..

*yq,
{,
-.

,-

,./

..

.,

f
-.

Linear Aquifer Behavior

,,
G. W. NABOR
R. H, 6ARHW
MEMBERS. AIME

/,$

Finite Lhtear Aquifer, ConSt&t Pressure at

Qutv ~ounda@

INTRO13UCTION

,.
Linear aquifefi, either @nited or qesenthtlly intlnite, may
be encoutttemd in reservoir engineering practice. In, areas
where faulting fixes reservoir boundaries, the fault. block
reservoir may have an aquifer of limited extent, whose geometry is best approximated as linear. An irdlnite linear
aquifer can, occur as a regional feature whenever water
movement through the aquifer member is constrained to
one dhectiort, Such constraints can arise from major faults,
facies changes or pinchout of the member.
~
Miller* pointed out that linear aquifers have received
only meager attention in the past. He analyzed the per:
formance of finite and infinite aquifers, developed working
equations and curves, and presented examples. WMle MRlers cufies may be. used fairly easily, a separate one is required for each t@e of aquifer. In this piper, Millers
equations have been used as a starting point. By modifying them slightly, they can be reduced to a form which
yields a single working curve, applicable to any size of
aquifer. Thus, interpolation between curves is eliminated
~and accuracy is improved,
.
Millers results ~for finite aquifers covered only the
boundary condifion of no flow across the outer aquifer
boundary. This: paper also includes the case of constant
pressure at the outer aquifer boundary.
,, .
1
!

DtiVEL&PME~
OF .EQUATIONS FOR
LINEAR AQUIFERS
,.
Millers equations give pressurti drop or cumulative influx at the linear a@fer-reseivoir boundary as a futiction
of time for the boundary conditions of, an infinite aquifer
and a finite aquifer with seaied outer boundary. .In additiod to these equations, those appropriate for the bounditry
condition of a finite aquifer with constant pressure at the
outer boundary have been developed. Th6 approach used
in developing these equations was the same as that used
by Miller.
BOUNDARY CONDITION 1:CONSTANT RATE OF
INFLUX ACROSSAQUIFER.RESERVOIRBOUNDARY
Infinite Linear A qqifer

-,.
,,

SOCONV MOBIL OIL CO,, INC.

DALLAS, TEX.

W%id(+)exp(-%%)

AP = kbh
,.

.,.

, Finite ~inear Aquifer, Sialed Outer Boundary

...?

,.,

(3)

Finite Linear;Aquifer, Sealed. Outer Boundary

W.=

@h:,

(Ap)[L-$n:,~;)ex,

nzrrzkt
.. . . . . . . . (5)
4+/.Lc,L
)!
(
Finite Linear Aquifer, Constant Pressure at
outer Boundary
W.=
-

@~h c, (Ap)
[(

+-

#,/yc,L )

-%%E+PL%%)]
. (,,
The+e equations are usually put in a form where dimensionless time is defined by
kt
.

(7)
t/J,=
+pc,x: .....
Here, x. is a reference distance and is usually taken to be
a unit distance. However, the choice is really arbitrary, as ,.
- long as consistency is maintained. We choose x. =L; then
. .
kt.
(8) :
tD=
&NC,L= .
.
m..
For finite aquifers, L is the length o,f aquifer; for infinite
cases, it may be considered m an arbitrarily chosen length.
The reason for this choice will ,be clear later tihen the
performances of finite and infinde aquifers are compared.
Substituting t.from Eq, 8, the first six equations be-,
come:
BOUNDARY
~ONDITION 1:
Infinite Linear Aqtiifer

,Ap=
,$$[{%3 oe ~- )
+% [(+?z%d-%z(-+)e?
.(2)
.. ..-..(-*)1
. .,.+=., ..~~~
...

,.

l.

BOUNDARYCONDITION.2:CONSTANTPRESSURE
AT AQUIFER-RESERVOIRBOU~ARY
I@dte Linear Aquifer

:..

(9)

Finite Linear Aquifer, Seated Outer Boundary

-K LF1(tJ.
. . . ..
p kbh
Finite Line& Aquifer, Constant Pressure al
Outer J30undary

( 10)
$

--:qp AFO(tD);- -.-,

. -.,, -. ,.- .- ,- (-11}
kbh
BOUNDARY ONDITION 2:
F
Infinite Linear, Aquifer

w. == #bh Lc, (AP) F1 (LJ . ,. ., .,:

(12)
--A~=

Or[ginal manumript yeived

D-. 1S, 19S4.

in Society of PetrvlewrrEnghreera oflice

*Mfier, F,d.: Theory ofUnsteady-State InSux of Water in ,Lhrmr

Reservoirs, Jmwrd Zr@OWe of Pet@swm (Nov., 196S} ~, S65F=* =

,
:

>,
j, ,,

,..

