Hierarchical Patch Dynamics Modeling of Near-Well Dynamics in Complex Regional Groundwater Systems
Soheil Afshari; Richard Mandle; and Shu-Guang Li, F.ASCE
Volume 13, Issue 9, September 2008, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Abstract
One of the challenges in groundwater modeling is the prediction of hydraulic head in close proximity to a pumping well using a regional-scale model. Typical applications of numerical models to field-scale problems generally require large grids that can seldom accommodate cells as small as the actual well diameter. In this paper, we apply a dynamically integrated “hierarchical patch dynamics paradigm (HPDP)” to model detailed near-well dynamics and interactions. The HPDP enables converting a large, complex problem into a network of hierarchically nested and dynamically coupled patch models that can be easily solved. The performance of the HPDP is verified against the analytical solution for a single well, against a superposition of analytical solutions for a wellfield, and against a numerical solution in a three-dimensional heterogeneous system. The results show that the HPDP is capable of providing an accurate and efficient representation of head in a wellfield in large-scale hydrogeologic systems.