length. The limitation, however, remains on the user specified curve
number (the first method). This limitation is not a concern provided that the slope and slope
length of the landfill do not differ dramatically from those of the test plots upon which the
SCS method is based. Use of the SCS method probably underestimates runoff somewhat
where the overland flow distance is very short or the slope is very steep or when the rainfall
duration is very short and the intensity is very high.

The HELP model assumes Darcian flow by gravity influences through homogeneous soil and
waste layers. It does not consider explicitly preferential flow through channels such as cracks,
root holes, or animal burrows (macro pores). The program allows unsaturated vertical flow
only at moisture contents above field capacity. The drainage rate out of a segment is assumed
to equal the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the segment corresponding to its moisture
content, provided that the underlying segment is not a liner and is not saturated. In addition to
these special cases, the drainage rate out of a segment can be limited by the saturated
hydraulic conductivity of the segment below it. When limited the program computes an
effective gradient for saturated flow through the lower segment. This permits vertical
percolation or lateral drainage layers to be arranged without restrictions on their properties as
long as they perform as their layer description implies and not as liners.
The model assumes that (a) the soil moisture retention properties and unsaturated
hydraulic conductivity can be calculated from the saturated hydraulic conductivity and limited
soil moisture retention parameters (porosity, field capacity and wilting point) and (b) the soil
moisture retention properties fit a Brooks-Corey relation (BROOKS & COREY 1964) defined by
the three soil moisture retention parameters. Upon obtaining the Brooks-Corey parameters,
4 The Modeling Procedure and its Limitations 45

the model assumes that the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity relation with soil moisture is
well described by the equation of BROOKS & COREY (1964) (see also CAMPBELL 1974).
The model does not explicitly compute flow by differences in soil suction (soil suction
gradient) and, as such, does not model the draw of water upward by capillary drying. This
draw of water upward is modeled as an extraction rather than transport of water upward.
Therefore, it is important that the evaporative zone depth be specified as the depth of capillary
drying. Drainage downward by soil suction exerted by dry soils lower in the landfill profile is
modeled as Darcian flow for any soil having a relative moisture content greater than the lower
soils. The drainage rate is equal to the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity computed as a
function of the soil moisture content. As such, the rate is assumed to be independent of the
pressure gradient.

Leakage through barrier soil layers is modeled as saturated Darcian flow. Barrier soil layers
are assumed to be water saturated at all times. Leakage is assumed to occur only as long as
there is head on the surface of the liner. The model assumes that the head driving the
percolation can be represented by the average head across the entire liner and can be
estimated from the soil moisture storage. It is also assumed that the liner underlies the entire
area of the landfill and, conservatively, that when leakage occurs, the entire area of the
landfill leaks. The model does not consider aging or drying of the liner and, therefore, the
saturated hydraulic conductivity of the liner does not vary as a function of time.

Geomembranes are assumed to leak primarily through holes. The leakage passes through the
holes and spreads between the geomembrane and soil until the head is dissipated. The leakage
then percolates through the soil at the rate dependent on the saturated hydraulic conductivity
and the pressure gradient. Therefore, the net effect of a geomembrane is to reduce the area of
percolation through the liner system. The program assumes the holes to be uniformly
distributed and the head is distributed across the entire liner. The model does not consider
aging of the liner and therefore the number and size of the holes do not vary as a function of
time. In addition, it is conservatively assumed that the head on the holes can be represented by
the average head across the entire liner and can be estimated from the soil moisture storage
and that the liner underlies the entire area of the landfill.

The lateral drainage model is based on the assumption that the saturated depth profile is
characteristic of the steady-state profile for the given average depth of saturation. As such, the
model assumes that the lateral drainage rate for steady-state drainage at a given average depth
of saturation is representative of unsteady lateral drainage rate for the same average saturated
depth. In actuality the rate would be somewhat larger for periods when the depth is building
and somewhat smaller for periods when the depth is falling. Steady drainage implies that
saturated conditions exist above the entire surface of the liner, agreeing with the assumptions
for leakage through liner systems.
The lateral drainage equation was developed for the expected range of hazardous waste
landfill design specifications. Permissible ranges for slope of the drainage layer are 0 to 50
percent. Due to dimensionless structure of the lateral drainage equation, there are no practical
limits in the maximum drainage length.
46 4.2 Assumptions and Limitations

The model cannot simulate a capillary break or unsaturated lateral drainage, and therefore it
cannot simulate capillary barriers.

The model assumes that the vegetative growth and decay can be characterized by a vegetative
growth model developed for crops and perennial grasses. In addition, it is assumed that the
vegetation transpires water, shades the surface, intercepts rainfall and reduces runoff in
similar quantities as grasses or as an adjusted equivalence of LAI.

Beginning with HELP version 3.80 D many properties of a landfill profile may be modified
within a simulation run to allow simulating the aging of a profile if the user enters appropriate
input values. The number of modifications is restricted to 9; that means up to 10 sets of soil
and design and/or of vegetation/evapotranspiration data are allowed. Modifications become
effective only at the beginning of a calendar year and remain in effect for one or more
complete calendar years until the next modification occurs or the simulation period ends.
Though modifications occur abruptly on January 1st the effects of some of them are smooth.
If, for example, there is a dormant period of the vegetation in winter time of the Northern
hemisphere modifications of the maximum leaf area index and/or the evaporative zone depth
result in smooth effects on the evapotranspiration. A property that may not be modified within
a simulation run is the sequence of layer types of the profile. A landfill profile growing for
example due to disposal of waste may not be simulated in a single run. You should also be
careful modifying the thickness of layers. Actually the program checks the validity of
modifications not very strictly; therefore, the program may accept modifications, but
calculates nonsensical results.

Default Soil Characteristics

The HELP model contains default values of soil characteristics based on US soil texture class.
The origin of these values is described in the Engineering Documentation SCHROEDER et al.
(1994b). The default values of the evaporation coefficient are based on experimental results.
The basis for the calculation of these values is also described by SCHROEDER et al. (1994b).

Weather Generator

The synthetically generated precipitation, air temperature and solar radiation values are
assumed to be representative of the climate at the site. Synthetic daily temperature is a
function of normal mean monthly temperature and the occurrence of rainfall. Synthetic daily
solar radiation is a function of latitude, occurrence of rainfall, average daily dry-day solar
radiation and average daily wet-day solar radiation.
5 Program Use 47

5 Program Use
5.1 Introduction and General Notes

The user interface of HELP 3.9 D was developed for Windows and hence is subject to the
rules of operation for Windows user interfaces. Therefore, this section focuses on general
notes and specifics of the HELP user interface. The input data required for the simulation and
the input options are described in section 3 and are assumed to be known in this section.

For the project management it is recommended to create a project folder including sub folders
where appropriate for every project, for example, the HELP simulations for the design of a
particular landfill.

HELP 3.95 D uses the same input files with the same formats as HELP 3.07 and all HELP-D
versions. The input data are stored with regard to their subject in five types of input files plus
one type for the simulation control data. The output data of HELP are written into up to four
types of output files; three of them are optional and structured as tables so that they can easily
be imported into spreadsheet and graphics programs for further processing. All input and
output files are text files; Appendix 6.2 gives an overview.

Note: Do not use national special characters in file or path names of HELP input or output
files! Use ASCII characters only. Save are a to z, A to Z, 0 to 9, _, blank, -, ( ) and
some more. Neither the HELP model nor the weather generator recognizes non-
ASCII characters.
Complete file names may be up to 254 characters long.
Do not use file names or file extensions of the HELP files for other files.

