An improved FE-Meshfree method for solving steady seepage problems

Abstract

An improved FE-Meshfree method, formulated as a combination of finite element method (FEM) and radial point interpolation method (RPIM), has been proposed in this paper, aiming for obtaining a more accurate and robust solution for steady seepage problems. Two main aspects are mainly investigated: firstly, the traditional cell-based discretization and assembly procedure as normally seen in FEM is replaced by a support domain based one, which potentially improves the computed results with a higher tolerance with the mesh distortion; secondly, an adaptation procedure of inserting extra field nodes on the boundaries/interfaces is proposed and incorporated, which shows an improved computational accuracy and stability. The superiority of the method is demonstrated via some applications to both confined and unconfined seepage problems.