Premium
Air Pump for Small‐Diameter Piezometers
Author(s) -
Trescott Peter C.,
Pinder George F.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1970.tb01303.x
Subject(s) - piezometer , lift (data mining) , environmental science , materials science , geotechnical engineering , geology , aquifer , groundwater , computer science , data mining
The engine of a field vehicle can easily be used as an air pump by inserting a commercially manufactured check valve into a spark‐plug socket. Small‐diameter piezometers can be pumped with compressed air from this source. With sufficient air‐line submergence, the air lift method can be used to pump 1‐inch diameter piezometers where the pumping lift is less than 70 feet and 1.25‐inch diameter piezometers where the pumping lift is less than 50 feet. In cases where this method will not work, some of the water contained in a piezometer can be pumped out by pressurizing the piezometer if the formation transmissivity is low and the pumping lift is not excessive. The maximum pumping lift is a function of the rate at which pressure in the piezometer is increased and the rate at which water flows into the formation with increasing head in the piezometer. The engine air pump is useful in developing piezometers, flushing out stagnant water before taking water samples, obtaining water samples, and creating head differences to initiate slug tests.