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I'm a retired civil engineer (soil mechanics, geotechnical, environmental), teaching part-time at MSUD. I'd like to make some of the geotechnical analyses more formal.

Several geotechnical problems involve complex equations and problems solutions using tables or graphs. Most of these are the same as I learned 50 years ago. It's easy to mis-read a table or have to interpolate to get an accurate value. I find today's students don't know how to interpolate (a skill learned in 1964).

I've used spread sheets to replace the some of the tables. When checking my calculations with the published tables, I find general agreement with the tables. However, I've also found whole sections of some tables that don't agree with the spreadsheet values. I suspect these were either computed by hand with a slide rule and lack sufficient accuracy. There may have been errors in copying the tables from edition to edition.

Seepage and drawing flow nets is a skill developed by experience. The simple configurations are relatively easy to do. As projects get more complex the flow nets aren't as intuitive as the simple examples in texts.

The basis for the flow nets is a partial differential equation. I'd like to find (or develop) a solution wherein I can specify more complex materials and boundary conditions. I'm rusty on the math and trying to brush up in my spare time (retired, remember).

I see some beginnings by searching but not a complete solution. I'm hoping someone can do it. It will take me a while to develop it.