You may input data in metric units or units customary in the U.S.A. (customary units or US
customary units). You have to choose a unit system (metric or US customary) separately for
every of the five input files and uniformly for all output files of a simulation run. Within a
simulation run the unit systems of different input files may be different (e. g. precipitation in
metric and solar radiation in US customary units). In Appendix 6.1 the required units of the
input files are summarized for both unit systems.

In some input masks you have to set output files before the corresponding data were created,
for example in some input options of daily weather data (synthetic generation, import of
Visual HELP files) or in the input of simulation control data. These output files are not
created and existing files are not overwritten, respectively, before the corresponding
procedure (generation or import of data, simulation) has been executed.

Numbers have to be input with the usual decimal separator and without a numerical group
(thousands) separator, for example input 1000.5 not 1,000.5 .
48 5.1 Introduction and General Notes

Context-sensitive help in input masks is available by pressing the F1 key (as usual in
Windows).

Note: Usually the help window remains the topmost window of the HELP user interface (if
you don’t close or minimize it) even if you click on another HELP window. To avoid
this open the help window first using the menu item Help / Help and let it open.

In some input masks further functions may be accessed by corresponding context menus that
can be activated by clicking the right mouse button in an input field. Menu items of a context
menu that are not applicable in the actual context are disabled (greyed). If a context menu is
available a message is displayed in the input mask.
Functions during data input that may result in a significant loss of data have to be
confirmed by answering a confirmation message.
In many input fields data are basically checked, for example for the valid range of
values, when leaving the input field. In case of an error an error message is displayed and the
input field cannot be left. Furthermore, input data are checked before saving and error
messages are displayed if errors were detected. Generally, erroneous data cannot be saved.

HELP 3.07 and the original weather generator use a simplified leap year definition. Every
year divisible without remainder by 4 is a leap year. HELP 3.9x D and the modified weather
generator use the leap year definition of the Gregorian calendar. Years divisible by 100 except
those divisible by 400 are no leap years. See the sections 5.4.2.1 on Synthetic Generation with
the Weather Generator, 5.5 on Simulation, and 5.7 on Configuration for more information.

Currently printing of simulation results is not available in the user interface. However,
because all output files are text files they can be read in into an editor or a text processor and
be printed there.

Input and output files created with the DOS versions of HELP-D (versions 3.07 D to 3.80 D)
and HELP 3.07 may be used with HELP 3.95 D. However, if you want to use input files
created with HELP 3.9x D in DOS HELP versions you have to observe the very restrictive
file naming conventions of these versions.

5.2 Main Menu

The main menu contains the following menu items:


1. File with the items Project Manager, see section 5.3, and Exit of the program
2. Data Input; including all routines to import, input or edit data for simulations except
for the control data of simulation runs; more information is given in section 5.4
3. Simulation; to input or edit control data for simulation runs, to start simulation runs
and to view simulation results (only the summary output file); more information is
given in section 5.5
4. Results; to view HELP output files of any kind (summary, daily, monthly, and yearly
results); more information is given in section 5.6
5 Program Use 49

5. Help with the items Help on how to use HELP 3.95 D, Configuration for default
settings of the program, see section 5.7, and the program information About HELP

5.3 The Project Manager

The project manager gives an overview of the simulation runs in the chosen folder. Starting
with the simulation control files in the folder the input and output files of each simulation run
are evaluated and the main information is collected in a table in one row per run. If vegetation
or soil and design data are changing within a simulation run only the information for the first
set of data are shown and a corresponding message is displayed on top of the table (If there is
more than one material properties set only the values of the first set are shown.). If a value
cannot be determined, for example because a file cannot be read, a question mark (?) is shown
in the table. If an error occurs on evaluating a simulation run or if the output file(s) may be
out of date the row of the particular simulation run is highlighted (shown in orange color) and
a note is displayed when the mouse pointer is set to the first column of the run (Simulation
Run / Control File). The note may have the following entries:
• File(s) not accessible: One or more input or output files could not be accessed.
• Input or control file(s) newer than output file(s), what means that the output file(s)
may be out of date.
• Output files of different age, what means that the output files probably do not belong
to the same simulation run.

If you mark the check box Display error messages (if any) error messages which may occur
during the evaluation of simulation runs are shown in message boxes. You have to confirm
each of these messages.

Note: The display of these message boxes cannot be canceled! If there are many messages
the collection of the table entries may be enervating.

The table created by the project manager can be exported into a text file with the button
Export. The text file may then be imported for further processing into a spread sheet.
Columns of the table may be separated by semicolon (;) or horizontal tabulator by choosing
the corresponding File type.

5.4 Data Input

5.4.1 Region

In the menu item Region you can choose the region for the locations with default evapo-
transpiration parameters and with parameters to synthetically generate daily weather data.
Currently available regions are Germany („Deutschland“) and the U.S.A. with the locations of
HELP 3 (USA) (see Table 1 and Table 3).
50 5.4 Data Input

5.4.2 Daily Weather Data of Precipitation, Air Temperature and Solar Radiation

5.4.2.1 Synthetic Generation with the Weather Generator

In HELP 3.9 D the daily values of precipitation, temperature, and solar radiation are
synthetically generated in separate menu items. In each of these menu items you have to
choose a location of the chosen region (see section 5.4.1) with the button Select. The
generation of temperature and solar radiation data requires precipitation data to consider the
effects of clouds. Therefore, a file name of a HELP file with precipitation data has to be
entered in the input masks of the corresponding menu items. The precipitation data may have
been input with any option. The generation of temperature and solar radiation data is
restricted to the number of years with precipitation data.
For the generation of precipitation and air temperature data you can select to use the
default normal mean monthly precipitation or temperature values for the chosen location
provided by the program in the column Default or to input these values by yourself in the
column User. In the latter case you have to input a value for every month. For the generation
of solar radiation you can modify the geographic latitude of the location (to be entered as a
decimal number, e.g. 53.8).
You cannot start the synthetic generation with the weather generator by clicking the
button Generate before all necessary data were input.
When generating precipitation data the weather generator creates year dates from 1 to
100. However, when generating temperature or solar radiation data the weather generator
takes the year dates of the precipitation data (see also the note in section 5.6).
If the data generation is successful a corresponding message is shown. If an error occurs
running the weather generator the generator outputs an error message into its window and
waits for your confirmation. Afterwards it returns to the Synthetic .. Data Generation
window.

Note: In HELP 3.95 D two versions of the weather generator are available, the original and
a modified version (see below for a description of the differences). The version used
for data generation is set in the configuration (see section 5.7). However, the version
used for generation is neither documented in this input mask nor in the output file of
HELP.

Note: Do not use national special characters in file (path) names! Use ASCII characters
only.

The modified weather generator differs from the original version as follows:

1. The modified version uses the leap year definition of the Gregorian calendar (see
section 5.1). Consequently the year 100 generated by the original weather generator is
a leap year, but the year 100 of the modified weather generator is not. To avoid non-
sensical results when using data generated by the modified weather generator with the
model version HELP 3.07 the modified weather generator of HELP 3.95 D copies the
data of the 365th day of the year 100 (and all non-leap years) to the 366th day.
5 Program Use 51

2. The modified version defines the unit conversion factor of solar radiation from US
customary units (Langley) to metric units (MJ/m2) more precisely.
3. The modified version generates different data than the original version beginning with
the 5th year.
4. Both versions of the weather generator of HELP 3.95 D differ in software technical
issues compared to the original weather generator used in HELP 3.07.

