Identification of the Aquifer Parameters by using an Optimization-based Curve Matching Approach

Abstract

Aquifer parameter estimation is an important problem in groundwater engineering. In practice, these parameters are determined by using the curve matching approaches. However, graphical and/or human-based errors can be made during parameter estimation by using these approaches. To overcome these problems, an optimization based curve matching approach is proposed. In the proposed approach, nonlinear generalized reduced gradient (GRG) method is used to determine the aquifer parameters by automatically superimposing the time-drawdown and type curves. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated by solving two examples for confined and leaky-confined aquifers. Identified results indicate that the proposed approach can effectively determine the aquifer parameters.