Calculation of fracture-conduit karst groundwater pressures and flows using a pipe network method

Fracture conduits serve as the primary channels for groundwater runoff in karst areas, controlling the water level and distribution of flow in the groundwater system. To determine the parameters of fracture-conduit karst systems and to analyze the distribution characteristics of the pressure field and flow field, a pipe network calculation method is presented that discretizes the fracture medium and conduit medium into pipes and nodes. The connection rules for nodes and pipes are established, and different water conductivity coefficients are assigned to discrete pipes. Based on the principles of conservation of mass and energy, nonhomogeneous linear control equations are constructed to represent the discrete pipe network (PN). By solving the equations, groundwater parameters can be calculated for the PN. Meanwhile, a laboratory model test was conducted to validate the PN, and the numerical calculation results aligned well with the laboratory test results. In addition, a simple case is compared and verified, and the calculation results are compared with those obtained using the multiphysics software, COMSOL. The results indicate that the PN method can achieve more accurate calculation results with fewer elements. The method calculates the distribution characteristics of the flow field within the water-conducting medium and elucidates the influence of the properties of the medium on the distribution characteristics of the flow field. The research results provide guidance for the distribution of groundwater flow fields in karst areas and are expected to be applied to calculating groundwater pressures and flows in large-scale fracture-conduit systems.