TUBE WELL DESIGN

A water well is a subsurface structure such as hole,

shaft or excavation created below the ground by
digging, driving, boring or drilling to access water in
the aquifer.
Well design is the process of specifying the
physical materials and dimension of the well
It must be properly designed and compatible with
the pump and distribution system to ensure for
long life, and economic operation.

Objectives of good production well design:

Highest possible yield - consistent with aquifer
capability
Minimum drawdown
Good water quality
Aquifer protection
Sediment-free yield
Practical capital cost
Minimal operating cost
Minimal O & M cost
-High yield
-High efficiency
-High quality groundwater

Design of production well

Information for the design of efficient high-capacity

wells

Proper well Design will;

Maximize
well yield
pump performance
Minimize
Contamination
Cost.

Steps in designing a well or borehole

Main steps in
well design

Checklist of information needed for each

of the main steps

1. Purpose of the well

Establish basic 2. Water demand
design
3. Type and diameter of pump; power
parameters
source
4. Suitable drilling site
5. Geology and aquifer type
6. Groundwater quality, pollution risk, etc.
Design the
structure

1. Depth and diameter of well

2. Casing
3. Screen or open hole completion of
aquifer
4. Natural gravel pack, artificial gravel pack

Select
construction
materials

1. Casing material
2. Screen material
3. Type of screen wire wounded,
bridge slot, etc.
4. Gravel pack
5. Screen slot size
6. Hydraulic suitability of the well
design
7. Grouting materials

Establish
sampling
requirements

Choose drilling
method

Choose
development
method

1. Depth intervals for collection of

disturbed formation samples
2. Method for collecting disturbed
formation samples
3. Depth intervals for collection of
undisturbed formation samples
4. Method for collecting cores
5. Collection of water samples during
drilling, Methods
1. Drilling method percussion, rotary,
auger
2. Drilling fluids
3. Type of drilling rig
Are well design and materials suitable for:
acids, hydrofracturing, air surging, jetting

Components of Well

Three key
components of a
well are the pump,
the lining pipe
(pump casing) and
the intake section.

Pump Chamber or Well Casing: It comprises all

casing above the screen in wells of uniform diameter.
It provides stability to the well and protects the pump
against debris falling into the well from the sides of
the borehole.

Intake Section: The intake section may be lined with

slotted casing (well screen) or left open hole if the
borehole walls are free standing and there is no risk
of future collapse.
Centralizers: Centralizers are installed around the
casing and screen to hold them in the middle of the
borehole thus provide a regular annular space for the
gravel pack.

Gravel Pack: Gravel pack is placed artificially

surrounding the well screen. It stabilizes the aquifer,
minimizes sand pumping, permits use of a large
screen slot with a maximum open area and provides
an annular zone of high permeability, which
increases the effective radius and yield of the well.
Bail Plug: Bail plug or bottom plug is a short length of
casing installed at the base of the well screen to act
as a sediment trap.
Pump String: The pump and rising main are often
referred to together as the pump string.

Grout Seal: The grout seal is provided between the

conductor casing and the main pump chamber
casing to prevent movement of contaminants
downwards from the surface through the annular
space to the well and aquifer.
Dip Tube: Dip tube is installed for monitoring water
levels inside the well and in the gravel pack between
the screen and borehole.
Casing String: The lengths of pump chamber casing
and well screen jointly together in a well are usually
known as the casing string.

Well
components

Tubewell Design Procedures

Design of tubewell involves selecting the appropriate
dimensions of the various components and choosing the
proper materials to be used in its completion of construction.

A good design should aim at efficient utilization of the aquifer

(optimum discharge at minimum drawdown), long useful life,
low initial cost and low maintenance and operation costs.
The information about well log is required for designing of a
tubewell. It provides information to determine depths of
groundwater, quality of water and physical characteristics of
aquifers without expense for a regular well.

After a well has been drilled, it must be completed shortly.

This involves placement of casing, cementing of casing,
placement of well screens and gravel packing.

