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The finite layer method for groundwater flow models
Author(s) -
Smith Stanley S.,
Allen Myron B.,
Puckett Jay,
Edgar Thomas
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/92wr00425
Subject(s) - solver , discretization , galerkin method , fourier series , finite element method , mathematics , matrix (chemical analysis) , fourier transform , mathematical optimization , flow (mathematics) , eigenfunction , computer science , inverse problem , algorithm , mathematical analysis , geometry , eigenvalues and eigenvectors , physics , engineering , structural engineering , materials science , quantum mechanics , composite material
The finite layer method (FLM) is an extension of the finite strip method familiar in structural engineering. The idea behind the method is to discretize two space dimensions using truncated Fourier series, approximating variations in the third via finite elements. The eigenfunctions used in the Fourier expansions are orthogonal, and, consequently, the Galerkin integrations decouple the weighted residual equations associated with different Fourier modes. The method therefore reduces three‐dimensional problems to sets of independent matrix equations that one can solve either sequentially on a microcomputer or concurrently on a parallel processor. The latter capability makes the method suitable for such computationally intensive applications as optimization and inverse problems. Four groundwater flow applications are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of FLM as a forward solver.