SoilCover History

The research at the heart of the SoilCover code was initially funded through the Canadian MEND (Mine Environment Neutral Drainage) program in the early 1990's at the University of Saskatchewan. Professor G. Ward Wilson's Ph.D. thesis in 1990 formed the basis for the soil evaporative flux formulation and over the following 10 years numerous graduate students at the University of Saskatchewan worked to enhance the physics, verify the formulations and ultimately move the code out of the world of academia into the hands of engineering consultants working primarily on designing saturated/unsaturated soil cover systems for mine reclamation applications. 

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The EXCEL user interface was initially created by GeoAnalysis 2000 in the late 90's but stopped being supported by 2001. Although the code was not being maintained, SoilCover could still be found in the toolbox of engineers around the world and was being used in their projects. In recent years, interest in SoilCover and the benefit it brings to the design of soil cover systems has resurged. The UI has been upgraded and features have been added, but the capability of SoilCover as an affordable geotechnical tool to determine the flux boundary condition at the ground surface remains the same. 

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References for the research supporting the SoilCover formulation include: 

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Joshi, B., 1993. A Finite Element Model for the Coupled Flow of Moisture and Heat in Soils Under Atmospheric Forcing. M. Sc. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

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Machibroda, R. T., 1994. Evaluation of Evaporative Fluxes from Mine Tailings using the Modified Penman Formation. M. Sc. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

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Newman, G. P., 1996. Heat and Mass Transfer in Unsaturated Sols During Freezing. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. 

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Swanson, D. A., 1995. Predictive modelling of Moisture movement in Engineered Soil Covers for Acid Generating Mine Waste. M. Sc. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. 

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Tratch, D. J., 1995. A Geotechnical Engineering Approach to Plant Transpiration and Root Water Uptake. M. Sc. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

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Wilson, G.W., 1990. Soil Evaporative Fluxes for Geotechnical Engineering Problems. PhD Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.