New analytical solutions for groundwater flow in wedge-shaped aquifers with various topographic boundary conditions

Hund-Der Yeh*, Ya Chi Chang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

The hydraulic head distribution in a wedge-shaped aquifer depends on the wedge angle and the topographic and hydrogeological boundary conditions. In addition, an equation in terms of the radial distance with trigonometric functions along the boundary may be suitable to describe the water level configuration for a valley flank with a gentle sloping and rolling topography. This paper develops a general mathematical model including the governing equation and a variety of boundary conditions for the groundwater flow within a wedge-shaped aquifer. Based on the model, a new closed-form solution for transient flow in the wedge-shaped aquifer is derived via the finite sine transform and Hankel transform. In addition, a numerical approach, including the roots search scheme, the Gaussian quadrature, and Shanks' method, is proposed for efficiently evaluating the infinite series and the infinite integral presented in the solution. This solution may be used to describe the head distribution for wedges that image theory is inapplicable, and to explore the effects of the recharge from various topographic boundaries on the groundwater flow system within a wedge-shaped aquifer.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)471-480
Number of pages10
JournalAdvances in Water Resources
Volume29
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2006

Keywords

  • Analytical solution
  • Finite sine transform
  • Groundwater
  • Hankel transform
  • Numerical approach
  • Wedge-shaped aquifer

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