Solutions of Boussinesq Equation in Semiinfinite Flow Region

Abstract

In a semiinfinite flow region, prediction of the water table profile due to an abrupt rise or drop in the canal or drain water level in the cases of recharging and discharging aquifers has been done for times equal to 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 days by employing a numerical solution and five analytical solutions. Comparison of the water table profile predicted by the proposed numerical solution with the existing analytical solutions (based on L2 and Tchebycheff norms) shows that the performance of Polubarinova-Kochina's 1948 solution is the best, followed by Lockington's 1997 solution, Verigin's 1949 solution, Polubarinova-Kochina's 1949 solution, and Edelman's 1947 solution for both recharging and discharging aquifers. However, for the example considered in this study, for practical purposes, any of these solutions except the Edelman solution may be adopted for predicting water table heights, because the maximum relative percentage difference in water table heights predicted by these analytical solutions and the proposed numerical solution is not more than ±1.5%.