Implementing Hydrologic Boundary Conditions in a Multiphysics Model

Modeling of hydrologic processes using multiphysics modeling packages shows significant promise in a number of applications. However, these packages have not yet developed a complete set of implementations for boundary conditions important in hydrologic modeling. Three such boundary conditions—rainfall infiltration, seepage faces, and evapotranspiration fluxes—are implemented using the generic boundary condition and internal sink routines provided in one multiphysics package, COMSOL multiphysics. Comparison with results from previous simulations using dedicated hydrologic models demonstrates that with care and creativity these boundary conditions can be implemented accurately and efficiently. Boundary condition implementation should not limit the applicability of multiphysics models to a broad set of problems of interest to the hydrologic community.