Hydromechanical behavior during constant-rate pumping tests in fractured gneiss

Deformation and fluid pressure during constant-rate pumping tests were characterized by sensitivity analyses using a theoretical model of a deformable fracture, and by conducting and analyzing field tests at a site underlain by fractured biotite gneiss in western South Carolina, USA. The sensitivity analysis indicates that displacement is a hysteretic function of fluid pressure during constant-rate pumping tests, and the signals are affected by properties of the fracture (normal stiffness, aperture, and heterogeneities in the fracture plane) and enveloping rock (elastic modulus and permeability). The field tests used a removable borehole extensometer to measure axial displacements in the pumping well. The field results are generally similar to simulations, and the hydraulic and mechanical properties obtained by inversion of the pumping test results are essentially the same as results from hydromechanical slug tests. The observed displacements early in the pumping tests are less than, whereas late in the test they are greater than predicted values assuming a uniform fracture. This difference can be explained as a consequence of preferential flow within the fracture. These results indicate that displacements in a wellbore are sensitive to details of fracture connectivity and preferential flow that are difficult to detect through the pressure signal alone.     

Blended head analyses to reduce uncertainty in packer testing in fractured-rock boreholes

Open boreholes in fractured rock often cross-connect fractures with differing hydraulic head and the head differences between these fractures cause vertical flow in the water column. This cross-connection has potential to bias transmissivity (T) values obtained from straddle packer tests. This study demonstrates how measurements of the blended head in the open-hole segments above and below the straddle-packer test interval can be used to correct packer tests for cross-connection effects. A pressure response observed in the open-hole segment above and/or below the packers isolating a test interval during a hydraulic test indicates short-circuiting of water from the injection interval through the vertically connected fracture network to the open-hole segments, resulting in the overestimation of T. A method is presented using blended head concepts to minimize this error using a trial-and-error procedure to determine the short-circuiting flow rate to account for the head conditions in the open-hole segments during each hydraulic test. Observed differences between the measured head and the calculated blended head in the open-hole segments above and below the test interval are attributed to cross-connection effects around the 1-m-long packers. The head and corrected T values determined from packer tests are used to estimate the flow in and out of the open hole at each of the intervals tested for assessing the cross-connection effects under open borehole conditions. Understanding open-hole flow dynamics gives insight about the potential for vertical cross connection of chemical constituents caused by the open hole.     

Experiment of pumping at constant-head: an alternative possibility to the sustainable yield of a well

The effects of constant-head pumping on a well over a period of 1 year have been monitored and the results used in the research of a potential alternative for the attainment of sustainable yield. Sustainable yield is frequently related to the response of drawdown during a pumping test at constant-rate, which sometimes involves a difficult choice of conceptual model to be used to analyse the pumping results. The experiment, carried out on a well that taps a fractured aquifer in Italy, recorded the aquifer’s response to pumping, compared with the response of springs. From the trends in discharge variation with time, the period and magnitude of the recharge and the stored water volume at the beginning of the depletion period can be evaluated, and the discharge rate during the same depletion period can be predicted. A sustainable yield can be derived based on the water volume extracted during the depletion period rather than on the prediction of drawdown over a long time. The experiment also highlights the stability of water quality extracted from the well, and where this criterion is important, in some cases, the constant-head pumping can represent an alternative method of groundwater exploitation.     

Numerical simulations for effects of anisotropy and heterogeneity on well responses to slug tests

