Joint Estimation of Hydraulic and Poroelastic Parameters from a Pumping Test

The coupling of hydraulic and poroelastic processes is critical in predicting processes involving the deformation of the geologic medium in response to fluid extraction or injection. Numerical models that consider the coupling of hydraulic and poroelastic processes require the knowledge of relevant parameters for both aquifer and aquitard units. In this study, we jointly estimated hydraulic and poroelastic parameters from pumping test data exhibiting “reverse water level fluctuations,” known as the Noordbergum effect, in aquitards adjacent to a pumped aquifer. The joint estimation was performed by coupling BIOT2, a finite element, two‐dimensional, axisymmetric, groundwater model that considers poroelastic effects with the parameter estimation code PEST. We first tested our approach using a synthetic data set with known parameters. Results of the synthetic case showed that for a simple layered system, it was possible to reproduce accurately both the hydraulic and poroelastic properties for each layer. We next applied the approach to pumping test data collected at the North Campus Research Site (NCRS) on the University of Waterloo (UW) campus. Based on the detailed knowledge of stratigraphy, a five‐layer system was modeled. Parameter estimation was performed by: (1) matching drawdown data individually from each observation port and (2) matching drawdown data from all ports at a single well simultaneously. The estimated hydraulic parameters were compared to those obtained by other means at the site yielding good agreement. However, the estimated shear modulus was higher than the static shear modulus, but was within the range of dynamic shear modulus reported in the literature, potentially suggesting a loading rate effect.     

Time harmonic point load and dynamic contact problem of contacting fluid and poroelastic half-spaces

The dynamic response of contacting fluid and fluid-saturated poroelastic half- spaces to a time-harmonic vertical point force or a point pore pressure is investigated. The solutions are formulated using the boundary conditions at the fluid-porous medium interface. The point load solutions are then used to solve the dynamic problem of the vertical vibration of a rigid disc (both permeable and impermeable discs are included) on the surface of the poroelastic half-space. The contact problems are solved by integrating the point force and point pore pressure solutions over the contact area with unknown discontinuous force and pore pressure distributions, which are determined from the boundary conditions. The solutions are expressed in terms of dual integral equations, which are converted to Fredholm integral equations of the second kind and solved numerically. Selected numerical results for the vertical dynamic compliance coefficient for the cases with or without fluid overlying the poroelastic half-space are presented to show the effects of the fluid. The influence of the permeability condition of the disc on the compliance of the poroelastic half-space is investigated. The displacement, vertical stress, pore pressure in the poroelastic half-space and water pressure in the fluid half-space are also examined for different poroelastic materials and frequencies of excitation. The present results are helpful in the study of the dynamic response of foundations on the seabed under seawater.     

Poroelastic Effects on Fracture Characterization

Reverse water‐level fluctuations have been widely observed in aquitards or aquifers separated from a pumped confined aquifer (Noordbergum effect) immediately after the initiation of pumping. This same reverse fluctuation has been observed in a fractured crystalline‐rock aquifer at the Coles Hill uranium site in Virginia in which the reverse water‐level response occurs within a pumped fracture and results from an instantaneous strain response to pumping that precedes the pore‐pressure response in observation wells of sufficient distance from the pumped well. This response is referred to as the Mandel‐Cryer effect. The unique aspect of this water level rise during a controlled 24 h pumping test was that the reverse water levels lasted for approximately 100 min and reached a magnitude of nearly 1 cm prior to a typical drawdown response. The duration and magnitude of the response reflects the poromechanical properties of the fractured host rock and hydraulic properties of the pumped fracture. An axisymmetric flow and deformation model were developed using Biot2 in an effort to simulate the observed water‐level response along an assumed 0.5 to 1.0 cm aperture horizontal fracture 176 m from the pumping well and to identify the importance of the poroelastic effect. Results indicate that traditional aquifer‐testing methods that ignore the poromechanical response are not significantly different than results that include the response. However, the poroelastic effect allows for more accurate and efficient parameter calibration.     

