Mathematical Formulation and Validation of a Mixed Finite Element–Finite Difference Model for Simulating Phreatic Surfaces
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 12
Abstract
The phreatic surface in an unconfined aquifer exists as a movable interface between the saturated and unsaturated zones. The movement of the phreatic surface depends on recharge, hydraulic conductivity, porosity, and horizontal and vertical flows. The location of the phreatic surface helps define the variably saturated flow domain in the subsurface. The variably saturated flow process in the subsurface is described by a parabolic partial differential equation. In this equation, the hydraulic conductivity and soil moisture capacity are used as the subsurface characteristics. The location of the phreatic surface is governed by a first-order partial differential equation. The governing parabolic partial differential equation is solved using a variational finite element formulation. The first order phreatic surface equation is then solved by loosely coupling with the governing parabolic partial differential equation describing the variably saturated flow. In the present study, a two-dimensional space is used to investigate the movement of the phreatic surface in a variably saturated unconfined flow domain. Based on the time-varying solutions of hydraulic heads, the location of the phreatic surface is simulated in a finite two-dimensional space.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 12 • December 2005
Pages: 1098 - 1105
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 25, 2003
Accepted: Jan 18, 2005
Published online: Dec 1, 2005
Published in print: Dec 2005
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