Permeability of soils

Dr. S S Chandrasekaran
 Definition
• Permeability is defined as the property of soil
which permits flow of water (or any other
liquid) through it.
• The permeability is the ease with which water
can flow through it.
• The knowledge of permeability is important in
many soil engineering problems.
 Soil Permeability -Definition

Soils consists of solid particles with

interconnected voids where water can
flow from one point to another point.

water

3
• Permeability is the measure of the soil’s ability to permit water
to flow through its pores or voids
• A soil is highly pervious when water can flow through it easily.
E.g. Gravels, sands.
• In an impervious soil, the permeability is very low and water
cannot easily flow through it. E.g. Clays.

water

Loose soil Dense soil

- easy to flow - difficult to flow
- High permeability - Low permeability
Typical values of the Coefficient of Permeability
Coefficient of
S.No Soil type permeability Drainage properties
(mm/sec)

1. Clean gravels 10+1 to 10+2 Very Good

2. Coarse and Medium sands 10-2 to 10+1 Good
3. Fine sands, loose silt 10-4 to 10-2 Fair
4. Dense silt, Clayey silts 10-5 to 10-4 Poor
5. Silty clay, clay 10-8 to 10-5 Very Poor
 Darcy`s Law
• Henry Philibert Gaspard Darcy (1803-1858)
was hydraulic engineer in France
• The law of flow of water through soil was first
studied by Darcy in 1856.
The Darcy’s law is defined as,
“For laminar flow through saturated soil mass,
the discharge per unit time is proportional to the
hydraulic gradient”.
 Since velocity in soil is small, flow can be considered laminar

v∝ i
v= k.i
Where:
v = Discharge velocity water flowing in a unit gross cross-sectional
area of soil at right angles to the direction of flow.
k = Coefficient of permeability or hydraulic conductivity (has units
of L/T)
i = Hydraulic gradient = h/L

Then the quantity of water flowing through the soil per unit time is

Discharge = q = v. A = k x i x A
Discharge = q = v. A = k (h/L). A
ONE DIMENSIONAL FLOW –DARCY’S LAW
DARCY’S LAW

q = k
h1-h 2
A or q=k x i x A
h1 L

Δh
• q = Discharge,quantity of flow (volume / time)
h2
• k = coefficient of permeability (distance/
time)
Εδαφικό δείγμα
SOIL SAMPLE • h1-h2= Head difference (length)
• L = specimen length along the stream line
L (distance)
Α = cross-sectional area of specimen
i = (h1-h2) / L = hydraulic gradient
• The graph plot between hydraulic gradient to
velocity explains Darcy`s law
 Assumptions of Darcy’s law
The following assumptions are made in Darcy’s law.

• The soil is saturated.

• The flow through soil is laminar.
• The flow is continuous and steady.
• The total cross sectional area of soil mass is
considered.
• The temperature at the time of testing is equal to
room temperature.
 DETERMINATION OF COEFFICIENT OF
PERMEABILITY
The various methods to determine coefficient of permeability are as under :-

Methods to determine coefficient of permeability(k)

Laboratory Methods Field Methods Indirect Methods

1) Constant head 1) Pumping out tests 1) Computation from the

Permeability test 2) Pumping in test particle size
2) Falling head 2) Computation from
Permeability test Consolidation test

Capillarity Permeability Test : To determine

the k of unsaturated soils
 Laboratory Permeability test Methods

1. Constant head Permeability test

2. Falling head ( Variable Head)Permeability
test
 Constant Head Permeability Test
• The constant head test is used primarily for coarse-grained soils.
• This test is based on the assumption of laminar flow (Darcy’s Law
apply)
From Darcy’s Law
h
Q  q.t  k  i  A  t  k   At
L
Where:
Q = volume of water collection
A = cross section area of soil specimen
t = Time duration of water collection
h = head causing flow

QL
k
h  At
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 Variable Head Permeability Test
• This test is also known as Falling head permeability test. It is for
relatively less permeable soils.
• Water flows through the sample from a standpipe attached to the
top of the cylinder.
• The head of water (h) changes with time as flow occurs through
the soil. At different times the head of water is recorded.

2.303aL h
k log 10
1

At h 2

t = time
L = Length of the soil sample
A= cross section area of soil
a= cross section area of tube
k = Coefficient of permeability
• Let us consider the instant head is h. For the
infinitesimal small time dt, the head falls by dh. Let
the discharge through the sample be q.
• from continuity of flow,
a. dh = -q dt
Where ‘a’ is cross sectional area of standpipe.
a .dh = - (A x k x i ) x dt
a.dh = - Ak x (h/L) x dt
 A.k .dt  dh

aL h
Integrate both sides t2 h2
A.k dh
aL  dt   
t1 h1
h
A.k  h1 
(t 2  t1 )  log e 
 

aL  2
h
aL  h1 
k  log e  

A.t  h2 
2.303aL  h1 
k  log10 
h 

A.t  2 

Coefficient of permeability
For Variable head test
 Field Permeability tests
1. Pumping-out tests:
a) for unconfined aquifer
b) for confined aquifer

2. Pumping –in tests:

a) open end tests
b) single packer tests
c) double packer tests
 Factors affecting permeability of soils

1. Particle size.
2. Properties of pore fluid.
3. Void ratio of soil.
4. Shape of particles.
5. Structure of soil mass.
6. Degree of saturation.
7. Adsorbed water.
8. Impurities in water.