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Abstract :
[en] In the scientific community, increasing concerns on groundwater quality and quantity have motivated the development of numerical models for groundwater management since the 1970’s. Models of different complexities ranging from black box models to physically based distributed models have been applied in various conditions. The black box models such as transfer function are simple but attractive because they require relatively less data but with the drawback that modelling result are not spatially distributed while the predictive capability of these models is questionable due to the semi-analytical nature of the process descriptions. On the contrary, physically based distributed model require more data but, due to a more advanced description of ongoing processes, such models are expected to have better predictive capabilities than the black box models.
Black box model and physically based distributed model approaches have all proved their utilities and have all their justifications, advantages and disadvantages. However, few attempts have been made to combine these two approaches in a single model.
A new flexible methodology (the Hybrid Finite Element Mixing Cell method) has been developed that allows combining in a single model, and in a fully integrated way, different mathematical approaches of various complexities for groundwater in complex environment. This method has been implemented in the SUFTD, a finite element groundwater flow and solute transport numerical model. This approach has been first illustrated using simple “synthetic” examples that allow validating the approaches and discussing the advantages over existing modelling concepts. The HFEMC approach is now applied for the development of a groundwater flow model in a mined area in Belgium and for the development of a large scale groundwater flow and solute transport model in the Geer basin, Belgium.
