SlugIn 1.0: A Free Tool for Automated Slug Test Analysis.

In field data from slug test (decreasing flow rate) DSTS, an initial period of constant flow rate can often be observed. This may be a consequence of critical flow. "Critical flow" means that flow rate is independent of the pressure drop across the flow restriction. In the case of compressible fluid flow, this implies that the flow velocity is equal to the sonic velocity in the fluid. This was suggested by Ramey et al. in 1975. However, critical (constant-rate) flow was not included in their analysis of slug test DST flow period data. A new method which does consider an initial constant flow rate for a slug test was found. Graphs for the type-curve matching method are presented and field data are shown. Introduction Often in drill stem testing, the flow periods are characterized by a pressure trace which increases with increasing time, showing the accumulation of liquid in the drill string. In the expected case, the pressure-time trace is linear, showing constant-rate pressure-time trace is linear, showing constant-rate production. In other cases, the pressure-time trace production. In other cases, the pressure-time trace curves and is concave to the time axis. This shows a decreasing flow rate. In the case that formation pressure is too low to lift a column of reservoir pressure is too low to lift a column of reservoir liquid to the surface, the well may stop flowing before the tester valve is closed. This results because the head of liquid in the drill string becomes equal to initial formation pressure. This sort of test is similar to a pressure transient test called a "slug test" by Ferris and Knowles in 1954. The word "slug" refers to the maximum volume of liquid which may be produced by the time the well becomes static. produced by the time the well becomes static. A similar test involving the cooling of a batch of hot water was reported by Beck, Jaeger, and Newstead in 1956. Cooper et al., in 1967, reported the results of a field test in a static water well from which a float was suddenly removed, giving the appearance of the sudden removal of a quantity of water equal to that displaced by the float. Maier presented an approximate analysis of the equivalent DST presented an approximate analysis of the equivalent DST problem in 1970. problem in 1970.Van Poollen et al., in 1970, and Kohlhass, in 1972, applied the Cooper et al. solution to DST flow period data analysis. Although most current studies period data analysis. Although most current studies reference a study by Jaeger in 1956 which included a sandface resistance similar to the skin effect, most recent works do not include wellbore damage effects. A solution including the skin effect was presented by Ramey and Agarwal in 1972, although use of the solutions was not demonstrated. Papadopulos et al. presented extended results for the zero skin effect presented extended results for the zero skin effect case in 1973. The most complete discussion of DST applications of the slug test was presented in 1975. Three new slug test type-curves were developed for analysis of flow period data, and three field cases were analyzed. This study was included in the Earlougher monograph in 1977, and large-scale type-curves were printed with that monograph. printed with that monograph. Finally, Fenske showed that pressure buildup data for a well produced a short time (with wellbore storage) would follow the slug test type-curves. This is a potent observation. It means that the slug test type-curves may work for the initial shut-in, as well as for flow period data. This establishes the importance of slug test type-curves for DST work whether the test would normally be classified a "slug test" or not. Although not within the scope of this study, slug test type-curves may be used to match the initial shut-in for a DST following a very short initial flow to provide permeability, skin effect, and extrapolated initial pressure. One of the most important observations made from attempts to match field data with slug test type-curves is that there is often an initial constant-rate flow period before the rate begins to decline. Reference period before the rate begins to decline. Reference 1 pointed out this phenomena was related to conventional DST results for liquid flow wherein flow rate was constant for both flow periods: "Before proceeding with the presentation of the 'slug test', it should be pointed out that the conventional DST… contains the seed of a paradox.

As important parameters for characterizing heat transfer, thermal property parameters of aquifers and rock-soil skeletons have important research significance in the development and utilization of geothermal resources. The slug heat test is inspired by the slug test, and the heat is instantaneously excited in the test well so as to change the temperature of test section in the test well instantaneously. Based on the thermal radial convection-dispersion theory and the principle of heat conservation, the theoretical model of the slug heat test is established, and the model is solved by Laplace transform and inverse transform to obtain multiple sets of standard curves under different conditions. The slug heat tests were conducted in the indoor model, the slug heat test data under different hydrodynamic conditions were fitted with the standard curves and the thermal property parameters, including effective thermal conductivity, stagnant thermal conductivity, thermal mechanical dispersion coefficient, thermal dispersive degree, thermal diffusivity, heat capacity of aquifer, heat capacity and thermal conductivity of rock-soil skeletons, were accurately obtained. The test results are in good agreement with the empirical values. Meanwhile, the effective thermal conductivity of the aquifer also clearly increases with the increase of flow rate. The excitation temperature difference had little effect on the effective thermal conductivity of the aquifer. At the same time, numerical simulation methods are used to establish a numerical model consistent with the indoor test model, and the numerical model is assigned with the thermal property parameters obtained from the indoor slug heat test, and the measured values of temperature changes in the test well during the slug heat test under different hydrodynamic and excitation strength conditions are compared with the simulated values for verification. The research results show that the slug heat test has the characteristics of high applicability, simple operation and rapid testing, and can effectively determine the thermal properties parameters of aquifers and rock-soil skeletons.

