Gridmaker: A grid generator for two- and three-dimensional finite element subsurface flow models

Technical Report · Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6720279· OSTI ID:6720279

Tsay, T K ^[1]; Yeh, G T ^[2]; Wilson, G V ^[3]; Toran, L E ^[4]

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1. Syracuse Univ., NY (USA). Dept. of Civil Engineering
2. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (USA). Dept. of Civil Engineering
3. Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (USA). Dept. of Plant and Soil Science
4. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)

This report documents the development and application of a grid generator, GRIDMAKER, for two- and/or three-dimensional domains. GRIDMAKER serves as a preprocessor for finite element models in solving two- and/or three-dimensional subsurface flow and pollutant transport problems. This grid generator is designed to generate three-point triangular or four-point quadrilateral elements for two-dimensional domains and eight-point hexahedron elements for three-dimensional domains. Based on the method of conformal mapping, the generation of interior nodal points within a two-dimensional domain of interest is performed numerically by the boundary integral element method (BIEM). For a three-dimensional domain, the BIEM techniques are applied in the projected horizontal plane, while the vertical coordinate is transformed by a normalized transformation using local layer thickness. Examples of grid generation for a two-dimensional domain and a three-dimensional three-layer domain are shown to demonstrate the capability of GRIDMAKER. A two-dimensional domain of an aquifer with a variable-depth layer is treated as a special case for depth-integrated two-dimensional, finite element subsurface flow models. The program has also been designed to accommodate the need for aquifers with heterogeneous systems by identifying the type of material in each element. 5 refs., 17 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6720279
• Report Number(s): ORNL-6613; ON: DE90014758
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Environmental Sciences Division Publication No. 3482
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
POLLUTANTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
SUBSURFACE ENVIRONMENTS
FLOW MODELS
AQUIFERS
COORDINATES
FLUID FLOW
MAPPING
MESH GENERATION
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
540320* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)