The following elements to be designed for a given discharge

are:

Diameter of the well

Well depth
Length of the screen and location
Slot size of the screen
Shape of the opening and percentage open area
Gravel pack design

Well Casings
(a) Well Diameter and Well Depth
Well Diameter: The casing diameter of the pumping well
should accommodate an appropriately sized pump with
adequate clearance for installation and hydraulically efficient
operation.

Bore size of a tubewell should be at least 5 cm larger in

diameter than the casing pipe in order to facilitate the
lowering of pipe. If gravel pack is to be used then the bore
size is to be increased based on thickness of the gravel pack.

Well Depth: The depth of a tubewell depend on the location

of water bearing formations, recharge and economic
situation.
It is usual to drill the well to the bottom of the aquifer so that
full aquifer thickness is available giving maximum yield.
The total depth of the pumping well should be selected
based on lithologic information obtained from the following
sources:
Geologic cross sections
Geologic logs
Geophysical logs

(b) Diameter of Housing Pipe

The housing piping is enlarged section of the well casing at

the top of the well, in order to house a deep well turbine
pump or submersible pump.
It should be large enough to accommodate the pump with
adequate clearance.

The annular space between the pump and the inner diameter
of the housing pipe also permits the measurement of the
depth to pumping water level.
Generally, the pump chamber casing should have a nominal
diameter at least 5 cm larger than the nominal diameter of
the pump bowls.

The recommended minimum diameters of surface casing are

given in Table below.

Michael and Khepar (1989) recommended nominal diameter

of pump, diameter of housing pipe and thickness for
designing well which are shown in Table below.

Casing

Relationship between
well discharge and well
radius

Casing diameter as function of

eventual well capacity
Minimal Maximum planned yield
interval
(m3/hr)
diameters
(inches)
4
3
6
50
8
140
10
250
Cont.

(c) Depth of Housing Pipe

The depth of housing pipe below the ground level is selected
such that the pump is always submerged in water.
Since the pump is lowered in the housing pipe, it must be set
a few meters below the lowest drawdown level, taking into
account the seasonal fluctuations in the water table,
interference from adjoining tubewells and the likely lowering
of the water table due to future development of groundwater
in the area.

(d) Diameter of Well Casing Pipe

The diameter of the pipe of the well section below the pump
housing is fixed by the permissible velocity of water through
the pipe. A velocity of 2.5-3.0 cm/s (1.5 1.8 m/min) is the
most suitable.

The following relationship is used.

Where,
Q = the design flowrate of the well (m3/s)
Ve = the permissible velocity of water through pipe (m/s)
a = the cross-sectional area of the pipe (m2)

Then diameter of the pipe (d) below pump housing is

determined using the relationship below:

(e)

Selection of the Strata for Well Screen

A well log gives clear picture for the location of water bearing
formation.
From the well log, the water bearing formations where well
screen has to be installed are identified. In deep wells and/or
multiple aquifers, the casing and screen can be placed in
several sections with reducers between each section.
If the various casing or screening sections are to be installed
in separate sections, then it is to be ensured that they will nest
inside each other.

(f)

Casing Cleaning Requirements

Well casing and screen materials should be cleaned prior to

installation to remove any coatings or manufacturing
residues.
All casing and screen materials should be washed with a
mild nonphosphatendetergent/potable water solution and
rinsed with potable water.
Hot pressurized water should be used to remove organic
solvents, oils or lubricants from casing and screens
composed of materials other than plastic.

(g). Well Casing Materials

PVC (plastic);

Steel, in particular;
- black steel;
- galvanized black steel;
- steel covered with a plastic film;
- aluminium chrome steel;
- stainless steel.

