Provides a Balance between the Mathematical and Physical Aspects and the Engineering Applications
Written for engineering and science students, Mechanics of Groundwater in Porous Media explains groundwater from both a mathematical and qualitative standpoint. The book builds up the theory of groundwater flow starting from basic physics and geometric intuition, and on to applied practice through real-world engineering problems. It includes graphical illustrations as well as solved illustrative problems throughout the text.
Considers the Steady-State Motion of Groundwater
The book starts off by introducing the overall picture of groundwater, its relationship with the hydrological cycle, and other terminology used in the mechanics of groundwater flow though porous means. It presents a synopsis of basic definitions, concepts, and the fundamental principles of fluid mechanics and soil mechanics, which are necessary prerequisites for an adequate understanding of the book’s core material. The engineering applications are deducted from geometric and physical reasoning, with a minimum use of mathematical abstraction.
Mechanics of Groundwater in Porous Media is written primarily to serve as a textbook for senior undergraduate and upper-level graduate students in civil and environmental engineering, environmental science, hydrogeology, and geology, as well as a resource for practicing engineers.
Introduction
Hydrological cycle
Vertical moisture profile
Classification of aquifers
River–aquifer interaction
Homogeneity and isotropy of aquifers
Illustrative problems
Suggested readings
Preliminaries
Preliminaries from fluid mechanics
Preliminaries from soil mechanics
Continuum concept of a porous medium
Stagnant groundwater and zero-gradient of piezometric head
Piezometric head in the field
Illustrative problems
Exercises
Suggested readings
Field equations of flow through a porous medium
Darcy’s law
Conservation of mass, or continuity, equation
Laplace equation
Two-dimensional anisotropic medium and permeability matrix (or tensor)
Exercises
Suggested readings
Discharge potentials for two-dimensional flows in horizontal, shallow aquifers
Horizontal, shallow, confined (artesian) aquifer
Horizontal, shallow, unconfined (phreatic) aquifer
Horizontal, shallow, partly confined aquifer
Applications
Illustrative problems
Exercises
Suggested readings
Laplace equation, superposition of harmonic functions, and method of images
Some important properties of harmonic functions
Method of images
Method of images for circular boundary
Illustrative problems
Exercises
Suggested readings
Flow net
Isotropic case
Anisotropic case
Layered heterogeneity
Concluding remarks
Exercises
Suggested readings
Determination of aquifer characteristics
Determination of transmissivity or coefficient of permeability
Theis equation: Transient radial flow to a well in a confined aquifer
Theis method
Jacob straight-line method
Modification of the Jacob method: Distance–drawdown method
Remarks on the use of the Thiem equation in the case of unsteady flow condition
Exercises
Suggested readings
Coastal aquifers
Ghyben–Herzberg principle
Strack’s analysis: Instability caused by a fully penetrating well in a shallow coastal aquifer
Suggested readings
Finite element method
Steady-state groundwater flow in a known two-dimensional region
Finite element formulation for the Laplace equation
Suggested readings
Appendices
Index
Biography
Dr. M. I. Haque currently serves as the professor of engineering and applied science in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at The George Washington University, where he teaches a course on groundwater and seepage. A recipient of graduate degrees in hydraulics and mechanics, he has spent over a period of four decades in research and practice involving water resources engineering, specializing in the field of computational hydraulics and structures, using the finite element method.
"This book will be a useful addition to the professional library of groundwater modellers and hydrogeologists. Its treatment of the mathematics and analysis of groundwater flow is clear and thorough, and it is invaluable in presenting the fundamentals of groundwater flow through porous media in a simple way."
—Martin Preene, Golder Associates
"I am pleased to know about the book. … appears to have been written with a great care and was pleased to see a fresh description and illustration … I found the presentation clear & lucid and also summarised some new points that are not found in related books in this subject."
—Sekhar Muddu, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore