Slug Test Analysis

is advanced software for slug test data analysis that features the most comprehensive set of solution methods for overdamped and underdamped conditions in confined, unconfined and fractured aquifers.

  • overdamped tests
  • underdamped (oscillatory) tests
  • falling-head tests
  • rising-head tests
  • baildown tests
  • interference tests (including observation wells)
  • filter pack drainage
  • frictional well loss

Only has recommended head ranges to reduce ambiguity sometimes encountered in the application of straight-line methods for slug test data analysis. Additional features include compensations for filter pack drainage in wells screened across the water table and frictional well loss in small-diameter wells.

Summary of Slug Test Solutions

Summary of Slug Test Solutions in AQTESOLV Pro
Solution Category Methods Available
Slug Tests 18
Partial Penetration 15
Underdamped 5
Confined Aquifers 11
Unconfined Aquifers 6
Fractured Aquifersnew 1

Compare slug test solutions in the Pro and Standard versions.

Overdamped Slug Tests

Overdamped slug tests are the ones we commonly analyze with techniques like the straight-line methods of Hvorslev (1951) and Bouwer and Rice (1976) or the type curve methods of Cooper, Bredehoeft and Papadopulos (1967) and Hyder et al. (1994) (KGS Model).

Analysis of slug test data with concave upward curvature using Bouwer and Rice (1976) method

Analysis of falling-head slug test using Bouwer and Rice (1976) solution and recommended normalized head range.

makes the application of straight-line methods easier and more reliable with recommended head ranges (Butler 1998) that help to overcome line-fitting ambiguity when data exhibit curvature as shown above.

Analysis of overdamped slug test in unconfined aquifer with KGS Model

Estimation of aquifer properties from time-displacement data collected during an overdamped slug test in an unconfined aquifer using the KGS Model (Hyder et al. 1994) type-curve solution (data from Butler 1998).

Underdamped (Oscillatory) Slug Tests

Only provides underdamped slug test solutions for tests with inertial effects in both fully and partially penetrating wells.

Analysis of underdamped slug test in small-diameter well with frictional well loss in a high-K aquifer (Butler 2002).

features an innovative visual curve matching tool that makes parameter estimation for underdamped tests a snap (video) and includes a correction for frictional well loss (Butler 2002) that is important for analyzing underdamped tests in small-diameter wells.

Multi-Well Slug Tests

includes slug test data analysis methods such as the KGS Model (Hyder et al. 1994) that may be used to analyze multi-well slug tests in confined or unconfined aquifers.

Analysis of multi-well slug test in a confined aquifer using KGS Model (Hyder et al. 1994).

Most slug tests are conducted as single-well tests in which heads (displacements) are measured in just the test (control) well. In a multi-well slug test, heads are recorded in the test well and one or more nearby observation wells.

See also: slug tests, recommended head ranges, filter pack drainage

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