5.4.2.2 Import from DWD-Files (German Weather Service)

Information on how to import files of the German Weather Service (DWD) is only available
in the German user’s guide (“Benutzerhandbuch”).

5.4.2.3 Import from Text File(s)

In an import procedure you can import one or more text files of one particular weather value
(either precipitation or temperature or solar radiation) to one HELP input file. Each text file
must contain the data of at least one complete calendar year. The file may contain data of
several years, but not all of them have to be imported. The units of the data of different text
files may also be different (metric, US customary or linear unit conversion).
For every text file to import you have to input the year of the first year in the file (First
year in file) (e.g. 1995) and the number of years consecutively to be imported (Number of
consecutive years). After every imported year the program automatically counts up the year
for 1 (e.g. from 1995 to 1996). Please ensure that the text file contains 366 values for leap
years.
The import of a text file is started by clicking the button Import. A text file cannot be
imported before all necessary data were input. In case of an error during import a
corresponding message is displayed and the import of the text file is aborted. The previously
successfully imported years remain. Possible errors are an invalid number of data, e. g. 365
instead of 366 for a leap year, or less years in the text file than stated.
For the linear unit conversion the program accepts the factor (multiply by) 0. However,
all values in the text file are then converted to the constant value entered as summand (then
add).
You can save the imported data in a HELP input file by clicking the button Save.

Sketch on How to Import Data from Spreadsheet Files

Data in spreadsheet files can be imported as text files to HELP according to the following
procedure:
1. Create a safety copy of the spreadsheet file.
2. The worksheet to be exported must contain at least one complete calendar year of data
of a particular weather value (precipitation, air temperature, or solar radiation,
respectively). If there is more than one year in the worksheet the years must be
consecutive. Therefore
52 5.4 Data Input

a. Fill all measurement gaps and replace all missing values of the weather value
to be exported with meaningful values. For example, if a single temperature or
solar radiation value is missing it can be replaced by the mean of the two
adjacent values.
b. Delete all data that do not belong to the weather value to be exported including
the dates.
3. Keep the first year, the number of consecutive years, and the unit of the data in mind.
4. Save the worksheet as a text file with the values separated by tab stop or by blank
characters.
5. Exit the spreadsheet program (do no overwrite the previously stored text file).
6. Open the text file with an editor and check whether the number decimal separator is
the dot and whether there is no number group (thousands) separator (e.g. a comma).
Otherwise replace the inappropriate characters and save the corrected text file.
7. Import the text file to HELP; perform unit conversion as needed.

5.4.2.4 Manual Input of Weather Data (Create New and Open File & Edit)

The manual input of daily weather data of precipitation, air temperature and solar radiation is
divided to two input masks:
1. General Data & Years, the yearly data table
2. Daily data for one year: Daily ... Data ... for Year ..., the daily data table

The yearly data table is a 10 x 10-cell matrix. On the right-hand side of every year the
corresponding yearly sum (precipitation, solar radiation) or yearly average (temperature) is
displayed which have been calculated by the program from the daily values of the particular
year. The yearly data table may contain empty entries (years) at any location. The table is
condensed after clicking the button Save.

In the daily data table of a particular year every month is divided into two rows, the first row
for the data of the 1st to the 15th of the month, and the second row for the data of the 16th to
the last day of the month.

Note: Only completely input years can be saved! If the daily data of a year are not
completely input you may only abort the input and all input data of this year are lost!

In both input masks you can activate a context menu by clicking the right mouse button in an
input field of a year or a daily value, respectively.

The context menu activated in the input field of a particular year of the yearly data table
contains the following options (if applicable):
1. Input or edit the daily values of the corresponding year (Edit daily values ...)
2. Insertion of a new empty input field at the current position; the years at the current
position and all positions above are moved for one position to the end (Add year at
5 Program Use 53

current position); if a year with daily data exists at the last position of the table it is
deleted after answering a confirmation message.
3. Deletion of the year including its data at the current position; the years following this
position are moved one position to the top (Delete year at current position).

In the daily data table the context menu contains two options to insert missing data at the
appropriate position or to delete duplicate data of a particular day:
1. Insertion of a new empty input field at the current position; the value at the current
position and all positions above are moved for one position (one day) to the end (Add
day at current position); the value of the last day of the year is lost.
2. Deletion of the day at the current position; all data following this position are moved
for one position (one day) to the beginning of the year and a new empty input field is
inserted on the last day of the year (Delete day at current position).

If you enter a year with already input daily data on another input field of the yearly data table
this year including its data will be copied to a new position after confirmation. Afterwards
you have to change the year of the copy to a still unused year (e.g. 1995 to 1999).

5.4.3 Soil and Design Data

The input of the soil and design data is divided to three input masks:
1. Landfill General Information
2. Layer Properties (layer table)
3. Runoff Curve Number Information
You can move from one input mask to another by clicking on the buttons Next, Previous,
First and Last.

In the layer table you can input the properties of a layer not before the layer type has been
chosen because the required properties depend on the layer type. Properties inappropriate for
a layer type are disabled. By clicking the right mouse button in an input field of the layer table
the corresponding context menu is displayed with the following options:
1. Selection of a soil texture from the data base of soil textures (USA), further material
and German soil textures (Choose Soil Texture). The soil texture may also be selected
by entering the corresponding HELP-No. (Table 4) to the input field Soil Texture No.
2. Insertion of a new empty layer above or below the current layer (Add Layer Above and
Add Layer Below, respectively). If the data of the bottommost layer would be lost due
to the insertion you first have to answer a confirmation message.
3. Deletion of the current layer after answering a confirmation message (Delete Layer).
The layers below the current layer are moved one position to the top and a new empty
layer is added at the bottommost position. The current layer may also be marked as
deleted by setting the Layer Type to None.
The layer table may contain empty layers or layers marked as deleted (Layer Type None) at
any position. After clicking the button Save Data the layer table will be condensed and the
data will be checked.
54 5.4 Data Input

The following input fields of the layer table are optional: Subsurface Inflow which is
only enabled for vertical percolation and lateral drainage layers, and Leachate Recirculation
and Recirculate to Layer No. which are only enabled for lateral drainage layers. Usually no
input is needed in these input fields. Therefore, leave these fields blank except you need them.
Furthermore, the input field Soil Texture No. may be blank. In all other enabled input fields of
the layer table you have to input data.
If the lateral drainage of a lateral drainage layer shall not be completely removed from
the system but shall partially or entirely recirculated into another layer input the percentage of
the lateral drainage to recirculate into the input field Leachate Recirculation (the remaining
lateral drainage will be removed) and the consecutive number of the destination layer for
recirculation in the input field Recirculate to Layer No. Water may only be recirculated into
layers of the layer type vertical percolation or lateral drainage layer.

Note: The layer table is very wide. Use the horizontal scroll bar to view and edit all entries.

Note: After entering the data into the third input mask Runoff Curve Number Information
you have to move to the field Program will use curve number of by the tabulator key
or by clicking on this field to calculate the runoff curve number with the input data.

Already during input the data are basically checked especially with regard to valid ranges. By
clicking the button Save Data an extensive check is performed that also includes the layer
type arrangement. Error messages and warnings are displayed in the log window Soil &
Design Data Input Errors.