General recommendations for selection of well casing and screen materials

(From USEPA 1991)
Do not use
- PTFE if well depth exceed 68.6 114 m
- PVC or ABS if well depth exceeds 366 610 m
- SS if pH < 7
- SS if DO > 2 ppm
- SS if H2S 1 ppm
- SS if TDS > 1000 ppm
- SS if CO2 > 50 ppm
- SS if Cl- > 500 ppm
- PVC if a neat PVC solvent/softening agent is
present or if the aqueous concentration of the PVC
solvent/softening agent exceeds 0.25 times its
solubility in water.
- Solvent bonded joints for PVC casings.
- Welded stainless joints
- Any PVC well casing that is not NSF-ASTM
approved D1785 and F480
- Any stainless steel casing that is not ASTM
approved A312
- Any ABS well casing that is not ASTM approved

Use
- PVC, ABS, SS
- SS
- PVC, ABS, or PTFE
- PVC, ABS, or PTFE
- PVC, ABS, or PTFE
- PVC, ABS, or PTFE
- PVC, ABS, or PTFE
- PVC, ABS, or PTFE
- SS, PTFE
- threaded PVC casings
- threaded SS casings
- ASTM NSF approved
PVC well casings
D1785 and F480
- ASTM approved SS304
and SS316 casings
A312.
- ASTM approved ABS
casings F480

The characteristics of the most common casings are as

follows:

length of sections: 3 6 m;
thickness: 2 11 mm (steel), 4 16 mm (PVC);
diameter: 100 2500 mm (steel), 60 315 mm (PVC)
conection: welded collars, threaded end-fitting (steel),
screw-threaded (PVC).

The most frequently evaluated characteristics that

directly influence the performance of casing and screen
materials in ground-water monitoring applications are:
- Strength
- Chemical resistance / interference

Strength

Comparative strengths of well casing materials (USEPA 1991)

Material

- Polyvinylchloride
(PVC)
- PVC casing joint
- Stainless steel (SS)
- SS casing joint
Polytetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE)
- PTFE casing joint
- Epoxy fiberglass
- Epoxy casing joint
- Arcylonitrite butadienestyrene (ABS)
- ABS casing joint

Casing tensile strength

Ib

Casing collapse
strength Ib/in2

2 In
nominal

4 In
nominal

2 In
nominal

4 In
nominal

7,500

22,000

307

158

2,800
37,760
15,900

6,050
92,000
81,750

300
896
No data

150
315
No data

3,800

No data

No data

No data

540
22,600
14,000
8,830

1,890
56,500
30,000
22,000

No data
330
230
No data

No data
250
150
No data

3,360

5,600

No data

No data

Chemical resistance/interference
Recommendation regarding chemical interactions with well casing

Best choices
If monitoring for:

Avoid if possible

Ist choice

2nd choice

Metals

PTFE

PVC

SS 304 & SS 316

Organics

SS 304 &
SS 316

PVC

Galvanized steel
and PTFE

Metal & organics

None

PVC &
PTFE

SS 304 & SS 316

Gravel Pack
Stabilize the formation
Prevent or reduce pumping of fines and sand
Enable larger screen openings
Establish transitional velocity and pressure fields between
the formation and the well screen.

Gravel Pack Design

Gravel packed well contains an artificially placed gravel
screen or envelop surrounding the well screen.
A sieve analysis should be prepared for the strata comprising
the portion of the aquifer where the screen will be set.
Gravel packing makes the zone immediately surrounding the
well screen more permeable by removing the formation
materials and replacing them with artificially graded coarser
materials.
The size of this artificially graded gravel should be chosen so
that it retains essentially all of the formation particles.

The well screen slot opening size is then selected to retain

the gravel pack.
A uniform gravel pack has significantly greater permeability.
The gravel pack material should consist of clean and wellrounded grains that are smooth. These characteristics
increase the permeability and porosity of the gravel pack.
In addition, the particles should consist of siliceous rather
than calcareous material.

Gravel pack has the following

advantages:
Stabilize the formation
Prevent or reduce pumping of
fines and sand
Enable larger screen openings
Establish transitional velocity and
pressure fields between the
formation and the well screen

Maximum grain size of a pack material should be near 1 cm

while the thickness should be in the range of 8 to 15 cm.
This thickness will successfully retain formation particles
regardless of how high the water velocity tends to carry the
particles through the gravel pack.

