Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Hidrogeologi
(Course-3)

Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Groundwater flow and well hydraulics

Aliran airtanah dan sumur hidraulik

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Aquifers Type

Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Aquifer Type

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Groundwater Flow

Vz

Vx = Kx (dh/dl)

Vx Vy = Ky (dh/dl)
Vz = Kz (dh/dl)
Vy
DARCY LAW

Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Equation of Groundwater Flow

• Steady State (aliran tetap)

Kx = Ky = Kz

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Equation of Groundwater Flow

• Unsteady State (aliran tidak tetap)

Kx ≠ Ky ≠ Kz
S = Ss · b
T=K· b 7

Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Aquitard and Aquifer

k1
k2

k1<< k2

• For regional flow systems where k2 /k1 or kaquifer/kaquitard tends to be 100

or greater
• Flows in aquitards (k1) are subvertical
• Flows in aquifers (k2) are subhorizontal
• The spacing of flow lines is a measure of flux so that the aquifer is
acting as a collector, concentrating flow.

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Groundwater Flow Nets

DRAINAGE Flow lines
BASIN

WT N
contours
9
S. Hughes, 2003

Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

414 412
410 N
Water Flow Lines
408

Water Table Contours

406

404

Well
402

400
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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Flow Net Theory

1. Streamlines Y and Equip. lines  are .
2. Streamlines Y are parallel to no flow boundaries.
3. Grids are curvilinear squares, where diagonals
cross at right angles.
4. Each stream tube carries the same flow.

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Flow of Groundwater

Groundwater moves from levels of high energy to levels of low

energy, whereby its energy is essentially the results of deviation
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and pressure

Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Water movement in the saturated zone

• Laminar Flow: water particles move in an orderly manner along
streamlines.
• Turbulence Flow: water particles move in a disordered, highly
irregular manner, which results in a complex mixing of the particles .

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Water movement in the saturated zone

 Under natural hydraulic gradients, turbulent flow occurs
only in large openings such as those in gravel, lava flows, and
limestone caverns.
 Flows are laminar in most granular deposits and fractured
rocks.
 Laminar flow can be differentiated into two type of flow:
1. Steady flow
2. Unsteady flow

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Velocity of water movement in the

saturated zone
• Velocity of water movement in the saturated zone depends
on:
1. Hydraulic gradient
2. Friction
• Friction is caused by: (1) internal friction (internal factor of
water such as Temperature, Viscosity, etc) dan (2) external
friction (due to particle of aquifer, such as effective porosity
& hydraulic conductivity.

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Groundwater Movement

 The average velocity of groundwater movement ranges from

10 – 20 m/day.
 Sandstone aquifers have relatively groundwater velocity
about 15 m/day.
 Gravelly aquifers have higher velocity of groundwater
movement of about 120 m/day.

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Darcy Experiment
 Darcy found experimentally that the discharge, Q, is
proportional to the difference in the height of the
water (hydraulic head), between the ends and
inversely proportional to the flow length (L).
 Darcy Law:

or

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Darcy column

h/L = grad h

Q is proportional
to grad h

Figure taken from Hornberger et al. (1998)

v = Q/A 19

Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Validity of Darcy Law

• Darcy Law only valid if the groundwater flow/water
movement in the saturated zone is laminar.

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Groundwater Resources Evaluation

• Groundwater static resources
V=A.b.S
• Groundwater dynamic resources; volume of water flowing through
aquifer
Q = T . i . L, note: T = K. b

• Maximum of pumping discharge rate

Qpump-max = Sq (H – b/2)

Note:
S Storativity, T Transmissivity, K Hydraulic Conductivity, Sq Specific Capacity
A aquifer area, b thickness of saturated zone, H Groundwater level/Piezometric level,
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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Quiz
• An aquifer has the following characteristics:
w = 1000 m (width)
b = 10 m (thickness of saturated zone)
v = 0.1 m/day (Darcy Velocity)
n = 0.4 Porosity
Calculate: the volume of water flowing in the entire aquifer and the
average velocity of groundwater flow?

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady flow in the unconfined aquifer

h h
1 2

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Flow in Unconfined Aquifer

• This problem was solved by Dupuit (1863), and his assumptions
are known as the Dupuit assumptions.
• The assumptions are that:
(1) the hydraulic gradient is equal to the slope of the water
table and
(2) for small water-table gradients, the streamlines are
horizontal and the equipotential lines are vertical.
(3) Aquifer is isotropic and not confined
• Solutions based on these assumptions have proved to be useful
in many practical problems.

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady flow in the unconfined aquifer

h1 h h2

X=0 X=L

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Flow in Confined Aquifer

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Flow in Confined Aquifers

• The equations below use to calculate the groundwater flow should be
used with the assumption:
1. Aquifer is homogen and isotropic
2. The width of aquifer is not limited

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Flow in Confined Aquifers

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Flow in Confined Aquifer

h = c1x + c2

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

The pumping well and the observation Wells:

Fully penetrating and Not Fully Penetrating

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Radial Flow to Well

• There are two condition, which can be occurred during pumping of
water in a well:
1. Steady Stage
2. Unsteady Stage
• Steady Stage  pumping with constant discharge rate until the
drawdown of GWL or Piezometric Level Constant
• Unsteady Stage  pumping with constant discharge rate but not
until the drawdown constant

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Well Hydraulics Terminology

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Pumping Well Terminology

• Static Water Level [SWL] (ho) is

Q
the equilibrium water level
before pumping commences
• Pumping Water Level [PWL] (h)
is the water level during pumping
s
• Drawdown (s = ho - h) is the
difference between SWL and
PWL
ho • Well Yield (Q) is the volume of
h water pumped per unit time
• Specific Capacity (Q/s) is the
yield per unit drawdown

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Cone of Depression

High Kh aquifer

Low Kh aquifer Kh  Kv

• A zone of low pressure is created centred on the pumping well

• Drawdown is a maximum at the well and reduces radially
• Head gradient decreases away from the well and the pattern resembles
an inverted cone called the cone of depression
• The cone expands over time until the inflows (from various boundaries)
match the well extraction
• The shape of the equilibrium cone is controlled by hydraulic
conductivity
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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Radial Flow to a Well-Confined

Cone of Depression
Q
s = drawdown

r
h

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Radial Flow to a Well-Confined

• In a confined aquifer, the drawdown curve or cone of depression

varies with distance from a pumping well.
• For horizontal flow, Q at any radius r equals, from Darcy’s law,
Q = -2π.r.b.K dh/dr
for steady radial flow to a well where Q,b,K are constant.

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Radial Flow to a Well-Confined

• Integrating after separation of variables, with
h = hw at r = rw at the well, yields Thiem Equation:
Q = 2πKb[(h-hw)/(ln(r/rw ))]

Note, h increases
indefinitely with
increasing r, yet
the maximum head
is h0.
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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Radial Flow to a Well-Confined

• Near the well, transmissivity, T, may be estimated by observing

heads h1 and h2 at two adjacent observation wells located at r1 and
r2, respectively, from the pumping well

Q ln(r2 / r1)
T = K.b =
2π(h2 - h1)

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 Mining Engineering Department
Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

Steady Radial Flow to a Well-Unconfined

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Mining Engineering Department

Mulawarman University Faculty of Engineering

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