CEE519: Numerical Methods for Environmental

Engineering
 Course Project

Numerical Analysis of pumping tests in dike

formation

Student: Mrs Afaf Moumin

To instructor: Dr. Michael Hulley

10 December 2014
 Table of content

1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….…......1

2. Analytical Method of Boostra and Boehmer (1986) ………………………………..….....3

3. Problem description and Assumptions.......…….....……………………………….….……9

3.1 conceptual model………….……………...……………………..……………………......11

3.2 numerical code and model……………………………………………………………......12

4. Results …………………………………………………………….…………………...…13

5. Discussion …........................................................................................................................14

6. Conclusion…………...……………………………………………………………..………16

7. List of references ……..…………………………………………………………….…...…17

1. Introduction
Most parts of the world are underlain by hard rock of very low permeability and porosity.
Dikes are formed underground and are an intrusive plutonic rock formation. Intrusive formations
form when upwelling magma cools and solidifies beneath the surface. Dike in geology is a sheet of
rock that formed in a crack in a pre-existing rock body (Figure 1) They have long been regarded as
impermeable walls in earth’s crust, forming barriers against groundwater flow. However, dikes can
be highly permeable and may form good sources of groundwater. Examples of this are aquifers in
South Africa, in Yemen and in Hawaii. Their permeability is due to networks of fractures of
shearing created by tectonic forces or weathering. Fractures thus formed in the dike rock are called
contraction joints. They can store great quantities of water in these networks of fractures. The
fractures have different flow capacity. Some have high transmissivity values and others have low
transmissivity values. The storage capacity of these fractures’ networks is low. However a well
pumping them will quickly deplete the amount of water stored in them. When pumping test is
performed in a well installed in a fractured dike that receives water from the country rock, whose
transmissivity is much smaller than that of the fractured dike the flownet shape is different from the
usual flownet generated by pumping in the porous media aquifer. Some researchers have solved the
problem by approximate solutions. Boostra and Boehmer (1986) developed an analytical method
to interpret drawdown data of pumping test in a fractured dike.

This work presents a Finite Element simulation of pumping test in a fractured dike intercepting a
confined aquifer. The numerical code used is Seep/W of Geostudio 2012 (GEO-SLOPE
International ltd. 2007). The results obtained numerically are compared with those given by the
analytical equations of Boostra and Boehmer (1986).

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Figure 1: Dike intercepting rock formation (After W.W. Norton & Company, Portrait of a planet,
2nd Edition)

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2. Analytical Method of Boostra and Boehmer (1986)

The conceptual model by Boehmer and Boonstra, 1986 is presented in Figure 1 and is :

1. A single vertical dike of infinite extent and uniform width, Wd, intersects an isotropic,
homogeneous country rock of infinite horizontal extent.

2. The fractured part of the dike has uniform transmissivity, Td, and dimensionless storativity,
Sd, and is bounded above by an impermeable weathered zone and below by impermeable non
fractured rock.

3. The country rock is bounded by an upper and a lower impermeable layer. It has a uniform
transmissivity, Tc, and dimensionless storativity, Sc, and is in direct hydraulic contact with the
fracture part of the dike.

4. The pumped well fully penetrates the fractured part of the dike and is represented by a plane
sink; flow through the dike towards the well is parallel.

5. All water pumped from the well come from storage within the dike-country rock system.

6. The flow through the fracture system is laminar and thus Darcy’s law applies.

The flow of groundwater through a low permeable country rock into a highly permeable dike in
which a well is pumped at a constant rate resembles to some extent the flow in a semi-infinite
aquifer which is drained by a fully penetrating channel. According to the theory developed by
Edelman (1947), the flow at the interface between channel and aquifer can be described by the
following equation:

…………………….................... (1)

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NOTATION:
q(0, t ) flow at interface between channel and aquifer (m2/day)

 constant

Sd storativity of the dike (dimensionless)

Sc storativity of the country rock (dimensionless)

Td transmissivity of the dike (m2/day)

Tc transmissivity of the dike (m2/day)

s(0, t ) drawdown in the pumped well (m)

Wd width of the dike (m)

s( x, t ) drawdown along the dike (m)

Q discharge of the pumped well (m3/day)

q integration constant

t time (sec)

X parameter(.)

Z ( X , P) Laplace transform of z ( x, t ) (.)

r integration constant(.)

