FEU - Institute of Technology

Engr. Precious Nuez

GEOTECHNI CAL ENGI NEERI NG

Civil Engineering Department

HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY
CEG 133

SOIL PERMEABILITY
- It is a property of soil that allows the flow of fluid through the interconnected
void spaces from a point of high energy to a point of low energy
- It is a measure of how easily a fluid can pass through the soil

water

Permeability is the measure of the soils ability

to permit water to flow through its pores or
voids

How does water flow?

- If flow is from A to B, the energy is higher at A than at B

water

B
Energy is dissipated in overcoming
the soil resistance and hence it is
called the head loss

BERNOULLIS ENERGY EQUATION

The energy of fluid comprise of:
Pressure Energy due to pressure
Kinetic Energy due to velocity
Potential Energy due to elevation (z) with
respect to a datum

fluid
particle

datum

h = + +

For flow through

soils, velocity (and thus velocity head) is very small.

Therefore
is zero.

h= +

BERNOULLIS ENERGY EQUATION

Open standpipes called piezometers are installed at points A and B. The
level to which water rises are known as the piezometric levels of points A
and B.
At any point

h=

The head loss between A and B

h = hA - hB =

*+
(, + )
-

*/
(, + )
-

HYDRAULIC GRADIENT
The head difference over the distance between 2 points or the length of
flow over which the loss of head occurred

i=

h
1

where:
i = hydraulic gradient

h = head loss
L = the length of flow over
which the loss of head
occurred

DARCYS LAW
Since velocity in soil is small, flow can be considered laminar
where:

v = k i

v = discharge velocity, which is the quantity of water flowing in unit time through a
unit gross cross-sectional area of soil at right angles to the direction of flow
k = hydraulic conductivity
i = hydraulic gradient

The quantity of water flowing through the soil per unit time is:

Q = A v = Av
where:

vs = seepage velocity , velocity of water

A = area of soil specimen
Av = area of voids in the cross-section

Relationship between discharge

and seepage velocity

FLOW IN SOIL
A
h = hA - hB
Impervious Soil

hA = total head

B
Impervious Soil

hB = total head

Datum

i=

hA h/
1

h
1

q = v A = k i A
from:

v = k i

QUANTITY OF FLOW

To determine the quantity of flow, q, two parameters are needed:

k, hydraulic conductivity (how permeable the soil medium)

i, hydraulic gradient (how large is the driving head)

k can be determined using:

(1)
(2)
(3)

Empirical equation
Laboratory Testing (constant head, falling head tests)
Field Testing (pumping from wells)

i can be determined using:

(1)

from head loss and geometry

(2)

flow nets

HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
- The measure of how easy the water can flow through the soil
- Is expressed in the units of velocity (such as cm/sec and m/sec)

HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
-

Hydraulic conductivity by empirical equations depends on several factors:

-

Fluid viscosity ()

Pore Size Distribution

Temperature

Degree of Soil Saturation

=
where:

,-

= viscosity of water
= absolute permeability, expressed in units of length squared

HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
-

Hydraulic conductivity by empirical equations for sand and cohesive soils

with varying void ratios

=
1 >
?@
=C(
)
1 > ?
where:

= constants to be determined experimentally

LABORATORY DETERMINATION
CONSTANT HEAD TEST
-

Used primarily for coarse-grained soils

The water supply at the inlet is adjusted in such

a way that the difference of head between
the inlet and the outlet remains constant
during the test period
B1

= A h t

where:
Q = volume of water collected
L = length of specimen
A = cross-sectional area
h = head difference
t = duration of water collection

LABORATORY DETERMINATION
CONSTANT HEAD TEST

LABORATORY DETERMINATION
FALLING HEAD TEST
-

Used mainly for fine-grained soils

Record initial head difference, h1 at t1 = 0. Allow

water to flow through the soil specimen. Then,
record the final head difference, h2 at time t = t2.

= 2.303

F1
At log10

HI

(H )
J

where:
A = cross-sectional area of the soil
a = cross-sectional area of the standpipe
L = length of soil specimen
t = duration of water collection

EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY

for STRATIFIED SOIL
- Depending on the nature of soil deposit, the hydraulic conductivity of a given
layer of soil may vary from the direction of flow
Horizontal Flow
Constant hydraulic gradient
conditions

EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY

for STRATIFIED SOIL

Vertical Flow
Constant velocity

WELLS
-

Well a deep hole dug or drilled into the

ground to obtain water from an aquifer
- Water table can be lowered by pumping, a
process known an drawdown

PUMPING WELLS
-

Pumping wells are used to determine the hydraulic conductivity of a

soil in the field
-

During the test, water is pumped out at a constant rate from a test well
that has a perforated casing. Several observation wells at various radial
distances are made around the test well.

- Continuous observations of the water level in the test and observation

wells are made after the pumping, until a steady state is reached (that is
when the water level becomes constant)

PUMPING WELLS with OBSERVATION HOLES

-

Aquifer waterbearing soils below the groundwater level

soil rock forming stratum that is saturated and permeable enough
to yield significant quantity of water (e.g. sands, gravels, fractured
rocks)

PUMPING WELLS with OBSERVATION HOLES

-

Unconfined Aquifer (water table aquifer) is an aquifer which the water table
forms the upper boundary
groundwater level is free to fluctuate up and down,
depending on the availability of water.

Confined Aquifer is an aquifer confined between two aquicludes

(impervious/impermeable geological formations or layers)

PUMPING WELLS with OBSERVATION HOLES

Pumping Well in a Unconfined Aquifer

r2
2.303 q . log10
r1
k=
(h22 h12 )

or
r2
q . ln
r1
k=
(h22 h12 )

PUMPING WELLS with OBSERVATION HOLES

Pumping Well in a Confined Aquifer

r2
log10
q
r1
k=
2.727 H (h2 h1 )

FLOW NETS
-

The procedure consists on drawing a set

of
perpendicular
lines:
flow
and
equipotential lines.

Flow Line is a line along which a water

particle will travel from the upstream to
the downstream side in the permeable
soil medium.

Equipotential Line is a line along which the

potential head at all points is equal. Thus,
if piezometers are placed along the
equipotential line, the water level will rise
to the same elevation in all of them.

COMPLETED FLOW NET

Number of flow channels

Nf

Number of potential drops Nd

SEEPAGE CALCULATION FROM A FLOW