Approximate Solutions for Forchheimer Flow to a Well
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 9
Abstract
An exact solution for transient Forchheimer flow to a well does not currently exist. However, this paper presents a set of approximate solutions, which can be used as a framework for verifying future numerical models that incorporate Forchheimer flow to wells. These include: a large time approximation derived using the method of matched asymptotic expansion; a Laplace transform approximation of the well-bore response, designed to work well when there is significant well-bore storage and flow is very turbulent; and a simple heuristic function for when flow is very turbulent and the well radius can be assumed infinitesimally small. All the approximations are compared to equivalent finite-difference solutions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Bear, J. (1979). Hydraulics of groundwater, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Birpinar, M. E., and Sen, Z. (2004). “Forchheimer groundwater flow law type curves for leaky aquifers.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 9(1), 51–59.
Camacho-V., R. G., and Vasquez-C., M. (1992). “Comment on ‘Analytical solution incorporating nonlinear radial flow in confined aquifers’ by Zekai Sen.” Water Resour. Res., 28(12), 3337–3338.
Chen, C., Wan, J., and Zhan, H. (2003). “Theoretical and experimental studies of coupled seepage-pipe flow to a horizontal well.” J. Hydrol., 281, 159–171.
Chen, Z., and Liu, C. (1991). “Self-similar solutions for displacement of non-Newtonian fluids through porous media.” Transp. Porous Media, 6(1), 13–33.
Chen, Z., Lyons, S. L., and Qin, G. (2001). “Derivation of the Forchheimer law via homogenization.” Transp. Porous Media, 44(2), 1573–1634.
Choi, E. S., Cheema, T., and Islam, M. R. (1997). “A new dual-porosity/dual-permeability model with non-Darcian flow through fractures.” J. Pet. Sci. Eng., 17, 331–344.
Cooper, H. H., and Jacob, C. E. (1946). “A generalized graphical method for evaluating formation constants and summarizing well field history.” Trans., Am. Geophys. Union, 27, 526–534.
de Hoog, F. R., Knight, J. H., and Stokes, A. N. (1982). “An improved method for numerical inversion of Laplace transforms.” SIAM (Soc. Ind. Appl. Math.) J. Sci. Stat. Comput., 3, 357–366.
Demir, Z., and Narasimhan, T. N. (1994). “Improved interpretation of Hvorslev tests.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 120, 477–494.
Dogan, A., and Motz, L. H. (2005). “Saturated-unsaturated 3D groundwater model. II: Verification and application.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 10, 505–515.
Ewing, R. E., Lazarov, R. D., Lyons, S. L., Papavassiliou, D. V., Pasciak, J., and Qin, G. (1999). “Numerical well model for non-Darcy flow through isotropic porous media.” Comput. Geosci., 3, 185–204.
Ewing, R. E., and Lin, Y. (2001). “A mathematical analysis for numerical well models for non-Darcy flows.” Appl. Numer. Math., 39(1), 17–30.
Firdaouss, M., Guermond, J., and Le Quere, P. (1997). “Nonlinear corrections to Darcy’s law at low Reynolds numbers.” J. Fluid Mech., 343(1), 331–350.
Forchheimer, P. (1901). “Wasserbewegung durch Boden.” Z. Ver. Deutsch. Ing., 45, 1782–1788.
Giorgi, T. (1997). “Derivation of the Forchheimer law via matched asymptotic expansions.” Transp. Porous Media, 29(2), 191–206.
Ikoku, C. U., and Ramey, H. J. (1979). “Transient flow of non-Newtonian power-law fluids in porous media.” Soc. Pet. Eng. J., 19(3), 164–174.
Irmay, S. (1958). “On the theoretical derivation of Darcy and Forchheimer formulas.” J. Geophys. Res., 39, 702–707.
Izbash, S. V. (1931). “O Filtracii V Kropnozernstom Materiale.” Leningrad, USSR (in Russian).
Kelkar, M. G. (2000). “Estimation of turbulence coefficient based on field observations.” SPE Reservoir Eval. Eng., 3(2), 160–164.
Kevorkian, J. (1990). Partial differential equations, Thompson Information/Publishing Group, Pacific Grove, Calif.
Kohl, T., Evans, K. F., Hopkirk, R. J., Jung, R., and Rybach, L. (1997). “Observation and simulation of non-Darcian flow transients in fractured rock.” Water Resour. Res., 33(3), 407–418.
Kolditz, O. (2001). “Non-linear flow in fractured rock.” Int. J. Numer. Methods Heat Fluid Flow, 11(6), 547–575.
Lee, J. Y., and Lee, K. K. (1999). “Analysis of the quality of parameter estimates from repeated pumping and slug tests in a fractured porous aquifer system in Wonju, Korea.” Ground Water, 37(5), 692–700.
Legrand, J. (1999). “Revisited analysis of pressure drop in flow through crushed rocks.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 128(11), 692–700.
Lockington, D. A. (1997). “Response of unconfined aquifer to sudden change in boundary head.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 123, 24–27.
Mathias, S. A., and Butler, A. P. (2006). “Linearized Richards’ equation approach to pumping test analysis in compressible aquifers.” Water Resour. Res., 42, W06408.
Mathias, S. A., and Butler, A. P. (2007a). “Flow to a finite diameter well in a horizontally anisotropic aquifer with well-bore storage.” Water Resour. Res., 43, W07501.
