Author(s): H. M. Patel; T. I. Eldho; A. K. Rastogi
Linked Author(s): Eldho T.I.
Keywords: Surface water groundwater interaction; Analytic element method; Genetic Algorithm; Parameter estimation
Abstract: Interaction of surface water and groundwater is an important process of water cycle and it is affected by human activities. With the increasing awareness for optimal use of available resources, many man made structures are constructed such as check dams, weirs, percolation tanks etc. The construction and operation of surface water and groundwater features influences the interaction process. Understanding and evaluation of this process is required for conjunctive use management of surface water and groundwater. Considerable increase in activities and its spread necessitate user-friendly tools. An Analytic Element Method (AEM) was evolved to simulate the aquifers flow problems with accuracy similar to analytic solution and ease of representing hydro-geologic elements similar to finite elements or finite difference technique. In the present study, parameter estimation problem is solved for surface water- groundwater interaction process using two recent techniques. An AEM based program HGEMS is developed for aquifer flow simulation and GA based program GPEST is developed for searching the best fit values of parameters such as hydraulic conductivity and recharge rate. These programs are coupled to develop parameter estimation model. The model is then tested for an example problem. It is found that coupling of GA code with AEM based engine for flow simulation provides very powerful tool to handle surface water groundwater interaction problem in an effective manner.
Year: 2005