Well Flow Software

How do we ensure flow across the entire length of a horizontal well, especially when there are hundreds of feet of screen per well? Directional Technologies’ Well Flow software takes site-specific inputs and outputs a screen model to maximize the remedial performance at the site. 

Directional Technologies uses its proprietary Well Flow software to take a site-specific approach in modeling horizontal well screens for contaminant remediation sites. Since horizontal wells contain so much more screen footage than vertical wells, prefabricated, off-the-shelf materials are not sufficient to provide the necessary flow. From a high-level perspective, DTI’s Well Flow software takes a series of inputs, a few of them being: screen length, subsurface geology, and remedial application, and outputs a site-specific slot model for the screen portion of the well. A horizontal injection well with a 200-foot-long screen section in silty-sand conditions, for example, will require a very different screen design than a horizontal soil vapor extraction well with 500 feet of screen in sandy clay.

At a more microscopic level, the software operates in the following way. The software computes transient pressure changes and energy losses associated with air/water flow through slotted horizontal wells.  The program models transient air/water pressure changes in a partially-saturated or saturated, three-dimensional anisotropic porous medium.  Pipe and porous media fluid pressure equations are dynamically linked through an iterative solution.  The screen slotting pattern produced by the software will be precision-machine cut to meet the exact specifications of the system to ensure even flow distribution along the length of the screen.

Prior to installation, the well materials are fused together on site and pressure tested with clean water to ensure uniform flow across the length of the screen. Following installation, the well is tested again to ensure that the grout seal is fully intact and there is no loss of flow.

When it comes to horizontal wells, the screen is the most valuable player. Since each site is unique, Directional Technologies takes a site-specific approach to each horizontal well that we model and install.