Open AccessMulti-well capture zones in strip-shaped aquifers
Author(s) -
Setareh Nagheli,
Nozar Samani,
David Andrew Barry
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0229767
Subject(s) - aquifer , inflow , plume , geology , particle swarm optimization , boundary value problem , mechanics , volumetric flow rate , flow (mathematics) , extraction (chemistry) , groundwater , geotechnical engineering , mathematical optimization , mathematics , physics , chemistry , mathematical analysis , chromatography , thermodynamics
Capture zone equations for a multi-well system in strip-shaped confined and unconfined aquifers with and without regional flow are presented. The aquifer is limited by two parallel boundaries that are either no flow (barrier) or inflow (variable head) so that aquifers with four possible boundary configurations are formed. The wellfield includes any number of extraction or injection wells or a combination of both types. The flow field in the strip-shaped aquifer was converted to its equivalent extensive aquifer using conformal mapping and image well methods. To delineate the capture envelope, the potential, streamline and stagnation point equations were derived using velocity potential theory. The solution permits rapid determination of the effect of number, position and extraction/injection rate of wells, boundary type and direction, and rate of regional flow on the size, shape and pattern of well capture zones. The derived equations are readily extended to water quality and quantity management simulations, as shown by embedding the equations within two optimization schemes, viz., Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA), to automatically determine the most efficient wellfield designs for pump-and-treat remediation, contaminant plume containment and pumping policy projects.