Study of fluid filtration in a porous medium using physical and numerical modeling

At the beginning of the XX century, hydrogeological modeling (in the broadest sense of the word) began to develop. The first time physical modeling was conducted on the trays of various designs. In the result, factual material was accumulated on which the theoretical constructions (hydrogeodynamics of underground water and others) were based. With the development of computer technology and mathematical apparatus to describe filtration laws the modeling was applied not only to build theoretical models, but also for solving different kinds of problems: calculation of lowering the groundwater level at water extraction, evaluation of groundwater resources, calculations of flooding in impoundment or operation of irrigation systems. These tasks were solved by analytical methods, methods of electro-hydrodynamic analogy, and since the 1960-1970s by the methods of numerical computer simulation. The modern programs have been developed for numerical model operation, which allow solving hydrogeothermic tasks along with hydrodynamic and hydrochemical ones. Thus, rich material was saved up for the centenary period of the researches. The students-hydrogeologists collected and analyzed the actual material by various methods of hydrogeological model operation as well as characteristic author's researches were conducted by preparation of the matter. Relevance of work consists in necessity to involve students to scientific and practical activities in the course of their training, thereby increasing quality of training of students. The main aim of the study is to compare and analyze the depression curves obtained by the methods of physical and numerical modeling. The methods used in the study: physical modeling on a filtration tray, programming, numerical modeling on the computer. The results. The authors designed the filtration tray at the department of hydrogeology; considered the differential equations describing filtration; wrote the computer program in the QBasic programming language. Now the filtration tray is used in educational process.