Mathias, S. A., and Butler, A. P. (2007b). “Shape factors for constant-head double-packer permeameters.” Water Resour. Res., 43, W06430.
Moench, A. F. (1997). “Flow to a well of finite diameter in a homogenous anisotropic water table aquifer.” Water Resour. Res., 33(6), 1397–1407.
Moutsopoulos, K. N., and Tsihrintzis, V. A. (2005). “Approximate analytical solutions of the Forchheimer equation.” J. Hydrol., 309, 93–103.
Narasimhan, T. N. (2007). “Comment on pumping-induced vadose zone drainage and storage in an unconfined aquifer: A comparison of analytical model predictions and field measurements.” J. Hydrol., 335, 219–220.
Odeh, A. S., and Yang, H. T. (1979). “Flow of non-Newtonian power-law fluids through porous media.” Soc. Pet. Eng. J. 19(3), 155–163.
Papadopulos, I. S., and Cooper, H. H. (1967). “Drawdown in a well of large diameter.” Water Resour. Res., 3(1), 241–244.
Qian, J., Zhan, H., Zhao, W., and Sun, F. (2005). “Experimental study of turbulent unconfined groundwater flow in a single fracture.” J. Hydrol., 311, 134–142.
Qian, J., Zhan, H., Zhao, W., and Sun, F. (2007). “Experimental evidence of scale-dependent hydraulic conductivity for fully developed turbulent flow in a single fracture.” J. Hydrol., 339, 206–215.
Reddy, N. B. P., and Rama Mohan Rao, P. (2006). “Effect of convergence on nonlinear flow in porous media.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 132(4), 420–427.
Roose, T., Fowler, A. C., and Darrah, P. R. (2001). “A mathematical model of plant nutrient uptake.” J. Math. Biol., 42, 347–360.
Rushton, K. R. (2006). “Significance of a seepage face on flows to wells in unconfined aquifers.” Q. J. Eng. Geol. Hydrogeol., 39, 323–331.
Sen, Z. (1988). “Analytical solution incorporating nonlinear radial flow in confined aquifers.” Water Resour. Res., 24(4), 601–606.
Sen, Z. (1989). “Nonlinear flow toward wells.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 115(2), 193–209.
Sen, Z. (1990). “Nonlinear radial flow in confined aquifers toward large diameter wells.” Water Resour. Res., 26(5), 1103–1109.
Sen, Z. (1992). “Reply to comment on ‘Analytical solution incorporating nonlinear radial flow in confined aquifers’ by Zekai Sen.” Water Resour. Res., 28(12), 3339–3340.
Shampine, L. F., and Reichelt, M. W. (1997). “The MATLAB ODE suite.” SIAM J. Sci. Comput. (USA), 18, 1–22.
Shampine, L. F., Reichelt, M. W., and Kierzenka, J. A. (1999). “Solving index-1 DAEs in MATLAB and Simulink.” SIAM J. Sci. Comput. (USA), 41, 538–552.
Sidiropoulou, M. G., Moutsopoulos, K. N., and Tsihrintzis, V. A. (2007). “Determination of Forchheimer equation coefficients a and b.” Hydrolog. Process., 21, 534–554.
Simpson, M. J., and Clement, T. P. (2004). “Improving the worthiness of the Henry problem as a benchmark for density-dependent groundwater flow models.” Water Resour. Res., 40, W01504.
Theis, C. V. (1935). “The relationship between the lowering of the piezometric surface and the rate and duration of discharge of a well using ground water storage.” Trans., Am. Geophys. Union, 16, 519–524.
Thiruvengadam, M., and Pradip Kumar, G. N. (1997). “Validity of Forchheimer equation in radial flow through coarse granular media.” J. Eng. Mech., 123(7), 696–705.
Venkataraman, P., and Rama Mohan Rao, P. (1998). “Darcian, transitional, and turbulent flow through porous media.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 124(8), 840–846.
Venkataraman, P., and Rao, P. (2000). “Validation of Forchheimer’s law for flow through porous media with converging boundaries.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 126(1), 63–71.
Wen, Z., Huang, G., and Zhan, H. (2006). “Non-Darcian flow in a single confined vertical fracture toward a well.” J. Hydrol., 330, 698–708.
Wen, Z., Huang, G., and Zhan, H. (2008). “An analytical solution for non-Darcian flow in a confined aquifer using the power law function.” Adv. Water Resour., 31, 44–55.
Whitaker, S. (1996). “The Forchheimer equation: A theoretical development.” Transp. Porous Media, 25(1), 27–61.
Wu, Y. S. (2002a). “An approximate analytical solution for non-Darcy flow toward a well in fractured media.” Water Resour. Res., 38(3), 1023.
Wu, Y. S. (2002b). “Numerical simulation of single-phase and multiphase non-Darcy flow in porous and fractured reservoirs.” Transp. Porous Media, 49(2), 1573–1634.
Zeng, Z., and Grigg, R. (2006). “A criterion for non-Darcy flow in porous media.” Transp. Porous Media, 63(1), 57–69.
Zoppou, C., and Roberts, S. (2003). “Explicit schemes for dam-break simulations.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 129, 11–34.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 2, 2007
Accepted: Jan 25, 2008
Published online: Sep 1, 2008
Published in print: Sep 2008
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.