Chapter 4A

28 mac 2023
CHAPTER 4a
Water in Soil
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Water in Soil
• Why is water important in soil

mechanics / geotechnical engineering?
• What are the issues related to water in the

ground?
Water in Soil
Karl Terzaghi wrote ‘In engineering practice, problems with soil is not
merely due to the soil alone, but also due to the water in the soil
voids’.
The issues related to water in the ground

a) Effect of water on behavior and engineering properties of
soils and rocks.
b) Potential for water to flow to an excavation made in the
ground.
c) Effect of water on stability of excavation and embankment.
d) Uplift forces acting on buried structures.
e) Potential for water to flow through soil carrying with it
hazardous chemicals.
When rain falls to the Some evaporates and WHERE DOES IT GO???
ground, the water does returns to atmosphere
not stop moving
Some of it flows along the surface into

streams, rivers and lakes – SURFACE WATER
Some used by plants
Some sinks into the ground

– GROUNDWATER
Groundwater
• Groundwater provide about 0.6 percent of the

world’s total water and 20 percent of the available
fresh water resources
oWater in the cracks and spaces in soil and rocks
o Flows under the influence of gravity – percolation into
rocks and soils
oGroundwater is stored in and moves slowly
through layers of soils and rocks called AQUIFERS
oDepth of penetration of percolating water depends
on the porous nature of rocks:
Capillary water
▪ Is held above the water table by surface tension
▪ Surface tension is the attractive force exerted at the

interface or surface between materials in different
physical states
▪Example:
➢ water/air surface – exhibits an elastic molecular skin
due to sub-surface water molecules (which are denser
than air) exerting a greater attraction than the air
molecules
➢ water/solid – water attracted towards a solid interface

(which are denser than water) – capillarity
➢ Capillarity : is a very thin tube in which a liquid can

move against the force of gravity as shown in figure. The
narrower the tube the higher the liquid rises due to the
forces of adhesion (water: soil) and cohesion (water:
Theoretical height of the capillary rise: hc = 0.03/d
where hc = height of capillary rise (m)
d = diameter of medium (mm)
Capillary water
Pore water pressure
Total pressure (σ)

❑ total vertical stress acting at a point below the ground
surface is due to the weight of everything lying above:
soil, water, and surface loading.
Pore water pressure
Pore water pressure (u)

❑ Pressure induced in the fluid (either water, or vapour
and water) filling the voids
Pore water pressure
Effective stress (σ’)

❑ Stress transmitted through the soil fabric via
intergranular contacts
❑ Controlling volume change deformation and shear
strength of the soil
◼ Pore water pressure measurement was carried out
by various types of piezometers;
➢ Casagrande Piezometer
➢ Vibrating Wire (Diaphragm) Piezometer
➢ Pneumatic Piezometer
• open standpipe placed in a borehole

• PVC standpipe with a permeable membrane tip.
• tip is encased in sand or fine gravel
• Interfaces: sealed with bentonite to
prevent leakage from other layers
• water level inside=pore water pressure (pwp)

• by periodically measuring the water level =the rate of
dissipation of the excess pwp.
• Several tips in one hole: measure pwp in several layers.
Vibrating Wire (Diaphragm) Piezometer
• tensioned wire connected to
stainless steel diaphragm.
• electric pulse -vibrates at a
particular frequency
corresponding to the tension
force in the wire.
• Changes in pwp affect the
tension force.
• tension changes = change in
vibration frequency.
Pneumatic Piezometer
• Dry nitrogen into inlet tube
• N2: blocked with flexible
diaphragm.
• N2 is gradually increased,
So that equals to the pwp
• Open diaphragm for N2
to escape
• equilibrium to be reached.
• Measured N2 (Bourdon gauge).
Porosity and Permeability
o Porosity: Percent of volume that is void space.

o Sediment: Determined by how tightly packed and how
clean (silt and clay), (usually between 20 and 40%)
o Rock: Determined by size and number of fractures
Permeability: Ease with which water will flow thro’ a porous material
➢Sediment: Proportional to sediment size

✓Gravel → Excellent
✓Sand → Good
✓Silt → Moderate
✓Clay → Poor
Excellent
➢Rock: Proportional to fracture size & number.
Can be good to excellent
Poor
Permeability is not proportional to porosity.
Occurence of Groundwater
• one of two types,

• occurs in two distinct zones; separated by water
table / phreatic surface:
a) Vadose water:
• transient(lasting only for a short time)
• percolating water,
• moving downwards to join phreatic water below
water table
✓capillary water held above water table by
surface tension forces (internal pore pressure
less than atm. pressure)
✓Vadose water:also known as AERATED ZONE – a
layer of rock or soil above the water table in which
the pores contain air as well as water
b) Phreatic/ gravitational water, which:
✓ subject to gravitational forces
✓ saturates the pore spaces in soil below water table
– SATURATED ZONE – a layer of permeable rock or soil
in which the cracks and pores are completely filled
with water
✓ has an internal pore

pressure greater than
atm. pressure
✓tends to flow laterally

Question 1
1. What separates the saturated zone from the
unsaturated one?
Answers:
The phreatic surface or the water table is the
surface that separates between the saturated and
unsaturated zones.
Groundwater flow
o Precipitation
o Infiltration
o Ground-water
recharge
o Ground-water flow
o Ground-water
discharge to
✓ Springs
✓ Streams and
✓ Wells
o Velocity is proportional to
Fast (e.g., cm per day)
✓ Permeability
✓ Slope of the water table
o Inversely proportional to
✓ porosity
Slow (e.g., mm per day)
To be continued

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28 mac 2023

• Why is water important in soil

• What are the issues related to water in the

The issues related to water in the ground

Some of it flows along the surface into

Some sinks into the ground

• Groundwater provide about 0.6 percent of the

▪ Surface tension is the attractive force exerted at the

➢ water/solid – water attracted towards a solid interface

➢ Capillarity : is a very thin tube in which a liquid can

Total pressure (σ)

Pore water pressure (u)

Effective stress (σ’)

• open standpipe placed in a borehole

• water level inside=pore water pressure (pwp)

o Porosity: Percent of volume that is void space.

➢Sediment: Proportional to sediment size

• one of two types,

✓ has an internal pore

✓tends to flow laterally

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