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Have a question? Need FLUTe environmental solutions? Send us an email using our form and we'll get back to you shortly. Contact Us Today To Learn More About FLUTe FLUTe Headquarters and Manufacturing Facility 1091 NM-68 Alcalde, NM 87511 Contact Number: (505) 852 0128 FLUTe East Coast Field Office 835 Nina Way Warminster, PA 18974 Contact Number: (215) 394-5760 FLUTe Albuquerque Field Office 2412 Princeton Drive NE Albuquerque, NM 87107 Contact Number: (505)-883-4032

Flexible Liner Underground Technologies: Sealing Bedrock Boreholes - Fractured Bedrock Characterization - Multilevel Groundwater Monitoring Systems - Multilevel Groundwater Sampling System Innovative Flexible Liners for High Resolution Hydrogeologic Characterization Sealing Boreholes Blank FLUTe Liner Mapping NAPL Bedrock Characteristics Transmissivity Profiling Reverse Head Profiling Multi Level Groundwater Sampling Water FLUTe Shallow Water FLUTe Click Here for the Full List of FLUTe Methods and Products Get The Definitive FLUTe Manual At Amazon AdsP2p Watch the Video Below To Learn More! © 2022 by FLUTe

Ancillary Equipment The Green Machine The green machine is a name given to a system for removal of liners of several kinds using a wellhead roller and manual winch system. The green machine shown is positioned over the wellhead with the tether routed over the large roller, under a guide roller, to a manual winch capstan. The liner is inverted from the borehole until the tether attachment to the liner is reached. At that point, a kellum grip is attached to the liner and the removal is continued by routing the tether to a distant, well anchored snatch block and back to the winch on the green machine. This procedure is described in detail in a video teaching the installation and removal of blank liners. Contact FLUTe for access to the video. The green machine is frequently equipped with a load cell to monitor the tension being applied to the liner. However, if the force on the winch handle is not excessive, the tension on the liner system will not be excessive. The Linear Capstan The linear capstan is the FLUTe name for a motorized version of green machine. The machine shown in the photo is driven by a variable speed motor. The tether or liner is routed over the first two rollers, and then alternates under and over through the series of rollers. The friction on the several roller allows the motor to invert the liner from the borehole. The rollers are driven by a suitably routed chain such that the rollers all turn in the correct direction. This unique FLUTe machine can remove a liner with much less effort than the green machine with a modest tension on the liner beyond the machine. The tension is monitored with a pair of load cells. The motor speed, and therefore the tension on the liner, are adjusted and monitored with a separate controller. This machine is usually used by FLUTe personnel, but some units have been sold to customers with training in the use and maintenance. Bubbler Monitor The water level in the liner during installation should be monitored with a water level measurement for deep water tables. For shallow water tables, the water level can often be maintained at the top of the casing. But for deep water tables, the water level should not be above ~20 ft higher than the water table in the formation. Monitoring the water level with the standard electric water level meter is frustrating due to the water being added to the liner as it descends. Therefore, an open tube, called a bubbler tube, is included in a sleeve of the standard liner to the water table. Connecting a controlled constant air flow source to the tube and monitoring the pressure variations as the water level rises in the liner allows easy control of a safe water level in the liner. That bubbler monitoring system can be purchased from FLUTe. The monitor must be connected to a gas bottle or compressor. The controller contains a flow meter and pressure gauge with a connection to the automatic data collection system if used with the profiling machine. The controller is usually used by FLUTe, but can be purchased. The Profiling Machine The transmissivity profile is performed with a unique FLUTe device called a profiling machine or Profiler. The Profiler controls the tension on the liner to be essentially constant and measures the depth and velocity of the liner propagation. The Profiler also measures the tension on the liner. This device, to date, has always been used only by trained FLUTe personnel. However, an “export model” has been designed and is being built for those distant locations where shipping and tariffs are prohibitively expensive and travel of FLUTe personnel to the site is also costly. This machine will be available to foreign users with the training for operation by FLUTe personnel. Since that training is extensive, the expense of a profiling machine is not practical for sites more proximate to FLUTe offices. FLUTe has many US and foreign patents on this method. The Pressure Canisters The pressure canister is use to evert liners into boreholes or tortuous passages with air as the driving fluid. This is most commonly the case for vadose systems or propagation of liners upward into drill holes from tunnels or into piping in buildings or landfills. The liner is loaded onto on interior reel and everted by air pressure supplied to the canister and thence into the liner. The canister size needed depends upon the size of the liner. These canisters are manufactured in various diameters of 1.5, 2, 3, and 4 ft. While not often sold, some sizes are available for purchase. The canister is especially useful for inverting a liner from inside-out to right-side-out. These canisters are used extensively in the fabrication of liners. Shipping Reel Braking System For very deep water tables and for large tubing bundles associated with many ports on a Water FLUTe system, the hanging load of the liner being installed into the