Permeability

Permeability is defined as the property of soil which allow the

spepage of fluid through is inter connected void space. Any given soil
mass consist of void particle of various size with interconnected void
spaces. The contentious of void space in a soil mass allow the follow
of water fluid from a point of higher energy to lower energy.

Bernoulli’s Equation: From fluid mechanics, we know that, according to Bernoulli’s

equation, the total head at a point in water under motion can be given by the sum of
the pressure, velocity, and elevation heads, or

g =acceleration due to gravity

v=velocity
u =pressure
where h total head
 Permeability
If Bernoulli’s equation is applied to the flow of water through a porous
soil medium, the term containing the velocity head can be neglected
because the seepage velocity is small, and the total head at any point
can be adequately represented by

The pressure head at a point is the height of the vertical column of

water in the piezometer installed at that point. The loss of head
between two points, A and B, can be given by

The head loss, h, can be expressed in a non dimensional form as

where i =hydraulic gradient

L =distance between points A and B—that is, the length of flow over which the loss of head
occurred
 Permeability

Figure : Nature of variation of v with hydraulic gradient, i

When the hydraulic gradient is increased gradually, the flow remains laminar
in Zones I and II, and the velocity, v, bears a linear relationship to the
hydraulic gradient. At a higher hydraulic gradient, the flow becomes turbulent
(Zone III). When the hydraulic gradient is decreased, laminar flow conditions
exist only in Zone I.
 Permeability
Darcy’s Law: In 1856, Darcy published a simple equation for the
discharge velocity of water through saturated soils, which may be
expressed as
vαi

where v = discharge velocity, which is the quantity of water

flowing in unit time

This equation was based primarily on Darcy’s observations about

the flow of water through clean sands.

Equation is valid for laminar flow conditions and applicable for a

wide range of soils.
 Permeability & Seepage
The factor effecting the value of k:-

•Shape & size of soil particle.

•Void ratio.
•Degree of saturation.
•roughness of mineral particles
•Compaction of soil particle .
•Soil structure.
•Density & concentration of fluid.
Permeability & Seepage

Typical Values of Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Soils

 Permeability & Seepage
Determination of k value:-
1. Laboratory method-
• Constant head test.
• Variable head test.
• Indirect determination from consolidation test.
• Direct determination from consolidation test

2. Field method-
•Pumping from wells.
i. Gravity
ii. Artesian
•Bore hole test-
i. Open end test
ii. Packer test.
•Pezometer observation wells using variable head technique.
 Permeability & Seepage
Determination of k value:-
3. Indirect method: The coefficient permeability can determined
indirectly from soil parameters

• computation from particle size or its surface area

• computation from consolidation

4. Capailarity permeability test.: The coefficient of permeability

of an unsaturated soil can be determined by capillarity – permeability test
 Permeability
Relationship between the discharge velocity and the seepage velocity

Figure shows a soil of length L with a gross cross-sectional area A. If

the quantity of water flowing through the soil in unit time is q, then

where vs =seepage velocity Av =area of void in the cross section of the specimen
 Permeability
However,

where As =area of soil solids in the cross section of the specimen

Combining two equations

Vs = volume of soil solids in the specimen

Vv =volume of voids in the specimen

 Permeability
Constant-Head Test: In this type of laboratory setup, 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. After a
constant flow rate is established, water is collected in a graduated flask
for a known duration.

The total volume of water collected may be expressed as

where Q =volume of water collected

A =area of cross section of the soil specimen
t =duration of water collection

where L =length of the specimen

 Permeability
A constant-head permeability test gives these values:
L = 30 cm
• A area of the specimen =177 cm2
• Constant-head difference, h =50 cm
• Water collected in a period of 5 min = 350 cm3

Calculate the hydraulic conductivity in cm/sec.

 Permeability
Falling-Head Test: A typical arrangement of the falling-head
permeability test is shown in figure. Water from a standpipe flows
through the soil. The initial head difference h1 at time t =0 is recorded,
and water is allowed to flow through the soil specimen such that the
final head difference at time t =t2 is h2.

The rate of flow of the water through the

specimen at any time t can be given by

where q = flow rate

a =cross-sectional area of the standpipe
A =cross-sectional area of the soil specimen

Integration of the left side with limits of time from 0 to t and

the right side with limits of head difference from h1 to h2
gives
 Permeability
For a falling-head permeability test, the following values are given

• Length of specimen = 8 in.