A new procedure is presented for the analysis of slug tests performed in partially penetrating wells in formations of high hydraulic conductivity. This approach is a simple, spreadsheet-based implementation of existing models that can be used for analysis of tests from confined or unconfined aquifers. Field examples of tests exhibiting oscillatory and nonoscillatory behavior are used to illustrate the procedure and to compare results with estimates obtained using alternative approaches. The procedure is considerably simpler than recently proposed methods for this hydrogeologic setting. Although the simplifications required by the approach can introduce error into hydraulic-conductivity estimates, this additional error becomes negligible when appropriate measures are taken in the field. These measures are summarized in a set of practical field guidelines for slug tests in highly permeable aquifers.

ASTM D4044/D4044M-15A, Standard Test Method (Field Procedure) for Instantaneous Change in Head (Slug) Tests for Determining Hydraulic Properties of Aquifers (Withdrawn), describes several methods to start a slug test, which all involve some quick slugging of the water column in the riser pipe. Having a standard for the slugging action seems important. However, the initial dynamic effects are mostly ignored in slug test theories. In the field, slug tests may have a shaky start instead of a rapid and clean start. The question is, does the slugging quality influence the test results? This can be studied using recent tests for which shaky starts were registered by a pressure transducer (PT) and an atmospheric pressure transducer (APT). The PT–APT pair must be calibrated and synchronized, as explained in previous articles, but this is rarely done and regrettably it is not requested in standards. This article uses the data collected by PT–APT pairs for a few shaky starts in aquifers. Theoretical and practical aspects are explained. Then, this article examines the graphs that are needed for a correct analysis and compares results obtained with either a clean start or a shaky start in the same monitoring well. The test data are fitted with a three-parameter model for overdamped (OD) tests and a four-parameter model for underdamped (UD) tests. For OD tests, the start quality slightly influences the results for hydraulic conductivity, K, and piezometric level, PL, for the test. For UD tests, the slugging action may influence markedly the K value derived with the ASTM D5785/D5785M-20, Standard Practice for (Analytical Procedure) for Determining Transmissivity of Confined Nonleaky Aquifers by Underdamped Well Response to Instantaneous Change in Head (Slug Test), method. The analysis of residuals between data and best fit is very useful in selecting the correct starting time and avoiding the influence of slug dynamic effects and outgassing effects. Several recommendations are made to improve standards.

A new method for determining hydraulic properties from slug test well data in a confined aquifer is presented. The new procedure is based on an exact equation which converts measured slug test head data to equivalent head data that would be obtained due to a constant discharge of a well with well bore storage and skin effects. A related procedure yields equivalent head derivative data (time rate of change of head) that would be obtained for the classical constant discharge with well bore storage and skin problem without applying numerical differentiation. After the constant discharge head data and its derivative data are generated by our procedure, these converted data can be analyzed by using existing well bore storage and skin type curves for the appropriate aquifer/well model. Therefore slug test type curves are no longer needed. For cases in which the relative change in the water level is not significant during the slug test, most of the converted data will fall on the unit slope line of the conventional well bore storage and skin type curves and it will be difficult to obtain a unique type curve match of converted head data. For such cases, it is shown that a discharge normalization procedure can be applied to improve the reliability of the analysis. A field case illustrating the reliability of the new method is presented.

Methods of analyzing ‘slug test’ data are reviewed, and additional type curves for the analysis of test data from formations with very low storage coefficients are presented.