Because of their simplicity, assumptions of isotropy and homogeneity are often applied to slug test analyses, determining hydraulic conductivity of heterogeneous and anisotropic formations, in spite of their inherent unfitness. In this study, it was examined how anisotropy and heterogeneity of the formation affect well recovery curves and therefore estimates of hydraulic conductivity in slug tests. Using a finite element method (FEM) slug test model, several hypothetical slug tests in anisotropic and heterogeneous formations with known hydraulic parameters and actual formations of unknown parameters were analyzed. Error factors as a result of the assumptions of isotropy and homogeneity were quantified through sensitivity analyses of well recovery curves. Results of slug tests analyzed in this study indicate that: (1) the well recovery curves in slug tests do not show unique shape or signs reflecting the anisotropy and heterogeneity of the tested formation; (2) the assumption of isotropy does not deviate estimates of hydraulic conductivity significantly when the radial hydraulic conductivity is larger than the vertical one in the formation; (3) the assumption of homogeneity in a layered heterogeneous system has a high potential for errors in hydraulic conductivity estimation, however it can be avoided by placing the screened section apart from the adjacent layers; (4) a low permeability well skin skews the hydraulic conductivity of the original formation, depending on the size and hydraulic conductivity of the skin.     

Determining the optimal pumping duration of transient pumping tests for estimating hydraulic properties of leaky aquifers using global curve-fitting method: a simulation approach

Global curve-fitting method (GCFM) is regarded as an effective approach in hydrogeological parameter estimation, as it integrates and uses pumping data and water recovery data of a transient pumping test for parameter estimation. The impacts of pumping duration on hydrogeological parameter estimation by GCFM were investigated in the present study using 2 in situ pumping tests and 24 simulated transient pumping tests. Empirical formulas for determining the optimal pumping duration were derived. The study results suggest that pumping duration will have impacts on the accuracy of hydrogeological parameter estimation. When pumping duration is longer than a certain period, relative errors of hydrogeological parameter estimation keep relatively stable within an acceptable limit. Therefore, it is unnecessary to continue the pumping for a very long time after the groundwater level has become stable. When the change rate of drawdown over time (γ) in an observation well located within a distance of 100 m to the pumping well reaches 0.134, the pumping can be stopped. If there are more than one observation wells in a pumping test, the smallest γ value should be selected to determine the optimal pumping duration. This research is meaningful in the instruction of pumping tests, and will reduce test costs greatly.     

Estimating hydraulic conductivity using grain-size analyses, aquifer tests, and numerical modeling in a riverside alluvial system in South Korea

Hydraulic conductivity (K) for an alluvial system in a riverbank filtration area in Changwon City, South Korea, has been studied using grain-size distribution, pumping and slug tests, and numerical modeling. The alluvial system is composed of layers: upper fine sand, medium sand, lower fine sand, and a highly conductive sand/gravel layer at the base. The geometric mean of K for the sand/gravel layer (9.89?×?10^?4 m s^?1), as determined by grain-size analyses, was 3.33 times greater than the geometric mean obtained from pumping tests (2.97?×?10^?4 m s^?1). The geometric mean of K estimates obtained from slug tests (3.08?×?10^?6 m s^?1) was one to two orders of magnitude lower than that from pumping tests and grain-size analyses. K estimates derived from a numerical model were compared to those derived from the grain-size methods, slug tests and pumping tests in order to determine the degree of deviation from the numerical model. It is considered that the K estimates determined by the slug tests resemble the uppermost part of the alluvial deposit, whereas the K estimates obtained by grain-size analyses and pumping tests are similar to those from the numerical model for the sand/gravel layer of the riverside alluvial system.     

Flow and transport predictions during multi-borehole tests in fractured chalk using discrete fracture network models

Multi-borehole pumping and tracer tests on the 10 to 100-m scale were conducted in a fractured chalk aquitard in the Negev Desert, Israel. Outcrop and core fracture surveys, as well as slug tests in packed-off intervals, were carried out at this site to obtain the parameters needed for construction of a stochastic discrete fracture network (DFN). Calibration of stochastic DFNs directly to the multiple borehole test data was inadequate. Instead, two equivalent deterministic DFN flow models were used: the vertical-fractures (VF) model, consisting of only vertical fractures, and the fractures’ intersections (INT) model, consisting of vertical and horizontal fractures with enhanced transmissivity at their intersections. Both models were calibrated against the multi-borehole response of one pumping test and their predictions were tested against three other independent pumping tests. The average accuracies of all transient drawdown predictions of the VF and INT models were 65 and 66%, respectively. In contrast to this equality in average drawdown predictions of both models, the INT model predicted better important breakthrough curve features (e.g., first and peak arrival times), than the VF model. This result is in line with previously assumed channeled flow, derived from analytical analysis of these pumping and tracer tests. Ronit Nativ, deceased, may her memory be blessed.     