• Area of soil specimen = 1.6 in2
• Area of standpipe =0.06 in2
• Head difference at time t =0 =20 in.
• Head difference at time t =180 sec = 12 in.

Determine the hydraulic conductivity of the soil in in/sec

 Permeability
The hydraulic conductivity of a clayey soil is 3 x 10-7 cm/sec. The viscosity of
water at 25°C is 0.0911x 10-4 g .sec/cm2. Calculate the absolute permeability K of
the soil
 Permeability
Find the flow rate in m3/sec/m length (at right angles to the cross section shown)
through the permeable soil layer shown in figure given H =8 m, H1= 3 m, h =4
m, L =50 m, α =80, and k = 0.08 cm/sec.
 Permeability
Relationships for Hydraulic Conductivity—Granular Soil

For fairly uniform sand (that is, sand with a small uniformity coefficient), Hazen
(1930) proposed an empirical relationship for hydraulic conductivity in the form

where c = a constant that varies from 1.0 to 1.5

D10 =the effective size, in mm

Another form of equation that gives fairly good results in estimating the hydraulic
conductivity of sandy soils is based on the Kozeny-Carman equation (Kozeny, 1927;
Carman, 1938, 1956). According to the Kozeny-Carman equation
 Permeability
Carrier (2003) further suggested a slight modification Equation, which
can be written as

More recently, Chapuis (2004) proposed an empirical relationship for k as

Kenney, Lau, and Ofoegbu (1984) conducted laboratory tests on granular soils in
which the particle sizes in various specimens ranged from 0.074 to 25.4 mm. The
uniformity coefficients, Cu, of these specimens ranged from 1.04 to 12. All
permeability tests were conducted at a relative density of 80% or more. These tests
showed that for laminar flow conditions,
 Permeability
The hydraulic conductivity of a sand at a void ratio of 0.5 is 0.02
cm/sec. Estimate its hydraulic conductivity at a void ratio of 0.65.
 Permeability
Relationships for Hydraulic Conductivity—Cohesive Soils

Taylor (1948) proposed a linear relationship between the logarithm of k and

the void ratio as

where ko =in situ hydraulic conductivity at a void ratio eo

k =hydraulic conductivity at a void ratio e
Ck =hydraulic conductivity change index
The preceding equation is a good correlation for eo less than about 2.5. In
this equation, the value of Ck may be taken to be about 0.5eo.
 Permeability
Samarasinghe, et al. (1982) conducted laboratory tests on New Liskeard clay and
proposed that, for normally consolidated clays,

where C and n are constants to be determined experimentally

 Permeability
Tavenas, et al. (1983) also gave a correlation between the void ratio and the
hydraulic conductivity of clayey soil. This correlation is shown in Figure 7.13. An
important point to note, however, is that in Figure, PI, the plasticity index, and
CF, the clay-size fraction in the soil, are in fraction (decimal) form.
 Equivalent Hydraulic Conductivity in Stratified Soil
In a stratified soil deposit where the hydraulic conductivity for flow in a
given direction changes from layer to layer, an equivalent hydraulic
conductivity can be computed to simplify calculations. The following
derivations relate to the equivalent hydraulic conductivities for flow in
vertical and horizontal directions through multilayered soils with
horizontal stratification
Equivalent Hydraulic Conductivity in Stratified Soil
 Equivalent Hydraulic Conductivity in Stratified Soil

A layered soil is shown in Figure

Estimate the ratio of equivalent hydraulic conductivity

 Permeability Test in the Field by Pumping from
Wells(unconfined permeable layer)
In the field, the average hydraulic conductivity of a soil deposit in the direction of
flow can be determined by performing pumping tests from wells of the top
permeable layer, whose hydraulic conductivity has to be determined, is unconfined
and underlain by an impermeable layer.
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.
 Permeability Test in the Field by Pumping from
Wells(unconfined permeable layer)
Continuous observations of the water level in the test well and in the observation
wells are made after the start of pumping, until a steady state is reached. The
steady state is established when the water level in the test and observation wells
becomes constant.

