Assessing the effectiveness of analytical and numerical inverse modelling approach for slug tests interpretation

Groundwater management or remediation requires the knowledge of the main hydrodynamic parameters of the hydrological system. The aim of the study focused on the investigation of the reliability of the methods used for the estimation of these important parameters. Several pumping and slug tests were performed in the Hydraulics Laboratory of University of Calabria, where a high controlled experimental apparatus was designed and constructed. The data collected during the experiments have been used to estimate the hydraulic conductivity and the storage coefficient of the porous medium. The analysis was carried out both through classical analytical methods and by the development of an ad hoc three-dimensional finite element model of the apparatus working in transient conditions. An extreme variability in the results was observed but the estimates obtained by the inverse numerical modelling were the ones returning, on average, the best outcomes among all the characterisation methods.