A model for the constant-head pumping test conducted in vertically fractured media

An analytical model for the constant-head pumping test is developed for a partially penetrating well that has a finite thickness skin, and intersects a single vertical fracture. In the model, the fracture is fully confined and flow occurs only in the fracture. The model is developed using Laplace transform and finite Fourier transform methods. The model is to be used for analysing well test data from vertically fractured media and for verifying numerical models. Dimensionless curves are used to study the effects of a finite thickness skin and a partially penetrating wellbore. In the presence of a finite thickness skin, or a partially penetrating wellbore, a typical flow response for the constant-head pumping test has three distinct periods of flow corresponding to small-, intermediate- and large-time. Small- and large-time approximations are presented for the model. For tests where the wellbore is fully penetrating, or the partial penetration ratio is known, these approximations can be used to analyse field data.     

浅谈钻孔抽水试验的设计与实施

钻孔抽水试验时,试抽出的钻孔涌水量远远超出预测且降深也无法满足规程要求时,只有根据试抽水的结果,重新设计抽水试验方案,重新选择井管的内径、抽水设备以及参数,风、测管的口径和下入深度等.本文通过一个钻孔抽水试验的经过,说明按规程选择以上各参数的方法及意义.     

气压式振荡试验确定地层渗透系数适宜性

为评价滨海地区海（咸）水入侵区不同类型地层渗透性,提出振荡试验适宜模型选择方法。利用Geoprobe系统对不同平面位置地层实施了气压式振荡试验,部分点位进行了分层测试;利用配线法计算地层渗透系数。结果表明:当试验目标层为承压含水层时,利用Butler模型分析欠阻尼振荡试验,KGS模型分析过阻尼振荡试验,均可获得良好的计算结果;当试验目标层为弱透水层时,KGS模型可用于过阻尼振荡试验的数据分析,但计算结果会受到相邻高渗透性含水层以及钻孔编录不准确的影响。地层渗透性等级未知条件下,需根据地层类型、介质岩性、测试井结构和水位恢复过程曲线特征选择适宜的振荡试验分析模型,以准确获取地层渗透系数值。     

Automatic estimation of aquifer parameters using long-term water supply pumping and injection records

Analyses are presented of long-term hydrographs perturbed by variable pumping/injection events in a confined aquifer at a municipal water-supply well field in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario (Canada). Such records are typically not considered for aquifer test analysis. Here, the water-level variations are fingerprinted to pumping/injection rate changes using the Theis model implemented in the WELLS code coupled with PEST. Analyses of these records yield a set of transmissivity (T) and storativity (S) estimates between each monitoring and production borehole. These individual estimates are found to poorly predict water-level variations at nearby monitoring boreholes not used in the calibration effort. On the other hand, the geometric means of the individual T and S estimates are similar to those obtained from previous pumping tests conducted at the same site and adequately predict water-level variations in other boreholes. The analyses reveal that long-term municipal water-level records are amenable to analyses using a simple analytical solution to estimate aquifer parameters. However, uniform parameters estimated with analytical solutions should be considered as first rough estimates. More accurate hydraulic parameters should be obtained by calibrating a three-dimensional numerical model that rigorously captures the complexities of the site with these data.     

Numerical modeling of reservoirs or pipes in groundwater seepage

In groundwater studies, the numerical modeling of complex boundary conditions can be made easier by considering reservoirs and pipes as “reservoir” finite elements, which can store or release large volumes of water at almost constant hydraulic head. The numerical code to be used must solve the complete conservation equation with unlinked functions for the water retention curve and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, and the ability to describe these as step functions. Four examples illustrate the performance of the “reservoir” element: reservoir pumping, laboratory variable-head permeability test, vertical flow in an open borehole, and pumping test with well storage.     

