Hydrogeology

GLC 520

Graphical construction of GW Flow Net

 Groundwater Flow Net
• Graphical construction of a flow net solves the two-dimensional,
steady-state groundwater equation in a homogeneous and
isotropic material with defined boundary conditions.
• A flow net consists of two sets of lines which must always be
orthogonal (perpendicular to each other): flow lines, which show
the direction of groundwater flow, and equipotentials (lines of
constant head), which show the distribution of potential energy.
Flow nets are usually constructed through trial-and-error
sketching.
• Once the geometry and boundary conditions of the system are
specified, the hydraulic heads throughout the system domain can
be determined; if a hydraulic conductivity is given, then the rate of
flow across constant head boundaries can also be determined
using Darcy’s Law and conservation of mass.
 Groundwater Flow Net

• Plan view of the channel-aquifer system.

• Contours (equipotential lines) are parallel
to the channels and the spacing between
them indicates the slope-similar to a
topographic map.
• The direction of flow can be constructed
by drawing perpendiculars to the
equipotential lines, i.e. the direction of
flow specified by Darcy’s Law (path of
steepest descent) – these are also known
as streamlines.
• Together, the equipotentials and the
streamlines constitute a flow net.
 Groundwater Flow Net
• Two requirements need to be kept in mind when drawing the equipotential and
flow lines in order to obtain an accurate solution to the groundwater flow
equation.
• First, the equipotential lines and the flow lines need to intersect at right angles.
• Second, the two sets of intersecting lines must form shapes with a constant aspect
ratio (the same length to width ratio).
• The only realistic way for the human eye to achieve constant aspect ratios, is to
draw “curvilinear squares”, quadrilaterals with curved sides with an aspect ratio
close to 1.
• When these two requirements are satisfied, equipotential lines will have uniform
increments (contour intervals) from one line to the next, each flow tube (a region
bounded by two adjacent flow lines) will carry the same volumetric flow rate
(measured, for example, in cubic meters per second).
Basic Criteria for drawing Graphical Flow Net

• Darcy's Law is valid

• Hydraulic conductivity of the material is homogeneous
• Hydraulic conductivity of the material is isotropic
• The material is fully saturated
• Flow is steady
• The fluid has constant density
• The fluid has constant viscosity
• The vertical and horizontal axes are drawn to scale
• Boundary conditions:
• 1) Determine or specify the boundary conditions, i.e.,
indicate/label the position of the water table, of any impermeable
boundaries, of any points of known head or known pressure.
• a. any surface of constant head (e.g., bottom of a flat-bottomed
reservoir) is by definition an equipotential, and flow lines must
meet it at right angles.
• b. since flow cannot cross impermeable boundaries, the flow at
such a boundary must be parallel to it, i.e., impermeable
boundaries are flow lines, and equipotentials must meet them at
right angles.
• Boundary conditions:
• no-flow boundary: boundary that groundwater can not pass
- adjacent flow line will be parallel
-equipotential lines intersect at right angles

• constant-head boundary: head is constant every where on the boundary

- also an equipotential line
- flow lines will intersect at right angles
-adjacent equipotential line will be parallel

• water-table boundary: only in unconfined aquifers

- not flow line or equipotential line,
- line of known head
- if recharge/discharge is occurring across water table, flowlines will be oblique to it
Constant-Head Boundaries: h = constant
• Flow is perpendicular to the boundary.
• Equipotentials are parallel to the
boundary.
Water table Boundaries: h = z
• h=z, p=0. where z is the elevation of
the water table above the datum.
• ∆h between equipotentials on WT
must be constant.
∆h1 = ∆h2 = ∆h3 =…..
Rules for homogeneous isotropic steady-state flow
1. Flowlines and equipotentials are always perpendicular and form curvilinear “squares”.
2. Equipotentials are perpendicular to impermeable boundaries.
Flowlines are parallel to impermeable boundaries.
3. Equipotentials are parallel to constant head boundaries.
Flowlines are perpendicular to constant head boundaries.
4. Water table boundaries h = z
direction of equipotentials or flowlines is unknown and can be any direction. But
positions where equipotentials intersect water table are controlled and they should
intersect at equal increments of elevation.
5. Flow lines can never intersect.
6. Each stream tube must carry the same amount of flow (excluding partial stream
tubes) when flow lines are equally-spaced.
7. For homogeneous, isotropic systems the shape of the flownet is independent of K.
Steps for Drawing a Flow Net Using Pencil and Paper
1. Draw the outline of the flow system to scale and label the nature of each boundary.
2. Draw equipotential lines along the boundaries where a single value of hydraulic head
is specified along the boundary
3. Draw flow lines along no-flow boundaries
4. Within the flow domain, draw flow lines along paths where you envision groundwater
flowing, ensuring they are perpendicular to equipotential lines on the boundaries
5. Draw equipotential lines within the flow domain, ensuring they:
• are perpendicular to no-flow boundaries;
• are perpendicular to flow lines; and,
• together with flow lines, form shapes of constant aspect ratio, preferably
“curvilinear squares.”
6. Calculate the contour interval and label the equipotential lines
7. Calculate flow through the net using the equation for total discharge through a flow
net which is presented in Section 2.4 following the description of the procedure for
drawing a flow net.
• Determine the head at the left-most
and right-most equipotentials and
subtract them to get Δh, the total head
difference across the net.
• Now determine Nd, the number of
potential drops (i.e., squares) between
these two equipotentials. The value of
each potential drop is thus:

• Knowing this, you can label each

equipotential with its correct value of h.
• Determine the head at the left-most and right-most equipotentials and
subtract them to get Δh, the total head difference across the net.
• Now determine Nd, the number of potential drops (i.e., squares) between
these two equipotentials. The value of each potential drop is thus:

Knowing this, you can label each equipotential with its correct value of h.
• To determine pore pressure at any point on an equipotential h, simply
measure the elevation, z, of the point above the datum. Then the pressure
is given by:
p = (h – z)γ
where γ is the specific weight of water.