.
/

f.:.

.-.

,,. /

., /....

.,

/.,

,,
..

.-

,!

Finite Linear Aquifer, Sealed Outer Boundary

w. = ~bh Lc, (Ap) F,(tP) i, .,..
. .. (13) .
Finite .Linear Aquifer, Constant Pressure at Outer
Boundary
W,= #bh Lc, (Ap)F, (tJ
. . . ; . (14)
In these equations, the functions of dimensionless time
are:
F. (to) = 1 -y

F}(rn)=2vm.

iw-)ex(-++
5)
,, . . . . . .
(16)

F, (t.):=
(t +)-+n:l(+)exp(
-mf)
.,
..,.
. . . . . . . . . (17} ,,
Thesefunctions are shown in Fig. 1, The subscripts O, %
and 1 correspond to the sl?pes of the curves, as t~ approaches large values. Table 1gives numerical values.
THE F-FUNCTIONS
The F-functions, in contrast to those used in Eqs, 1
through 6, do not depend explicitly on L, the aquifer
length. This dependence has been removed by the particular definition used for dimensionless time.
The advantages are obvious. .OnIy a single curve or
table of values need be examined for a given boundary
coridition, Even in cases where L is not known precisely,
it is easv to assume several trial values, calculate the corr&pond~ng. t~values, ,and read the ,reqUired F-values from >.
a sinele curve. All interpolation between curves is eliminated, The behavior of the F-functions at small and large times,
is of interest, At h= O, the summati$n appearing in F, (h)
, reduces to a summation of ( 1/nz), for odd values of n.
The summation of F, (tz) reduces to a summation of
(l/n), for all values qif n. These sum to (7r2/8) and,
(7r/6), so F, and F, bcth approach zero as t. approaches
zero. As tnapproachesin~nity, F@(t.) approaches 1, and
, F, (to)approaches. (m-l- 1/3); i.e., becomes linear with tn.
If the boundary conditions applying to Eqs, 9 through 14
are examined, it is apparent this must be the Wsei For ,
example, in-the constan~ rate ease, with sealed outer boundary, we expect the total pressure drop to become linear
, with time as the quasi-steady-state condition is reached
at large time.
..
It would be expected that finite linear aquifers would
behave, at small times, just as infinite aquifers do. In other
words, at low values of to, F. (t.)and F,(b) shouldboth
approach F* [to). Thk is indeed the case, as a referral to
Table 1 or Fig. 1 will show.
.
Table 1 was computed digitally and Fig. 1 was prepared
from the results. Fig, 1 clearly indicates that the functions
F, (to) and F, (to),
for finite aquifers, beg!n to deviate
from the infinite linear aqqifer curve, F* (to), when tD exceeds 0.25. When toexceeds 2.5, the finite. aquifer func
tions may. be very well approximated
by their limitin6
,..
..
forms. Hence,

For t.<0.25, F. = F&= F,= 2 ?Z,

. . . . . . . . . (18)
; f ,For 0.25 <tn<2.5, use Tqble 1 or Fig. 1 for F. and F,
Fort~>2.5,
F. =1
. . . . . . . (19)
.- . . . . . . . ... .. . .
.
F, =tD+ $,
. . . ;.- (20)
.Eqs. 19 and 2C1show, of course, that the finite systems
have closeIy approached the steady or quasi-steady state
,>
at longer tiines.
.
, ,..
S62

APPLICATIONS
UNITS
.
The equations and graphs presented in this paper require that a dimensionally consistent set of units be used.
This is perhaps an obvious point, but may easily be overlooked when attempting to work in terms of practical units.
The metric or cm-sec-cp-atm-darcy system is dimensionally consistent and applications ean be carried out with.
out ditliculty..
The so-called practical system, which uses one basic
unit, ft, for measuring Iength and area and another, bbl,
for ,measuring volume, is subjeet to error in application.
The most rational approach appears to be that of defirdng
a special perrneatilfity unit (spu) such that
= 6.3283 k,,.,.,,, . . . , . . . . (21)
k Snlm
.,
Then, a consistent ft-day-ep-psi-spu system of units may
be used, remembering that intlux rates and volumes must
be expressed in terms of cubic feet rather than .barreIs,
,.
!
SLiPERPOSITION
To calculate pressure drop when rate of influx has
varied:

4P= -&

9oF, (L,) +
.

F. (h-f.,)

(%-go)

+. . .
.

