GGU-SLUGTEST: Slug tests - a brief introduction

The fundamental aim of hydraulic tests is to determine the hydraulic parameters of the system under investigation.

When carrying out such tests a precisely defined signal is applied to the unknown system, e.g. the submersion of a defined body below the at-rest water level of a well.

The reaction of the system - the change in water level with time - is a function of the hydraulic parameters and the geometry (FLOPETROL, 1983; KARASAKI, 1986). The solution to this inverse problem requires the definition and formulation of a theoretical model, the reaction of which to an identical input signal must correspond as precisely as possible to that of the real system (GRINGARTEN, 1980).

The solution is often ambiguous: differently configured models can react identically to an identical input signal.

The more information available on geological strata, hydrologic conditions and on the borehole or well geometry, the lower the number of possible solutions (GRINGARTEN, 1980).