An investigation of seepage flow through homogenous embankment dams using an iteration technique for determining the free surfaces

Abstract

This paper presents the application of the finite element method into solving the balance equation of seepage flows within the porous media. More specifically, these seepage flows occur within homogenous embankment dams. With the specific boundary conditions of water levels in the upstream and downstream sides, the seepage mechanism takes place, generating the unsaturated zones and the saturated ones as well. The demarcation surfaces between the un-saturated and saturated zones are called the free surfaces. For determining these free surfaces, an algorithm of loop is employed, and the convergence is required to locate the free surfaces. This paper combines the relevant ideas into a sub-routine using the programming language Python. Next, a case is shown using the current sub-routine considering the convergence of the solution and comparing it to the outcome of a popular software of seepage analysis SEEP/W. The results show that the algorithm used for locating the free surface is acceptable when dealing with this type of seepage mechanism.