Numerical studies of two-dimensional saturated/ unsaturated drainage models

The partial differential equation which governs the seepage of water in unsaturated and saturated porous media is solved numerically by a generalized Newton iteration technique for two models, one ditch drainage model and one earth dam model. For each model, which is two-dimensional, a few hypothetical soils with different moisture retention curves are considered. In both models only drainage from an initially saturated soil occurs; thus, the problem of hysteresis is avoided. The results of the computations are compared with those of corresponding saturated (pure groundwater) models; solutions obtained earlier by this author and others.

Computational instability phenomena appear when the slope of the retention curves is made steep, i.e., for poorly-graded soils.