A Numerical Study for the Simplification of Large Scenarios of Seepage under Dams

The seepage flow under concrete dams, besides its dependence on soil permeability and the different total head upstream and downstream, is strongly determined by the geometry of the scenario. However, there are limits in the length and depth of the ground for which the quantity of seepage converges to a maximum value. These limits values, which are not independent, separate two types of scenarios: those that determine an infiltration flow that depends on the geometrical parameters (finite scenarios), and those that determine a discharge flow independent of these parameters (infinite scenarios). In order to reduce the computing times required for the simulation, the last scenarios could be shortened accordingly to their limit values. In this work, the curve that separates the finite and infinite scenarios is determined as a function of the dimensionless groups that characterize the anisotropic medium problem. The points of this curve have been chosen for a quantity of seepage that is a high percentage of its convergence value. For a given data of a current scenario, the obtained curve allows the user to set these groups, to check if the scenario under study is finite or infinite, and hence to reduce it in the second case to the limit values of the domain, so optimizing the computing time. Numerical simulation is carried out by network method.