Overdamped slug test in monitoring wells: review of interpretation methods with mathematical, physical, and numerical analysis of storativity influence

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.

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.


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.


Author(s):  
Wesley McCall ◽  
Thomas M. Christy ◽  
James J. Butler

Direct push (DP) methods provide a cost-effective alternative to conventional rotary drilling for investigations in unconsolidated formations. DP methods are commonly used for sampling soil gas, soil and groundwater; installing small-diameter monitoring wells; electrical logging; cone penetration testing; and standard penetration tests. Most recently, DP methods and equipment for vertical profiling of formation hydraulic conductivity (K) have been developed. Knowledge of the vertical and lateral variations in K is integral to understanding contaminant migration and, therefore, essential to designing an adequate and effective remediation system. DP-installed groundwater sampling tools may be used to access discrete intervals of the formation to conduct pneumatic slug tests. A small-diameter (38mm OD) single tube protected screen device allows the investigator to access one depth interval per advancement. Alternatively, a larger diameter (54mm OD) dual-tube groundwater profiling system may be used to access the formation at multiple depths during a single advancement. Once the appropriate tool is installed and developed, a pneumatic manifold is installed on the top of the DP rod string. The manifold includes the valving, regulator, and pressure gauge needed for pneumatic slug testing. A small-diameter pressure transducer is inserted via an airtight fitting in the pneumatic manifold, and a data-acquisition device connected to a laptop computer enables the slug test data to be acquired, displayed, and saved for analysis. Conventional data analysis methods can then be used to calculate the K value from the test data. A simple correction for tube diameter has been developed for slug tests in highly permeable aquifers. The pneumatic slug testing technique combined with DP-installed tools provides a cost-effective method for vertical profiling of K. Field comparison of this method to slug tests in conventional monitoring wells verified that this approach provides accurate K values. Use of this new approach can provide data on three-dimensional variations in hydraulic conductivity at a level of detail that has not previously been available. This will improve understanding of contaminant migration and the efficiency and quality of remedial system design, and ultimately, should lead to significant cost reductions.


1970 ◽  
Vol 10 (02) ◽  
pp. 181-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saul Vela ◽  
R.M. McKinley

Abstract Reservoir transmissibility and storage values can be obtained from pressure pulses induced in one well and measured at a second well. Such pulse-test values are generally calculated from pulse-test values are generally calculated from equations which assume the formation is homogeneous. This paper examines the effects of areally distributed heterogeneities on pulse-test values. An influence area is first developed for a pulse-tested well pair; only those heterogeneities pulse-tested well pair; only those heterogeneities within this area significantly affect pulse-test results. Next, for three limiting cases, the manner in which a pulse test averages heterogeneities within the influence area is described. These are the cases for which one of the three formation properties - hydraulic diffusivity, transmissibility properties - hydraulic diffusivity, transmissibility and storage - is constant throughout the influence area. Finally, a method called directional correction is developed that when applied to pulse-test values of transmissibility and storage restores some, if not most, of the true degree of heterogeneity to these values. Accuracy of the method depends upon the relative variability of the true values. Introduction The pulse-testing method of Johnson et al. uses a sequence of rate changes at one well to create a low-level pressure interference response at an adjacent well. This response is readily analyzed for reservoir properties if one assumes an infinite, homogeneous reservoir model. The field data of McKinley et al. show that, despite the use of a simple analytical model, pulse-test values are sensitive to between-well pulse-test values are sensitive to between-well formation properties. Calculated values for transmissibility and storage exhibit considerable variation with direction around a central pulsing well. These values cannot, however, reflect the exact degree of heterogeneity since flow about the pulsing well is usually nonradial. pulsing well is usually nonradial. This paper examines the effects of certain idealized types of areal heterogeneities on pulse-test values calculated from the simple model. In pulse-test values calculated from the simple model. In particular, an influence area for a pulse-tested well particular, an influence area for a pulse-tested well pair is first developed. This area is defined as that pair is first developed. This area is defined as that areal portion of the formation whose properties determine the numerical value, obtained from pulse testing the well pair. Its size depends on the length of the pulse and the hydraulic diffusivity of the formation. We then determine the type of average values yielded by a pulse test when heterogeneities are distributed randomly throughout the influence area. Results of these studies provide a simple correction scheme that restores some of the true degree of heterogeneity to pulse-test values of transmissibility and storage. Accuracy of the method depends on the relative variability of the latter two reservoir parameters. PULSE-TEST TERMINOLOGY AND ANALYSIS PULSE-TEST TERMINOLOGY AND ANALYSIS A typical rate-change sequence at the pulsing well appears at the bottom of Fig. 1. The pulse rate is q reservoir B/D and the pulse length is delta t minutes. The time between pulses is R delta t minutes. Each such pulse cycle induces at the responding well the pressure response (pulse) shown at the top of Fig. 1. According to the analysis method of Johnson et al., each pressure pulse is characterized by two quantities - a time lag, tL minutes, and a pulse amplitude, delta p psi. How these values are pulse amplitude, delta p psi. How these values are determined from the pressure response is apparent from Fig. 1. For an infinite, homogeneous formation, the time lag, tL, the R-value and the well spacing, rws, are sufficient to determine the hydraulic diffusivity, of the formation. These values, coupled with pulse amplitude, p, and pulse rate, q, determine formation transmissibility, =kh/ . Formation storage, = ch, is obtained from the ratio = / . Charts to facilitate this analysis are given by Brigham for R=1. SPEJ P. 181


