Development and Research: Multifunction Bedrock-Aquifer Transportable Testing Tool (BAT³)

CLICK PHOTOS FOR AN ENLARGED VERSION

A diagram of the BAT³ in a bedrock borehole with borehole packers inflated to seal against the borehole wall. The length of the test interval is adjusted by adding additional sections of pipe between the fluid-injection apparatus and the bottom packer. The BAT³ is lowered or raised in the borehole using steel pipe or a cable attached above the transducer shrouds

The BAT³ supported from a truck-mounted winch as it is being prepared for installation in a borehole. Shown in the photograph are (A) inflatable packers, (B) transducer shrouds, (C) pump shroud, and (D) fluid-injection shroud. Tubing and wires (E) used to control the downhole equipment extend from the transducer shrouds

BAT³ control equipment. The pressure manifold is used for controlling inflation of packers. The flow meters measure discharge or injection rates during aquifer tests and geochemical sampling. A laptop PC is used for real-time monitoring of hydraulic head and discharge data

A screen shot of the BAT3's software used for real-time monitoring of hydraulic head and discharge rates. The software allows for the acquisition, visualization, storage, and field interpretation of aquifer test data. Because of the automated data collection, near real-time estimates of hydraulic properties of the test interval can be obtained

The BAT³ was designed to be easily transported to sites where it is needed. It comes in five shipping containers

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists assembling the BAT³ for the investigation of fractured bedrock

A USGS scientist using wrenches to assemble components of the BAT³ before using it to collect hydraulic data from fractured bedrock

Fully assembled BAT³ with packers (black cylinders) spaced to straddle a fracture in a bedrock borehole

USGS scientists collecting water samples from bedrock fractures with the BAT³ at the University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT

USGS scientists collecting water samples from discrete fractures with the BAT³ at the University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT. On the table is the equipment used to control the BAT3

Control equipment for the BAT³ was set up at the University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT

Plastic sheeting is used to keep the BAT3's cables and tubing clean during setup and use, University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT

BAT³ setup at the University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT. Cables and tubing are connected to control equipment. Plastic sheeting is used to keep cables clean to prevent sample contamination

USGS drilling technicians lowering the BAT³ into a well at the University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT. Control cables and sample collection tubing are extending from the well

USGS scientist collecting real-time discharge and hydraulic-head data from the BAT³ on a laptop computer at the University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT

USGS technician lowering the BAT³ into a standpipe to decontaminate it before moving on to another well at the University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT

USGS technician decontaminating the BAT³ in a water bath at the University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT

Tubing from the BAT³ in a basin prior to a decontamination procedure, University of Connecticut Landfill Study Area, Storrs, CT

USGS scientist guiding the BAT3's tubing down a borehole at the Lake Wheeler Road Research Site, NC. A hoist truck used to lower the BAT³ is in the background

USGS and North Carolina Division of Environmental and Natural Resources scientists attaching a section of steel pipe to the BAT³ assembly at the Lake Wheeler Road Research Site, NC

USGS scientist running the controls for the BAT³ at the Lake Wheeler Road Research Site, NC

BAT³ suspended over a well (the upper packer and transducer shrouds are visible) at the Lake Wheeler Road Research Site, NC

BAT³ suspended over a well at the Lake Wheeler Road Research Site, NC. Steel pipe used to lower the BAT³ into the borehole is visible in the foreground

USGS and North Carolina Division of Environmental and Natural Resources scientists attaching the lower packer (fluid injection shroud and pump shroud are visible) to the BAT³ at the Lake Wheeler Road Research Site, NC

BAT³ laid out on a tarp (the top of the BAT³ is at front of photograph; all components of the BAT³ are assembled with the exception of the lower packer) at the Lake Wheeler Road Research Site, NC

USGS scientists using the BAT³ to test fractures in bedrock that are potentially responsible for the problematic discharge of ground water into a subway tunnel, Medical Center Station, Bethesda, MD. The tunnel is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's subway system

A hoist truck used to lower the BAT³ into a well near the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Medical Center Station in Bethesda, MD. The BAT³ was used to collect hydraulic data on fractures that potentially discharge ground water into a nearby subway tunnel

USGS scientists preparing the BAT³ to be lowered into a bedrock well to test fractures at the USGS's Leetown Science Center, WV

The BAT³ was used at USGS's Leetown Science Center, WV, to investigate the Center's ground-water supplies. USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture facilities at the Center depend on water from fractured bedrock

USGS scientists lowering the BAT³ into a bedrock well to gather data on fracture permeability at the USGS's Leetown Science Center, WV. The tubing extending out of the well was used to control the BAT³'s packers and to inject or withdraw fluid from the test interval

USGS scientists attaching steel pipe to the BAT³ at the USGS's Leetown Science Center, WV. The pipe is used to lower the BAT³ into a well prior to operating the BAT³

At the USGS's Leetown Science Center, WV, USGS scientists guided tubing attached to the BAT³ into a bedrock well