Finite-element discretization Spatial discretization of the study area is a prerequisite for any numerical modeling. Classic groundwater simulation codes use finite difference discretization. In contrast, FEFLOW is based on the finite-element technique. Major advantages of finite-element modeling are:

• Unstructured meshing, thus much better representation of features like rivers, fractures, well locations by adaptation of the mesh
• Better representation of sloping layers and anisotropy
• Local mesh refinement without having to refine the whole column/row
• Moving meshes for free-surface calculations
• Automatic mesh refinement and coarsening
• Less computational effort due to reduced element numbers for large regional models
• Broad range of small-scale and large-scale applications