5.5 Simulation

5.5.1 Overview

In the input mask Simulation Control you may


• enter and save new data to control a simulation run (button New)
• choose an existing simulation control file (button Choose) and
• edit the control data of the chosen file (button Edit Data) or check these data (button
Check after clicking the button Edit Data) or
• perform the simulation with the chosen control data file and the chosen model version
(button Simulate) or
• view the summary output file of the simulation (button Results).

The input of simulation control data is described in the next two sections 5.5.2 and 5.5.3.

Note: The data of a chosen simulation control file should be checked by clicking the button
Check after clicking Edit Data if the simulation control file has been created with
another HELP version or has been copied from another computer or, for example, if
directory or file names have been modified since the previous storage of the
simulation control file.
5 Program Use 55

Note: If you check the simulation control parameters and no errors in file (path) names are
found the simulation will fail anyhow if a path name contains non-ASCII characters.

You can choose the model version for simulation (HELP 3.95 D or HELP 3.07, the current
US-American original version, see section 5.1 for the different leap year definitions).

Note: The model version HELP 3.07 is only available for constant designs. The option
HELP 3.07 is automatically disabled for simulation control data files describing
designs with changing properties.

Note: If you simulate with HELP 3.07 be aware of its simplified leap year definition (see
chapter 5.1). Years divisible without remainder by 4 that are no leap years according
to the Gregorian calendar must have 366 meaningful data in all weather data files.

By clicking the button Simulate the simulation is performed with the chosen simulation
control file and the chosen model version. The behavior of the two model versions is different
in case of a successful simulation as well as in case of an error:
• After successful simulation with HELP 3.95 D a message is displayed, but with HELP
3.07 there is no message.
• If errors occur during simulation while reading or writing files HELP 3.95 D displays
corresponding messages in its window and waits for your confirmation. After the
confirmation a summary message is displayed by the user interface. In case of an error
HELP 3.07 displays also messages, but returns immediately to the user interface; no
messages can be seen.

5.5.2 Input of Simulation Control Data of a Simulation Run

Up to model version HELP 3.55 D the design has to be constant within a simulation run;
beginning with HELP 3.80 D design properties may change. Therefore, the input of the
control data of a simulation run is divided to two input masks:
1. Input of Simulation Control Data (required), and
2. Optional input of changes of vegetation/evapotranspiration parameters and soil and
design data (Vegetation and Soil & Design Properties Changes). An input is required
only if an aging of the profile shall be simulated and therefore properties have to be
changed. In this case click first on Yes at Change Properties? in the first input mask
Input of Simulation Control Data, then click on the button Edit Data. More informat-
ion is given in section 5.5.3.

For a simulation run with constant design five input files are required, three with daily
weather data (precipitation, select with the button Precipitation, file extension .D4; air
temperature, select with the button Temperature, file extension .D7; solar radiation, select
with the button Solar Radiation, file extension .D13), and one file each with evapo-
transpiration/vegetation parameters (select with the button Evapotranspiration, file extension
56 5.5 Simulation

.D11), and soil and design data (select with the button Soil & Design, file extension .D10).
Beginning with HELP 3.80 D in a simulation run at least one and up to four output files (text
files) are created. The summary output file is always created. In this file all output except for
the daily results is written. The file name is selected with the button Output File; the file
extension is .OUT. The corresponding check box Summary Output cannot be modified. The
other three output files are optional and contain daily, monthly, and yearly simulation results,
respectively. You can select the optional output files by marking the check boxes in Output
Generation. These files have the same path name as the summary output file, but the file
extensions .DAY (daily output), .MON (monthly output), and .YR (yearly output), respectively.
More information especially on the structure of the output files is given in section 5.6.

Note: The model version HELP 3.07 creates only the summary output file. Daily output is
written year by year into this file.

The simulation period, i.e. the Number of years to simulate, is limited to the smallest number
of years of the chosen files with daily weather data, and, if changes of profile properties shall
be simulated, to the sum of years where the changes are valid. However, you can input a
smaller number of years. The simulation always starts with the first year of the chosen files
and ends after the selected number of years; all data of the years that may follow behind are
ignored.

5.5.3 Modification of Vegetation Properties and/or Soil and Design Data within a
Simulation Run

Note: This option is not available for model version HELP 3.07.

Since HELP 3.80 D the aging of a landfill profile can be simulated by changing vegetation
properties and/or soil and design properties within a simulation run. Changes may come into
effect only at the beginning of a calendar year and remain effective for one or more complete
calendar years. Changes of profile properties are technically implemented by separate files
with vegetation/evapotranspiration parameters (*.D11) and with soil and design data (*.D10),
respectively. For every change of profile properties a new file with the corresponding data is
required together with the number of years the data shall be effective. In total 10 sets of files
and number of years the data shall be in effect may be input, thus allowing changes of profile
properties at 9 times. The files have to be complete, that means they may not contain only the
changed properties but have to contain also the data of the properties that remain constant.

In the evapotranspiration parameters file especially changes of the maximum leaf area index
and of the evaporative zone depth are reasonable to simulate the succession of the vegetation.
However, you can also change the other data of these files, for examples of the relative
humidity values. However, changes of the location and the geographic latitude are non-
sensical and therefore ignored by the HELP model. If you change the maximum leaf area
index you should check whether the runoff curve number in the soil and design data file also
has to be changed.
5 Program Use 57

In the soil and design data file most of the soil properties may be changed. However, the
general layer type sequence must remain constant. Thus, an aging landfill profile may be
simulated but not a profile “growing” during landfill operation, for example by waste disposal
or the construction of a cover system. A “growing” profile cannot be meaningful simulated
even if the layer type sequence remains constant and only the layer thicknesses are changed
because the total soil water content of the vertical percolation and lateral drainage layers of a
subprofile remains constant at the time when the soil properties change. Impermissible
changes are first of all layer type changes of a layer from non-liner components (layer types
vertical percolation layer and lateral drainage layer) to liner components (layer types barrier
soil layer and geomembrane liner) or vice versa. Changes of the Landfill General Information
are nonsensical and therefore ignored except for the percentage of area where runoff is
possible. In the layer table changes of the initial moisture are ignored and changes of the
drain length do not seem to be reasonable.
Concerning barrier soil layers it has to be observed that HELP assumes these layers to
be always water saturated and models only a saturated percolation through these layers.
Changes of the pore size distribution (total porosity, field capacity, wilting point) are
therefore considered to be ineffective and are thus nonsensical. Changes of the barrier soil
layer thickness, however, affect the level of the hydraulic gradient. Changes of the layer
thickness or the pore size distribution of barrier soil layers do not have any effect in HELP on
the water content of adjacent layers, for example by squeezing pore water out of the layer if
the layer thickness is decreased. To preserve the integrity of the water balance, changes of the
thickness or total porosity of barrier soil layers lead to artificial changes in the water content
at the beginning of the year where the changes become effective. A message pointing to this
artifact is written into the summary output file.

In the input mask Vegetation and Soil & Design Properties Changes you have to input in each
Set with properties changes at least one of the two files, Soil and Design Data Files and
Vegetation / Evapotranspiration Data Files, respectively, and the number of years this set
shall be in effect (Years Valid). If the properties in one of the two files remain constant you
may repeat that file name from the previous entry or you may leave the input field blank.
To delete an input file name activate the context menu in the corresponding text field
(click the right mouse button). Deleting the file name does not delete the file.
The input mask may contain empty sets between non-empty sets. The set table is
automatically condensed after clicking on the button Ok.

