Abstract
The present work presents an alternative for determining free surface in free aquifers using the optimization techniques available in ANSYS (commercial finite elements' software). This is able to handle variable meshes through optimization algorithm iterations. This represents an advantage in terms of precision re methods using a constant mesh. Design variables were parametrically defined by means of vertical coordinates, or key point levels, which were interconnected by means of splines for estimating the free surface. State variables were the values of temperature at key points which were analogous at the top of the water by thermal analogy. The objective function is the absolute value of the difference between the vertical coordinates or levels and the calculated values of temperature at key points. These techniques may be used for determining the position of the water table re free aquifers, resolving the problem of free surface in loose material reservoirs and other types of problems such as fluid mechanics (e.g. flow in canals or swell). Even though these are problems which are very different to those of a porous medium, resolving them is highly non-lineal and requires robust techniques for approaching the phenomena’s real behavior.
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