borehole can exceed several hundred pounds. In order to control the descent of the liner and to support the large hanging load, a braking system has been designed, and used, which attaches to the shipping real on the reel stand. The braking system allows an easy and safe control of the liner descent with a disk brake and also monitors the tension on the liner by measurement of the torque on the reel. This device is not sold, but it is often rented for the installation of large liner systems where the control of the brake is required. This device is also necessary if there is a large downward gradient in the formation which is pulling the liner into the borehole with high tension. The ACT (Air Coupled Transducer) System Whereas the ACT system is usually sold as part of a Water FLUTe system, the ability to measure the fluid level continuously through a slender tube (e.g., 1/8” OD) has uses in other situations. The ACT system consists of a simple tube lowered below the water table, or other fluid level, with a sensitive transducer connected to the top of the tube. As the water level changes in the tube, the pressure measured in the tube also changes. From that pressure data and the temperature measured in the transducer, the history of the fluid level can be deduced with surprising accuracy. The test in a pumped domestic well with abrupt drops and recoveries of the fluid level showed the monitoring of a water table at a depth of 48 ft to be accurate within ¼” on the 1 second time scale. With different tubing geometries, the resolution will be different. The advantage of the ACT system employed in the Water FLUTe system is that the transducers are easily accessible at the surface for repair, replacement or reuse. This system can also be used where other deep installations of transducers are usually needed in confined circumstances. It also allows level measurements in tubing that is already in place for other purposes. FLUTe provides the software for converting the pressure and temperature measured to level changes. This method is not to be confused with the common bubbler system described above. ThIs system is available for the list price of the recording transducer and tubing. FLUTe has US and foreign patents on this method.

The NAPL FLUTe is a NAPL reactive FLUTe liner that stains when in contact with NAPL in the borehole. Simple and cost effective method for NAPL Delineation in Soil and Bedrock Wells. NAPL FLUTe The NAPL FLUTe system is a reactive cover for the blank FLUTe liner which addresses the problem of locating NAPL free product in the formation. NAPL FLUTes Can Be Installed in the Overburden and Bedrock Via the Following Methods Eversion in Bedrock Wells: The NAPL FLUTe is everted into the borehole on the outside of a blank FLUTe liner. For a detailed PDF on the NAPL FLUTe installation description, click here . Direct Push Installation (As seen in video above): The NAPL FLUTe is compression-wrapped and installed within Geoprobe rods once the terminal depth is reached. The NAPL FLUTe has a tube for water addition, and as water is added to the interior of the liner, the rods are removed in a stepwise fashion. A tether at the surface allows you to pull the liner out of the hole once the reaction time has finished. For a detailed PDF on the installation sequence, click here . How Does the NAPL FLUTe Work? As the liner everts down the borehole, the NAPL FLUTe is hydrophobic. It quickly wicks any NAPL contacted in the fractures or pore space into the cover. When the free product contacts the interior of the NAPL FLUTe, it quickly creates a stain on the cover and dissolved the multi-colored dye stripes. After a short period of time, the NAPL FLUTe and blank liner are removed from the well and the depth of the free product is located by measuring the stain depth with a tape measure. The inverted cover can be placed next to a tape measure to allow the stains to be photographed with the indicated depth in the borehole. The cover can be rolled for storage, but the stains may fade with long exposure. The dye stains are more durable. The oil-on-paper-like stains will disappear. Some of the common stains are shown in the photos on this page. NAPL FLUTe Reactions with Different Contaminants: Different contaminants react differently with the dye stripes located on the outside of the NAPL FLUTe. For a list of tested compounds, click here . Contact with NAPLs such as TCE and PCE dissolves the dye stripes and carries the dye to the interior surface of the cover. The cover material is white and the displacement of the dye to the interior surface. That stain is the indication that the cover has come in contact with a NAPL. The size and location of the stain are indicative of the amount of NAPL present and the nature of the source. Some NAPL materials such as coal tar and creosote are naturally dark colored. When those materials are wicked into the covering, the dark stain appears on both the inside and outside surface of the cover. Other NAPLs such as gasoline and similarly less aggressive solvents will also displace the dye stripes to the inside of the thin cover. Other NAPLs such as coal oil do not displace the dye stripes. However, when absorbed by the cover material, those NAPLs produce a translucent appearance of the cover much like an oil stain on paper. The cover does not absorb water. The cover only reacts to the pure product of the NAPL and does not provide a significant stain if exposed to the dissolved phase. However, the dissolved phase of chlorinated solvents, for long periods, will cause the dye stripes to bleed or produce a light pink cast due to the red stripes. Those stains are not as obvious as the contact with the NAPL. Mapping the Dissolved Phase : FLUTe has a technique called FACT (FLUTe Activated Carbon Technique) which does respond to the dissolved phase of many contaminants. A common practice is to combine the FACT with the NAPL FLUTe cover to map both the NAPL and the distribution of the dissolved phase.

