Abstract
This paper deals with the double-constraint methodology for calibration of steady-state groundwater flow models. The methodology is based on updating the hydraulic conductivity of the model domain by comparing the results of two forward groundwater flow models: a model in which known fluxes are specified as boundary conditions and a model in which known heads are specified as boundary conditions. A new zone-integrated double-constraint approach is presented by partitioning the model domain in zones with presumed constant hydraulic conductivity (soft data), and the double-constraint methodology is reformulated accordingly. The feasibility of the method is illustrated by a practical case study involving a numerical steady-state groundwater flow model with about 3 million grid blocks, subdivided into four zones corresponding to the major hydrogeological formations. The results of the zone-integrated double-constraint method for estimating the horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivities of the zones compare favourably with a classical model calibration based on minimisation of the differences between calculated and measured heads, while the double-constraint method proves to be more robust and computationally less cumbersome.
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Acknowledgements
The first author would like to thank the Egyptian Ministry of High Education and Cultural Affairs and the Missions Sector for providing a postdoctoral scholarship at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. He also acknowledges the support and encouragement from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Minia University, and the Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
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El-Rawy, M., De Smedt, F. & Zijl, W. Zone-Integrated Double-Constraint Methodology for Calibration of Hydraulic Conductivities in Grid Cell Clusters of Groundwater Flow Models. Transp Porous Med 122, 633–645 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-018-1018-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-018-1018-1