Exact Solution for Two‐Dimensional Flow to a Well in an Anisotropic Domain

Abstract

Although most current applications of the analytic element method are formulated for isotropic hydraulic conductivity, anisotropic domains can be modeled with analytic elements using the well-known coordinate transformation where one coordinate axis is scaled by the square root of the anisotropy ratio. If the standard analytic solution for steady radial flow to a well is used with this coordinate transformation, the resulting solution correctly models the far field but it does not meet the constant head boundary condition at the well radius. This could be a significant shortcoming if you are interested in the flow field close to the well or want to estimate the head at the pumping well. A new solution for two-dimensional steady flow to a well in an anisotropic domain is presented. This solution satisfies the governing equations exactly and meets the constant head boundary condition at the well radius exactly. It was derived using a conformal mapping.