Aquifer Elasticity and Specifc Storage
University of Wisconsin-Madison
This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Collection
Resources in this top level collection a) must have scored Exemplary or Very Good in all five review categories, and must also rate as “Exemplary” in at least three of the five categories. The five categories included in the peer review process are
- Scientific Accuracy
- Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
- Pedagogic Effectiveness
- Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
- Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page
For more information about the peer review process itself, please see http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/review.html.
This page first made public: Jun 27, 2005
Used this activity? Share your experiences and modifications
The goal of this experiment is to measure the specific storage Ss of a balloon, which simulates aquifer elasticity. The experiment is designed to give observational meaning to the variable, increment of fluid content, and the influence of the state of stress on the specific storage.
This one hour lab activity is used in the undergraduate hydrogeology course. The materials are common laboratory items and can be put together in a couple of hours.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
Students should have been introduced to the concept of storage. The laboratory description includes a poroelastic formulation of specific storage.
How the activity is situated in the course
The activity can either be a lecture demonstration or a one-hour laboratory to demonstrate the concept of storage.
Content/concepts goals for this activity
The goal is to provide a poroelastic formulation of storage, and thereby unify concepts of geomechanics with those of hydrogeology.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
The activity promotes quantification of the specific storage in terms of constitutive equations.
Other skills goals for this activity
The activity promotes development of laboratory measurement skill.
Description of the activity/assignment
The goal of this experiment is to measure the specific storage Ss of a balloon, which simulates aquifer elasticity. The experiment is designed to give observational meaning to the variable, increment of fluid content, and the influence of the state of stress on the specific storage. Increment of fluid content is the poroelastic variable defined as the amount of water added to storage per unit bulk volume. It is analogous to quantity of heat added to a unit volume of a material. Specific storage can then be expressed rigorously as the ratio of increment of fluid content divided by the change in head with specified external stress or strain conditions on the REV.
Determining whether students have met the goals
Successful evaluation of the storage of a balloon.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.
Download teaching materials and tips
These are web links to the same files in the 'Download Teaching Materials' section above.
Lab 5 - Aquifer Elasticity and Specific Storage
- Web page containing lab activity
Theory of Linear Poroelasticity with Applications to Geomechanics and Hydrogeology
- Textbook chapter (PDF)