Note: The user interface does not check the validity of the properties changes. The simula-
tion model performs only a loose check of the changes especially of the general
sequence of layer types and writes a message into the section Layer Data n of the
summary output file in case of an error. Generally, the simulation results will be
nonsensical in this case; however, nevertheless the simulation run will be continued.
58 5.6 Simulation Results

5.6 Simulation Results

In this menu item you can view the four types of output files. Currently, printing of the files is
not available. However, because all output files are text files, you can open and print them
with an editor or a word processor program. Three types of output files are tables with daily,
monthly, and yearly results, respectively, that may be read in into spreadsheet or graphics
programs for further processing. All output files of a simulation run have the same path name
and differ only in the file extension (summary output file .OUT, daily results .DAY, monthly
results .MON, yearly results .YR). The columns of the tables are described at the beginning of
the summary output file. The general structure of all output files is described in Table 6 to
Table 9.
The most important results of a simulation run are usually the average annual totals
(Average annual totals) at the end of the summary output file in the dimension length
(depth of a water column = volume per unit area, in metric units: mm).

Note: The model version HELP 3.07 creates only summary output files (.OUT). In these
files also the daily output is written year by year. Furthermore, the order of output
sections is different than in the model versions HELP 3.9x D (and 3.80 D), see Table
10. Please note also that vegetation and soil and design data remain constant in a
simulation run of HELP 3.07.

Note: The model versions HELP 3.9x D add 2100 to year dates from 1 to 100, created by
the weather generator. Thus four digit year dates between 2101 and 2200 are stored
in the output files.
5 Program Use 59

Table 6 Structure of the Summary Output Files (.OUT) (Model Version HELP 3.9x D)

Overview
▸ HELP title including version number
▸ Time and date of simulation
▸ File names of input and output files
▸ If daily output has been selected: Column description of the file *.DAY
▸ If monthly output has been selected: Column description of the file *.MON
▸ If yearly output has been selected: Column description of the file *.YR
▸ Title of the simulation run (Title), from the soil and design data file
▸ Daily weather data sources (Weather data sources)

For every set of soil and design data and of evapotranspiration data:
• Input data (only if there is a new data file):
▸ Layer descriptions (Layer data n), for n > 1 error messages on roughly
invalid changes of the layer sequence are stored
Only for the first file: Note on how initial water contents were determined
▸ General design data and evaporative zone data
(General design and evaporative zone data n)
▸ Evapotranspiration data (Evapotranspiration data n)
• Simulation results (per year):
▸ Monthly totals of the year (Monthly totals for year n) (Monthly output)
(detailed specifications see below)
▸ Yearly totals (Annual totals for year n) (Annual output)
(detailed specifications see below)

Simulation results of the entire simulation period (Summary output):


(detailed specifications see below)
▸ Water storage at the end of the simulation period
(Final water storage at end of year m)
▸ Maxima of the daily values (Peak daily values for years n through m)
▸ Average monthly values
(Average monthly values for years n through m)
▸ Average yearly values
(Average annual totals for years n through m)
Detailed Specifications
Monthly totals of a year (Monthly totals for year n) (Monthly output):
for every value in 2 rows and 6 columns: upper row: January to June;
lower row: July to December
▸ Monthly sums (monthly totals) of the flow components:
Precipitation (precipitation)
Surface runoff (runoff)
Potential evapotranspiration (potential evapotranspiration)
Actual evapotranspiration (actual evapotranspiration)
and dependent on the design:
Subsurface inflow into layer no. n
60 5.6 Simulation Results

(subsurface inflow into layer n)


Lateral drainage recirculated into layer no. n
(lateral drainage recirculated into layer n)
Lateral drainage collected from layer no. n (if drainage water of this layer
shall be recirculated into another layer the lateral drainage collected from
layer n comprises only the removed fraction, but not the recirculated fraction,
see the next value)
(lateral drainage collected from layer n)
Lateral drainage recirculated from layer n into layer m
(lateral drainage recirculated from layer n into l. m)
Percolation / leakage through layer no. n
(percolation/leakage through layer n)
▸ Monthly summaries of the daily heads on the liner of all subprofiles (Monthly
summaries for daily heads):
Monthly average of the daily head on layer no. n
(average daily head on top of layer n)
Associated standard deviations (std. deviation of daily head …)
Annual totals (Annual totals for year n) (Annual output):
in the dimensions length (volume per area = depth) and, if applicable, volume, and
percentage of precipitation:
▸ Sums:
Precipitation (precipitation)
Surface runoff (runoff)
Potential evapotranspiration (potential evapotranspiration)
Actual evapotranspiration (actual evapotranspiration)
and dependent on the design:
Subsurface inflow into layer no. n
(subsurface inflow into layer n)
Lateral drainage recirculated into layer no. n
(recirculation into layer n)
Lateral drainage collected from layer n (for details see above: monthly values)
(drainage collected from layer n)
Lateral drainage from layer n recirculated into layer m
(recirc. from layer n into l. m)
Percolation / leakage through layer no. n
(perc./leakage through layer n)
▸ Average values (dependent on the design):
Average head on top of layer n (avg. head on top of layer n)
▸ Values at particular dates and differences of these values:
Change in water storage between beginning and end of the year
(change in water storage)
Soil water content at the beginning and the end of the year
(soil water at start / end of year)
Water in the interception storage at the beginning and the end of the year
(interception water at start / end of year)
Snow water at the beginning and the end of the year
(snow water at start / end of year)
Annual error in the water budget balance (annual water budget balance)
Only if the total porosity or the thickness of a barrier soil layer has been changed
5 Program Use 61

at the beginning of the year:


Artificial change in the water storage of the barrier soil layer at the beginning
of the year (see section 5.5.3)
(Note: Artificial change in water storage of barrier soil
layer(s) ...)

Results of the entire simulation period (Summary output)

▸ Water storage at the end of the simulation period


(Final water storage at end of year m):
Final water content of the layers and its sum
(total water in layers)
Water content of the snow cover (snow water)
Water content in the interception storage (interception water)
Total water storage, sum of the above components (total final water)

▸ Maxima of the daily values (Peak daily values for year n through m)
as volume per area and as volume:
Precipitation (precipitation)
Surface runoff (runoff)
Dependent on the design:
Lateral drainage recirculated into layer no. n
(drainage recirculated into layer n)
Lateral drainage collected from layer n (for details see above: monthly values)
(drainage collected from layer n)
Lateral drainage from layer n recirculated into layer m
(drainage recirculated from layer n)
Percolation / leakage through layer no. n
(percolation/leakage through layer n)
Average of the daily average head on top of layer n
(average head on top of layer n)
Maximum of the daily average head on top of layer n
(maximum head on top of layer n)
Location of the maximum head in layer n (distance from drain)
(location of maximum head in layer n (distance from
drain))
Further values:
Snow water (snow water)
Minimum and maximum water content within the evaporative zone in vol/vol
(Minimum / Maximum veg. soil water (vol/vol))

▸ Average monthly values for the entire simulation period


(Average monthly values for years n through m)
for every value in 6 columns and 2 rows: upper row: January to June;
lower row: July to December
Average monthly totals and standard deviations (totals, std. deviations) of the
values:
Precipitation (precipitation)
Surface runoff (runoff)
Potential evapotranspiration (potential evapotranspiration)
62 5.6 Simulation Results

