Flow through porous media: A procedure for locating the free surface

Abstract

Abstract A finite element procedure is developed to accurately locate the free surface of unconfined seepage flow through porous media. The free surface is taken as the boundary between wet and dry soils, with flow in the saturated region characterized by Darcy's law. The method involves equations and meshing which are fully consistent with a general formulation for geotechnical engineering problems involving simultaneous solution of pore fluid pressures and soil skeleton displacements. Accuracy and versatility of the proposed procedure are demonstrated by solving various unconfined seepage flow problems through earth structures. Free surfaces and flownets are presented for the calculated flow fields.