The different gravel pack size selection recommendations

are given here.
Option I (Brandon, 1986):
For uniform gravel pack when U< 3;

Where,
D50= the sieve opening size that allows
50% of the gravel pack material to pass
d50= the sieve opening size that allows
50% of the aquifer materials to pass
Upack= the uniformity coefficient of the
gravel pack materials.

For graded gravel pack when U> 3;

Where,
D15= the sieve opening size
that allows 50% of the gravel
pack material to pass
d15 = the sieve opening size
that allows 50% of the aquifer
materials to pass
D85= the sieve opening size that
allows 50% of the gravel pack
material to pass
d85= the sieve opening size
that allows 50% of the aquifer
materials to pass

Option II (US Army Corps of Engineers, 1998):

Criteria conformed by field experience are summarized in
Table below.

Thickness of Gravel Pack

The gravel pack thickness (GPT) corresponds to the
thickness of the annulus between the well screen and
borehole wall. It can be determined as:

Where,

GPT= gravel pack thickness (mm)

Db = is the diameter of the borehole in the screen section
(mm)
Ds= is the outside diameter of the screen (mm)

Grain Size Distribution Analysis

Standard sieves are used to determine grain size distribution
for aquifer materials. Grain size distribution curve serves four
purposes in hydrogeological practices. They are:
To determine the range of grain size present in aquifer
materials
To determine the effective grain size
To determine slot size of well screen and gravel pack
materials
To determine hydraulic conductivity and permeability of the
aquifer materials.

The distribution of particles is characterized by the uniformity

coefficient (CU).

A uniform material has a low uniformity coefficient while a

well graded material has a high uniformity coefficient. The
coefficient of uniformity is defined by the
following equation:

Where,
Cu= uniformity coefficient
d60= grain size that is 60% finer by weight
d10= grain size that is 10% finer by weight
(effective grain size)

Well Screen
ensure the maximum yield of clear sand-free water;
resist corrosion by aggressive waters;
resist the crushing pressure exerted by the aquifer
formation during its development;
have the longest life-span;
induce minimal pressure-head losses.

The well screen is the most important component of a well.

It is more expensive than the casing so the efficient use of the
screen must be determined to reduce the capital cost of the
well.
The top of the screen must be below the lowest pumping
water level in the tubewell keeping in view possible lowering
of the water table in future 15-20 years.
The life of well is governed mainly by the life of the screen,
which should be carefully designed. The basic requirements of
well screen should be:

(a) Diameter of the Screen

The diameter of the screen should be at least 150 mm to
allow readily access for work over tools in maintenance
operations. The example of diameters and weights of screens
from the manufacturers is as shown below in Table below.

(b) Minimum Length of the Screen

The length of the screened interval of the pumping well
directly influences both the flow of water to the well and the
amount of water that can be extracted by the well.
Homogeneous Unconfined Aquifer: Screening of the bottom
one third to one half of an aquifer less than 45 m thick
provides the optimum design. For thick or deep aquifers, 80%
of the aquifer may be screened. The well screen is positioned
in the lower portion of the aquifer.
Heterogeneous Unconfined Aquifer: The well screen is
positioned in the most permeable layer of the lower portion of
the aquifer so that maximum drawdown of two thirds of the
aquifer saturated thickness is available.

To prevent rapid clogging, the minimum length of the well

screen for non gravel pack well is designed on the basis of
following equation.

Where,
h = minimum length of the well screen (m)
Q = maximum expected discharge capacity of the well
screen (m/min)
Ao = effective open area per meter length of the well
screen (m)
V = entrance velocity (3 cm/s or 1.8 m/min) (m/min)

Desirable entrance velocity is usually considered to be 3 to 7.5

cm/s based on the open area of the screen Driscoll (1985).
Field experience and laboratory tests show that average
entrance velocity of water moving into the screen should not
exceed 3 cm/s (Driscoll, 1985).
Numerous observations also indicate the best value of the
entrance velocity through the well screen is 3 cm/s.