Hydropeaking induces losses from a river reach: observations at multiple spatial scales

In humid regions, where gaining river conditions generally prevail, daily hydroelectric dam releases alter downstream surface water–groundwater interactions by reversing the head gradient between river and adjacent groundwater. Previously, it has been noted that artificial stage changes due to dam releases enhance hyporheic exchange. Here we investigate the regulated Deerfield River in northwestern Massachusetts at multiple scales to evaluate how changing downstream geologic conditions along the river mediate this artificial hyporheic pumping. Water budget analysis indicates that roughly 10% of bank‐stored water is permanently lost from the 19.5‐km river reach, likely as a result of transpiration by bank vegetation. An adjacent reference stream with similar dimensions and geomorphology, but without hydropeaking, shows predictable gaining conditions. Field observations from streambed piezometers and thermistors show that water losses are not uniform throughout the study reach. Riparian aquifer transmissivity in river sub‐reaches largely determines the magnitude of surface water–groundwater exchange as well as net water loss from the river. These newly documented losses from hydropeaking river systems should inform decisions by river managers and hydroelectric operators of additional tradeoffs of oscillatory dam‐release river management. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reverse Water‐Level Fluctuations Associated with Fracture Connectivity

Reverse water‐level fluctuations (RWFs), a phenomenon in which water levels rise briefly in response to pumping, were detected in monitoring wells in a fractured siliciclastic aquifer system near a deep public supply well. The magnitude and timing of RWFs provide important information that can help interpret aquifer hydraulics near pumping wells. A RWF in a well is normally attributed to poroelastic coupling between the solid and fluid components in an aquifer system. In addition to revealing classical pumping‐induced poroelastic RWFs, data from pressure transducers located at varying depths and distances from the public supply well suggest that the RWFs propagate rapidly through fractures to influence wells hundreds of meters from the pumping well. The rate and cycling frequency of pumping is an important factor in the magnitude of RWFs. The pattern of RWF propagation can be used to better define fracture connectivity in an aquifer system. Rapid, cyclic head changes due to RWFs may also serve as a mechanism for contaminant transport.     

Dynamic response of a tunnel buried in a saturated poroelastic soil layer to a moving point load

The dynamic response of a tunnel buried in a two-dimensional poroelastic soil layer subjected to a moving point load was investigated theoretically. The tunnel was simplified as an infinite long Euler–Bernoulli beam, which was placed parallel to the traction-free ground surface. The saturated layer was governed by Biot’s theory. Combined with the specified boundary conditions along the beam and saturated poroelastic layer, the coupled equations of the system were solved analytically in the frequency–wavenumber domain based on Fourier transform. The time domain responses were obtained by the fast inverse Fourier transform. The critical velocity of the considered structure was determined from the dispersion curves. The different dynamic characteristics of the elastic soil medium and the saturated poroelastic medium subjected to the underground moving load were investigated. It is concluded that, for coarse materials or fine materials subjected to the high-velocity loading, models ignoring the coupling effects between the pore fluid and the soil skeleton may cause errors. The shear modulus and the permeability coefficients of the saturated soil as well as the load moving velocity had significant influence on the displacement and pore pressure responses.     

Surface flow boundary conditions in modeling land subsidence due to fluid withdrawal

Land subsidence due to subsurface fluid (water, gas, oil) withdrawal is often predicted by either finite element or finite difference numerical models based on coupled poroelastic theory, where the soil is represented as a semi-infinite medium bounded by the traction-free (ground) surface. One of the variables playing a most important role on the final outcome is the flow condition used on the traction-free boundary, which may be assumed as either permeable or impermeable. Although occasionally justified, the assumption of no-flow surface seems to be in general rather unrealistic. A permeable boundary where the fluid pressure is fixed to the external atmospheric pressure appears to be more appropriate. This paper addresses the response, in terms of land subsidence, obtained with a coupled poroelastic finite element model that simulates a distributed pumping from a horizontal aquifer confined between two relatively impervious layers, and takes either a permeable boundary surface, i.e., constant hydraulic potential, or an impermeable boundary, i.e., a zero Neumann flow condition. The analysis reveals that land subsidence is rather sensitive to the flow condition implemented on the traction-free boundary. In general, the no-flow condition leads to an overestimate of the predicted ground surface settlement, which could even be 1 order of magnitude larger than that obtained with the permeable boundary.     

