Abstract Seepage losses from unlined channels are a major contributor to water loss in the agricultural sector. Quantification of seepage losses can improve water conveyance efficiency and provide solutions to water scarcity. In this study, a numerical simulation method is applied to investigate the factors that affect seepage from earthen channels. SEEP/W software was used to generate finite element method (FEM) solutions of the seepage flow equations. 246 numerical models, including different sections of trapezoidal, rectangular, and triangular earthen channels were studied using FEM. Numerical results are compared to available observation data from Zayandeh-Rud irrigation channels in Iran. Non-linear regression equations for the four empirical seepage equations are obtained from the SPSS statistical software. The results show that nonlinear multivariate regression relationships provide a suitable match for estimating seepage discharge. The accuracy of the suggested nonlinear regression equation in terms of R2 and RE are 0.928 and -2.42 %, respectively. Comparison of the seepage discharge with the empirical relationships showed that the empirical relationships have excessive error.

中文翻译：

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使用有限元法和多变量非线性回归预测无衬砌土渠道的渗流

摘要 无衬里渠道的渗漏损失是农业部门失水的主要因素。渗漏损失的量化可以提高输水效率并为缺水问题提供解决方案。在这项研究中，应用数值模拟方法研究了影响土渠渗流的因素。SEEP/W 软件用于生成渗流方程的有限元法 (FEM) 解。使用有限元法研究了 246 个数值模型，包括梯形、矩形和三角形土槽的不同截面。数值结果与伊朗 Zayandeh-Rud 灌溉渠道的现有观测数据进行了比较。四个经验渗流方程的非线性回归方程是从SPSS统计软件中获得的。结果表明，非线性多元回归关系为估计渗流流量提供了合适的匹配。就 R2 和 RE 而言，建议的非线性回归方程的准确度分别为 0.928 和 -2.42 %。渗流量与经验关系的比较表明，经验关系误差过大。