A New Approach for Analyzing Drawdown Data from a Partially Penetrating Well

Abstract

A pumping test conducted in an aquifer of large thickness is typically performed with partially penetrating wells. In this study, a novel, practicable method is proposed for the interpretation of drawdown data from a partially penetrating monitoring well drilled in a confined aquifer. The method is established on the assessment of the area below the curve passing through the measured drawdown versus time data points. The evaluated area can be matched with the identical area below the theoretical type curve to acquire the corresponding dimensionless time and drawdown variables, which ultimately yield the explored hydraulic conductivity and specific storage of the aquifer. The method eliminates the knotty and time consuming steps employed in the traditional curve matching procedure and proposes a simple solution algorithm with straightforward algebraic operations. The accuracy of the methodology was verified with hypothetical and real test cases. The attained results reveal the capability of the method in estimating the hydrogeological parameters at high accuracy with relatively little effort.