Actual evapotranspiration (actual evapotranspiration)


and dependent on the design:
Subsurface inflow into layer no. n
(subsurface inflow into layer n)
Lateral drainage recirculated into layer no. n
(lateral drainage recirculated into layer n)
Lateral drainage collected from layer n (for details see above: monthly values)
(lateral drainage collected from layer n)
Lateral drainage recirculated from layer no. n into layer no. m
(lateral drainage recirculated from layer n into l. m)
Percolation / leakage through layer no. n
(percolation/leakage through layer n)
Averages and standard deviations of the monthly summaries of the daily average
heads on layer no. n (Averages of monthly averaged daily heads)
(Daily average head on top of layer n: averages, std.
deviations)

▸ Average annual totals and standard deviations for the entire simulation period
(Average annual totals & std. deviations for years n to m)
in the dimensions length (volume per area = depth) and, if applicable, volume and
percentage of precipitation:
Sums:
Precipitation (precipitation)
Surface runoff (runoff)
Potential evapotranspiration (potential evapotranspiration)
Actual evapotranspiration (actual evapotranspiration)
and dependent on the design:
Subsurface inflow into layer no. n
(subsurface inflow into layer n)
Lateral drainage recirculated into layer no. n
(lateral drainage recirculated into layer n)
Lateral drainage collected from layer n (for details see above: monthly values)
(lateral drainage collected from layer n)
Lateral drainage recirculated from layer n into layer m
(drainage recirculated from layer n into l. m)
Percolation / leakage through layer no. n
(percolation/leakage through layer n)
Average values:
Average head on top of layer no. n (average head on top of layer n)
Differences between the beginning and the end of the simulation period:
Change in water storage (average per year)
(change in water storage)
Only if the total porosity or the thickness of a barrier soil layer has been
changed (see section 5.5.3):
Artificial change in the water storage of barrier soil layers
(Note: Artificial change in water storage of barrier soil
layer(s))
5 Program Use 63

Table 7 Structure of the Daily Output Files (.DAY)

Column Contents
1 Date Date: Format yyyymmdd (2100 is added to years ≤ 100 (year
numbers created by the weather generator))
2 Air temperature Air temperature below freezing (= 0 °C) (*) or not (-)
3 Frozen soil state Frozen soil state: frozen (*) or not frozen (-)
4 Precipitation Precipitation (inch or mm)
5 Runoff (Surface) runoff (inch or mm)
6 Potential evapotranspirat. Potential evapotranspiration (inch or mm)
7 Actual evapotranspiration Actual evapotranspiration (inch or mm)
8 Water content of the Water content inside the evaporative zone (inch or mm)
evaporative zone
Columns Dependent on the Design
Head #n: ... Average head on the liner of subprofile no. n (inch or cm)
Drain #n: ... Lateral drainage from the bottommost lateral drainage layer
of subprofile no. n (removed and, if entered, recirculated
portion) (inch or mm)
Leak #n: ... Leakage through the liner of subprofile no. n or leakage out
of the bottommost layer of the landfill profile (inch or mm)
Each row contains the simulation results of one day.

Table 8 Structure of the Monthly Output Files (.MON)

Column Contents
1 Date of ultimo Date of ultimo: Format yyyymmdd (2100 is added to
years ≤ 100 (year numbers created by the weather
generator))
2 Precipitation Precipitation (inch or mm)
3 Runoff (Surface) runoff (inch or mm)
4 Potential evapotranspirat. Potential evapotranspiration (inch or mm)
5 Actual evapotranspiration Actual evapotranspiration (inch or mm)
Columns Dependent on the Design
Subsurface inflow into Subsurface inflow into layer n (inch or mm)
layer n
Lateral drainage Lateral drainage recirculated into layer n (inch or mm)
recirculated into layer n
Head #n: ... Mean of the average daily head on the liner of subprofile
no. n (inch or cm)
Drain #n: ... Lateral drainage from the bottommost lateral drainage
layer of subprofile no. n (without the recirculated portion)
(inch or mm)
Recirc #n: ... Recirculated portion of the lateral drainage from the
bottommost lateral drainage layer of subprofile no. n (inch
or mm)
Leak #n: ... Leakage through the liner of subprofile no. n or leakage out
of the bottommost layer of the landfill profile (inch or mm)
Each row contains the results of one month. All values are sums except for the columns
Date and Head #n.
64 5.6 Simulation Results

Table 9 Structure of the Yearly Output Files (.YR)

Column Contents
Fix Columns
1 Date of ultimo Date of December 31st: Format yyyy1231 (2100 is added to
years ≤ 100 (year numbers created by the weather
generator))
2 Precipitation Precipitation (inch or mm)
3 Runoff (Surface) runoff (inch or mm)
4 Potential evapotranspirat. Potential evapotranspiration (inch or mm)
5 Actual evapotranspiration Actual evapotranspiration (inch or mm)
Columns Dependent on the Design
Subsurface inflow into Subsurface inflow into layer n (inch or mm)
layer n
Lateral drainage Lateral drainage recirculated into layer n (inch or mm)
recirculated into layer n
Head #n: ... Mean of the average daily head on the liner of subprofile
no. n (inch or cm)
Drain #n: ... Lateral drainage from the bottommost lateral drainage layer
of subprofile no. n (without the recirculated portion) (inch
or mm)
Recirc #n: ... Recirculated portion of the lateral drainage from the
bottommost lateral drainage layer of subprofile no. n (inch
or mm)
Leak #n: ... Leakage through the liner of subprofile no. n or leakage out
of the bottommost layer of the landfill profile (inch or mm)
Fix Columns
Change in ... Change in water storage between beginning and end of a
year (positive: increase, negative: decrease) (inch or mm)
- total water storage Total water storage of the layers, the interception storage
and the snow cover
- soil water Water content of the layers
- interception ... Water content in the interception storage
- snow water storage Water content in the snow cover
Annual water budget Annual water budget balance (inch or mm)
balance
Each row contains the results of one year. All values are sums except for those in the
columns Date, Head#n, and Change in ….
5 Program Use 65

Table 10 Structure of the Summary Output Files (.OUT) (Model Version HELP 3.07)

Overview
▸ HELP title including version number
▸ File names of input and output files
▸ Time and date of simulation
▸ Title of the simulation run (Title), from the soil and design data file
▸ Note on how the initial water contents were determined
▸ Layer descriptions (Layer 1 .. k)
▸ General design data and evaporative zone data
(General design and evaporative zone data)
▸ Evapotranspiration data and daily weather data sources
(Evapotranspiration and weather data)

• Simulation results (per year):


▸ Daily values of the year (Daily totals for year n) (Daily output)
▸ Monthly totals of the year (Monthly totals for year n) (Monthly output)
▸ Yearly totals (Annual totals for year n) (Annual output)

Simulation results of the entire simulation period (Summary output):


▸ Average monthly values
(Average monthly values for years n through m)
▸ Average yearly values
(Average annual totals for years n through m)
▸ Maxima of the daily values (Peak daily values for years n through m)
▸ Water storage at the end of the simulation period
(Final water storage at end of year m)

5.7 Configuration

In the menu item Configuration you can set default values of the main program settings and
store them in the configuration file. This file is read in during the start of the program.
Default settings refer to the Unit system (metric or US customary), the Region of the
locations with parameters for the calculation of evapotranspiration and the synthetic weather
generator, the Version of the Weather Generator used (original or modified as described in
section 5.4.2.1 and in the Foreword), the Model Version used for Simulation (HELP 3.95 D or
HELP 3.07), and the Language of the Help Texts (German or English). See section 5.1 for the
different leap year definitions of the HELP model and the weather generator versions.
The configuration file is stored in the HELP application data path of the Windows user
account.