A list of publicized works and presentations authored by FLUTe Founder, Carl Keller. Publications Get The Definitive FLUTe Manual At Amazon M o st Recent FLUTe prices after Sept 21 2023.xlsx The applications of the Cased Hole Sa mpler and it vari ations 9- 3-18 The FLUTe Cased Hole Sampler 8-24-18 New FLUTe Discrete Extraction Injection Liner 6-28-18 Advantages of Simultaneous Purging and Sampling-May 2018 Assessment of Packer Utility at EPA Region 2 - December 2017 FACT Method for a Continuous Contaminant Profile Presentation - NGWA October 2017 Advances in High Resolution Hydrologic Measurements - AIPG September 2017 A New Rapid Method for Measuring the Vertical Head Profile-Groundwater Journal 2016 General AIPG-IH paper on FLUTe methods FLUTe Quintet of GW methods FLUTe technology summary Open Hole Well Development Problems and Solutions Why are FLUTe liners useful for karst Preferred Boreholes for FLUTe Liners The Full Use of FLUTe Technology in Fractured rock Maximum Tension and Pressure Limits on Liners Blank Liners Sealing a Borehole with a Blank Liner How deeply must a FLUTe blank liner be installed The FLUTe Blank liner FACT FACT Method for a Continuous Contaminant Profile Presentation - NGWA October 2017 The FLUTe FACT Technique - Monique Beyer FACT thesis DTU High Resolution Hydraulic Profiling and Groundwater Sampling The Analysis of the FACT NAPL FLUTe NAPL FLUTe presentation NAPLs and DNAPLs that react with the NAPL FLUTe systems Sonic Core NAPL FLUTe Procedure Transmissivity Profiles FLUTe profiling poster Battelle FLUTe profiling tech. NGWA-EPA Maine Conference GSA paper comparing FLUTe profiler to straddle packers Keller et al_2013_Ground Water Journal Liners and Packers Similarities and Differences NGWA Paper Liners and Packers similarities and differences Portland ME NGWA presentation on FLUTe Hydraulic Conductivity Profiler Practical Use of Flexible Liner Transmissivity Profiling Results Why and How FLUTe corrects the transient in Transmissivity profiles Head Profiles A New Rapid Method for Measuring the Vertical Head Profile-Groundwater Journal 2016 Head Profiles Using a Liner Advances in the Reverse Head Profiling Technique Reverse Head Profiling Method Water FLUTe and Shallow Water FLUTe The Water FLUTe System Cherry Parker Keller Water FLUTe NGWA GWMR Journal Evolution of FLUTe Multi-level System FLUTe air coupled transducer method Unique Water FLUTe characteristics Use of Pressure Transducers with Water FLUTe system Water FLUTe sampling procedure. after May 2009 Water FLUTe sampling procedure. before May 2009 Shallow Water FLUTe Systems Subsurface vault dimensions for Water FLUTe Vadose FLUTe Keller and Travis paper on absorber utility Vadose FLUTe description Karst Applications Karst Problems and Flexible Liner Experience Why are liners useful for karst Grouting of casing in Karst with a borehole liner Landfill Monitoring 1996 GSA Austin Invited paper on Landfill design FLUTe Wells Under Landfills and Buildings How well can landfills be monitored Geophysical Applications Flexible Liner Applications to Geophysical Measurements Liner Augmentation of Horizontal Drilling LAHD presentation

The FLUTe Transmissivity Profile identifies bedrock flow paths/fractures and measures transmissivity at 6" to 12" scale. ​ At the start of the profile, the flowrate calculated is of the entire borehole. As the liner seals off flow paths, the borehole flowrate is reduced. The depths in the borehole, which exhibit..... Transmissivity Profiling FLUTe Transmissivity profiles quickly measure all significant flow paths in a borehole with 6 to 12" resolution in as little as a few hours How Does it Work? As a blank liner is installed and everts down the borehole, the water in the borehole is forced into the formation by whatever flow paths are available (e.g. fractures, permeable beds, solution channels, etc.). Figure 1 is a drawing of a simple everting liner with three additional features, (1) The FLUTe Profilier at the wellhead which measures the liner velocity