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With eqn. (1) representing the contribution of flow from the country rock into the dike, the
differential equation for the dike reads (Boehmer and Boonstra (1986):

 2 s ( x, t )  s ( x, t )
 2ns( x, t )t 1 / 2 
 x t
m 2
………………......................... (2)

With boundary conditions:

s ( x,0)  0 …………………………………………………................................... (3)

s ( 0, t )
 
x
k
2 ……….………………………………………............................. (4)

s(, t )  0 …………….……………………………………..................................... (5)

Where:

k  Q / Wd Td , m  Td / Sd , and n   (Sc Tc)1/ 2 / Wd Sd

Setting 
s( x, t )  z( x, t ) exp  4n(t )1/ 2 
And using a Laplace transform to remove the time variable, eqns. (2) and (3) reduce to:

pz( x; p )  m
d 2 Z ( x; p )
……….…………………………………………………. (6)
dx2

   
The general solution of eqn. (6) is:

Z ( x; p)  A exp x( p / m)1/ 2  B exp  x( p / m)1/ 2 …..……... (7)

  
Using eqns. (4) and (5), eqn. (7) becomes

z( x; p)  0.5km1/ 2 L exp(4n(t )1/ 2 ) L (t ) 1/ 2 exp( x 2 / 4m t) .... (8)

   
Applying the convolution theorem (Abramowitz and Stegun, 1968) and substituting

s( x, t )  k (m /  )1/ 2 exp  4n(t )1 / 2 exp 4n(t  q 2 )1 / 2  x 2 / 4m q2 dq

t1 / 2
……..(9)
0

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This equation (9) describes the drawdown along the dike and is the exact solution of eqn. (2) with
boundary conditions described by eqns. (3) to (5). The validity of eqn. (9) was tested with the aid of
a numerical groundwater simulation model (Boonstra and de Ridder, 1981) with these model tests a
much wider range of hydraulic characteristics and pumping times could be simulated than with the
limited number of available field tests. A comparison between drawdowns generated by the model
and drawdowns calculated with Eqn. (9) showed that the value of  is correlated with the value of
(Sc Td/Sd to), the latter being the dimensionless diffusivity coefficient. Boehmer and Boonstra
(1986), however, demonstrated that with the constant value  =0.94 the calculated drawdowns
matched the generated drawdowns sufficiently accurately in most cases. The comparison also
showed that eqn.(9) Is valid up to the pumping time:

t  0.28
Sc (Wd Td ) 2
4T 3c ………………………………………………………….(10)

For t values larger than the values given by Eq. (10) the flow in the country rock is not
predominantly parallel any longer, but develops gradually into a pseudo-radial flow pattern.

Boonstra and Boehmer (1986) obtained the following equations. for the drawdown in the pumped
well during early and medium pumping times (G.P. Kruseman , (1994) General assumptions and
conditions listed this curve fitting method is further based on the condition that the flow in the
aquifer exhibits a near-parallel-to-parallel flow pattern, which means that the pumping time should
be less than

t  0.28
Sc (Wd Td ) 2
4T 3c

- At early times, all the pumped water is from dike storage (no water from aquifer storage).

- At medium times, most of the drawdown is governed by parallel flow from the aquifer into
the dike (no water from dike storage).

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………………………………………………………………….…………………………(11)

For early pumping time:

……………………………………………………………………….………………………(12)

For medium pumping time :

…………………………………………………….……………(13)

Figure 2 late pumping time

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At late times,(figure.3) all the pumped water is from dike storage (no water from aquifer storage).
At medium times, most of the drawdown is governed by parallel flow from the aquifer into the dike
(no water from dike storage).

…………………………………………………….………..(14)

Figure 3 late pumping time

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3. Problem description and Assumptions:
In this project one of the models analysed by Boonstra and Boehmer (1986) is analysed using
Seep/W (Geostudio, 2012) . Time- drawdown response of a well drilled in a permeable dike
obeying to Boonstra and Boehmer (1986) assumptions is obtained figure 4. A single permeable
vertical dike bisects an aquifer whose transmissivity is several times less than that of the dike. The
dike is vertical and of infinite extent over the length influenced by the test figure 4. The width of the
dike is uniform and equal to 10 m. The flow through the fracture system in the dike is laminar
(Darcy law applies). The uniformly fractured part of the dike can be replaced by a representative
continuum to which spatially defined hydraulic characteristics can be assigned. The fractured part of
the dike is bounded above and below by impermeable weathered zone.

The well fully penetrates the fractured part of the dike and is represented by a circular open pipe.
Flow through the dike towards the well is parallel.

The hydraulically connected country rock aquifer is confined, homogeneous, isotropic, and of
infinite areal extent.

All water pumped from the well comes from storage within the composite system comprised by the
dike and the aquifer.

Well-losses and well-bore storage are negligible. The analysed model is illustrated by Figure 5 .

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a: Cross-section showing an aquifer of low permeability in hydraulic contact with the highly
permeable, fractured part of vertical dike.

b: Plan view showing parallel flow pumped dike and parallel-to-near-parallel flow in aquifer.

Figure 4: The analysed composite dike-aquifer system. An aquifer of low permeability in

hydraulic contact with the highly permeable, fractured part of vertical dike.

