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CIVE 2013

Permeability
Flow of water through soils

• The ease with which a fluid flows through a porous


medium is an engineering property known as
permeability

• In soil mechanics, the fluid is water and the porous


medium is the soil mass

• In soils, the voids are interconnected and form


continuous paths for the movement of water
Flow of water through soils
It is important to assess the permeability of a soil mass:

• Evaluate the rate at which water will enter a pit during


construction, or the amount of stored water that may
be lost by percolation through or beneath a dam

• Evaluate the uplift or seepage forces beneath


hydraulic structures for stability analyses

• Provide control of seepage velocities so that fine-


grained soils are not eroded from the soil mass
Flow of water through soils
There are two issues:

• Quantity of flow

• Porewater pressures
Types of flow

• Laminar flow: each particle of water flows along a


definite path which never intersects the path of
another particle

• Turbulent flow: paths taken by water particles are


irregular and twisting

The flow velocity in soils is generally low so that the


flow is laminar
Bernoulli equation
The Bernoulli equation is commonly used in pipe flow
but is also applicable to flow of water through a soil
mass:
Bernoulli equation
Bernoulli equation:

• Total head causing flow = Elevation head + Pressure


head + Velocity head

• Since velocity of flow in soils is small, the velocity


head is usually ignored

• Flow takes place between 2 points, if and only if there


is a difference in total heads between the 2 points
Darcy’s law
Darcy (1856) found by experiment that the rate of flow, q,
was:

• Proportional to the total head difference h

• Proportional to the cross sectional area A

• Inversely proportional to the length L of the soil


sample
h
qk A
L
Darcy’s law

q  kiA
k = Coefficient of permeability (m/s)

i = Hydraulic gradient

A = Cross-sectional area
Discharge (or flow) and seepage velocity
The discharge velocity, v = ki.

v is a superficial velocity which is determined relative


to the soil total cross-section area, A.

The flow velocity through the voids is higher and is


termed seepage velocity, vs.

Rate of flow = q = Av = Av vs
where Av is the cross-section area of voids.
Av
Porosity, n
A
Discharge (or flow) and seepage velocity

v ki
vs  
n n
Determination of k
Laboratory methods:
• Coarse-grained soils – constant head test
• Fine-grained soils – falling (or variable) head test
Determination of k (m/s)
Constant head test
Determination of k (m/s)
Falling (or variable) head test
Determination of k (m/s)

Falling (or variable) head test

al  ho 
k  ln 
A(t1  to)  h1 

al  ho 
k  2.3  log 10 
A(t1  to)  h1 
Field determination of k (m/s)
Pumping tests

(a) Unconfined aquifer

(b)Confined aquifer
Tutorial

Do Whitlow Prob 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8


Factors affecting permeability

• Particle size distribution


• Shape and orientation of soil particles
• Porosity of soil
• Degree of saturation
• Type of cation and thickness of adsorbed layers associated
with clay minerals (if present)
• Viscosity of water, which varies with temperature
Effect of compaction on permeability:
results on local soil
10
Coefficient of permeability (x 10-8 m/s)

Soil type
Dry of OMC
Silty clay
0.1 OMC LL = 110%
Wet of OMC PL = 65%
PI = 45%
Gs = 2.6
0.01

MDD = 1.15 Mg/m3


OMC = 47,5%
0.001
35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Moulding moisture content (%)
Typical values of k

• Refer to Craig Table 2.1 (p 41)


Permeability of stratified soils

• Flow parallel to soil layers

• Flow perpendicular to soil layers

Do Whitlow Prob 5.9


2 D Flow: Flow net
• A flow net is a
network of stream or
flow lines and
equipotential lines
2 D Flow: Flow net
• A stream or flow line represents the path taken by the
moving particles of water. A water particle tends to follow
the shortest path from point to point and at the same time,
it makes only smooth curve when it changes direction.

• From the upstream to downstream side, the total head


decreases along the stream line.

• An equipotential is a contour of constant total head.


Basic Properties of Flow nets

• Stream lines and equipotentials intersect at right angles.


• Figures are curvilinear squares, that is, mean dimensions in
the 2 directions must be approximately equal.
• Every flow channel must transmit the same quantity of
water.
• The equipotential drop is the same between any 2
consecutive equipotentials.
2 D Flow: Flow net

concrete dam

curvilinear
square

90º
soil
impervious strata
Quantity of Seepage (Q)

number of flow channels


Nf
Q  khL ….per unit length normal to the plane
Nd
number of equipotential drops

head loss from upstream to


downstream
hL

concrete
dam

impervious strata
2 D Flow: Flow net construction

Draw scaled diagram to represent problem


2 D Flow: Flow net construction

Identify boundary conditions of the flow region


2 D Flow: Flow net construction

Sketch flow net, calculate seepage and porewater pressure


2 D Flow: Flow net construction

Refer to Craig examples 2.1, 2.2

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