Storage Effect in Falling Head Permeameters
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 23, Issue 3
Abstract
Hydraulic conductivity (), a proportionality constant in Darcy’s Law, is one of the most fundamental parameters in groundwater studies. A falling head permeameter (FHP) test is one way to determine , and its results are computed assuming a zero specific storativity of the tested sample. This study closes this gap by analyzing the effect of specific storativity on the calculation in FHP tests. The authors develop a solution for flow in FHP tests considering a nonzero specific storativity in the Laplace domain and use the de Hoog algorithm to attain the inverse Laplace transform of this solution to yield solutions in real-time domain, then enter into this solution a wide range of values of hydraulic conductivity and specific storativity to examine the significance of storage effects when using a FHP to determine the hydraulic conductivity of a porous sample. The study confirms that the specific storativity has a nearly negligible effect, and the solution with a zero specific storativity assumption can be practically used for FHP data interpretation.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank three anonymous reviewers for their very constructive and detailed comments that were useful for improving the quality of this manuscript.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 23 • Issue 3 • March 2018
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 16, 2016
Accepted: Sep 12, 2017
Published online: Dec 23, 2017
Published in print: Mar 1, 2018
Discussion open until: May 23, 2018
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