Lesson 2 - Opening GoldSim and Activating the Contaminant Transport Module

In this Unit we will first explore some GoldSim features together and then you will do two Exercises to get experience with arrays.  Of course, in order to do this, you must have an activated version of GoldSim on your computer.  As discussed in the previous Unit, if you do not already have GoldSim, you can request a free, fully-functional Evaluation version of the software from the GoldSim website.  The Evaluation version will work for 30 days from the time that you activate it (and can be extended if need be). If you are a student or a teacher, you can request a free Academic license (that lasts for 6 months and can be renewed).  In order to use an Evaluation or Academic version for this Course, when you fill out the Evaluation or Academic form, you MUST specify that you are interested in the CT Module or the RT Module on the form. In particular, the forms have a checkbox for the Contaminant Transport Module and the Radionuclide Transport Module.  Make sure you select one of these.

Starting in this Unit and throughout the remainder of the Course, we will refer to a number of Examples and Exercises. Hence, if you have not already done so, you should download these (a zip file containing a folder with all of the GoldSim models) to your Desktop now.  You can download the zip file here. It will unzip to a folder named “Contaminant Transport Course” containing several subfolders.

Assuming you now have GoldSim running on your computer, before we can start, we need to discuss how to activate and deactivate the Contaminant Transport Module (the CT or RT Module will not necessarily be activated or “turned on” even if it is available).

If GoldSim is not already open, open it now.  When you do so, you will see the following splash screen:

You can close the splash screen by pressing the Esc button.

If GoldSim is already open, let’s make sure we start with a new model. From the main menu. Press File | New.  If the model that was previously open had been edited at all, GoldSim will ask if you want to save the model before opening a new model. 

In both cases (whether you closed an existing model, or simply opened GoldSim), you will now be viewing a new model (named Untitled). 

Now look at the graphics pane (the right side of the screen).  Do you see a Container labeled “Material”? 

If you do, this means that either the CT Module or the RT Module is activated.  If you don’t, it means that it is not activated. We do not need this module activated for this Unit, but will require it for the remaining Units.  So if you don’t see the Material Container, you can activate the module now by following these steps:

1. Select Model | Options… from the main menu.
2. In the dialog that is displayed, select the Modules tab.
3. In that tab, you will see an entry for either Contaminant Transport or Radionuclide Transport.
4. Check the box next to that entry.
5. Next, press the Set as Default button in the dialog.
6. Press OK to close the dialog. 

After doing so, you will note that the Material Container appears.

We are now ready to start discussing the details of arrays (and subsequently, the Contaminant Transport Module), and will start doing so in the next Lesson.