ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we intend providing the theoretical basis and the implementation of the graphical method, commonly called the method of flow net, for estimating seepage and pore (uplift) pressure in a two-dimensional groundwater flow. Although the graphical method can be applied to two-dimensional flows in a horizontal plane, it is mostly applied to twodimensional flows in a vertical plane, under hydraulic structures, especially by civil engineers. Through most of this chapter, we shall assume that the vertical plane is spanned by x, y coordinates of a rectangular Cartesian coordinate system, where y-axis points vertically upward. We shall first describe the method of flow net for an isotropic, homogeneous aquifer; later, we shall extend the method to include anisotropic, heterogeneous media. We must, however, state that the graphical method of flow net is not applicable to three-dimensional flow fields.
