Open Access

ARTICLE

Numerical Identification of the Hydraulic Conductivity of Composite Anisotropic Materials

S. D. Harris¹, R. Mustata², L. Elliott², D. B. Ingham², D. Lesnic²

1 Rock Deformation Research, School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. email: sdh@rdr.leeds.ac.uk
2 Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2008, 25(2), 69-80. https://doi.org/10.3970/cmes.2008.025.069

Abstract

Two homogeneous anisotropic materials are butted together to form a contact surface within a single composite material (the specimen). An inverse boundary element method (BEM) is developed to determine the components of the hydraulic conductivity tensor of each material and the position of the contact surface. A steady state flow is forced through the specimen by the application of a constant pressure differential on its opposite faces. Experimental measurements (simulated) of pressure and average hydraulic flux at exposed boundaries are then used in a modified least squares functional. This functional minimises the gap between the above measured (simulated) values and their corresponding BEM values within a genetic algorithm maximisation procedure. The latter quantities are determined using the current estimates of the components of the hydraulic conductivity tensors and the position of the contact surface.

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