Double-flow behavior observed in well tests of an extremely heterogeneous mine-spoil aquifer

A new accurate approximation for the well function for instantaneous charge of water for large diameter wells is proposed. Using this approximation with an optimization method, storage coefficient and transmissivity are estimated from slug test data on large diameter wells. The proposed method is void of the subjectivity of curve matching procedure.

Influence of seasonal hydraulic head changes on slug tests conducted in shallow low-permeability soils

The paper illustrates, using a field example, how well test data can be used to evaluate matrix block size and fissure volume in fissured reservoirs. The method is based on type-curve analysis with a recently published type-curve for double porosity reservoirs, and is applied to two tests on the same well, performed at a few years interval, with reservoir pressure above and below the bubble point, respectively. Detailed analysis of the two tests is presented, that yields consistent values for fissuration parameters, ω and λ, although pressure behavior during the tests is very different. Interpretation results were used as inputs to a numerical reservoir simulator, which was then calibrated against actual performance history to yield the size of the matrix blocks. The result was in excellent agreement with that obtained from λ, and with available geological, information.

Hydrologie test analysis based on the derivative of pressure (i.e., rate of pressure change) with respect to the natural logarithm of time has been shown to significantly improve the diagnostic and quantitative analysis of slug and constant‐rate pumping tests. The improvement in test analysis is attributed to the sensitivity of the derivative to small variations in the pressure change that occurs during testing, which would otherwise be less obvious with standard pressure change versus time analysis. The sensitivity of the pressure derivative to pressure change facilitates its use in identifying the effects of wellbore storage, boundaries, and establishment of radial flow conditions on the test.DERIV is a program for converting slug and pumping test data and associated type curves to derivative format. The program has features that permit the smoothing of noisy test data, accounts for pressure derivative end‐effects, and can be used to convert slug test data to equivalent pumping test responses. Test examples that demonstrate the use of pressure derivatives also are provided.

Modeling of the seepage face in the case of flow toward wells has received considerable attention in the literature. It is evident from the literature that the models applicable to describe the well loss in the confined flow situation have been also employed to represent the seepage face variation in the case of unconfined flow situations. It is only during the past decade that attempts have been made to describe the seepage face in the case of wells located in an unconfined aquifer. In these studies, the seepage face has been related to the aquifer discharge, the duration of pumping test, the time since the start of pumping, etc. With a view to further simplifying the existing seepage face models, the present study approaches the problem of seepage face modeling in the case of a large-diameter well located in an unconfined aquifer using the velocity of flow at the well face. The resulting expression of the seepage face is not only simpler but also converts to the existing seepage face models, or their si...

Analysis of slug tests in bypassed wells

The effects of a finite‐thickness skin (low‐permeability zone surrounding the well bore face) on the response of slug tests is investigated by using a numerical model and a simple analytical solution. The results show that, for skins of finite thicknesses, estimates of hydraulic conductivity provided by slug tests can be more representative of the skin than of the surrounding formation. When a finite‐thickness skin is present, the slug test response is shifted along the horizontal axis, making estimates of hydraulic conductivity unreliable. This result is different from that obtained by using an analytical solution (Ramey et al., 1975) for a skin of infinitesimal thickness.

Movement and abstraction of groundwater in the geological formations are dependent on the hydro-geological parameters of the aquifers. The purpose of any aquifer test is to determine the hydro-geological parameters. Among the basic parameters are the specific storage, permeability and leakage coefficients. The hydro-geological parameters are hidden in the field test data and their identification is possible using the available physically plausible models suitable for the prevailing field circumstances. In this context, a generalized theoretical solution for the effect of partial penetration superimposed over the full penetration on draw-down in a large-diameter well in artesian aquifer discharging at a constant rate has been presented for non-dimensional quantities describing the variable geometries of wells. The well-function curves are developed by varying the percentage amount of drilling and the percentage amount of casing lowered which then control to vary the percentage amount of open-hole or screened interval for the three categories: when the diameter of the cased interval in which the water level changes is greater than, equal to, and less than the diameter of the open interval. The skin effect and the effect of leakage are neglected. A comparison of results with the published works has also been presented. The present study is useful in such areas where wells are located either in harder or in collapsible loose formations; and a decision is required that, at the planning, construction, or development stage, as to what extent the amount of drilling be reduced, and/or an additional amount of casing be lowered within the aquifer. Also this reduces the cost of well construction and development in a specific situation.