and additional parameters which can influence the velocity of the liner descent, (2) the pressure transducer measures the excess head in the liner which is driving the liner down the hole, and (3) a pressure transducer measuring the head beneath the liner. From these features, all factors controlling the eversion rate of the liner are monitored. The liner descent rate (measured by the FLUTe Profiler) is therefore controlled by the rate at which water can flow from the hole via those flow paths. The everting liner is somewhat like a perfectly fitting piston sliding down the hole, except the liner doesn't slide in the hole, it grows in length at the bottom end of the dilated liner at the "eversion point" as we call it. As the liner everts, it covers the flow paths sequentially. When the liner begins its descent in the hole, all of the flow paths are open and the descent rate is at its highest. As the liner seals off flow paths, the rate that the borehole water can be displaced out of the borehole decreases and therefore, the liner descent rate decreases as well. A monotonically fit velocity profile is produced that measures changes in liner descent velocity with depth (Figure 2). The velocity multiplied by the borehole cross sectional area (refined by a caliper log) is the flowrate of the borehole at each interval (Figure 3). At the start of the profile, the flowrate calculated is of the entire borehole. As the liner seals off flow paths, the borehole flowrate is reduced. The depths in the borehole, which exhibit a decrease in flowrate, identify the location of flow paths and the magnitude of the change is the measure of the flow rate. From the flow rate profile, one can calculate a transmissivity profile for the borehole using the Thiem equation (Figure 4). FLUTe has performed hundreds of these profiles in boreholes to depths of 1000 feet. These boreholes were 3" to 12" in diameter. Publications and professional papers comparing the results to straddle packers can be downloaded on our publications page. In most cases, the FLUTe Transmissivity Profiler™ can map all of the significant flow paths in the hole in a few hours (10 percent of the time required to do the same mapping with a straddle packer). Furthermore, the detail (6" to 12" resolution) in the FLUTe Profiler measurement is not even possible with straddle packers. The direct measurement of the flow paths with the Profiler may also reduce the need for those geophysical measurements which are used to deduce possible flow path locations in a borehole. Another advantage is that the blank liner is often installed to seal the hole against vertical contaminant migration. When used in conjuncture with the FLUTe FACT method, the contaminant distribution can also be mapped using the same blank liner (Figure 5). This data can be used with the Transmissivity profile to develop a fate/transport CSM as well as design a multi-level sampling system (See Water FLUTe ). Given the continuous transmissivity profile, the head profile can be determined by removing the liner in a stepwise fashion using a technique described at head profile. Figure 1. Transmissivity Profiling Setup Figure 2. Velocity Profile Figure 3. Calculation of the flowrate Q from the velocity change of the liner Figure 4. Flow Rate Profile and Transmissivity Profiles. Figure 5. Transmissivity Profile and FACT data. Note the high TCE concentrations at 112' and 140' BGS in very low transmissive fractures compared to low TCE concentrations in high flowing fractures at 90' and 130'. The TCE concentrations at 140' and 112' are the same or twice as high, respectively, as the highest flowing fracture in the borehole at 130' despite the fact that they are two of the lowest flowing fractures in the borehole. This data emphasizes the need for high resolution methods rather than coarse measurements, to assure that all significant contaminant source zones are properly identified during characterization. Water Samples (green diamonds), validate the FACT concentrations.