The expression for the rate of flow of groundwater into the well, which is equal to
the rate of discharge from pumping, can be written as

Then
 Permeability Test in the Field by Pumping from
Wells(unconfined permeable layer)

Problem: A sandy layer 10 m thick overlies an impervious stratum. The water table
is in the sandy layer at a depth of 1.5 m below the ground surface . Water is
pumped out from a well at the rate of 100 liters/sec. Drawdown of the water
table at radial distance of 3.0 m and 25.0 m is 3.0 and 0.50 m respectively.
Determine the coefficient of permeability.
 Permeability Test in the Field by Pumping from
Wells(confined permeable layer)
The average hydraulic conductivity for a confined aquifer can also be determined
by conducting a pumping test from a well with a perforated casing that penetrates
the full depth of the aquifer and by observing the piezometric level in a number of
observation wells at various radial distances.
Pumping is continued at
a uniform rate q until a
steady state is reached.
Because water can enter
the test well only from
the aquifer of thickness
H, the steady state of
discharge is
 Permeability Test in the Field by Pumping from
Wells(confined permeable layer)

This gives the hydraulic conductivity in the direction of flow as

 Seepage (Laplace’s Equation of Continuity)
To derive the Laplace differential equation of continuity, let us consider a single
row of sheet piles that have been driven into a permeable soil layer, as shown in
Figure 8.1a. The row of sheet piles is assumed to be impervious. The steady
state flow of water from the upstream to the downstream side through the
permeable layer is a two-dimensional flow. For flow at a point A, we consider an
elemental soil block. The block has dimensions dx, dy, and dz (length dy is
perpendicular to the plane of the paper);
 Seepage (Laplace’s Equation of Continuity)
Assuming that water is incompressible and that no volume change in the soil mass
occurs, we know that the total rate of inflow should equal the total rate of out flow.
Thus,

With Darcy’s law, the discharge velocities can be expressed as

2
 Seepage (Laplace’s Equation of Continuity)

From Equation 1,2 and 3

If the soil is isotropic with respect to the hydraulic conductivity—that is,

Kx = kz—the preceding continuity equation for two-dimensional flow
simplifies to
 Flow Nets
The continuity equation in an isotropic medium represents two orthogonal families of
curves—that is, the flow lines and the equipotential lines

A flow line is a line along which a water particle will travel from upstream to the
downstream side in the permeable soil medium
An equipotential line is a line along which the potential head at all points is equal.
Thus, if piezometers are placed at different points along an equipotential line,
thewater level will rise to the same elevation in all of them.
 Flow Nets
A combination of a number of flow lines and equipotential lines is called a flow net. As
mentioned in the introduction, flow nets are constructed for the calculation of ground
water flow and the evaluation of heads in the media.
 Flow Nets
To complete the graphic construction of a flow net, one must draw the flow
and equipotential lines in such a way that

1. The equipotential lines intersect the flow lines at right angles.

2. The flow elements formed are approximate squares.

For the flow net , the following four boundary conditions apply:

Condition 1: The upstream and downstream surfaces of the permeable

layer (lines ab and de) are equipotential lines.

Condition 2: Because ab and de are equipotential lines, all the flow lines
intersect them at right angles.
[

Condition 3: The boundary of the impervious layer—that is, line fg—is a flow
line,and so is the surface of the impervious sheet pile, line acd.

Condition 4: The equipotential lines intersect acd and fg at right angles.

 Seepage Calculation from a Flow Net
In any flow net, the strip between any two adjacent flow lines is
called a flow channel
Let, h1, h2, h3, h4, . . ., hn be the piezometric levels corresponding to the
equipotential lines. The rate of seepage through the flow channel per unit
length (perpendicular to the vertical section through the permeable layer) can
be calculated as follows. Because there is no flow across the flow lines,
 Seepage Calculation from a Flow Net
From Darcy’s law, the flow rate is equal to kiA

if the flow elements are drawn as approximate squares, the drop in the piezometric
level between any two adjacent equipotential lines is the same. This is called the
potential drop. Thus,

Where, H = head difference between the upstream and downstream sides

Nd =number of potential drops
If the number of flow channels in a flow net is equal to Nf , the total rate
of flow through all the channels per unit length can be given by
 Seepage Calculation from a Flow Net

The elements are not square

the total rate of seepage can be given as

 Seepage Calculation from a Flow Net
Problem: A flow net for flow around a single row of sheet piles in a permeable
soil layer is shown in Figure . Given that kx =kz =k =5 x10-3 cm/sec,
determine
a. The total rate of seepage through the permeable layer per unit length
b. The approximate average hydraulic gradient at c.