Ground Water ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon K. Binkhorst ◽  
Gary A. Robbins
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Jingxia Yue ◽  
Weili Kang ◽  
Wengang Mao ◽  
Pengfei Chen ◽  
Xi Wang

Abstract Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) becomes one of the most popular equipment in the industry for providing clean energy due to its technical, economic and environmental features. Under the combined loads from wind, wave and current, it is difficult for the prediction of the dynamic response for such FSRU-LNGC (Liquified Natural Gas Carrier) side-by-side mooring system, because of the complicated hydrodynamic interaction between the two floating bodies. In this paper, a non-dimensional damping parameter of the two floating bodies is obtained from a scaled model test. Then the numerical analysis is carried out based on the test results, and the damping lid method is applied to simulate the hydrodynamic interference between floating bodies. The dynamic response of the side-by-side mooring system including six degrees of freedom motion, cable tension and fender force are provided and analyzed. According to the comparisons between numerical results and the test results, it is shown that the proposed coupled analysis model is reliable, and the numerical analysis can properly describe the dynamic response of the multi-floating mooring system in the marine environment. Moreover, the non-dimensional damping parameter which is used in numerical analysis can act as a good reference to the dynamic response analysis of similar multi-floating mooring systems.


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.


1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (03) ◽  
pp. 519-520
Author(s):  
Hubert Winston

Abstract The nature of wellbore storage is such that afterflow during a pulse test can affect the reservoir pressure performance and can lead to the calculation of erroneous performance and can lead to the calculation of erroneous values for formation transmissibility and storage. This is most likely to occur when the wells of interest are close together or when after flow persists for a long time relative to the pulse length. This article describes a technique that was developed to account for the effects of after flow at the pulsing well during pulse testing of a small production pilot. The technique is not general because it requires that a computer-generated simulation of each pulse test be made. An application of the method is given. Introduction In carrying out a pulse test, we introduce a pressure disturbance into a reservoir by alternately increasing and decreasing the flow rate at the pulsing well in a known manner. The pressure at the responding well is monitored, and, if the wells are in pressure communication, the pressure distrubance eventually will affect the pressure at the responding well. Since the form and the duration of the flow, rate disturbance are known, and since the mathematics that describe the pressure behavior of fluid-beefing reservoirs are well understood, the pulse test pressure response can be predicted. Several methods are available to calculate values for formation transmissibility and storage within a pulse-tested reservoir. Although all real reservoirs are heterogeneous, the models for deriving these techniques assume that the reservoir is ideal. When the wells of interest are far apart or when the duration of after flow is short relative to the pulse length, the effects of wellbore storage on the pulse test results will be slight. If, on the other hand, the pulsing well and the responding well are close together or if after flow persists for a tong time, the effects of wellbore storage on the pulse test results may be substantial. The work described here began during the analysis phase of a series of pulse tests that were run in a small phase of a series of pulse tests that were run in a small pilot test area. Computer simulations of the tests showed pilot test area. Computer simulations of the tests showed that the method of Mondragon and Menzie would not compensate adequately for the strong effects of after flow on test results. Description of the Method Since a series of injection/falloff tests had been run in the pilot area, it was possible to obtain values for the ratio of formation transmissibility to the wellbore storage capacity, /F, at each well by type-curve matching techniques. Using this parameter, we can determine the after flow vs. time profiles that would occur during the pulsing-well shut-in periods and incorporate them into a computer simulation of each pulse test. A typical pulsing well-flow profile showing after flow during the shut-in period is profile showing after flow during the shut-in period is illustrated in Fig. 1. Given that the pulsing wells were observed to go on vacuum soon after shut-in and given that the wellbore storage capacity for these wells during the on-vacuum condition should be approximately two orders of magnitude larger than it would be during injection SPEJ p. 519


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