Selection of well screen parameters as aspect of water well design

Abstract

This paper addresses an essential problem within the scope of the issues of optimum design, construction and operation of water supply systems and their elements. The water well is the core element of the groundwater intake structure. The quality of water well design and construction workmanship are pivotal for successful operation of the intake structure in general. Poor well design and errors in well construction result in malfunctioning of the whole water supply system. Selecting an appropriate water well screen to conform to specific geological conditions and to ensure the longevity of the well structure itself is a complicated engineering problem. The estimation of well screen parameters covers such dimensions as length, diameter, open area ratio and aperture (slot) size. Those characteristics must be determined taking into account that the entrance velocities must not exceed the entrance velocity limit for a particular screen, i.e. Vent ≤ Vlim.