Combination of Domain Decompose Technique and Finite Element Method for Simulating Darcian velocity in Aquifers

We propose a combination of domain decompose technique and finite element method (DDFEM) to solve Darcian velocity in the vicinity of material interfaces in heterogeneous porous media. The domain decompose technique allows DDFEM to divided the whole study region velocity problem into subproblems in a series non-overlapping domains by natural material interfaces. Since each domain only contain one type aqueous medium and they are solved separately, the velocity error caused by the differences of different materials can be decreased and much computational costs can be saved. After one subproblem has been solved, the DDFEM employ refraction law to convert the known interfaces nodal Darcy velocities to the Dirichlet boundary condition of the adjacent subdomains. The result of the numerical experiments shows that the DDFEM can deal with arbitrarily oriented or intersected material interfaces and achieves high accuracy and efficiency.