Abstract:

Due to the given water table and discharge points, the analysis of groundwater flow patterns and their transformation are limited using given head boundary(GHB). Tóthian’s typical modes of groundwater flow-systems are simulated numerically using GHB and flux upper boundary(FUB), showing that: 1)When analyzing groundwater flow patterns and their control factors, the flow patterns simulated using FUB and GHB may be completely different or perhaps similar, while other conditions are the same; 2)for the FUB, the water table can be automatically formed under given conditions, thus we can get the characteristics of different flowsystems with a change of infiltration intensity, hydraulic conductivity, or depth of a basin; 3)for the GHB, the recharge into and discharge from a basin (i.e., the flux through the upper boundary) change with changes in hydraulic conductivity and basin depth, entailing corresponding changes in groundwater flow patterns, so that the results obtained with GHB do not reflect these changes. Therefore, based on the respective advantages of GHB and FUB, during the theoretical and practical study of the groundwater flow-system, the advantages of these two methods and the practical information should be comprehensively taken into consideration to select the appropriate method.

Key words: Tóth’s typical pattern, given head boundary, flux upper boundary, comparison simulation, groudwater