Lab 3 Flow Tank

Experiment to study the relationship between void ratio

and permeability and draw flow net

Name: Ruiming Liu

SID: 500627167
DATE:16/09/2021
 Table of contents
Abstract.....................................................................................................................................................3
1.Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
2.Permeameter test...................................................................................................................................3
2.1 Methodology................................................................................................................................4
2.2 Results......................................................................................................................................... 5
3.Flow tank test........................................................................................................................................ 7
3.1 Methodology................................................................................................................................7
3.2 Results......................................................................................................................................... 8
4.Discussion...............................................................................................................................................9
5.Conclusion............................................................................................................................................10
6.Reference lists......................................................................................................................................11
7.Appendix.............................................................................................................................................. 11
Abstract
This report introduces two experiments. One is to obtain the relationship between
void ratio and permeability in the soil by using an permeameter and the other is to
draw a sketch of an experimental flow net by simulating water flow.
The experiment on the permeameter uses the falling head method. Through 4 samples,
the obtained permeability value ranges from 0.0428cm/s to 0.0981cm/s, the
corresponding void ratios is from 0.424 to 0.736. When drawing a draft of the flow
net, H=32cm, numbers of flow tubes are 6, and the interval between the flow lines can
be calculated to be 5.33cm. By starting to reduce the water inlet head, h1=8.55cm,
h2=13.88cm, h3=19.21cm, h4=24.54cm, h5=29.87cm.

1.Introduction
In this course, the purpose of this experiment is to study the permeability of the soil
through two different experiments and to determine the permeability coefficient of the
soil. The first is to use a flow tank, the second is to use an permeameter directly.
Permeability coefficient is one of the most important concepts in soil mechanics. It is
defined as the velocity of water passing through a unit cross-sectional area of a porous
medium under laminar flow conditions(Verruijt A, 2017). It can also simply indicate
how difficult it is for water to flow through the soil. The role is related to the seepage
of earth dams, canal banks and the production of aquifers. At the same time, since the
permeability of the soil is related to the texture and particle size distribution of the soil
and the type of soil, in the experiment, it should be ensured that the soil materials used
are consistent. Due to the Covid-19, rice flour will be used instead of soil in this
experiment. Only simple devices will be used to complete the experiment. Specific
professional operations and experimental equipment will be displayed in appendix.

2.Permeameter test
Permeameter is a device used to determine the permeability of fine-grained soil.
Experiments conducted by this device can roughly estimate the permeability and void
ratio of the soil. The most common methods for permeation experiments are "constant
head permeability method" and "falling head permeability method"(Zhang, Y, Li, H,
Abdelhady, A, & Yang, J, 2020). In this experiment, rice flour or fine sand will be
used instead of soil, the falling test method should be selected to measure the
permeability of rice flour.
The falling test method is also called the variable head permeability test. In this
experiment, the water head is not constant, it will decrease over time, so as to achieve
the purpose of reducing the pressure during the experiment and drop the head. This
test method is only suitable for fine-grained soil(Elhakim, A. F, 2016) . Rice flour and
fine sand can meet this condition.

Related calculations and definitions

Permeability,ki
Permeability coefficient is defined as the unit flow rate under unit hydraulic gradient,
which indicates how easy it is for fluid to pass through the pore framework.
The following equation was used
A2  L h1
ki   ln
A1 Ti h2
Definition
A1=Area
A2=Cross-sectional Area
Ti=average time interval (seconds)
L=Depth
h1=vertical height from outlet to top of water column
h2=vertical height from outlet to bottom of water column

Void Ratio,ei
Void Ratio is the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume of the soil.
The following equation was used
Vtoti  Vsi
e
Vsi
Vtoti=Correct Total Volume
Vsi=Volume of Sand Only
Related formula
msi
Vsi 
Gρ w
Vtot ( L  di )
Vtoti 
L
Definition
G=The specific gravity of sand is 2.65
ρw= 1.0 g/cm3
di=settlement

2.1 Methodology

Due to the Covid-19, this method only represents a simple operation performed by
students at home. The formal operation will be shown in appendix.
Preparation
Prepare a plastic water bottle with a constant diameter of about 500ml, then punch a
few small holes in the bottom of the bottle. The purpose of the small holes is to allow
water to flow out, but the diameter should not be too large to prevent the rice flour
from flowing out. Finally, cut off the top of the plastic bottle to make it a cylinder.

Procedures
1. Put the rice into the bottom of the plastic bottle and fill it to 10mm. The function
of this step is to use the rice as a filter to prevent the rice flour from flowing out. Then
weigh the plastic bottles and rice at this time.
2. Start adding rice flour so that the height of the rice flour reaches about 40mm in
the plastic bottle, then record the weight of the plastic bottle which contains the rice
flour.
3. Measure and record the height and diameter of rice flour.
4. Put the plastic bottle at this time in a bowl filled with water. The water level in the
bowl needs to be flush with the bottom of the rice flour.
5. At this time, fill the plastic bottle with water and let the water penetrate the rice
flour for about 5 minutes.
6. When the rice flour are saturated, refill the plastic bottle with water and record the
time when the water level drops 10mm from the top of the plastic bottle to the 50mm
water level.

2.2 Results

The data of this experiment is provided by the teacher.

