Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11681/20887
Title: Seepage in Mississippi River banks. report 1, Analysis of transient seepage using viscous flow model and numerical methods
Authors: United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Lower Mississippi Valley Division
Desai, C. S. (Chandrakant S.), 1936-
Keywords: Banks
Waterways
Mississippi River
Finite difference method
Finite element method
Models
Numerical analysis
Numerical models
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical models
Parallel plate viscous flow model
Seepage
Slopes
Viscous flow
Publisher: U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station.
Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Description: Miscellaneous Paper
Abstract: The design of stable riverbank slopes along the Mississippi River is dependent upon the seepage conditions within the banks generated by varying river level, including sudden drawdown. Available seepage analyses are not adequate for the determination of the continuously changing free-water surface under time-dependent variations in river levels. A parallel plate viscous flow model was constructed and tested and was found to constitute a reliable means of obtaining the transient free surface within a sloping bank. Two series of model tests were performed using a vertical upstream face and an upstream slope of 45 deg. The head at the upstream face of the model was allowed to rise at a constant rate. The experimental results are suitable only for simple boundary conditions and for homogeneous banks. It was, therefore, intended to develop some analytical techniques which can account for complex boundary conditions and nonhomogeneous material properties usually encountered in riverbanks. The finite difference and the finite element methods provide efficient numerical techniques for obtaining numerical solutions. The finite difference method was employed to obtain solutions for one- and two-dimensional flow conditions for a vertical riverbank and a sloping riverbank, respectively. To assess the applicability of the method for complex conditions, the numerical results were compared with those obtained from the experiments with the model for simple conditions. Good agreement was obtained between the two results. The basic formulation of the finite element method was developed and is included in this report. It is planned to develop some mechanical device to reproduce in the model various conditions of rise and fall of the river. It is recommended that programs for the finite difference and the finite element methods be further developed with an aim toward (A.) providing complete solutions for complex boundary conditions and arbitrary variation of material properties encountered in riverbanks, and (B.) simulating various types of river stage variations.
Rights: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11681/20887
Appears in Collections:Miscellaneous Paper

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