Preliminary modeling investigation on changes in Karst fractures and seepage field in rockmass between streams with equal water levels

The analytical solution of distributed water table in an unconfined aquifer between streams has been obtained in classic groundwater hydraulics based on Dupuit’s assumption, and it is frequently used in engineering practice. However, the applicability of this analytical model to groundwater in karst fractures needs a further verification. A 2D profile model of discrete fractures in rockmass between streams with equal water levels was simulated, considering a rainfall infiltration rate of 100−800 mm/a. The random fracture network includes two fracture groups, steeply or slightly inclining with the same statistic average aperture of 0.01 cm. Phreatic surface were identified by checking the interface between saturated and unsaturated fractures. The equivalent hydraulic conductivity of saturated fractures was obtained from seepage simulations and compared to the inversely estimated result from the classical analytical solution. It indicates that the relative error of inverse estimation is smaller than 25%. Furthe