The influence of infiltration angle on the identification effect of seepage with linear heat source method

The linear heat source (LHS) method is an effective way to realize large-range and distributed monitoring of seepage. Research on this method, however, fails to consider the influence of seepage direction. Based on the seepage mechanics and heat transfer theory, this article sets up a mathematical model to describe the heat dissipation process of LHS in porous media. On such basis, the finite element method was adopted to study the influence of seepage velocity and seepage direction on the law of heat dissipation of LHS. The results showed that the heat dissipation process of LHS meet well with Newton’s Law of Cooling. Its cooling velocity was in positive correlation with the seepage velocity and infiltration angle. Hence, when the seepage direction is unknown, adopting this method for seepage identification is uncertain, may leads to misjudgment. At the end of the paper, the authors discuss a solution to this problem.