Sealing a borehole with FLUTe liners after drilling prevents cross contamination. With traditional practice, the borehole is left open for extended periods of time between the time the borehole was drilled and downhole characterization. Additionally, if straddle packer systems are used for characterization... Why Seal a Borehole? Sealing a borehole with FLUTe liners after drilling prevents cross contamination . With traditional practice, the borehole is left open for extended periods of time between the time the borehole was drilled and downhole characterization. Additionally, if straddle packer systems are used for characterization, large portions of the borehole remain unsealed during all portions of the investigation. The problems that can occur when boreholes remain open include mobilization of contaminants into the open borehole, contaminant adhesion to the borehole wall, and contaminated migration from the open borehole into previously uncontaminated fractures (See "Figure 1" and "Figure 2"). Additionally, when making measurements with straddle packers, which by default leave portions of the borehole open, leakage past the packer can result in exaggerated flow rates and contaminant distributions that are erred from cross contamination with mixed borehole water. By using FLUTe liners, the borehole is either sealed while all downhole measurements are collected or as the liner sequentially seals off flow paths. In the way, the data integrity is very high as cross contamination and cross flow measurements cannot occur. Figure 1. DNAPL confined to an isolated fracture Figure 2. DNAPL spread to other fractures as a result of the newly drilled borehole acting as a flow path between otherwise unconnected fractures.

FLUTe liners are delivered to the site on a shipping reel with the liner wound inside out (see "Figure 1"). The open end of the liner is clamped to the wellhead and the liner is then pushed inside the casing a foot or so to create a small pocket. Water is then added to the pocket to a level above the water....... Liner Mechanics FLUTe liners are delivered to the site on a shipping reel with the liner wound inside out (see "Figure 1"). The open end of the liner is clamped to the wellhead and the liner is then pushed inside the casing a foot or so to create a small pocket. Water is then added to the pocket to a level above the water table of the formation, creating a driving pressure on the bottom end of the liner. The driving pressure (typically 5 to 10 feet of water pressure) allows the liner to propagate down the borehole (eversion), displacing the borehole water into open flow paths and seals the liner firmly to the borehole wall (see "Animation"). Figure 1. Liner on Shipping Reel Figure 2. Water Addition to the liner Animation: Liner Eversion The pressure exerted by the liner on the borehole wall is very strong and seals off all fracture flows in the borehole (see "Video"). The driving pressure needed to evert the liner down the borehole mainly depends on the head of the formation. For high head or artesian conditions, differential pressure can be achieved by the addition of higher density muds to the interior of the liner or by the use of stand pipes and elevated platforms during installation. Video: Liner Sealing Quality Video

1. Provide a continuous seal of a borehole or pipe, and prevent migration of formation fluids through the open hole. No sealing grouts or bentonite seals are needed. 2. Quickly map borehole transmissivity and vertical head distributions while displacing.... Benefits of Using FLUTe Liners 1) Provide a continuous seal of a borehole or pipe, and prevent migration of formation fluids through the open hole. No sealing grouts or bentonite seals are needed. 2) Quickly map borehole transmissivity and vertical head distributions while displacing the borehole water. Equivalent to conducting packer testing on a 6" to 12" scale with higher resolution and no issues of leakage or packer bypass. 3) Map contaminant distribution in the pure phase (NAPL FLUTe ) and dissolved phase (FACT) . 4) Collect multiple discrete groundwater samples directly from the formation via a positive displacement gas driven sampling liner (Water FLUTe ) and a peristaltic pump driven liner (Shallow Water FLUTe ). 5) Reduce cost and field time for the client while delivering high resolution data. 6) Carry many useful devices such as tubing, instruments, absorbers, reactive covers, etc. into place in the borehole while maintaining a continuous seal of the borehole. 7) Support the borehole wall against slough and collapse. 8) Custom fabricated to meet demands of many different diameters and materials for many applications. 9) Propagate through tortuous passages of varying diameters inaccessible to rigid piping or push rods. 10) Warrantied and fully removable without the liner touching any other portion of the borehole wall.