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3.1 Conceptual Model

The conceptual model represents the case described in the previous section. It is formed by country
rock and dike materials which have saturated hydraulic conductivities of Kc and Kd, respectively.
The values of Kc is 5.787037E-6 and kd is 0.0005787037 The model has an extent of 600m x600m
plan extent and a thickness of b = 15m.. The Dike is of 20m width in a country rock of 290m wide
on each side of the dike. Considering the model symmetry, only the quarter section is considered for
the analysis. The section’s size 300*300m (Fig.5). Dike’s wide, Wd =10m, country rock’s width is
Wc=290m for each side of the dike. The Conceptual model is illustrated in Figure 6. The model
consists of two types of soil material: dike and country rock.

pumping well

country rock

15m

country rock
dike
Kd Kc

300m 290

10m 300m

Figure 5: Conceptual Model

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 The rate total flux Q=(0, ᵾ)
0

Q= (0, ᵾ time) Total head

0

H=20m

50

Finite Element Grid around

the pumping well installed
0

in the dike 0 50 100 150 200 250 300

(q=- 8.013E-5m3/sec) Q= (0, ᵾ time)

Figure 6: Numerical Model analysed by Geotudio Software (seep/w)

3.2 numerical code :

SEEP/W is a finite element software product for analyzing groundwater seepage and excess pore-
water pressure dissipation problems within porous materials such as soil and rock. Its
comprehensive formulation allows you to consider analyses ranging from simple, saturated steady-
state problems to sophisticated, saturated/unsaturated time-dependent problems. SEEP/W can be
applied to the analysis and design of geotechnical, civil, hydrogeological, and mining engineering
projects. When we have solved our seepage analysis in dike area we have view result for head,
pressure, gradient, velocity, and hydraulic conductivity. Also we have view velocity vector show
flow direction and flow rates.

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4. Results

All results for evaluation sw vs time Eq(14) around awell (figure.7) seep/w software the drawdown
during 2000000 sec. (figure.8) function curve Log –log f(tau, tau)

sw vs time
100

10
s(0, t)

sw vs time
0.1

0.01
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 100000010000000
time(sec)

Figure 7: Numerical drawdown at pumping well Vs time

f()
100

10
f()

0.1

0.01
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000


Figure 8 Log –log f(), )

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5. Discussion:

The slope for late time ( Boonstra and Boehmer (1989) match point (Figure 9), and draw

Sw Vs logt on semi-log Paper (Figure 10)

From Equation (14), the transmissivity ( Kruseman and De-Ridder 2000):

The flow flux applied seep/w: Q =0.0002042m3/sec

The calculated transmissivity is T= 4.3E-6m2/sec which is of the same order as the one introduced
in the numerical model and which is T= 4.3E-6m2/sec, and given by seep/w .

This confirms the validity of Boonstra and Boehmer (1986) equations.

Figure 9 : Log –log f(  ), 

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 15

13
sw Vs Logt

11

9
Sw(0,t) )

-1
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 10000000
time(sec)

Figure 10 : pumping well drawdown SW Vs. Logt

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6. Conclusion
The main purpose of this project was to solve numerically by the Finite Element Method the
problem of flow towards a pumping well installed in a fractured (permeable) dike intercepting a
confined aquifer. . SEEP/W of Geostudio package is selected because it has been widely tested
and it is proven very reliable in analysing groundwater flow towards pumping wells... The well
transient drawdowns data are interpreted using the analytical solutions developed by Boonstra and
Boehmer (1986). have shown all drawdown's curves increase with time. For early and medium
times, most of the drawdown is governed by parallel flow from the aquifer into the dike (no water
from dike storage). But at late time drawdown become at steady state by constant rate flow that
insure the dike can be highly permeable However, the user should be totally aware of the effect and
consequences of each assumption and method modelled in the analysis when using finite element
software. The finite element has been varying a useful tool design because parametric studies can be
carried out easily with varying input parameter and property

Finite element method always produces the analysis result even though the result could be incorrect,
the designer should have proper understanding of the physical behaviour of the problem set and
have a rough idea of anticipated result.

finite element method have been analysis the problem for model during long period and obtained
the solutions in record time.

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 List of References
Boonstra, J.and Boehmer,1986. Flow to wells in Intrusive Dike. Ph.D thesis, Free University
Amsterdam, 262

Boonstra, J. and de Ridder, N.A., 1981. Numerical Modeling of Groundwater Basins. Publ. 29, Int.
Inst. for Land Reclamation and Improvement, Wageningen, 226 pp Boehmer, W.K. and

Edelman, J.H., 1947. Over de Berekening van Grondwaterstromingen. Ph.D. thesis, University of
Technology, Delft, 77 pp

Kruseman , 1994 Analysis and Evaluation of Pumping Test Data . Publ 47 .Free university,
Amsterdam . pp.)

GEO-SLOPE international ltd. 2007.stress deformation modeling with SIGMA/W an engineering

methodology (.2rd ed)

Morel E. H. & R. S. Wikramaratna (1982) Numerical modelling of - groundwater flow in regional

aquifers dissected by dykes, Hydrological Sciences Journal, 27:1,

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