Theis井流注水导致的含水层水平位移与应变

注水问题的含水层位移模型求解的难点在于边界条件的恰当处理。根据Theis定流量抽水与注水水流模型的反对称特性,假定注水位移模型的无限远通量边界与抽水位移模型的无限远通量边界也具有反对称性,从而得到Theis定流量注水的含水层位移模型解答,发现定流量注水与抽水的含水层骨架颗粒位移速度、累计位移量、径向应变及切向应变的解答均互为反号值。注水过程中含水层在径向有两种形变区,依次为膨胀区和挤压区。在膨胀区和挤压区的界限处,径向位移取得最大值。如果假定含水层顶底板不动,注水导致的地层相对位移足以产生水井或油井套管变形和折断破坏。注水时含水层在切向处于恒拉张状态,这可能导致井壁围岩产生径向放射状张裂缝。     

兴隆庄井田奥灰水单孔小口径抽水降距问题分析

针对岩溶发育的大水矿区,在进行小孔径抽水试验工作时,现有的国产压风机虽然尽了最大机械能力,但水位的降低值仍然达不到规范的质量要求,不得不将小孔径抽水试验改为大口径或孔组抽水的情况,采取了加长风管长度,用进口在压风机的方法,完成了兴隆庄井田O2-7号水文孔的小孔径抽水试验工作。从抽水试验的曲线来看,该方法切实可行,有一定推广价值。     

Analysis of flow behavior in a landfill with cover soil of low hydraulic conductivity

 This paper presents the results of field tests of hydrologic parameters in a landfill and the results of numerical simulation to find the efficiency of the pumping method to reduce leachate levels in the landfill. The field hydraulic conductivity and storativity of waste and buried cover soils in the landfill are measured by pumping and slug tests. The hydrologic condition inside the landfill is first calibrated using the drawdown-time curve obtained from the pumping test, and the flow behavior of leachate during pumping in the landfill, when various layers of waste and buried cover soil exist, is analyzed through three-dimensional numerical simulation of flow. The results of the field investigation show that the buried cover soil of low hydraulic conductivity forms an impermeable layer preventing the downward flow of leachate and upward flow of landfill gas. The hydraulic conductivities of the pumping test and slug tests were quite close on the same order of magnitude. It was also possible to match the drawdown-time data of the field tests with those of the model using input data close to the hydrologic property obtained from the field tests. The numerical flow analysis showed that pumping was possible up to 120 tons/day for a single well without a drain, while the pumping rate could be increased to 300 tons/day for the same well with the drain. From the vertical section of the flow vector with a horizontal drain, the barrier role of buried cover soil is identified, which was proposed by examining the water contents of the disposed cover soil and waste in the field. Received: 15 May 1998 · Accepted: 4 January 1999     

The bailer test: a simple effective pumping test for assessing borehole success

A new pumping test method has been designed around the practical requirements of those working in rural water-supply projects in developing countries. The bailer test needs only simple equipment and can be completed in under 1 h. The test involves removing 20–50 bails from a borehole over a 10-min period and then measuring the recovery. The test is analysed using large-diameter-well analysis (which accounts for well storage) and is appropriate for testing low productivity aquifers (transmissivity 0.1–10 m² d^–1), where water levels are shallow (<20 m depth). The bailer test was developed and trialled in a rural water supply project in Nigeria where it was found to predict similar transmissivity to 5-h constant rate tests (r²=0.9). Analysis of the test was further simplified to provide guidelines for field staff such as community health workers. The likelihood of a borehole sustaining a handpump for 250 people can be indicated by measuring the maximum drawdown and time for 50 and 75% recovery from a bailer test and comparing to a simple table. This simplified test is now being used in this and other rural water-supply projects, and has been modified to indicate whether a borehole can sustain higher yields for small-scale irrigation.     

