Boundary conditions

Boundary conditions can be solved by:

1) Superposition for multiple well systems
2) Image wells.

Multiple Well Systems

Superposition of flows
The drawdown at any point in the aquifer
affected by a simultaneous pumping of two or
more wells

In hydrogeological practice it is far more

common to analyze situations with more than
one well operating
It is also advisable to check for the possible
existence and influence of wells that are not
in the immediate vicinity of the well(s) being
currently studied

st = sa + sb + sc+...+ sn
where,
St is the total drawdown at a given point,

sa + sb + sc +...+ sn are the drawdowns at the point caused by

the discharge of wells a, b, c, , n respectively.

Superposition of flows toward two pumping wells

Superposition of flows for one pumping well (left) and

one recharging well (right) operating simultaneously

Drawdown calculation
The drawdown in a pumping well is the
difference between the initial hydraulic head
(before pumping) and the hydraulic head during
pumping
The drawdown at point P is the sum of two
drawdowns caused by the pumping wells PW1
and PW2

sP s1 s2
sP H h1 H h2

H = initial hydraulic head

h1 = hydraulic head at point P due to the
operation of PW1
h2 = hydraulic head at point P due to the
operation of PW1

General eqn. of g/w flow toward a

fully penetrating well in
unconfined aquifer

Q
R
2
2
H h
ln
K r

Q
R
H h
ln
2T r

General eqn. of g/w flow toward a

fully penetrating well in confined
aquifer

This eqn. can be applied to find the

hydraulic head h1 and h2 at point P

Q2 R
h2 H
ln
K r2

Q1 R
h1 H
ln
K r1

Hydraulic conductivity is found by substituting

the values into eqn below

R
rw
K
H 2 hw2
Q ln

Ex_1
Two pumping wells (PW1 and PW2) are planned for
containment and cleanup of a groundwater pollutant plume
shown in figure 1 below. The plume is an unconfined aquifer
with the horizontal impermeable base at 185 meters above
mean sea level. The average water table elevation is at 205
m amsl. An earlier aquifer test at PW1, with the constant
pumping rate of 9 m3/hr, indicated that quasi steady-state
conditions were quickly established at the 3.2 m drawdown.
The radius of well influence, determined from observations in
nearby domestic wells, was approximately 200 meters. From
the available data find the following:
The drawdown at point P within the plume if only PW1 and
PW2 are operating with the pumping rates of 21.6 and 14.4
m3/hr respectively.
The drawdown at point P if two recharge wells RW1 and
RW2, with injection rates of 18.0 m3/hr each, were added
to the system.

Ex_2
Three pumping wells located along a
straight line are spaced at 200 m apart.
What should be the steady-state pumping
rate from each well so that the near steadystate drawdown in each well will not exceed
2 m? The transmissivity of the confined
aquifer, which all the wells fully penetrate, is
2400 m2/day and all the wells are 40 cm in
diameter. The thickness of the aquifer is 40
m and the radius of the influence of each
well is 800 m.

Wells near boundaries

Where a well is pumped near an aquifer boundary, the assumption that the aquifer
is of infinite areal extent no longer holds. Analysis of this of this situation involves
the principle of superposition by which the draw down of two or more wells is the
sum of the drawdowns of each individual well. By introducing imaginary (or image)
wells, an aquifer of finite extent can be transformed into an infinite aquifer so that
the solution methods previously described can be applied.

Equipotential boundary
In reality all aquifers have more or less clearly
defined boundaries
The method of images is a convenient and
effective way to account for the physical
aquifer boundaries by replacing them with
hydraulic entities that allow application of the
eqn.s describing flow toward wells
These new hydraulic entities are also wells,
either discharging or recharging depending
on the nature of the boundaries

 The equipotential boundary is simulated with

an imaginary recharging well which is the
exact image of the real extraction well, only
with the opposite sign for the flow rate
This image well is placed on the other side of
the boundary at the same distance from the
boundary as the real well