Stresses and excess pore pressure induced in saturated poroelastic halfspace by moving line load

This paper examines stresses and excess pore fluid pressure that are induced in a saturated poroelastic soil of halfspace extent by a concentrated line load. The line load is moving at a constant velocity along the surface of the poroelastic halfspace. The governing equations for the proposed analysis are based on the Biot's theory of dynamics in saturated poroelastic soils. The governing partial differential equations are solved using Fourier transforms. The solutions for the stresses and excess pore pressure are expressed in the forms of inverse Fourier transforms. The numerical results are obtained by performing the numerical inversion of the transform integrals. A parametric study is presented to illustrate the influences of the velocity of moving load and the poroelastic material parameters on the stresses and excess pore pressure. At a high velocity, the maximum values of the stresses in a poroelastic halfspace are smaller than those in an elastic solid, whilst at a low velocity the stresses in a poroelastic halfspace are larger than those in an elastic halfspace. The potential of diffusivity has an important influence on the stresses and excess pore pressure.     

Uncertainty in applying the linear poroelasticity model to field situations as a result of periodic loading in heterogeneous aquifers

The solid Earth's surface frequently experience changes in total stresses as a result of periodic loading. When the fluid‐saturated porous media deform in response to changes in stress, the induced variations in pore volume affect the pore water pressure. The fluid flow therefore occurs in response to the gradient in the induced excess pore water pressure. This work aims at quantifying the spatial variability in excess pressure head produced by the periodic loading accounting for the variation of log hydraulic conductivity (lnK). It is important for the rational management of groundwater resources. A closed‐form expression is developed by the nonstationary spectral approach to analyse the influence of the statistical properties of lnK process, the hydraulic parameters, and the spatial position. The general stochastic framework outlined in this work provides a basis for assessing the impact of statistical properties of input aquifer parameters on the output variability (or uncertainty). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Induced Groundwater Flux by Increases in the Aquifer's Total Stress

Fluid‐filled granular soils experience changes in total stress because of earth and oceanic tides, earthquakes, erosion, sedimentation, and changes in atmospheric pressure. The pore volume may deform in response to the changes in stress and this may lead to changes in pore fluid pressure. The transient fluid flow can therefore be induced by the gradient in excess pressure in a fluid‐saturated porous medium. This work demonstrates the use of stochastic methodology in prediction of induced one‐dimensional field‐scale groundwater flow through a heterogeneous aquifer. A closed‐form of mean groundwater flux is developed to quantify the induced field‐scale mean behavior of groundwater flow and analyze the impacts of the spatial correlation length scale of log hydraulic conductivity and the pore compressibility. The findings provided here could be useful for the rational planning and management of groundwater resources in aquifers that contain lenses with large vertical aquifer matrix compressibility values.     

不同注水方式下断层动力学响应数值模拟研究

工业开采注水能导致现存断层活化,从而诱发大量的破坏型地震。因此,研究注水作用下断层的动力学响应对探索诱发地震的力学机理具有重要的意义。本文基于孔弹性弹簧-滑块模型,采用多孔介质弹性耦合数值模拟,计算分析了三类典型注水方式(上升型、迅速上升/下降型和间歇型)对断层稳定性的影响。研究结果表明:随着流体的不断注入,断层内部流体压力会经过缓慢上升、迅速上升和稳定上升三个阶段。针对于不同的注水方式,这三个阶段并不完全相同,体现形式存在差异;在注水方式相同的条件下,储层的渗透率越小,井口附近流体压力越大,断层处流体压力越小,两者间的流体压力差值越大;注水过程中断层临界刚度的变化与是否发生滑移并引发地震密切相关,数值越大越易诱发地震,其数值与注入储层流体的流体压力呈负相关,与流体压力变化率呈正相关;临界刚度由于流体压力变化率的增加在前期呈现快速增长趋势,后期则是由于流体压力的影响开始减小。迅速上升/下降型注水方式极大增加了注水前期诱发地震的可能性,间歇性注水方式在注水后期引起的临界刚度变化值较大,增大了诱发地震的可能性。该研究可以为注水诱发地震的危险性评价提供定量的科学依据。     

