IKITRNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, VOL. 8.

297-303 (1984)

FINITE ELEMENT SEEPAGE FLOW NETS

J. AALTO
Department of General Sciences, Helsinki Uniuersity of Technology, 02150 Espoo 15, Finland

SUMMARY
A variational principle and the corresponding finite element equations for determination of the stream
function for soil seepage problems is given using the standard finite element potential solution as data.
The procedure is very simple and independent of the element type employed. Generalization of the
method to multiply connected domains is included.

INTRODUCTION
The finite element potential formulation for soil seepage problems was presented first by
Zienkiewiz et al.' Also, a method of obtaining the stream function was briefly described in
the same paper. This method has been further developed and applied by The
nodal values of the stream function at the boundary nodes of the domain are prescribed in
this method and must be evaluated in advance. Distribution of the stream function along the
boundary of the domain is obtained by integrating the specific discharge (out of the domain)
along the boundary. In connection with linear triangular and bilinear quadrilateral elements
this integration can be worked out approximately rather simply but in connection with higher
degree elements numerical line integration must be used. In any case more or less programming
effort is needed. In the present note an alternative method is proposed which does not
necessarily need prescribed nodal values of the stream function at the boundary nodes.

BASIC FORMULATION

Discharge velocity field

The primary unknowns of the finite element potential formulation' of soil seepage problems
are the nodal potentials t$i, which specify the approximation of the potential 4(x, y ) by the
formula
q5 =EN,& i n A (1)
where Ni(x,y ) is the global shape function corresponding to node i and A is the domain area.
The plane flow case is dealt with here. Substituting expression (1)into the generalized Darcy's
law

0363-906 1/ 84/030297-O7%01.OO Received 29 March 1982

@ 1984 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Revised 8 November 1982
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leads to

in A (3)

After the potential problem has been solved the discharge velocities v , ( x , y ) and u y ( x , y ) are
obtained from equations (3). The quantities k,,, k,, = kyx,and k,, are the components of
permeability in the fixed Cartesian x , y-reference frame. They can be obtained from the
principal permeabilities k l and k2, which are usually known in advance, by the formulae
k,, = k l cos2 a + k 2 sin2a
k,, = k,, = ( & I - k 2 )sin a cos a (4)
k,, =kl sin2 a + k l cos a 2

where a is the angle between the x-axis and the principal direction corresponding to k l . (In
isotropic soil k l = kz = k and thus k,, = k,, = k and k,, = k,, = 0, where k is the coefficient of
permeability of the isotropic soil.)

Boundary value problem for the stream function

The definition of the stream function $ ( x , y ) in plane flow is

-a*= - a*
-= vx
0,
ax aY
Here the discharge velocities are regarded as known functions obtained from expressions (3).
Differentiating the first of equations ( 5 ) with respect to x and the second with respect to y
and adding gives
a2* a*
7 + 7 + Q = O inA
ax ay
where

Multiplying the first of equations ( 5 ) by n, and the second by ny (where n, and n y are the
components of the outward unit normal vector n of the boundary curve s ) and adding gives

n , -a*+ n , - = a*
g ons
ax ay
where
g = -n,v, + nYvx (9)
Equation (6) is the Poissons differential equation and equation (8) is the Neumann boundary
condition. Equations (6) and (8) specify a boundary value problem for the unknown stream
function * ( x , y ) . In order to be uniquely defined, the solution stream function must have a
prescribed value (usually zero) at a given point.
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Variational principle for the stream function

The well known functional corresponding to Poissons equation (6) and boundary condition
(8) is

Because of equations (7) and (9) the functional obtains first the form

Converting the line integral term using

\

and manipulating the functional a little further results

?r(*)=[
A
[!(?+-(-) a$ a4
2 ax
1
2 ay
+-uy--ux
ax a*
ay 3 dA (13)

The functional (13) is more useful than the original one because only a surface integral over
the domain area exists. Line integration over element boundaries is not needed when forming
the corresponding finite element equations. This reduces the programming effort considerably.

Finite element equations for the stream function

The stream function 4(x, y) is now approximated using
4 =EN& i n A (14)
Substituting this approximation into the functional (13) and minimizing gives a linear set of
equations
Ka=R (15)
where a is a column vector of nodal values of the stream function and the elements of column
vector R and matrix K are

and

In order to get a unique solution a of the problem, one nodal value of the stream function
must be prescribed. This prescribed value is taken to be zero. This is accomplished by a
standard procedure: a large numerical constant y (say 10 times the average value of the
diagonal elements of K) is added to the diagonal element of K corresponding to this node.
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Axially symmetric flow

If x is used for the radial co-ordinate (usually denoted r ) and y is used for the axial
co-ordinate (usually denoted z ) the discharge velocities and the elements of column vector R
are obtained also in the axially symmetric case from equations (3) and (16), respectively. The
elements of the matrix K are obtained from

Aquifer flo w
All that has been dealt with in connection with plane seepage flow applies as well to aquifer
flow, if ux and u, are regarded as the components of discharge per unit width in the aquifer
(usually denoted q, and q y ) ,respectively, and k,,, kxy,etc. are regarded as the components of
aquifer transmissivity (usually denoted T,,, Txy,etc.), respectively.

