NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF GROUNDWATER LOW MODEL IN CONFINED ISOTROPIC AQUIFER USING FINITE DIFFERENCE METHOD

Abstract

Groundwater flow models are partial differential equations that relate the dependent variable groundwater potential or hydraulic head with the independent variables the coordinate flow of the domain and the time for transient flow with specified boundary condition. There are many different form of general equation of groundwater flow based on whether the flow is one or two or three-dimensional, isotropic or anisotropic, transient or steady state and confined aquifer or unconfined aquifer. The study considered mathematical model in two dimensional steady state groundwater flows on confined isotropic aquifer. Simulation of the model with appropriate boundary condition determines the relationship between the hydraulic head and direction of groundwater flow in the aquifer. The objective of this study was to develop an efficient algorithm and simulate groundwater flow governed by Laplace and Poisson equations using the finite difference method. The simulation result indicates that the motion of groundwater is in the direction of decreasing hydraulic head. Moreover, the simulation result shows the equipotential line forms circular and the streamline flow makes radial flow near a pumping well. This implies that groundwater motion is affected by pumping from a well.