In one sense, all FLUTe applications are unique in that these methods did not exist before 1989. However, some methods have become so commonly used that they are no longer unfamiliar. Those common methods are: 1. Blank liners for sealing boreholes. 2. Transmissivity profiles of open boreholes for rapid high resolution measurements. 3. Water FLUTe installations for multi-level water samples and head measurements. 4. NAPL FLUTe installations to map LNAPL and DNAPL of many kinds. There have been extensions of these methods to smaller diameter holes, more artesian holes, and deeper holes. However, these are variations on the FLUTe systems commonly used. The following descriptions are of applications of FLUTe methods not so widely used and perhaps not known to many FLUTe users. Some are applications that should be used more frequently because of the advantages. Unique Applications Installations with Artesian Conditions In the early days of FLUTe methods, if the water table was very shallow or the well somewhat artesian, a heavy mud was used instead of water to pressurize the liner after it had been installed. The installation was usually done off of a scaffold to obtain a sufficient excess driving head to evert the liner. However, FLUTe has developed several designs, with patents pending, which allowed the installation of everting liners into boreholes with 20 ft of artesian head and flow rates out the top of the casing of 100-150 gal/min. Very good transmissivity profiles have been obtained in such holes. Such extreme artesian conditions often lead to a final liner fill of a bentonite/cement grout for a long term Water FLUTe installation. The liner is not then removable as are other FLUTe installations. Installations in Karst Terrain Installations in karst boreholes of many kinds for many purposes are drilled into karst formations. The boreholes are difficult to seal and therefore isolating sampling intervals, grouting of casing, and other common functions are more difficult to nearly impossible in karst. The continuous lining capability of FLUTe systems without the use of grout makes those difficulties much less of a concern. Sealing casing strings in karst formations Grouting the annulus can be very expensive in karstic limestone because large quantities of expensive grout are sometimes lost to the karst solution channels. Loss of returns while drilling is further evidence of the problem. The grout seal can be compromised by the loss of grout into the formation and subsequent leakage from the lower production zone to upper aquifers. The mixing of mud, which is used to support the borehole wall with the grout injected to seal the annular space between the casing and formation, can lead to a weak and permeable seal in the annulus. The annular grout can mix with formation fluids to degrade its in-situ chemistry and strength. A high pressure gradient on a grout column during curing may also lead to a porous and permeable grout. This difficulty can be encountered in water wells, oil wells, or “fracking” wells. A high strength, flexible FLUTe liner can be installed prior to or during the insertion of the casing, eliminating the above difficulties. The annulus can be grouted through a trimmie pipe in stages in order to not burst the liner with a high pressure grout column and without any loss of grout to the formation or mixing with the borehole fluids. This is done routinely in the installation of FLUTe liners in ground water investigations. The formation fluids and drilling muds are forced out of the borehole by the everting liner prior to the grout injection between the liner and the casing or the mud can also be pumped from beneath the liner during the liner installation. The neighboring drawing is a visual representation of the procedure. Well Development It has been observed that the removal of a flexible liner draws down the head beneath the liner by as much as 100 feet, especially near the bottom of the hole. That low pressure beneath the liner as it is being removed tends to extract mud and cuttings from fractures that may not otherwise be cleared in the normal well development procedures. This process and an explanation of why boreholes may not otherwise be well developed is described in the conference presentation titled: “Open Hole Well Development Problems and Solutions” in the publications section. Injection of Remediation Fluids Some FLUTe liners have been fitted with tubing much like that of a Water FLUTe but without any check valves and usually with larger diameter tubing than that used in the Water FLUTe sampling system. The tubing is then used to inject remediation fluids into discrete intervals. In some cases, some of the intervals are used for monitoring the arrival of remediation fluids. Special liners of more resistant fabrics than the standard nylon liner have been used to avoid damage by the fluids injected. For information on those designs, contact us. Liner augmentation of horizontal drilling (LAHD) Flexible liners were first tested in augmentation of horizontal drilling in Mustang, OK in 1997. The method is described in the publication LAHD presentation 2002 which describes the first commercial application of the method to emplace sampling intervals under a landfill in Indianapolis, IN. The basic advantage of the technique is that it replaced the mud cake of a horizontal drill hole with a flexible liner which liner can also carry a variety of instruments into position beneath buildings, highways, and landfills. The method has not been extensively used primarily because FLUTe has not advertised the option. Landfill monitoring in a prefabricated layered subsurface Many current landfill monitoring designs either monitor the landfill within the containment system (e.g., a