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Modeling groundwater flow fields containing point singularities: A technique for singularity removal
Author(s) -
Charbeneau Randall J.,
Street Robert L.
Publication year - 1979
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/wr015i003p00583
Subject(s) - groundwater flow , finite element method , singularity , aquifer , flow (mathematics) , computation , galerkin method , isotropy , gravitational singularity , groundwater , field (mathematics) , hydraulics , discretization , mechanics , groundwater recharge , geotechnical engineering , geology , mathematics , geometry , mathematical analysis , engineering , algorithm , physics , structural engineering , quantum mechanics , aerospace engineering , pure mathematics
Artificial recharge of groundwater resources through wells leads to a need for computer simulation of the hydraulics and transport of contaminants in a flow field. The basic numerical technique used is the Galerkin finite element method (FEM). Greatly improved accuracy of the simulation near wells is achieved first by removing the singular behavior of the flow with an analytic solution for the near‐well zone, second by solving the remaining nonsingular problem, and third by combining the results. The resulting solutions compare favorably with known analytic solutions for confined and leaky aquifers (both isotropic and anisotropic). No additional computation time is required for this method compared to standard FEM programs. The resulting combined velocity fields are accurate enough throughout the flow field for direct use in contaminant transport simulations.