超深涌水钻孔的钻探工艺及水文地质试验方法研究

C4Z—G-05孔为某铁路高黎贡山隧道工程勘察钻孔,钻孔深度1075．5m。钻探过程中分别在孔深288～400m和611～724m穿过落差大于100m的断裂构造破碎带,并出现涌水及漏水现象,施工难度大,水文地质试验难以进行。据此,采取了合理的施工顺序,并根据钻进时的机械设备及钻进情况及时调控钻进参数;针对不同的地层,选用不同的泥浆类型,从而顺利的完成了该孔钻探工作。在水文地质试验中,对松散层潜水,采取了抽水试验,对两个断裂带,适时的运用观测涌水量和压力水头及涌水试验的方法,并选择适宜的计算公式,较好的完成了该孔的水文地质参数的计算工作．取得了良好的效果。     

A numerical investigation to illustrate the consequences of hydraulic connections between granular and fractured-rock aquifers

Natural or artificial hydraulic connections between a granular aquifer in contact with a fractured-rock aquifer can have significant physical and chemical impacts at both a local and a regional scale. In this study, numerical simulations are conducted in order to illustrate the hydrogeological consequences of such hydraulic relationships. The numerical investigation, based on a conceptual model, focuses on the effects of the hydraulic connections when conducting a pumping test in a well that is set into a granular confined aquifer overlying a fractured-rock aquifer which presents a few fractures directly connected to the granular aquifer. It is illustrated that when interpreting the pumping test with the conventional methods consisting of plotting the drawdown versus time, a bias is introduced on the estimation of the transmissivity of the granular aquifer due to groundwater flowing from the fractured-rock aquifer via connecting fractures. However, it is underlined that plotting drawdown log-derivative versus time helps to diagnose the existence of these hydraulic relationships and therefore avoids committing a bias on the transmissivity estimation of the granular aquifer. Numerical simulation results also illustrate that hydraulic connections between the two aquifers can have significant impacts on the hydrogeochemical signature of the granular aquifer under investigation.     

Inverse modelling of aquifer parameters in basaltic rock with the help of pumping test method using MODFLOW software

The origin and movement of groundwater are the fundamental questions that address both the temporal and spatial aspects of ground water run and water supply related issues in hydrological systems. As groundwater flows through an aquifer, its composition and temperature may variation dependent on the aquifer condition through which it flows. Thus, hydrologic investigations can also provide useful information about the subsurface geology of a region. But because such studies investigate processes that follow under the Earth's shallow, obtaining the information necessary to answer these questions is not continuously easy. Springs, which discharge groundwater table directly, afford to study subsurface hydrogeological processes.The present study of estimation of aquifer factors such as transmissivity (T) and storativity (S) are vital for the evaluation of groundwater resources. There are several methods to estimate the accurate aquifer parameters (i.e. hydrograph analysis, pumping test, etc.). In initial days, these parameters are projected either by means of in-situ test or execution test on aquifer well samples carried in the laboratory. The simultaneous information on the hydraulic behavior of the well (borehole) that provides on this method, the reservoir and the reservoir boundaries, are important for efficient aquifer and well data management and analysis. The most common in-situ test is pumping test performed on wells, which involves the measurement of the fall and increase of groundwater level with respect to time. The alteration in groundwater level (drawdown/recovery) is caused due to pumping of water from the well. Theis (1935) was first to propose method to evaluate aquifer parameters from the pumping test on a bore well in a confined aquifer. It is essential to know the transmissivity (T = Kb, where b is the aquifer thickness; pumping flow rate, Q = TW (dh/dl) flow through an aquifer) and storativity (confined aquifer: S = bS_s, unconfined: S = S_y), for the characterization of the aquifer parameters in an unknown area so as to predict the rate of drawdown of the groundwater table/potentiometric surface throughout the pumping test of an aquifer. The determination of aquifer's parameters is an important basis for groundwater resources evaluation, numerical simulation, development and protection as well as scientific management. For determining aquifer's parameters, pumping test is a main method. A case study shows that these techniques have been fast speed and high correctness. The results of parameter's determination are optimized so that it has important applied value for scientific research and geology engineering preparation.