Note: Users working under the same Windows user account share the configuration file.
6.1 Required Units of Input Data 67

6 Appendix
6.1 Required Units of Input Data

Value Units
US customary Metric
Daily weather data
Precipitation (daily depths) inch (in) mm
Air temperature (daily means) °F °C
Solar radiation (daily sums) Langley (ly) MJ/m2
Evapotranspiration parameters
Geographic latitude ° (decimal value) ° (decimal value)
Evaporative zone depth inch cm
Maximum leaf area index 1 (area/area) 1 (area/area)
Growing season (start and end) 1 (Julian date) 1 (Julian date)
Wind speed (mean yearly average) miles/h km/h
Relative humidity (mean quarterly average) % %
Soil and design data
Landfill area acre ha
Percent area where runoff is possible % %
Snow water inch mm
Layer thickness inch cm
Layers:
- Pore characteristics (PV, FC, WP) 1 (vol/vol) 1 (vol/vol)
- Initial moisture content 1 (vol/vol) 1 (vol/vol)
- Saturated hydraulic conductivity cm/sec cm/sec
Drain length feet (ft) m
Drain slope % %
Recirculation percentage % %
Subsurface inflow inch/yr mm/yr
Pinhole and installation defect density 1/acre 1/ha
Geotextile transmissivity cm2/sec cm2/sec
Curve number: Slope % %
Curve number: Slope length feet m
68 6.2 Input and Output Files

6.2 Input and Output Files

All input and output files of the simulation runs of HELP-D are text files. The contents are
identified by the file extension. Therefore, the file extensions and also the file names listed
below should not be used otherwise in the project folders of HELP-D.

File Contents File Extension or File Name


Input files
Precipitation (daily depths) .D4
Air temperature (daily means) .D7
Solar radiation (daily sums) .D13
Evapotranspiration and vegetation parameters .D11
Soil and design data .D10
Output files
Simulation results: summary output file .OUT
Simulation results: daily values (optional) .DAY
Simulation results: monthly values (optional) .MON
Simulation results: yearly values (optional) .YR
Control files
Data to control a simulation run .OPD
Auxiliary files
Formats of German Weather Service (DWD) files .KLFMT
(daily precipitation, air temperature)
Formats of German Weather Service (DWD) DWD_download_KL_KX_KG_KF.KLFmt
download files (daily values) for the formats KL, (in the HELP-D program folder)
KX, KG and KF
6.3 Literature (HELP 3 USA) 69

6.3 Literature (HELP 3 USA)

ARNOLD, J.G., WILLIAMS, J.R., NICKS, A.D. & SAMMONS, N.B., 1989: SWRRB, A basin scale
simulation model for soil and water resources management. Texas A&M University
Press, College Station, TX, 142 pp.
BREAZEALE, E., & MCGEORGE, W.T., 1949: A new technic for determining wilting percentage
of soil. Soil Science 68, pp. 371-374
BROOKS, R.H. & COREY, A.T., 1964: Hydraulic properties of porous media. Hydrology Papers
(3), Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 27 pp.
CAMPBELL, G.S., 1974: A simple method for determining unsaturated conductivity from
moisture retention data. Soil Science 117, pp. 311-314
ENGLAND, C.B., 1970: Land capability: A hydrologic response unit in agricultural watersheds.
ARS 41-172, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 12 pp.
HARPUR, W.A., WILSON-FAHMY, R.F. & KOERNER, R.M., 1993: Evaluation of the contact
between geosynthetic clay liners and geomembranes in terms of transmissivity.
Proceedings of GRI Seminar on Geosynthetic Liner Systems, Geosynthetic Research
Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 143-154
KNISEL, W.G. JR. (Ed.), 1980: CREAMS, A field scale model for chemicals, runoff, and
erosion from agricultural management systems. Vol. I - III. USDA-SEA, Conservation
Research Report 26, 643 pp.
LUTTON, R.J., REGAN, G.L. & JONES, L.W., 1979: Design and construction of covers for solid
waste landfills. EPA-600/2-79-165, US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati,
OH, 249 pp.
PERRIER, E.R. & GIBSON, A.C., 1980: Hydrologic simulation on solid waste disposal sites.
EPA-SW-868, US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, 111 pp.
RAWLS, W.J., BRAKENSIEK, D.L. & SAXTON, K.E., 1982: Estimation of soil water properties.
Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 25(5), pp. 1316-1320
RICHARDSON, C.W. & WRIGHT, D.A., 1984: WGEN: A model for generating daily weather
variables. ARS-8, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 83 pp.
SCHROEDER, P.R. & GIBSON, A.C., 1982: Supporting documentation for the hydrologic
simulation model for estimating percolation at solid waste disposal sites (HSSWDS).
Draft Report, US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, 153 pp.
SCHROEDER, P.R., GIBSON, A.C. & SMOLEN, M.D., 1984: The hydrologic evaluation of landfill
performance (HELP) model: Volume II, Documentation for version 1. EPA/530-SW-
84-010, US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, 256 pp.
SCHROEDER, P.R., PEYTON, R.L., MCENROE, B.M. & SJOSTROM, J.W., 1988a: The hydrologic
evaluation of landfill performance (HELP) model: Volume III, User's guide for
version 2. Internal Working Document EL-92-1, Report 1, US Army Engineer
Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS, 87 pp.
SCHROEDER, P.R., MCENROE, B.M., PEYTON, R.L. & SJOSTROM, J.W., 1988b: The hydrologic
evaluation of landfill performance (HELP) model: Volume IV, Documentation for
version 2. Internal Working Document EL-92-1, Report 2, US Army Engineer
Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS, 72 pp.
70 6.3 Literature (HELP 3 USA)

SCHROEDER, P.R., DOZIER, T.S., ZAPPI, P.A., MCENROE, B.M., SJOSTROM J.W. & PEYTON,
R.L., 1994b: The hydrologic evaluation of landfill performance (HELP) model:
Engineering documentation for version 3. EPA 600/R-94/168b. US Environmental
Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, 116 pp.
USDA, SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE, 1985: Chapter 9, Hydrologic soil-cover complexes.
National engineering handbook, Section 4, Hydrology. US Government Printing
Office, Washington, D.C., 11 pp.
6.4 Literature (Complement for HELP-D) 71

6.4 Literature (Complement for HELP-D)

AG BODEN, 2005: Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung. [Pedological Field Mapping


