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The dipole flow test: A new single‐borehole test for aquifer characterization

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kabala, ZJ
Published in: Water Resources Research
January 1, 1993

A new single‐borehole measurement technique for confined aquifers, the dipole flow test, yields the vertical distributions of the horizontal hydraulic conductivity, the vertical hydraulic conductivity, and the specific storativity when applied to different borehole intervals. The test utilizes straddle packers to isolate two chambers in the borehole, pressure transducers to monitor drawdown in them, and a small pump to create a dipole flow pattern in the aquifer by pumping water at a constant rate from the aquifer into one chamber, transferring it within the well to the next chamber, and finally injecting it back to the aquifer. A mathematical model describing the drawdown in each chamber is derived for the transient as well as the steady state cases. The aquifer parameters may be estimated from data produced by the dipole flow test alone or in conjunction with conventional pumping tests. The dipole flow regime reaches a steady state relatively quickly, especially in well permeable aquifers. A robust computational methodology for estimating the aquifer parameters, suitable for automatization, is based on the Newton‐Raphson algorithm applied to a system of up to three nonlinear equations, each describing the well drawdown at a different judiciously chosen time. Due to the relatively small drawdown it invokes, the dipole flow test may be applicable to unconfined aquifers as well. Copyright 1993 by the American Geophysical Union.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Water Resources Research

DOI

EISSN

1944-7973

ISSN

0043-1397

Publication Date

January 1, 1993

Volume

29

Issue

1

Start / End Page

99 / 107

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4011 Environmental engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
 

Citation

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Kabala, Z. J. (1993). The dipole flow test: A new single‐borehole test for aquifer characterization. Water Resources Research, 29(1), 99–107. https://doi.org/10.1029/92WR01820
Kabala, Z. J. “The dipole flow test: A new single‐borehole test for aquifer characterization.” Water Resources Research 29, no. 1 (January 1, 1993): 99–107. https://doi.org/10.1029/92WR01820.
Kabala ZJ. The dipole flow test: A new single‐borehole test for aquifer characterization. Water Resources Research. 1993 Jan 1;29(1):99–107.
Kabala, Z. J. “The dipole flow test: A new single‐borehole test for aquifer characterization.” Water Resources Research, vol. 29, no. 1, Jan. 1993, pp. 99–107. Scopus, doi:10.1029/92WR01820.
Kabala ZJ. The dipole flow test: A new single‐borehole test for aquifer characterization. Water Resources Research. 1993 Jan 1;29(1):99–107.
Journal cover image

Published In

Water Resources Research

DOI

EISSN

1944-7973

ISSN

0043-1397

Publication Date

January 1, 1993

Volume

29

Issue

1

Start / End Page

99 / 107

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4011 Environmental engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience