Application of Differential Quadrature Method in numerical solution of flow through porous media

Numerical models in groundwater hydrology are considered as an important tool for describing the dynamic of flow through porous media. Available numerical models are quite successful in delineating the capture zone when the flow geometry is quite simple. In light of more complex flow geometry, the available software still can simulate the flow using more computational effort. The current study tries to address head distribution delineation process when the flow geometry and boundary condition is complex, the porous media is non-homogeneous and under constant recharge. For this purpose, a numerical scheme so called Differential Quadrature Method (DQM) is implemented to simulate the dynamic of flow in the study area. At first, a numerical program so called SEEP/W is utilized to calibrate the physical domain taking hydraulic conductivity as the tuning parameter. Then, the identified system is submitted to DQM for further analysis and performance assessment. Results of this numerical modeling exercise show that DQM is quite capable of reproducing the observed piezometric head with fewer nodes and less computational effort. In conclusion, DQM can be considered as a potential and competitive numerical scheme to model flow through porous media.

Keywords:

Hydraulic Head , Unconfined aquifer , Differential Quadrature , Numerical solution , SEEP/W