The in situ permeable flow sensor: A device for measuring groundwater flow velocity

Ballard, S; Barker, G T; Nichols, R L

doi:10.2172/10147883

Title: The in situ permeable flow sensor: A device for measuring groundwater flow velocity

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Abstract

A new technology called the In Situ Permeable Flow Sensor has been developed at Sandia National Laboratories. These sensors use a thermal perturbation technique to directly measure the direction and magnitude of the full three dimensional groundwater flow velocity vector in unconsolidated, saturated, porous media. The velocity measured is an average value characteristic of an approximately 1 cubic meter volume of the subsurface. During a test at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, two flow sensors were deployed in a confined aquifer in close proximity to a well which was screened over the entire vertical extent of the aquifer and the well was pumped at four different pumping rates. In this situation horizontal flow which is radially directed toward the pumping well is expected. The flow sensors measured horizontal flow which was directed toward the pumping well, within the uncertainty in the measurements. The observed magnitude of the horizontal component of the flow velocity increased linearly with pumping rate, as predicted by theoretical considerations. The measured horizontal component of the flow velocity differed from the predicted flow velocity, which was calculated with the assumptions that the hydraulic properties of the aquifer were radially homogeneous and isotropic, by less thanmore »« less

Authors:

Ballard, S; Barker, G T ^[1]; Nichols, R L ^[2]

Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Savannah River Technology Center, Aiken, SC (United States)

Publication Date:: Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1994

Research Org.:: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)

OSTI Identifier:: 10147883

Report Number(s):: SAND-93-2765
ON: DE94011245; TRN: 94:005110

DOE Contract Number:: AC04-94AL85000

Resource Type:: Technical Report

Resource Relation:: Other Information: PBD: Mar 1994

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 42 ENGINEERING; 47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION; FLOWMETERS; PERFORMANCE TESTING; GROUND WATER; FLOW RATE; AQUIFERS; HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY; FLUID FLOW; 540220; 420200; 440800; CHEMICALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT; FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND TECHNIQUES; MISCELLANEOUS INSTRUMENTATION

Citation Formats


                    Ballard, S, Barker, G T, and Nichols, R L. The in situ permeable flow sensor: A device for measuring groundwater flow velocity.  United States: N. p., 1994. 
        Web.  doi:10.2172/10147883.

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                    Ballard, S, Barker, G T, & Nichols, R L. The in situ permeable flow sensor: A device for measuring groundwater flow velocity.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.2172/10147883

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                    Ballard, S, Barker, G T, and Nichols, R L. 1994.  
        "The in situ permeable flow sensor: A device for measuring groundwater flow velocity".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.2172/10147883.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/10147883.

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@article{osti_10147883,

  title        = {The in situ permeable flow sensor: A device for measuring groundwater flow velocity},

  author       = {Ballard, S and Barker, G T and Nichols, R L},

  abstractNote = {A new technology called the In Situ Permeable Flow Sensor has been developed at Sandia National Laboratories. These sensors use a thermal perturbation technique to directly measure the direction and magnitude of the full three dimensional groundwater flow velocity vector in unconsolidated, saturated, porous media. The velocity measured is an average value characteristic of an approximately 1 cubic meter volume of the subsurface. During a test at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, two flow sensors were deployed in a confined aquifer in close proximity to a well which was screened over the entire vertical extent of the aquifer and the well was pumped at four different pumping rates. In this situation horizontal flow which is radially directed toward the pumping well is expected. The flow sensors measured horizontal flow which was directed toward the pumping well, within the uncertainty in the measurements. The observed magnitude of the horizontal component of the flow velocity increased linearly with pumping rate, as predicted by theoretical considerations. The measured horizontal component of the flow velocity differed from the predicted flow velocity, which was calculated with the assumptions that the hydraulic properties of the aquifer were radially homogeneous and isotropic, by less than a factor of two. Drawdown data obtained from other wells near the pumping well during the pump test indicate that the hydraulic properties of the aquifer are probably not radially homogeneous but the effect of the inhomogeneity on the flow velocity field around the pumping well was not modeled because the degree and distribution of the inhomogeneity are unknown. Grain size analysis of core samples from wells in the area were used to estimate the vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity.},

  doi          = {10.2172/10147883},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/10147883},
  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1994},

  month        = {Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1994}

}

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