Boundary conditions and flow line determination

Abstract

It is often necessary to draw flow lines that represent the pattern of flow in a given seepage problem. ln this paper, the boundary conditions that must be applied to the flow function in order to account for portions of the boundary where the velocity has a normal component, are presented. The case of a heterogeneous and anisotropic media, with general principal directions, is analyzed. A flow net determined by the finite element method is presented. Toe considerations made in this paper can be applied to any numerical method which might be used to solve the governing differential equations.