(c)

Screen Slot Size

The size of the screen openings (screen lot size) should

be large enough to permit efficient entrance of
groundwater and it must prevent aquifer materials to
entering the well.
In a naturally developed well, the screen slot size is
selected so that most of the finer materials of the water
bearing formation near the borehole are brought into the
screen and pumped from the well during well
development.
The typical approach is to select a slot size through which
60% of the material will
pass and 40% will be retained.

Selecting the optimum selection between these two

parameters is arguably the most critical phase of the screen
design. Two parameters dictate this selection:
Entrance velocity of groundwater
Size of the various fractions of the aquifer porous media.
The screen entrance velocity should be less than 0.03 m/s.
The average entrance velocity is calculated by dividing the
well yield by the total opening areas of the screen. Three
possible changes such as larger screen diameter, longer
screen section and larger slot size can decrease the possible
entrance velocity.

A significant characteristic of a well screen is to determine

the slot size. Screen slot size is selected based on grain size
distribution curve. The most widely used method to
determine grain size distribution is by laboratory sieve
analysis on representative aquifer samples. The most
commonly used uniformity coefficient is defined as:

Where,
d60 = the sieve opening size that allows 60% of the sample
by weight to pass and therefore retains 40% of the sieve
diameter that allows 10% of the sample to pass thus
retaining 90%.
d10= the sieve diameter that allows 10% of the sample to
pass and thus retaining 90%.

The criteria for determining the slot size of the screen are:
For naturally developed well,

For an artificially placed gravel packed well,

The size of the screen slot is governed by the size of the
gravel. The size of slots in artificially gravel packed well is
generally recommended to be around D10 of the pack
material (Driscoll, 1986; ASCE, 1996; NGWA, 1998). It
indicates that the screen should retain at least 90 percent of
the gravel pack materials.
The minimum screen open area of 10% is desirable.

The width of the slot size should be between D15 and D0 of

the gravel pack that is a slot size that will retain between
85% to 100% of the pack. To minimize the well losses and
screen clogging, entrance velocities should be kept within
specified limits.
The equation below can be applied to express the permissible
velocity.

A final check must be applied by using Theims Eq.

(d) Screen Open Area

The percentage of open area of the screen should be equal or
greater than the porosity of the sand and gravel in the waterbearing formation and artificial gravel pack supported by the
screen.
Adequate open area should be provided by the well screen to
allow the desired or
design yield to enter the well at velocity of 3 cm/s.
This hydraulic characteristic of the screen is known as
transmitting capacity.

If the amount of open area of a screen is known and the

recommended entrance velocity of 3 cm/s is used, then the
transmitting capacity of that screen can be calculated.
For example, a 40-cm diameter well screen of continuous slot
construction with 0.3704 m2 of open area per linear meter of
screen can transmit 667 lpm per meter of screen with
entrance velocity of 3 cm/s (Q = V x A = 0.03m/s x 0.3704 m2
= 0.0111 m3/s = 11.11 L/s or 667 L/min.
This amount is generally halved to allow for blockage of the
screen openings by the gravel pack to arrive at a well yield per
meter of screen.

Screen and gravel pack selection

The need for a screen and pack will depend on the aquifer
type:
- Crystalline aquifer no screen or gravel pack is
normally needed;
- Consolidated aquifer screen and gravel pack are often not
required. Needed for unstable aquifer;
- Unconsolidated aquifer screen and gravel pack are needed.

We should choose a screen diameter so that:

- Head losses are small for the design discharge. Well upflow
velocity should be less than 1.5 m/s;
- The screen is large enough to accommodate work-over tools
150 mm min. dia. recommended;
- Cost is optimized.

