334 Engineering Hydrology

2
¶ (r v) ¶v ¶r ¶2 h æ ¶h ö
= r +v = -K r - K r2 b g ç ÷
¶y ¶y ¶y ¶y 2 è ¶y ø
¶ ( r w) ¶w ¶r ¶2 h é ¶h 2 ¶h ù
= r +w = -K - K r 2 b g êæ ö - ú
¶z ¶z ¶z ¶z 2 êëè ¶z ø ¶z úû
Assembling these, Eq. (9.22) can be written as
é ¶2 h ¶2 h ¶2 h ù é ¶h 2 æ ¶h ö 2 2ù
Kr ê + + 2
ú + Kr bg êæ ö + ç ÷ + æ ¶h ö ú - ¶h = r S s ¶h
ëê ¶x 2
¶y 2
¶z 2
ûú êëè ¶x ø è ¶y ø è ¶z ø ú ¶z
û ¶t
(9.24)
The second term on the left-hand side is neglected as very small, especially for ¶h/¶x
= 1, and Eq. (9.24) is rearranged to yield
¶2 h ¶2 h ¶2 h S s ¶h
+ + = (9.25)
¶x 2 ¶y 2 ¶z 2 K ¶t
æ ¶2 h ¶2 h ¶2 h ö
Defining SsB = S, K B = T, and Ñ2 h = ç + + ÷ , Eq. (9.25) reads as
è ¶x 2 ¶y 2 ¶z 2 ø
S ¶h
Ñ2h = (9.26)
T ¶t
This is the basic differential equation governing unsteady groundwater flow in a ho-
mogeneous isotropic confined aquifer. This form of the equation is known as diffusion
equation.
If the flow is steady, the ¶h/¶t term does not exist, leading to
Ñ2h = 0 (9.27)
This equation is known as Laplace equation and is the fundamental equation of all
potential flow problems. Being linear, the method of superposition is applicable in its
solutions.
Equation (9.26) or (9.27) can be solved for suitable boundary conditions by ana-
lytical, numerical or analog methods to yield solutions to a variety of groundwater
flow problems. The details of solution of the basic differential equation of groundwater
are available in standard literature (Refs. 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7).
As an application of the Laplace equation (Eq. 9.27) a simple situation of steady
state one-dimensional confined porous media flow is given below.
Confined Groundwater Flow between Two Water Bodies
Figure 9.8 shows a very wide confined aquifer of depth B connecting to water bodies.
A section of the aquifer of unit width is considered. The piezometric head at the up-
stream end is h0 and at a distance x from the upstream end the head is h.
As the flow is in x direction only, Eq. (9.27) becomes
¶2 h
=0 (9.28)
¶x 2
On integrating twice h = C1 x + C2
On substitution of the boundary condition h = h0 at x = 0
h = C1x + h0