Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T07:06:38.158Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A free surface problem arising in the drainage of a uniformly irrigated field: Existence and uniqueness results

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 April 2009

John Van Der Hoek
Affiliation:
Department of Pure Mathematics, University of AdelaideAdelaide, S. A. 5000, Australia
C. J. Barnes
Affiliation:
CSIRO Division of Soils Waite Road Urbrae, S. A. 5064, Australia
J. H. Knight
Affiliation:
CSIRO Division of Mathematics and Statistics PO Box 218 Linfield, N.S.W. 2070, Australia
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A field comprising uniformly porous soil overlying an impervious subsoil is drained through equally spaced tile drains placed on the boundary between the two layers of soil. When this field is subject to uniform irrigation, a free boundary forms in the porous region above the zone of saturation. We study the free boundary value problem which thus arises using the theory of variational inequalities. Existence and uniqueness results are established.

MSC classification

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Mathematical Society 1984

References

[1]Baiocchi, C. and Magenes, E., ‘On free-boundary problems associated with the flow of a liquid through porous materials,’ Uspehi Mat. Nauk 29, 2 (1974), 5069.Google Scholar
[2]Baiocchi, C., ‘Su un problema di frontiera libera connesso a questiom di idraulica,’ Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (IV) 92 (1972), 107127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[3]Baiocchi, C., ‘Problèmes à frontière libre en hydraulique,’ C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 278 (1974), 12011204.Google Scholar
[4]Baiocchi, C., Comincioli, V., Magenes, E. and Pozzi, G. A., ‘Free problems in the theory of fluid flow through porous media: existence and uniqueness theorems,’ Ann. Mat. Pura. Appl. (IV) 99 (1973), 182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[5]Barnes, C., Knight, J. and van der Hoek, John, (1982).Google Scholar
[6]Bear, J., Dynamics of fluids in porous media (American Elsevier, to appear).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[7]Comincioli, V., ‘A theoretical and numerical approach to some free boundary problems,’ Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (IV) 100 (1974), 211238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[8]Donaghue, W. F., ‘A coerciveness inequality,’ Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (III) 20 (1966), 589593.Google Scholar
[9]Gilbarg, D. and Trudinger, N., Elliptic partial differential equations of second order (Springer Verlag, 1977).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[10]Grisvard, P., ‘Behaviour of the solutions of an elliptic boundary value problem in a polygonal domain’ Numerical solution of partial differential equations (III) (Synspade 1975) Hubbard, B., editor, 207274 (Academic Press, 1975).Google Scholar
[11]Hopf, E., ‘A remark on linear elliptic differential equations of second order,’ Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 3 (1952), 791793.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[12]Kinderlehrer, D. and Stampacchia, G., An introduction to variational inequalities and applications (Academic Press, 1980).Google Scholar
[13]Lions, J. L. and Magenes, E., Non-homogeneous boundary value problems and applications, Vol. 1 (Springer Verlag, 1972).Google Scholar
[14]Bruch, J. C. Jr, and Sloss, J. M., ‘A variational inequality method applied to free surface seepage from a triangular ditch,’ Water Resources Research 14 (1978), 119124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[15]Bruch, J. C. Jr, ‘A numerical solution of an irrigation flowfield,’ Internat. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 3 (1979), 2336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar