Up-Front Modeling Tools

Modelers frequently have a need for tools to apply to analyses performed in preparation for numerical modeling.  The article discusses two parameter estimation (PE) tools applied to the analysis of field-testing data (recovery-test data and slug-test data), which aim to obtain accurate parameter estimates efficiently.  The use of these PE tools are also described in an application of an analytical contaminant transport model.

 

The two PE tools discussed are (1) a brute-force method and (2) version 11 of PEST, developed by John Doherty (Watermark Numerical Computing).  These methods are illustrated by application to the Picking (1994) method of analyzing recovery data in wells and the Papadopulos and Cooper (1967) method of analyzing slug-test data.  The article also briefly discusses the relative advantages when applying the two methods to calibrate a USGS analytical transport model, PATCHI (Wexler 1992).