Stream water infiltration, bank storage, and storage zone changes due to stream-stage fluctuations

During a flood period, stream-stage increases induce infiltration of stream water into an aquifer; subsequent declines in stream stage cause a reverse motion of the infiltrated water. This paper presents the results of the water exchange rate between a stream and aquifer, the storage volume of the infiltrated stream water in the surrounding aquifer (bank storage), and the storage zone. The storage zone is the part of aquifer where groundwater is replaced by stream water during the flood. MODFLOW was used to simulate stream–aquifer interactions and to quantify rates of stream infiltration and return flow. MODPATH was used to trace the pathlines of the infiltrated stream water and to determine the size of the storage zone. Simulations were focused on the analyses of the effects of the stream-stage fluctuation, aquifer properties, the hydraulic conductivity of streambed sediments, regional hydraulic gradients, and recharge and evapotranspiration (ET) rates on stream–aquifer interactions. Generally, for a given stream–aquifer system, larger flow rates result from larger stream-stage fluctuations; larger storage volumes and storage zones are produced by larger and longer-lasting fluctuations. For a given stream-stage hydrograph, a lower-permeable streambed, an aquitard, or an anisotropic aquifer of low vertical hydraulic conductivity can significantly reduce the rate of infiltration and limit the size of the storage zone. The bank storage solely caused by the stage fluctuation differs slightly between gaining and losing streams. Short-term rainfall recharge and ET loss in the shallow groundwater slightly influence on the flow rate, but their effects on bank storage in a larger area for a longer period can be considerable.     

Estimating hydraulic parameters when poroelastic effects are significant

For almost 80 years, deformation-induced head changes caused by poroelastic effects have been observed during pumping tests in multilayered aquifer-aquitard systems. As water in the aquifer is released from compressive storage during pumping, the aquifer is deformed both in the horizontal and vertical directions. This deformation in the pumped aquifer causes deformation in the adjacent layers, resulting in changes in pore pressure that may produce drawdown curves that differ significantly from those predicted by traditional groundwater theory. Although these deformation-induced head changes have been analyzed in several studies by poroelasticity theory, there are at present no practical guidelines for the interpretation of pumping test data influenced by these effects. To investigate the impact that poroelastic effects during pumping tests have on the estimation of hydraulic parameters, we generate synthetic data for three different aquifer-aquitard settings using a poroelasticity model, and then analyze the synthetic data using type curves and parameter estimation techniques, both of which are based on traditional groundwater theory and do not account for poroelastic effects. Results show that even when poroelastic effects result in significant deformation-induced head changes, it is possible to obtain reasonable estimates of hydraulic parameters using methods based on traditional groundwater theory, as long as pumping is sufficiently long so that deformation-induced effects have largely dissipated.     

Poroelasticity: Finite element modelling of anomalous tilt and pore pressure caused by pumping in a sedimentary half space with fault

Extraction of groundwater or hydrocarbons causes pore pressure gradients and soil deformation due to poroelastic coupling. Recent studies show that high-resolution engineering tiltmeters installed at shallow depth between 2 and 10 m resolve this deformation. Models using poroelasticity can describe the relationship between fluid extraction, pore pressure gradients and induced tilt for homogeneous and layered sedimentary half spaces. Faults intersecting a stack of sedimentary layers, for example in the Lower-Rhine-Embayment, are of fundamental impact to the groundwater flow system of an area. However, the fault’s hydromechanical effect on pump induced tilt and the pore pressure regime is still poorly investigated. We chose a comparatively simple approach to quantify anomalous pump induced tilt and pore pressure observed near a fault and close to the surface in a sedimentary subsoil. A PC-based Finite Element software is used to model poroelastic deformation, i.e. modelling vertical tilt and excess pore pressure in response to fluid extraction through a singular well. We compare numerical solutions for models with and without faults and show that a fault can modify symmetry and amplitude of the deformation field by more than a magnitude. We conclude that tilt and pore pressure measurements also at shallow depth can thus be biased by large subsurface structures like faults. Vice versa, these measurements may provide means to quantify hydromechanical effects caused by subsurface structures. However, depending on the geological setting, i.e. if pathways are established by a fault, the anomaly caused by the fault can also be small and hard to detect. Therefore, faults and geological structures like material boundaries have to be considered in poroelastic models carefully. For tilt surveys with a limited number of instruments in geologically well constrained areas these models allow the preselection of potential positions for tiltmeters where prominent field anomalies are expected.     