 The recharge from the image well simulates the flow from
the stream toward the real well since it builds up the water
table
This additional head along the boundary line cancels the
drawdown caused by the extraction well so that there is no
change in the hydraulic head along the boundary
Important rule of the image theory:
- the image well on the other side of the equipotential
boundary changes the character-it has the same flow rate
as the real well but with the opposite sign

- If the real well is recharging the aquifer, the image well is

extracting water

Drawdown at the real well

The drawdown at the real well is the algebraic sum of the drawdown
caused by groundwater withdrawal, and the buildup caused by the
image well

Q R Q
R
sA
ln
ln
2T rw 2T 2a rw
Q

flow rate at the wells

radius of well influence

aquifer transmissivity

rw

well radius

2a rw

distance between point A and the image well

2a rw
Q
sA
ln
2T
rw
Since rw is much smaller than twice the distance between the wells, it can
be ignored

Q
2a
sA
ln
2T rw
When eqn. above is compared with the general eqn. of g/w flow toward a
fully penetrating well in a confined aquifer of infinite extent:

Q
RD
s
ln
2T
rw

where

RD 2a

Drawdown in the aquifer

The drawdown at any point in the aquifer is the algebraic sum of the drawdown
from the pumping well and the buildup (negative drawdown) from the injection well

Q R Q R
sp
ln
ln
2T r 2T
where

r = distance between the point and the real well

= distance between point and the image well

can be written as

sp
ln
2T r

Impermeable Boundary
An impermeable boundary near a discharging well is
simulated by another discharging well placed on the other
side of the boundary

This new well is an exact image of the real well and has
the same pumping rate
It is placed at the same distance from the boundary as the
real well
The two wells are on the same line perpendicular to the
boundary and operate simultaneously

Drawdown at the real well

Drawdown at the real well is calculated for a point placed
at the well perimeter as in case of the equipotential
boundary

Q R Q
R

s A
ln
ln
2T rw 2T 2a rw
where
Q

flow rate at the wells

radius of well influence

aquifer transmissivity

Rw

well radius

2a rw distance between point A and the image well

Q
R2
sA
ln
2T 2arw rw2
2
Since the squared well radius rw is much smaller than the product 2arw,
it can be ignored and egn. above becomes

Q
R2
sA
ln
2T 2arw
or

R2
Q
sA
ln 2a
2T
rw

When the eqn is compared with the general equation of g/w flow toward
a fully penetrating well in a confined aquifer of infinite extent:

Q
RD
s
ln
2T
rw
where

RD is Dupuits radius of well influence

It becomes apparent that hydraulic equivalent radius of influence of the well
near the impermeable boundary is:

where

R2
RD
2a

a = distance between the real well and the impermeable boundary

R = the real radius of influence of a single well in an infinite aquifer

Drawdown in the aquifer

Q R Q R
sP
ln
ln
2T r 2T
where

r = distance between the point and the real well

= distance between the point and the image well
Q
R2
sP
ln
2T r.

Image well systems for bounded aquifers.

(A) One straight recharge boundary
(B) Two straight recharge boundaries at right angles
(C) Two straight parallel recharge boundaries
(D) U-shape recharge boundary

Two straight boundaries intersecting at right angles

Two straight boundaries parallel boundaries

Two straight parallel boundaries intersected at right angles by a third boundary

Four straight boundaries, i.e. two pairs of straight parallel boundaries intersecting at right angles

Seven image pumping wells plus the single real well form a circle with its center the wedge
apex; the radius equals the distance from the apex to the real pumping well. The drawdown at
any point between the two barriers can then be calculated by summing the individual
drawdowns. In general, it can be shown that the number of image wells n required for a wedge
angle is given by

360 o

where, is an aliquot
part of 360 degrees.

For a wedge-shaped
aquifer, such as a
valley bounded by two
converting
impermeable barriers,
the drawdown at any
location within the
aquifer can be
calculated by the
same method of
images.
Image well system for a discharge well in an aquifer bounded by two
impermeable barriers intersecting at an angle of 45 degrees

Impact or recharge and barrier boundaries on semi-logarithmic drawdown-time curve

THANK YOU