Flow of ponded water into drain tubes in soil overlying an impervious layer

Abstract

On the assumption that uniform, water‐saturated soil covered by ponded water, and overlying an impervious layer is drained by equally spaced circular drain tubes at equal depth, two sets of expressions for the velocity potential, stream potential, the drain flux, and the surface inflow distribution are derived. Each alternate expression yields the same result, one set of results being useful in numerical work when the impervious layer is at shallow depth, the other when the impervious layer is at great depth. Parameters are soil permeability, drain depth, drain spacing, drain radius, depth to the impervious layer, and depth of ponded water. The method of complex variable is used. The results are of practical interest in the problem of artificial drainage of land and in the problem of leaching.