leachate collection layer between the first and second liner) or outside the containment system in the ground water. For landfills located above deep vadose zones, a major leak will not be detected until a large portion of the vadose zone is contaminated if the monitoring system is ground water wells. FLUTe has designed a landfill monitoring design which has a much higher probability of detection of a leak early in the leak history. The same system provides many other a dvantages such as measurement of the leak rate, sampling the leak for composition, and even the remedy of the leak as part of the monitoring design. That system monitors the entire plane beneath the landfill outside of the landfill liners and does not include instruments which can fail in time so as to lose their monitoring capability. The design is described in the papers provided in the publications section under landfill monitoring . Monitoring beneath a landfill in vertical wells In some situations, the monitoring beneath a landfill or building is preferred in vertical wells. The ability of a propagating liner to travel horizontally and through turns in the piping was used in one situation and is planned for another. The first situation was in a brown field with an existing set of wells. A very large building was to be constructed on the site and it was desired to continue a soil vapor extraction remediation and monitoring of the same wells beneath the building. It was not desirable to have the vertical wells protrude through the floor of the building. In order to obtain water samples and make head measurements beneath the building, horizontal piping was installed in trenches beneath the building which ran from a vault outside the building, through various turns, to sweep elbows connecting to the vertical wells. FLUTe single sampling port systems were installed in the horizontal piping for distances of several hundred feet. The piping was 3 and 4 inch diameter with sweep elbows in the turns. In a more recent design, larger horizontal piping is to be installed beneath a landfill as it is being constructed to allow access to vertical wells beneath the landfill with multiple sampling intervals. Details of the horizontal path to vertical wells for monitoring are provided in the white paper “FLUTe Wells Under Landfills and Buildings” . FLUTe has numerical models which predict the driving pressure needed to overcome drag, gravity, and turn angles for tortuous passages of specified geometry and liner assemblies of various characteristics such as weight, length, friction coefficient and diameter of liner. The models have been well tested against actual installations (see "Installations in tortuous passages" in this section). These installations are easier than the installations in horizontal drill holes as the hole is being drilled in the liner augmentation of horizontal drilling used beneath existing landfills. Landfill monitoring in vertical wells down gradient Many current landfills have common water wells down gradient from the landfill for the purpose of monitoring leachate leakage from the landfill. Obviously, the more closely spaced the wells and the varied the depths of the wells, the greater the probability that the well system can intercept a leachate leak. However, the installation of many traditional screened wells is very expensive to construct and to sample. A more practical approach is to use multi-level sampling systems and to purge them sufficiently to develop a large draw down to capture even a long slender leachate plume. This requires multi-level sampling systems which can produce large purge volumes to draw ground water from a significant distance from the well. The Water FLUTe systems are well suited for that application in that the several sampling intervals can be purged simultaneously and produce a gallon or more per stroke of the system for each port. This allows realistic purge volumes as large as 55 gallons. Water FLUTes can be constructed with even larger production per stroke of each pumping system. The ability to purge all the sampling intervals simultaneously is due to the unique FLUTe design which has each pumping system at the same depth independent of the elevation of the sampling intervals. The ability to obtain a large volume per stroke is because the entire hole volume inside the liner is available for relatively large diameter tubing. The sealing liner occupies an insignificant portion of the hole volume. See the Water FLUTe sampling procedure for a more detailed description of the system. Mapping of subsurface flow One technique for doing that uses a transparent borehole flexible liner to observe in time the arrival of dyes or remediation fluids such as potassium permanganate injected into the formation in a nearby borehole. There are a number of interesting options for monitoring tracer arrivals with the Water FLUTe system which is well suited to monitor for both pressure changes or for tracer arrivals. The tracer arrivals are particularly easy since all the sampling systems can be short stroked simultaneously to “sip” on the medium with minimal perturbation of the natural flow state. The continuously sealed hole also makes the monitoring hole a minimum perturbation on the flow field. Leak detection FLUTe has a patented method which employs an advancing and a retreating liner (one everting, the other inverting) with a constant sampling interval between them. This allows, for example, a vacuum to be applied to the interval to extract any gas or liquid flowing through the hole wall or pipe wall into the interval between the two liners. The method is called “a progressive packer”. The advantages are several in that the liner travel is very gentle while providing an excellent isolation of