不同时期水库地震活动主要影响因素讨论以三峡库区微震活动为例

结合微震活动的流体作用强度检测及孔隙压扩散模拟,讨论了三峡库区不同时期微震活动的主要影响因素。以2008年9月蓄水季为界划分前、后期,前期流体渗透导致的孔隙压力增加,使裂隙或断层面强度降低,是库区微震活动的主要影响因素,这一时期微震频次及ETAS模型参数μ值有起伏地缓慢增大,与库水位加卸载过程关系不明显; 后期由于流体渗透引起的孔隙压力变化趋于零,在新的流体平衡条件下,库水位加卸载过程所导致的裂隙或断层面上的应力变化,成为库区微震活动的主要影响因素,这一时期微震频次及μ值显示出与水位变化明显的关联特征。库区小震震源深度的时间变化支持上述观点。在此基础上,进一步讨论了水库“诱发”和水库“触发”地震的力学差异,认为前者主要缘于流体渗透导致的裂隙或断层面强度的“主动”降低,后者则主要与库水加卸载所导致的裂隙或断层面上应力增强有关。进一步推论认为,流体对小地震“诱发”、“触发”皆可能发生,但中强地震缘于流体“诱发”的可能性非常小,对水库区发生的中强地震,流体仅可能对处于临界状态的断层系统起到“触发”作用。     

从昌平井体应变、水位对地震波的响应特征求算含水层的Skempton常数

以理想孔隙弹性介质线性孔隙弹性理论为基础, 利用井含水层系统孔隙压力变化与体应变之间的数学表达式. 以2004年12月26日苏门答腊MＳ8.7（根据中国地震台网中心目录）地震波引起的昌平地震台水位和体应变波动资料为例,分别从时间域和频率域分析了水位与体应变之间的相互关系,并计算出地震波通过含水层时引起的水位波动对体应变的响应系数,给出了一种估算Skempton常数B的方法,为求解含水层特性提供了途径.      

Spatial variability of the poroelastic response of the heterogeneous medium

In this work, a stochastic methodology is applied to analyze the variability of the poroelastic response of the heterogeneous medium at the field scale. To solve the problem analytically, we restrict our attention to the one-dimensional models, where fluid flow as well as deformation occurs in one direction only under a constant applied stress. Assuming statistic homogeneity, the closed-form solutions that describe the variability of fluid pressure head, and a solid's strain and displacement are developed using a spectral approach based on Fourier–Stieltjes representations for the perturbed quantities. The influence of the correlation length of the log hydraulic conductivity on these results is investigated. It is found that the variances of the solid's strain and displacement increase with the correlation length of the log hydraulic conductivity, while the correlation length of the log hydraulic conductivity plays the role in reducing the variability of the specific discharge.     