(22)

To calculate influx for a series of pressure drops:

, ~,W. = + bhLc, [AP#, (t~)+Ap,F, (hJz.1) +. ..1
. . . . . . . . . . . (23)
,
,!
where
(AP)J = (PJ-~-PJ+,)/Z,
. . . . . . .
(24)
Iri ihese equations, F, (?J refers to the particular FEunction for boundary conditions appropriate to the case
,.
,,
of interest.
Exanz~le No. 1
Over ,the months of Apfil through June, the pressure of
a reservoir dropped from 2Z810 to 2,780 psi during initial
production. The aquifer associated with this reservoir is
estimated .to have the properties in Table 2.
~
Estimate the water iriflux from the aquife~ over this
period of time, assuming (1) air infinite aquifer, (2) a
finite, sealed aquifer 2 miles long, and (3) a finite aquifer
2 miles long with constant pressure at the outer boundary.
Since the data are given in practical units,

= 6.3283 (0.3) = 1.8985.

k ,,,,, = 6.3283 k,,,.,.,.,

,..

----

tLI-OIMEIISKWLES

FnA IPiiSSSURE
,..

DHOP
ANtICUMULATIVEINFLUX FORMATIONS,
.

LrNSAR:AQIYIFERS.
JOURNAL

OF

PETROLEU.M

.
TEc2H-NOLOGY

,. ..
,,
.

.-

,,

..

..

TABLE

tu
,I .00[10-2)

1.1 28379(1 O-;]

1.1 834s4(1 0-1)
1.261566(10-)
1.3351t6110-)
1.427299[1 0-1)

1 .Io 10-2)
1.2511 o-q
1 .40(1 o-q
I .do(lo-q

.2

DROP AND CUMULATIVE

INPLUX FUNCTIONS
FOR
LINEAR AMIIFERS
Fo(fD)
Mb)
tD
3.1010-1
6.226S24(10-:1
1 .12s379(10-1)
6.581 S91 10-1
3.6010-1
1.183454 10-)
II
6.97S819 10-1 1
4+00 lo-l)
1.261566 10-)
4,50 10-1)
7.32953710.1
1.33511.6 10-1)
r
5.00 I lo-l)
7.639503 (10-1 1
1.427299( 10-1)

1.128379(10-1]
1.182454(10-1)
1,261566(10-11
1.3351 16(lo-1)
1.427299(I O-i)

7.964332(10-11
6.244454 [10-11
S.558930(10+]
8. E74029(10-11
9.130239110 -J)

1.513880 lo-f)
1.S95769 110-1)
1.692569 10-!l
1.784124 [ Ip-1)
1,88S139(10-1)

;::!1!
$4
2.25(10-2
z,so[lo-~
2,80(lo-~ I

lPRESSURE

F%(iD)

Ft,(iD)

1.60
1.80
2.00
2.25
2.50
~2.BO -

9.904512(10-1)
9,941705(lo-q
9.968541 [10-])
9.983024 10-1)
9,991902 110-)

1 .5!3880
1 ;598769
1,692569
; ,~g:; #

9.996137[10-)
9.998560 10-1)
9.9w581 [ 10-q
9.999878(10-1)
9,999964(lo-q

1.9S6~l ?
2,111004
2.256758
2,293654
2.523133

2.670232110-1
2. S09641{10-1 I
2,985411(10-1)
3.191538(10-11
3.3S5138(10-V

2.670232{1 0-1) ,.,

2.S09641 (1 0-1)
2.985411 {10.1)
3.191539<10-1
3.385141 ho:: I

3.568234(10-1)
3.742370110-)
3.9892!30110-1)
4.221616(10-1)
4.512368110 -1)

3.566248(10-11
3.742410(10-11
3.9S9423(10-1}
4.22200S(10-1]
4.513517[10-11

3.568262 [10-1)
3.742451 (1 0-1
3.989566(10-* 1
4.222401(10-1)
4, S14665(10-]]

3,10
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00

4.784617 10-!)
5.040878 [ 10-)
5,341424 10-1)
5.622335 ! 10-V
5.936127(10-1)

4.787307 10-)
5.04626510-11
5.35237200-~1
5.641896 [10-1)
5.970821(10-1)

f.;wgg;
y:]
1
5:363320(10-11
5.661456 [10-~1
6.00551 6(1 0-11

5.40
~g

5.6O(10-Y
6.20( 10-C)
7.OO(10-*)
8.00(10-Q
9.00[10+ I

2.670232 [10-1
2,809641 [1 0-1 I
2.985411 [10-9
3.191537I1O-)
2.3S5133(10-[)

1 .00( 10-1]
1.10(10-1)
1.25110-1)
1.40(10-1)
1.60110-)
1 .80(1 0-:)
2.00[10-1}
2.25(lo-q
2.50(10-1]
2.80[lo. ~)

Forallcases,

t=91
kc

qj~:~
2:523133

2:393654
3.523133

10-1)

days and.Lis

10, % ,
10-t]

8.00
9.00

2=AQUIFER

>

..