Multiply connected domain

If the domain A of the problem is multiply connected (see Figure l(a)) and non-vanishing
flow appears through the boundaries of the holes in the domain, the stream function is not a

cut

Figure 1. (a) Multiply connected domain; (b) reduced simply connected domain; (c) potential mesh; (d) stream
function mesh
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b)

Lake
Lake

Impervious boundary

Figure 2. (a) and (b) a confined aquifer example; (c) mesh; (d) flow net; (e) stream lines
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single valued function and the normal finite element approximation cannot be used. If, however,
the original domain A is reduced into a simply connected domain d (see Figure l(b)) using
cuts of zero thickness, the presented technique can be applied straightforwardly. Two different
meshes with the same elements but different node numbering are needed. The first mesh
(Figure l(c)) corresponds to the original domain A and is used for obtaining the potential.
The second mesh (Figure l(d)) corresponds to the simply connected domain d and has separate
nodes on opposite sides of the cuts. It is used for obtaining the stream function.

AN EXAMPLE
A simple confined aquifer problem is provided (Figures 2(a) and (b)). It demonstrates the
applicability of the present method when the domain is not simply connected. A cut AB is
needed in order to reduce the original domain into a simply connected one. Figure 2(c) presents
the finite element mesh of 16 quadratic Lagrangian elements and 80 nodal points for the
potential and 85 nodal points for the stream function. There are distinct stream function nodes
on opposite sides of cut AB. Figure 2(d) shows a computer plot of equipotential lines with
interval 0.2 h and stream lines with interval Q/20, where Q is the total discharge into the
well. Figure 2(e) shows stream lines (thick ones) which divide the flow domain into two parts.
In the first domain flow occurs from the left lake to the well and in the second one from the
right lake to the well. Thin stream lines with arrows have been plotted to visualize the flow
in both domains. They have been plotted with intervals Q l / l O and Q2/10, where Q1 and Q2
are discharges from the left lake and right lake respectively. The nodal value of the stream
function at the node located at point C was prescribed to vanish.
The computer plots in both the examples were obtained using a finite element contour
plotting program developed based on the ideas presented in Reference 4.

TWO COMMENTS
The first comment deals with impervious boundaries of the domain. The stream function
should be constant on such a boundary and the corresponding stream line should coincide
with the boundary line. Because the calculated nodal values of the stream function, however,
vary slightly, the stream line does not coincide with the boundary line and is not visually
acceptable. This difficulty is most simply avoided by replacing the calculated nodal values of
the stream function on an impervious boundary by their mean value. This trick was necessary
in order to plot acceptable upper and lower boundary stream lines and their connection to
the divide stream lines (thick ones) in Figure 2(e).
The second comment concerns dealing with a stream line which intersects a cut. Because
the stream function is discontinuous across the cut line a stream line with equation t,b = t,bc on
one side of the cut must have another equation $ = $: on the opposite side of the cut. When
a stream line with equation $ = t,bc on one side of a cut line has been plotted, the intersecting
point is found. The constant $: for the equation t,b = $: of the same stream line on the opposite
side of the cut line is simply obtained as the corresponding value of the stream function at
the intersecting point. Using this, the stream line plot is completed. In both Figures 2(d) and
2(e) two stream lines intersect the cut AB. In Figure 2(e) the second one is the lower boundary
stream line.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Associate Professor E.-M. Salonen suggested the use of the functional (10) for obtaining
the stream function. His guidance and encouragement during the work are gratefully
acknowledged.

REFERENCES
1. 0. C. Zienkiewin, P. Mayer and Y. K. Cheung, Solution of anisotropic seepage by finite elements, 1.Engng.
Mech. Div., A m . Soc. Civ. Eng., 92, 111420 (1966).
2. J. T. Christian, Flow nets from finite element data, Znf.j . numer. and anal. methods geomech., 4, 191-196 (1980).
3. J. T. Christian, Flow nets by the finite element method, Ground Wafer,18, 178-181 (1980).
4. W. H. Gray and J. E. Akin, An improved method for contouring on isoparametric surfaces, Znf. 1. Num.Merh.
Eng., 14,451-472 (1979).