Mechanical Response of Saturated Geological Rock Mass under Tidal Force

In this paper,the mechanical response of saturated geological rock under tidal force is explored by poroelastic theory.First,we use the free energy formula of saturated rock under a tidal force to study the relationships of pore pressure with stress,and stress with strain.Then we analyze the relationship between rock strain and tidal potential by the equilibrium differential equations of saturated rock under tidal force.Finally,we derive the physical relationship between the two parameters (pore pressure and tidal mean stress) of saturated rock and tidal potential.The relationship shows that:pore pressure is directly proportional with tidal potential,but tidal mean stress of saturated rock is inversely proportional with tidal potential.The ratio coefficient is related not only to the Lame coefficients of rock skeletons,but also to the Biot modulus.By using this model to analyze observational well water level of C-18 well which locates in Huili,Sichuan Province,the well level response coefficient (D) was estimated.This way,we derive the Skempton coefficient (B),the coefficient A and C which refer to the response coefficients of pore pressure and tidal stress to tidal potential respectively.Then we compare the differences among each coefficient in coupling and uncoupling conditions.It shows that for saturated rocks,the response of stress and pore pressure to earth tides is a product of coupling,and it is necessary to take into account the coupling effect when we study the mechanical response.The model will provide the basis not only for the study of mechanics and hydrodynamics of well-confined aquifer systems,and the mechanics of faulting under tidal force,but also for quantitative research of the triggering mechanism of tidal forces.     

Aquifer response to stream-stage and recharge variations. II. Convolution method and applications

In this second of two papers, analytical step-response functions, developed in the companion paper for several cases of transient hydraulic interaction between a fully penetrating stream and a confined, leaky, or water-table aquifer, are used in the convolution integral to calculate aquifer heads, streambank seepage rates, and bank storage that occur in response to stream-stage fluctuations and basinwide recharge or evapotranspiration. Two computer programs developed on the basis of these step-response functions and the convolution integral are applied to the analysis of hydraulic interaction of two alluvial stream–aquifer systems in the northeastern and central United States. These applications demonstrate the utility of the analytical functions and computer programs for estimating aquifer and streambank hydraulic properties, recharge rates, streambank seepage rates, and bank storage. Analysis of the water-table aquifer adjacent to the Blackstone River in Massachusetts suggests that the very shallow depth of water table and associated thin unsaturated zone at the site cause the aquifer to behave like a confined aquifer (negligible specific yield). This finding is consistent with previous studies that have shown that the effective specific yield of an unconfined aquifer approaches zero when the capillary fringe, where sediment pores are saturated by tension, extends to land surface. Under this condition, the aquifer's response is determined by elastic storage only. Estimates of horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivity, specific yield, specific storage, and recharge for a water-table aquifer adjacent to the Cedar River in eastern Iowa, determined by the use of analytical methods, are in close agreement with those estimated by use of a more complex, multilayer numerical model of the aquifer. Streambank leakance of the semipervious streambank materials also was estimated for the site. The streambank-leakance parameter may be considered to be a general (or lumped) parameter that accounts not only for the resistance of flow at the river–aquifer boundary, but also for the effects of partial penetration of the river and other near-stream flow phenomena not included in the theoretical development of the step-response functions.     

引潮力作用下饱和地质岩体的力学响应

本文应用孔隙弹性理论,探讨了引潮力作用下饱和地质岩体的力学响应.首先通过引潮力作用下饱和岩体的自由能表达式,得到岩体孔压与应力、应力与应变之间的关系;然后从引潮力作用下饱和岩体的平衡微分方程出发,结合流-固耦合理论,分析了饱水岩体应变与引潮位之间的关系;最后推导出饱和岩体的两大力学物理量--孔压和潮汐应力(平均应力)与引潮位之间的物理关系.模型表明:饱和岩体孔压与引潮位成反比,平均潮汐应力与引潮位成正比;比例系数不仅与岩体骨架的Lame系数有关,而且与Biot模量有关.将模型应用于会理川-18井水位变化分析,估计出水位响应系数D,并以此为基础,求得岩体孔压、潮汐应力与引潮位的相关系数(A和C)及Skempton系数B.最后对比分析了耦合条件下与不考虑耦合时得到的各参数之间的差异,分析表明:对饱和地质岩体而言,应力、孔压对引潮力的响应是流-固耦合作用的产物;研究其力学响应时必须充分考虑耦合效应.模型的建立,为研究引潮力作用下井-承压含水层系统力学、水动力学、与地震有关的断层力学以及引潮力触发机制的定量研究提供了基础.