 Our choice of screen material, screen length and slot design

will depend largely on site conditions:
- If the aquifer is thick, then a long screen with limited open area
may be chosen;
- If the aquifer is thin, then a screen with a large open area should
be selected.

Our choice of gravel pack depends on the uniformity of the

aquifer formation, as determined from the particle-size
distribution curves.
- if the aquifer is poorly sorted (CU>3), then a natural pack can be
developed.
- D40 gives a slot width < 0.5 mm, use an artificial pack.
- If the aquifer is well sorted (CU<3), then an artificial pack is
needed.
- Screen slot width should be approximately the D10 D40

Design of production well selecting screen length

Cont.

Q
L
AeVc
Where
L
Q
Ae
Vc

= length of screen (m)

= discharge (m3/min)
= effective open area/length of screen (m2/m)
= critical entrance velocity (= 1.83 m/min)

Cont.
Diameters and weights of Johnson screens-Irrigator series after documentation
from Johnson Filtration Systems, 1992).
External diameter
(overall)

Internal diameter
(slot size)

Resistence to crushing and

weight of screen

Inches

Inches

mm

Inches

mm

Resistence to
crushing (bar)

Weight
(kg/m)

4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
24

4 1/2
6 5/8
8 5/8
10
12
14
16
18
20
24

114
168
219
273
324
356
406
457
508
610

3
5
7
9
11
13
14
16
18
22 3/4

95
146
197
247
298
330
374
425
476
577

104
33
15
33
20
15
10
7
5
3

9.1
13.3
17.4
35.2
41.7
45.8
52.3
58.9
65.4
78.5

Nominal
diameter

Design of production well placement of screens

Cont.
Our choice of gravel pack depends on the uniformity of the aquifer formation as
determined from the particle-size distribution curves:

If the aquifer is poorly sorted (uniformity coefficient >3), then a natural pack
can be developed. The screen slot width should be the average D40 of the
aquifer samples (based on the finest layer in a heterogeneous aquifer
system). If the D40 size gives a slot width <0.5 mm, then we can use an
artificial gravel pack to allow a larger slot width.
If the aquifer is well sorted (uniformity coefficient <3), then an artificial pack
is needed. Design the pack by plotting two curves parallel to the particlesize distribution curves of the finest aquifer sample, but four to six times
coarser than the curve. The grading of the gravel pack should lie between
these two new curves. The screen slot width should be approximately the
D10 of the gravel pack and not larger than D40.

Annular sealants

There are typically two seals in a standard monitoring well:

-above the filter pack
-at the ground surface.

Grout materials
-Cement
-Bentonite

Surface protection structure

Example

Sample

WELL DESIGN
LAB ANALYSIS

1
2
Average
Recommendation

Size of slot
opening screen
(mm)
0.27
0.50
0.39
0.4

Size of gravel
filter pack
(mm)
0.3 2.5
0.3 2.5
0.3 2.5
0.4 2.5

Cu = D60 = 0.6 = 9.52

D10 0.063
Cu > 3.0, so use range pack aquifer ratio 12- 15.5
Pack aquifer ratio = D50 of gravel
D50 of aquifer
12 = D50 of gravel
0.4
D50 of gravel = 4.8 mm
15 = D50 of gravel
0.4
D50 of gravel = 6.2 mm
The gravel pack size vary between 4.8mm to 6.2mm
Slot size screen, D10 = 0.5mm

DEPTH OF WELL
WELL DIAMETER
Total Water Requirement = 774.63mm/season
Q = 109.3 m3/day
Q = 4.55 m3/hr
Minimal interval diameters
of casings (inches)

Maximum planned yield

(m3/hr)

50

140

10

250

SCREEN LENGTH
L=

40 m

L=
0.024(

Q
AeVc
0.076 (m3/min)
x 1.83( m/min)

m2/m)

L = 1.73m

RESULT

Design
Depth casing
Diameter casing
Slot screen
Gravel filter pack

Size
40 m
6 inch
0.3 mm
0.4 2.5mm

Screen length

1.73 m