.).

CALCULATIONS

.
20:2i7
TAsLE

4-WATER

INFLUX

!
21972

3.433333
3.823333
4,333333
4.833333
5.333333
5.933333
6. S33333
7.333233
6.333333
9,333333

~.

4,,

/
SUBSCRIPTS
~>
~= index
-,
.
. .
.,
k = index
-- D =.dimerisi&des%
- -. -:--- - *R -,:

,..~,
,.,
*Wheretwo unite are given,.,tbe metric system. ap~erws first followed

.
23%ss

NOMEN~LATURE*
,.. .
.
Width {;f aquifer,lzh or ft
Aquifer compressibility (total), atm~ or psr
Thickness of aquifer, cm or ft
Aquifer permeability, darcies or spu* *
Prewure drop, atm or psi
Flow rate, cc/see or cu ft/D
.,
Time, sec or days
Unit distance, cm or ft
1
~
Function of t.,
dimensionless
Length of aquifer, cm or ft
Water influx volume; cc or cu ft
Viscosity, .cp
Porosity, dimensionless

>,

PROPERTIES

TASLE3lNFLUXFliNCiiON

2:833333
3.133233

The authors wish to thank: the management of Socopy.

Mobil 011 Co. for permission to publish this paper,
1,
\ .

ft

k==300md
@ = 0.25
,,.. = 1 . .
cc = 6.2 [1 O-@) PSI-I (reck & wahr)

2.133332
;:~;;::

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

kbh
(298.1) (1) (10,560) (l ;33) =27 psi
.
( 1.8985) (2,0(30.) (41)

TABLE

The eqtiations describing linear aquifer behavior may be

reduced, by a particular detlnition of dimensionless time,
to three wor~,ng curves. These ctsrves are appropriate for
both intlnite and finite aquifers of any size, for all common boundary conditions.
A single cwe applies for any given set of boundary
conditions. This eliminates interpolation Within a family
of curves, and thereby improves the speed and accuracy
.,
of calculations.
Very simple Iimi{ing forms of the equations may be
used in place of the working curves at short times
(z. <0,25) and at long times (r> 2.5).

=Fl(to)

$ ~ yL3:

CONCLUSIONS

(1.8985) (91)
(0.25)
(1) (6.2) (lO-C) (10,560)2= 0
Since the pressure drop occurs over a period of time,
superposition should be used, Assumption of a,linear drop
with time is shown in Table 3.
The water influx ie given by Eq. 23:
W. = # bhL C, ZAP, Fk (tdtD/)
(0,25) (2,00L)) (41) (10,560) (6.2) (104) (Z]
=
= 1342,2 (z),
E.~ample No. 2
Assume an aquifer of the same properties as used in
Example 1, Case (2). Estimate the pressure drop at the
aquifer-reservoir boundary for, a constant influx rate of
53.1 B/D over a 91 day time period.
q,cyft/D
= 5.6146 (53,1)
.
.
~
= 298.1 CU ft/D
Since the same .r; dquation applies in ttis case ~ preyiousIy, to=~l.0. Also, k,...= 1.8985. The pressure drop is
!,
given by Eq, 22:

,..

1,333323
1.433329
1.6S3232
I .733333
1.923323

!X,670232
2.809641
2.98541 I
3.191538
%.385138

9,999~92[101
9.9W998(10.11
10,000000(10-1]
Io.000ooo(lol)
10.000000(10-1)

2miles=10,560ft.

=-

p
=

S.444016[10-11
8.s84866 10-1}
9.440697 I 10-1)
10.092520 10-1)
10.704744 I 10-1)
1,128379
1,183454
1.261666
1.335176
1.427299

1.40

1.986717(1 0-1
2.111004 IO-*)
2.256758 I 10-i)
2.3936S4 10-1]
2.523133 [ 10-i)

F:(fDJ
6.328276(10-11
6.769283(10-1]
7.294231 10-1
7.809461 10-
8.31876010,1
H

9,31259710-1
9,462903 ! 10-1)
9.629049 10.Y)
9.742799 110-!)
9.843590(lo.q

1.00
1.10
I .25

;~,~l:yl
/ 1

3.10(10-2)
3.50(10-3
4.06[10-$)
4.50(lo-~
5.00(10:2 1

F{$ftul
6.282549(10-11
6.675SSI
10 .l}
7.136496 110-1)
7,569398 [10-
7.978844(101 I

- :

RESULTS

by the D1aC3kdsystem unit.

Os~Pus SP~i*l ~errneabilitYtlnhs

-.

k,spu

.= .S.S2S$

k,dmrni es

.7
;.

7.
,.

,,