Distribution of discharge intensity along small-diameter collector well laterals in a model riverbed filtration

Experiments were performed to evaluate flow and head variations along perforated screens (10-30 mm in diameter) using sand tanks which were connected and a perforated screen extended through these tanks to form a model collector well lateral up to 2.6 m in length. Hydraulic heads and discharge along the lateral and production rates of the model collector well were measured as the water level in the well, the lateral length, and diameter, and the hydraulic conductivity of the filter sand were varied. A mathematical model was developed to predict the axial flow velocity distribution and the discharge intensity variation along the lateral using the head distribution. Results showed that the production rate increased as the lateral length and diameter and the drawdown at the well increased. However, the production rate increase was not linearly related to these factors. When larger-diameter laterals were used, the axial flow velocity in the laterals decreased. This caused the hydraulic heads along the lateral to become more flattened, resulting in a lateral of high efficiency in terms of water production. This condition is similar to the assumption of the uniform discharge intensity along the lateral that many researchers have used in the analysis of the horizontal wells. Under the conditions of this study, a critical axial flow velocity was determined to be 1 m/s. Hydraulic efficiency decreased drastically when the velocity exceeded 1 m/s. The roughness coefficient (the Manning's n value) of the lateral varied as a function of factors such as axial velocity and discharge intensity, and it ranged from 0.010 to 0.015.