Hydrodynamic Response — or Slug Tests as a Means to Monitor the Progress of Well Development

1975 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Vonhof

Sequential hydrodynamic response—or slug tests in a well during well development—provide an easy method for objective measurement of well development and comparison of the various development techniques that may be employed. Slug-test equipment developed in Saskatchewan permits precise continuous recording of changing water levels for all times except the first few seconds after the introduction of the slug into the well. Three examples of slug-test analysis indicate jetting and air development to be the most successful techniques for well development in a sand aquifer in southeastern Saskatchewan; mechanical surging, on the other hand, actually reversed the development process in the aquifer. The substitution of a bentonite mud for clear water in drilling out the completion zone in one well proved to be highly undesirable because considerably more effort and time were required to develop this well.

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ufuk Şahin

The slug test is still one of the simplest and cost-effective methods to interpret the hydraulic parameters for aquifer analysis. This study introduces two new estimation approaches for the slug test, the time shift method (TSM) and arc-length matching method (AMM), to identify aquifer parameters in a reliable and accurate manner, which was established on the idea that any change in the normalized drawdown or arc-length measurements of the data curve at the predefined drawdown levels is linked with the variation of storativity. These approaches remove the need for superimposition of the type curves and the field data. The proposed methods are straightforward to apply and automatize the parameter estimation process. TSM and AMM were tested with a number of numerical experiments including synthetically generated data augmented with random noise, hypothetical slug tests conducted in a heterogeneous rock-fracture system, and well-known real field data. The skin effect was also implemented to evaluate its impact on the estimation performance of the suggested approaches. The results verified that both proposed methods are able to produce estimates of hydraulic parameters more accurately than existing methods. The proposed methods could serve as a viable supplementary interpretation tool for slug test analysis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-132
Author(s):  
David W. Ostendorf ◽  
William G. Lukas ◽  
Don J. DeGroot

This research improves field based estimates of aquitard compressibility and permeability. A semianalytical model of partially penetrating, overdamped slug tests achieves this objective. The short term solution is an existing fully penetrating model, the long term solution is the polar residue of an inverse Laplace transform, and an exponential spline function patches the solutions together. Large amplitude slug test data from ten pairs of partially penetrating monitoring wells installed in an unweathered till at Scituate Hill in eastern Massachusetts calibrate the model. The deposit is bound by weathered till and the Dedham Granite fracture zone, and both are far more permeable than the unweathered till. The calibrated till permeability of 8.4 × 10–16 m2 is about 25% less than existing model calibrations that include boundary recharge in permeability values. The calibrated till compressibility of 5.1 × 10–10 Pa–1 reflects the proper inclusion of recharge as a long term source of groundwater, rather than the unrealistically large compressibility calibrations required by fully penetrating models.


2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (173) ◽  
pp. 269-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Kulessa ◽  
Bryn Hubbard ◽  
Mike Williamson ◽  
Giles H. Brown

AbstractSlug testing allows estimation of subglacial hydraulic properties by evaluating the response of a coupled borehole–subglacial flow system to an artificial displacement of its steady-state hydraulic head. However, existing models developed specifically for application to slug-test data collected in glacier boreholes are challenging to apply in practice. Here, we demonstrate that conventional linear methods, which are relatively readily applicable and widely used in groundwater studies, can also be used to estimate subglacial hydraulic properties. Overdamped, underdamped and critically damped slug-test data were recorded in fluctuating boreholes drilled to the bed of Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Valais, Switzerland. We find that non-linear effects in the data are negligible, supporting the application of conventional hydrogeological methods. Results suggest that the hydraulic conductivity of the unconsolidated sediments within the area influenced by a major subglacial drainage channel is enhanced (several 10–2 m s–1; typical of gravelly sand) compared to areas outside the zone of influence (~0.1 × 10–2ms–1; typical of silty sand). A distance to a flow boundary within the subglacial aquifer, inferred on the basis of slug-test analysis, was found to coincide with the actual location of the subglacial channel. Sensitivity analyses reveal that uncertainties in borehole and filter radii, as well as the storage coefficient of the subglacial aquifer, are more likely to affect the accuracy of the hydraulic and distance estimates than uncertainties regarding the repeatability of the slug-test responses and curve-fitting procedures involved in the conventional hydrogeological methods.


1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 697-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P Chapuis

Several methods are available to interpret slug tests; however, when applied to the same test data, they usually yield very different results. The methods are classified into three categories depending on their assumptions about the solid matrix deformability during the test. This paper deals with overdamped tests for elastic solids that deform instantaneously. It provides a unified interpretation of transmissivity T and storativity S based on the velocity graph for variable-head tests in monitoring wells or cased boreholes. If S has little influence, the velocity graph is a straight line. If S has some influence, the graph should give a smooth curve. However, smooth curves are exceptions in practice, thereby leading to a reexamination of the influence of S during a slug test. Three independent approaches are used. (1) A mathematical review shows that the overdamped solution, as adapted from a heat conduction problem, did not correctly treat storativity terms and the type of problem: it corresponds to a special pulse test, not a slug test. (2) A physical investigation of deformability shows that the influence of S does not exceed 1% of the initial slug for most compressible materials. Thus, it is almost impossible to detect its influence in test results. (3) Numerical analyses confirm that S has a negligible influence: test results provide straight lines, not curves. The numerical analysis of the special pulse test provides exactly the classical solution, and the correct values of T and S after eliminating the confusion about storativity terms. It is concluded that (1) S has a negligible influence in slug tests, (2) the existing classical solution giving T and S must be abandoned, and (3) the velocity-graph equation and its integral equation (Hvorslev or Bouwer and Rice) which correctly describe the process must be used.Key words: slug test, hydraulic conductivity, storativity, numerical modeling.


2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-66
Author(s):  
Thao Bach Nguyen ◽  

Two different slug test methods including: i) slug test using the standard slug rod and ii) pneumatic slug test are conducted in different well/depth in Danphuong field site for a comparative analysis. These methods are examined at least 3 times for each well to estimate hydraulic conductivities by using Hvorslev. The results show correlation between two slug test methods is very hight with R2 = 0,93. Slug tests methods have several advantages and also disadvantage compare to each other. Practical considerations of performing the tests in real life settings are also considered in the method comparison. The slug-rod method meets 7/10 criterions while pneumatic slug test satisfy 8/10 criterions.


2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P Chapuis ◽  
Djaouida Chenaf

Variable-head (slug) tests in a confined aquifer can be interpreted using different methods that either consider or neglect the influence of the instantaneous deformation of an elastic solid matrix. This paper defines a unified interpretation for slug tests: it is based on the velocity graph describing the conservation equation underlying all methods. If the storativity S has no influence, the velocity graph is a straight line. If S has an influence, the theory considering this influence predicts the graph should be a curve. Numerous slug tests were performed in a large tank containing a confined aquifer. Other tests were used to determine independently the transmissivity T and S values of the confined aquifer which are compared with those obtained from slug tests. The velocity graphs of the slug tests provided straight lines instead of the smooth curves as predicted by the theory. A numerical analysis of these tests in the sand tank was performed using a finite element method. The analysis gave straight lines instead of curves for any S value and therefore confirmed the experimental observation (in velocity graphs) that slug test results do not depend of S and thus cannot be used to determine the S value.Key words: slug test, hydraulic conductivity, storativity, numerical modeling.


2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Jeehee Lim ◽  
The-Bao Nguyen ◽  
Dongseop Lee ◽  
Jaeyoon Ahn ◽  
Hangseok Choi
Keyword(s):  

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