03 Basic Hydrogeology
03-03 Steady Groundwater Flow
System state, Darcy’s law applications, groundwater flow equation, analytical steady-state solutions, flow nets as graphical solution.
Contents
03-03-001Analytical solution for 1D unconfined flow with two specified head boundaries
| Type: Streamlit app | Time: 5–15 min |
Figure 1: 1D groundwater flow with two specified heads. The red line indicate a groundwater divide. (Screenshot)
This app illustrates the analytical solution for one-dimensional groundwater flow in an unconfined aquifer subject to two specified head boundaries and uniform recharge. The conceptual model assumes a homogeneous and isotropic aquifer with a horizontal base, bounded by fixed hydraulic heads at the inflow and outflow boundaries.
Users can interactively explore the influence of recharge, hydraulic conductivity, aquifer length, and boundary heads on the resulting hydraulic head distribution. The visualization highlights characteristic features such as groundwater divides and recharge effects, making the app well suited for teaching fundamental concepts of steady unconfined groundwater flow and boundary-controlled systems.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | gwf-1d-unconf-analytic.stre… · open app |
| Author(s) | Thomas Reimann (TU Dresden) |
| Keywords | groundwater flow, 1D flow, unconfined flow |
| Fit For | classroom teaching, online teaching |
| Prerequisites | Darcy law, boundary conditions, groundwater flow equation |
Streamlit app details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Interactive plots | 1 interactive plot(s) |
03-03-002Analytical solutions for 1D flow, Unconfined and Confined aquifer bounded by two specified head boundaries
| Type: Streamlit app | Time: 5–15 min |
Figure 1: Computed groundwatrer heads for an unconfined and a confined aquifer. (Screenshot)
This app compares analytical solutions for one-dimensional groundwater flow in confined and unconfined aquifers bounded by two specified head boundaries. Both systems are assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic with a horizontal base and no groundwater recharge, allowing a direct comparison of the resulting head distributions.
Users can interactively adjust hydraulic conductivity, aquifer length, and boundary heads to explore how flow behavior differs between confined (linear head distribution) and unconfined (nonlinear head distribution) conditions. The side-by-side visualization supports conceptual understanding of aquifer type, boundary control, and the fundamental differences between confined and unconfined flow regimes.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | gwf-1d-unconf-conf-analytic… · open app |
| Author(s) | Thomas Reimann (TU Dresden) |
| Keywords | groundwater flow, confined, unconfined, darcy |
| Fit For | online teaching, classroom teaching |
| Prerequisites | darcy law, groundwater flow, aquifer types |
Streamlit app details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Interactive plots | 1 interactive plot(s) |
03-03-003Analytical solution for 1D unconfined flow with one no-flow boundary and one specified head/head-dependent boundary
| Type: Streamlit app | Time: 5–15 min |
Figure 1: Computed heads for a specified head boundary. (Screenshot)
This app demonstrates analytical one-dimensional flow in an unconfined aquifer with uniform recharge, bounded by a no-flow boundary on one side and either a specified-head boundary or a head-dependent boundary on the other. The conceptual setup is designed to illustrate typical groundwater–surface water interaction scenarios, where boundary conditions control whether the aquifer discharges to, or is influenced by, an adjacent surface-water feature.
Users can interactively vary recharge (positive but also negative values) and hydraulic conductivity and, for the head-dependent case, adjust a boundary conductance parameter to explore how boundary formulation changes the hydraulic head distribution. The resulting visualization supports conceptual understanding of recharge-driven flow, no-flow constraints, and the role of head-dependent boundaries in representing groundwater–surface water exchange.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | gwf-1d-unconf-noflow-riv.st… · open app |
| Author(s) | Thomas Reimann (TU Dresden) |
| Keywords | 1D groundwater flow, analytical solution, boundary conditions, groundwater surface water interaction |
| Fit For | online teaching, classroom teaching, exam preparation |
| Prerequisites | darcy law, groundwater flow, boundary conditions |
Streamlit app details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Interactive plots | 1 interactive plot(s) |
Images
Figure 2: Computed heads for a head-dependent boundary and negative recharge. This illustrate the effect of possible water consumption. (Screenshot)