the traveling interval from the rest of the borehole or pipe. Logging of boreholes The description of geophysical applications treats the method of towing longing sondes through open passages while the passage is supported and sealed with a blank propagating liner. This is especially attractive for sondes such as neutron moisture measurements. However, many kinds of sondes can be towed into passages that are relatively unstable or flowing fluids with minimal risk of loss of the tool. In other situations, contaminants in the borehole, such as coal tar, are incompatible with many sondes and the liner protects the sonde from contact with those fluids. See the Geophysical applications PDF for sondes that can “see” through the liner. Other uses for lining of piping and boreholes FLUTe has in the past installed cure-in-place liners, such as resin soaked carbon fiber liners, in tortuous passages from the basement 100 ft upward to the roof gutters of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The purpose was to line and seal rotting cast iron piping. Those applications are not common for FLUTe, but do use the special art and science of flexible liners as developed by FLUTe and the unique ancillary equipment of FLUTe design. A much more common need is for deep boreholes drilled through karstic formations (e.g., oil and gas wells) to prevent the loss of the grout seal between the casing and the borehole wall. In karst formations, the sealing grout flows freely into the solution channels and caverns and prevents a high quality seal of the annulus which allows potential vertical leakage of brines, petroleum or gas into overlying potable aquifers. FLUTe has a design whereby the borehole is lined as the casing is being installed to prevent the loss of the sealing grout into the formation. Contact us for details. Installations in tortuous passages The ability to install a flexible liner by eversion into tortuous passages is particularly useful for the landfill monitoring, geophysical applications, relining of piping and other applications. The fact that the liner also seals the passage is an additional advantage as well as the ability to support the hole wall as a pressurized liner. This combination of characteristics allows many other applications and the customer is invited to consider these characteristics as they may be applied in novel applications. A video is available of a test of the FLUTe calculation model of liner propagation around numerous turns. The test showed excellent agreement with FLUTe’s model which was used to judge the feasibility of installations such as in the pipes in the walls of the Smithsonian. Installations in lakes and ponds and other uses Liners do not need a borehole or pipe to guide the eversion process. A liner can be everted across a cafeteria floor with many chair and table leg obstacles. The everting liner tends to deflect past such obstacles. It is also interesting that an air filled liner can be everted across a lake. A chain attached inside the liner can keep it oriented with a designated top side. In the same manner, a water filled liner with appropriate weighting can propagate across the bottom of a pond. The liners can be fitted with many kinds of instruments for sample collection, temperature measurements, etc…, in these applications. It is also interesting that a pressurized liner can be everted unsupported through the air for significant distances. The Geophysical applications presentation shows examples of that kind of propagation for small (2” diam.) liners. With reasonable guy lines built into the liners, a tower formed by an everting liner can be erected in a few minutes to 50-100 ft. from a small pressure canister. Liners filled with special fluids can be propagated for long distances for interesting uses. FLUTe has proposed the use of everting liners to quickly lay water lines for fighting forest fire. Contact us to discuss any novel applications. We may have already done it. Video: Pressurized liner eversion through a series of pipe bends SPACER

Sealing Open Bedrock Boreholes | Mapping NAPL Contaminants | Fractured Bedrock Characterization | Multilevel Groundwater Monitoring and Vadose Sampling System A Guide to FLUTe Products Sealing Open Boreholes FLUTe Blank Liner The FLUTe blank liner is a fully removable solution for sealing fracture flows in open boreholes to prevent cross contamination. Mapping The NAPL Contaminants NAPL FLUTe The NAPL FLUTe is a NAPL reactive cover for the blank FLUTe liner that is deployed in open boreholes and through GeoProbe Rods. After 30 minutes, remove the liner from the borehole and measure to the stains to identify the location of free product. FACT (FLUTe Activated Carbon Technique) The FACT is a strip of activated carbon felt that is added to the NAPL FLUTe. The FACT adsorbs contaminants from fracture flows and pore space and after 2 weeks is removed from the well, cut into 6” to 3’ pieces and analyzed Characterizing Formation Flow Paths Transmissivity Profiling Locate flow paths and measure transmissivity with 6" to 12" resolution Reverse Head Profiling Measure the vertical head distribution (5' to 20') Multi-Level Groundwater and Vadose Sampling Systems Vadose FLUTe Shallow Water FLUTe Water FLUTe Vadose Gas Sampling System Groundwater Sampling with Peristaltic Pumping System Groundwater Sampling with Gas Driven Pumping System Cased Hole Sampler Groundwater Sampling with Peristaltic or Gas Driven Pumping System OTHER UNIQUE APPLICATIONS: Augmentation of Horizontal Drilling Development of Boreholes Landfill Monitoring Horizontal Packer Testing and Leak Detection Towing of Logging Tools Cure-In-Place Liners Karst Installations Grouting of Casing in Karst Artesian Well Installations Traversing Lakes and Ponds