scholarly journals Simulation of the Spatial Distribution of Hydraulic Conductivity in Porous Media through Different Methods

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zengguang Xu ◽  
Xue Wang ◽  
Junrui Chai ◽  
Yuan Qin ◽  
Yanlong Li
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Porous Media ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Pumping Test ◽  
Wide Area ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Seepage Field ◽  
Water Conservancy ◽  
Geological Research

Seepage problems exist in water conservancy projects, groundwater research, and geological research, and hydraulic conductivity is an important factor that affects the seepage field. This study investigates the heterogeneity of hydraulic conductivity. Kriging methods are used to simulate the spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity, and the application of resistivity and grain size is used to obtain hydraulic conductivity. The results agree with the experimental pumping test results, which prove that the distribution of hydraulic conductivity can be obtained economically and efficiently and in a complex and wide area.

scholarly journals Assessment of the heterogeneity of hydraulic properties in gravelly outwash plains: a regionally scaled sedimentological analysis in the Munich gravel plain, Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 2657-2674
Author(s):  
Markus Theel ◽  
Peter Huggenberger ◽  
Kai Zosseder
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Pumping Test ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
Conductivity Distribution ◽  
Braided Rivers ◽  
Sedimentary Deposits

AbstractThe favorable overall conditions for the utilization of groundwater in fluvioglacial aquifers are impacted by significant heterogeneity in the hydraulic conductivity, which is related to small-scale facies changes. Knowledge of the spatial distribution of hydraulically relevant hydrofacies types (HF-types), derived by sedimentological analysis, helps to determine the hydraulic conductivity distribution and thus contribute to understanding the hydraulic dynamics in fluvioglacial aquifers. In particular, the HF-type “open framework gravel (OW)”, which occurs with the HF-type “bimodal gravel (BM)” in BM/OW couplings, has an intrinsically high hydraulic conductivity and significantly impacts hydrogeological challenges such as planning excavation-pit drainage or the prognosis of plumes. The present study investigates the properties and spatial occurrence of HF-types in fluvioglacial deposits at regional scale to derive spatial distribution trends of HF-types, by analyzing 12 gravel pits in the Munich gravel plain (southern Germany) as analogues for outwash plains. The results are compared to the reevaluation of 542 pumping tests. Analysis of the HF-types and the pumping test data shows similar small-scale heterogeneities of the hydraulic conductivity, superimposing large-scale trends. High-permeability BM/OW couples and their dependence on recognizable discharge types in the sedimentary deposits explain sharp-bounded small-scale heterogeneities in the hydraulic conductivity distribution from 9.1 × 10−3 to 2.2 × 10−4 m/s. It is also shown that high values of hydraulic conductivity can be interpolated on shorter distance compared to lower values. While the results of the HF-analysis can be transferred to other fluvioglacial settings (e.g. braided rivers), regional trends must be examined with respect to the surrounding topography.

scholarly journals Groundwater Flow Modeling: A Case Study of the Lower Rusizi Alluvial Plain Aquifer, North-Western Burundi

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 3376
Author(s):  
Pierre Claver Ngenzebuhoro ◽  
Alain Dassargues ◽  
Tarik Bahaj ◽  
Philippe Orban ◽  
Ilias Kacimi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Pumping Test ◽  
Groundwater Potential ◽  
Alluvial Plain ◽  
Predictive Tool ◽  
Groundwater Levels

The study area, in northwestern Burundi, is an alluvial plain consisting of fine clayey sands and coarse sands with mixed lithology. The aquifer of the lower Rusizi plain could be considered as confined under a clay layer. A 2D horizontal groundwater flow model was developed under steady-state conditions using the Modflow software. The study aims to determine the most productive areas of this confined alluvial aquifer and the main aquifer inflow and outflow values together with the recharge and river–aquifer interactions. The groundwater potential is dependent on the spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity and aquifer thickness values providing the local transmissivity values. The calibrated model made it possible to assess the spatial distribution of the hydraulic conductivity values at the regional scale, which ranged from 6 × 10−6 (contact between alluvial plain and Precambrian basement) to 7.5 × 10−3 m/s (coastal barriers). The results also provided the computed groundwater flow directions, and an estimation of the groundwater levels in areas not yet investigated by drilling. The results of the computed groundwater flow budget allowed us to deduce that recharge and river–aquifer interaction constitute the main inflow while the downwards boundaries (where piezometric heads could be prescribed) are the main zones where outflows occur. The results of this model can be used in the planning of pumping test programs, locating areas with high groundwater potential to plan water supply for different private and public users. This predictive tool will contribute to the resolution of problems related to the use and integrated management of the groundwater resource in this part of Burundi.