Instructions.] 5th edition, Hannover, Germany, 438 pp.
BERGER, K., 1998: Validierung und Anpassung des Simulationsmodells HELP zur
Berechnung des Wasserhaushalts von Deponien für deutsche Verhältnisse.
Umweltbundesamt, Fachgebiet III 3.6, PT AWAS, Berlin, 569 S.
[Validation and Adaptation of HELP Model for Simulating the Water Balance of
Landfills for German Conditions. Environmental Agency of Germany, Berlin,
Germany; 569 pp.] (out of print)
BERGER, K., 2000: Validation of the Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP)
Model for Simulating the Water Balance of Cover Systems. Environmental Geology
39 (11), Springer, pp. 1261-1274
BERGER, K., 2002: Potential and Limitations of Applying HELP Model for Surface Covers.
Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management, Vol. 6,
No. 3, July 2002, pp. 192-203
BERGER, K., 2012: The Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) Model.
Engineering Documentation for HELP 3.95 D - Enhancements Beyond HELP 3.07 -.
University of Hamburg, Institute of Soil Science; 10 pp.
DVWK 238/1996: Ermittlung der Verdunstung von Land- und Wasserflächen.
[Determination of the evapotranspiration of land and water expanses] Deutscher
Verband für Wasserwirtschaft und Kulturbau e. V., Merkblätter zur Wasserwirtschaft
238/1996, 135 pp.
RENGER, M. & HENSELER, K.L., 1968: Erforschung und zahlenmäßige Kennzeichnung des
Staunässegrades von wasserstauenden Böden Niedersachsens. Bericht über die
Ergebnisse des Forschungsvorhabens. Abteilung Bodenkunde des Niedersächsischen
Landesamtes für Bodenforschung, Hannover, 78 pp., Literaturverzeichnis und
Anlagen
SCHROEDER, P.R., AZIZ, N.M., LLOYD, C.M. & ZAPPI, P.A., 1994a: The hydrologic evaluation
of landfill performance (HELP) model: User's guide for version 3. EPA 600/R-
94/168a. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Risk Reduction Engineering
Laboratory, Cincinnati, Ohio, 84 pp. and Appendix
SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA, 1997: Glossary of Soil Science Terms. Madison,
Wisconsin, USA, 138 pp.
72 6.5 Bibliography (HELP 3 USA)

6.5 Bibliography (HELP 3 USA)

DARILEK, G.T., LAINE, D.L. & PARRA, J.O., 1989: The electrical leak location method
geomembrane liners: Development and applications. Geosynthetics '89 Conference
Proceedings, San Diego, CA, pp. 456-466
GIROUD, J.P. & BONAPARTE, R., 1989: Leakage through liners constructed with geomem-
branes - part I. Geomembrane liners. Geotextiles and Geomembranes 8(1), pp. 27-67
GIROUD, J.P. & BONAPARTE, R., 1989: Leakage through liners constructed with geomem-
branes - part II. Composite liners. Geotextiles and Geomembranes 8(2), pp. 71-111
GIROUD, J.P., KHATAMI, A. & BADU-TWENEBOAH, K., 1989: Evaluation of the rate of leakage
through composite liners. Geotextiles and Geomembranes 8(4), pp. 337-340
MCENROE, B.M. & SCHROEDER, P.R., 1988: Leachate collection in landfills: Steady case.
Journal of the Environmental Engineering Division 114(5), pp. 1052-1062
OWEIS, I.S., SMITH, D.A., ELLWOOD, R.B. & GREENE, D.S., 1990: Hydraulic characteristics of
municipal refuse. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering 116(4), pp. 539-553
US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, 1985: Covers for uncontrolled hazardous waste
sites. EPA/540/2-85/002, Hazardous Waste Engineering Research Laboratory,
Cincinnati, OH, 529 pp.
US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, 1988: Guide to technical resources for the design
of land disposal facilities. EPA/625/6-88/018, Risk Reduction Engineering
Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, 63 pp.
US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, 1989: Technical guidance document: Final
covers for hazardous waste landfills and surface impoundments. EPA/530-SW-89-047,
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, D.C., 39 pp.
6.6 Index 73

6.6 Index

Aging 13, 46, 56 Hydraulic conductivity


Air temperature 26, 50 unsaturated 44
ASCII file See Text file Hydrologic processes 11, 17, 43
Barrier soil layer 31, 32, 45, 57 Infiltration 43
BSL See Barrier soil layer Initial soil water content 37
Cap (landfill) 17 Initial water content 30
Capillary barrier 46 Initialization year 37
Capillary forces 45 Input files 55, 68
Composite liner 32 Installation defect density 39
Configuration 7, 65 Installation defects (geomembrane) 32
Configuration file 65 Interception 43
Context menu 48, 52, 53, 57 Interception evaporation 43
Context-sensitive help 48 LAI See Leaf area index
Cover (landfill) 17 Landfill 11
Curve number 40, 44, 54 Landfill area 30
Customary units See Units Landfill profile 17
Darcy’s law 44, 45 Lateral drainage 45
Decimal separator 47 Lateral drainage layer 31, 38
Design 29 Latitude See Geographic latitude
Drain length 31, 38 Layer arrangement
Drain slope 31, 38 Rules 32
Drainage limiting soil 40 Layer table 53
DWD See German Weather Service Layer type 31, 53
Evaporative zone 45 LDL See Lateral drainage layer
Depth 21, 56 Leachate 15
Evapotranspiration 19, 43 Leaf area index 21, 56
Field capacity 36, 44 Leap year 50, 55
File extensions 55, 56, 68 Definition 7, 48
File names 47, 50, 55 Liner 32
FML See Geomembrane Liner system 17
Foundation layer 31 Log window 54
Frozen soil 43 Macro pores 44
Gas collection layer 31 Main menu 48
Geographic latitude 21, 28 Manufacturing flaw (geomembrane) 32
Geomembrane 32, 38, 45 Metric units See Units
Geotextile transmissivity 39 Model version 55, 65
German Weather Service 8, 51 Output files 47, 56, 58, 68
GML See Geomembrane Path names 47, 50, 55
Gregorian calendar 48 Permanent wilting point 36
Growing season 8, 22 Pinhole density 39
Head (on the liner) 43, 45 Pinholes (geomembrane) 32
HELP 3.07 7, 48, 55, 56, 58, 65 Placement quality 39
HELP 3.80 D 7, 48 Plant transpiration 43
HELP 3.9 D 48 Precipitation 23, 50
HELP 3.90 D 7 Preferential flow 44
HELP 3.95 D 7, 48, 58 Printing 48
HELP model 11 Project management 47
Help texts 7, 65 Project manager 7, 49
Holes (geomembrane) 45 Project title 30
74 6.6 Index

Recirculation 31, 38, 54 Summary output file 56, 59, 65


Reclamation layer 31 Synthetic generation See Weather
Recultivation layer 31 generator
Region 19, 49, 65 Temperature See Air temperature
Relative humidity 23 Text file 25, 27, 28, 51
Runoff 30, 40, 43, 44 Total pore volume 36
Saturated hydraulic conductivity 34, 36 Total porosity 36
effective 32 Units 47, 65, 67
Simulation 54 Unsaturated flow 44
Simulation control 54 US customary units See Units
Simulation period 56 Validation 13
Simulation results 58 Vapor diffusion 32
Snow 43 Vegetation 43
Soil and design data 29, 53 Growth, decay 43, 46
Soil evaporation 43 Vegetation properties
Soil properties Modification in a simulation run 13, 46,
Modification in a simulation run 13, 46, 55, 56
55, 56 Vertical percolation layer 31
Soil textures 34, 53 Visual HELP 8, 23, 26, 27, 28
German 8 VPL See Vertical percolation layer
Soil textures classification 36 Waste layer 31
Soil water storage 36 Weather generator 7, 8, 23, 26, 27, 46, 50,
Solar radiation 7, 27, 50 58, 65
Spreadsheet files original vs. modified 48
Import of weather data from 25, 51 Wilting point See Permanent wilting point
Subprofile 17, 33 Wind speed 23
Subsurface inflow 38 Windows user interface 7, 47

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