Hydraulic conductivity of homogenized tailings from hard rock mines

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 470-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Aubertin ◽  
Bruno Bussiere ◽  
Robert P Chapuis
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Void Ratio ◽  
Hard Rock ◽  
Fine Sand ◽  
Size Distribution Function ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Degree Of Certainty ◽  
Tailings Ponds ◽  
Hard Rock Mines

Tailings produced by milling for one extraction from hard rock mines, which range in size from clay to fine sand, have relatively low hydraulic conductivity, k. The value of k must be known with a certain degree of certainty to analyze consolidation and seepage conditions in and around tailings ponds. In this paper, the authors present the results of a laboratory investigation on hydraulic conductivity of homogenized tailings from hard rock mines. After describing some of the basic properties of four different materials, including mineralogy, grain size, Atterberg limits, compaction characteristics, and consolidation curves, permeability test results are given. The hydraulic conductivity value usually varies between 10–4 and 10–5 cm/s. The effect of various factors on this value, including void ratio and grain size, is then discussed in relation to predictive models. It is shown that a modified version of the Kozeny-Carman equation, in which a tortuosity factor and a grain-size distribution function are included explicitly, can represent the data very well. The equation is also checked against results taken from the literature on similar types of materials. Key words: tailings, hydraulic conductivity, laboratory tests, void ratio, grain size, tortuosity.

Controls on induced polarization in sandy unconsolidated sediments and application to aquifer characterization

Geophysics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 1547-1558 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. D. Slater ◽  
D. R. Glaser
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Internal Surface ◽  
Ionic Mobility ◽  
Induced Polarization ◽  
Hysteretic Behavior ◽  
Degree Of Saturation ◽  
Unconsolidated Sediments ◽  
Fluid Conductivity ◽  
Grain Diameter

Resistivity and induced polarization (IP) measurements (0.1–1000 Hz) were made on clay‐free unconsolidated sediments from a sandy, alluvial aquifer in the Kansas River floodplain. The sensitivity of imaginary conductivity σ″, a fundamental IP measurement, to lithological parameters, fluid conductivity, and degree of saturation was assessed. The previously reported power law dependence of IP on surface area and grain size is clearly observed despite the narrow lithologic range encountered in this unconsolidated sedimentary sequence. The grain‐size σ″ relationship is effectively frequency independent between 0.1 and 100 Hz but depends on the representative grain diameter used. For the sediments examined here, d90, the grain diameter of the coarsest sediments in a sample, is well correlated with σ″. The distribution of the internal surface in the well‐sorted, sandy sediments investigated here is such that most of the sample weight is likely required to account for the majority of the internal surface. We find the predictive capability of the Börner model for hydraulic conductivity (K)estimation from IP measurements is limited when applied to this narrow lithologic range. The relatively weak dependence of σ″ on fluid conductivity (σw) observed for these sediments when saturated with an NaCl solution (0.06–10 S/m) is consistent with competing effects of surface charge density and surface ionic mobility on σ″ as previously inferred for sandstone. Importantly, IP parameters are a function of saturation and exhibit hysteretic behavior over a drainage and imbibition cycle. However, σ″ is less dependent than the real conductivity σ′ on saturation. In the case of evaporative drying, the σ″ saturation exponent is approximately half of the σ′ exponent. Crosshole IP imaging illustrates the potential for lithologic discrimination of unconsolidated sediments. A fining‐upward sequence correlates with an upward increase in normalized chargeability Mn, a field IP parameter proportional to σ″. The hydraulic conductivity distribution obtained from the Börner model discriminates a hydraulically conductive sand–gravel from overlying medium sand.

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