Average Volume (cm3) Height (cm) Cross-sectional Area (cm2)

V h A2=V/h
120 100 1.2
Table 1: Raw Results

Diameter(cm) Depth(cm) Area(cm2) Volume(cm3)

D L Vtot=L×A1
A1=πD2/4
6.95 12.64 37.937 479.52
Table 2: Raw Results

h1 115cm h2 15cm
Table 3: Raw Results

stage Mass Avg Settle Mass Sand Volume Correct Total

Sand + Time (s) ment in of Sand Volume (cm3)
 Bowl(g) (cm) Permeameter Only
(g) (cm3)
i mi Ti di msi=m0–mi VSi=msi/( Vtoti=Vtot
Gρw) (L-di)/L
0 1356
1 647 8.3 0.4 709 267.547 464.345
2 590 9.2 1.3 766 289.057 430.20
3 490 16 0.1 866 326.792 475.726
4 467 19.02 0.05 889 335.472 477.623
Table 4: Raw Results and Calculation

Stage Voids (cm3) Voids Ratio, ei Permeability, ki(cm/s)

i Voidsi =Vtoti - VSi ei =Voidsi/VSi (A2L/A1Ti)·In(h1/h2)

1 196.798 0.736 0.0981
2 141.146 0.488 0.0885
3 148.934 0.456 0.0508
4 142.151 0.424 0.0428
Table 5: Value of Void ratio and Permeability

It can be concluded from the data in Table 5 that when the value of void ratio
decreases, the value of permeability coefficient will also decrease. Therefore, it can be
roughly derived from 4 samples that there is a linear relationship between void ratio
and permeability coefficient.

Figure 1.The relationship between Voids ration and permeability

It can be clearly seen from figure 1 that there is a positive correlation between void
ratio and permeability coefficient. As the void ratio increases, the permeability
coefficient increases. The increase in permeability coefficient also means an increase
in permeability(Zhang, F, Fredlund, D. G, & Ward Wilson, G, 2016). However, it can
also be found from the graph that the void ratio and the permeability coefficient are
not linear. The four points in the graph are rising irregularly, which means that the
changes between them are not constant.

3.Flow tank test

The purpose of this experiment is to use Flow Tank to observe the flow and water
head in the soil, and build an experimental flow net based on the data obtained.
In this experiment, the flow lines of the soil in the tank were visualized. The
movement of several injected red dyes on the sand represented the flow curve. The
experiment outlines that the soil is placed in a box under a pool and the soil is allowed
to seep into the soil where the water pressure is low. At the same time, inject fuel into
a certain position in the soil and the fuel will flow, which is easy to observe. There are
pipes connected to various points on the back of the flow tank, these pipes will lead to
the pressure gauge pipe. These pipes will be treated as "standpipes". Their role is to
detect the "head" at that point. Finally, the value of each point is used to draw
equipotential lines.

Related calculations and definitions

flow rate, Q
Flow rate refers to the amount of fluid passing through a cross section of a river, canal
or pipeline in a unit time.
The following equation was used
Nf
Q  kH W
Nh
Definition
k=permeability of the sand
Nf=number of flow tubes
Nh=number of equipotential drops
H=difference in water level
W=internal width

3.1 Methodology

1. Set up the flow tank before the beginning of the experimental class. The purpose
of this step is to stabilize the flow. Prepare a measuring cylinder with a capacity of
Xml and a stopwatch. The flow rate is measured by the water discharged downstream
of the water tank, this process is repeated three times to obtain an average value. Then
start to measure the internal width of the flow trough and calculate the flow rate in the
tank through the formula Q = X / T. Finally, measure the water level difference
between the top of the flow tank and the middle drain hole.
2. Read all the values of the pressure gauge tube and record them directly on the flow
tank chart. The drainage trough is symmetrical, therefore, in fact the points on the
flow tank diagram should be twice the number of recorded points.
3. Inject five or six traces of dye into the soil and monitor the movement of the dye.
4. Use a blue pencil to draw the streamline in step 3 on the flow tank diagram. This
step is only a sketch of the streamline, these experimental streamlines are only for
reference.
5. Begin to draw a sketch of the equipotential curve, divide H by Nh = 6 (the number
is arbitrary, the purpose is to calculate the distance between the equipotential curves).
Start with the head value at the exit and gradually add this value until you reach H and
write down six equipotential values (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, H) at the top of the sketch.
6. Starting from h1, place a pen point on each point with this value and use the blue
streamline as a guide for estimation.
7. Add all the h1 points in the black pencil to form a curve. The intersection of the
curve and the streamline must form a perfect right angle. Repeat steps 6 and 7 to draw
equipotential curves for h2, h3, h4, and h5.
8. Draw a theoretical streamline sketch. The blue flow curve in the figure, as the
actual theoretical flow curve which have the same interval, at the same time, it must
intersect the equipotential curve to form a "curve square".
9. Count the number of flow tubes. The flow tube is the space between the theoretical
streamlines, it can also be obtained simply by subtracting one from the number of
theoretical streamlines.
10. Finally, mark the conditions of the boundary type on the sketch, which are mainly
divided into three types: FL, EP, and CP.

3.2 Results

The data is provided by the teacher, the related calculations and other experimental
results will be shown in the appendix.
 Figure 2.Experiment Flow Net

4.Discussion
First of all, as a human experiment, errors are inevitable, which will affect the
accuracy of the results. When measuring the size of the instrument at the beginning,
the readings made by different people will have some deviations. Then for the
readings of the pressure gauge and the timing of the flow rate, especially the timing of
the flow rate, the error may be very large due to the use of a stopwatch for the
readings. Because everyone’s reaction time to the flow of water entering or exiting the
pipe will be different, which leads to an increase in the difficulty of reading, therefore,
the value of the flow net obtained from the experiment can only be used as a
reference.

Secondly, in the experiment to draw the flow net, as long as the intersection between
Nh and Nf meets the conditions that the intersection must be at right angles and the
interval formed must be able to accommodate a circle, the number of Nh and Nf can
be set arbitrarily. If the value is different, the equipotential value will be found to
change. Although the value of the outlet head and the inlet head remains unchanged
and the value of any point between them is not much different, when the number of
Nh is more, according to the formula H/Nh, the calculated value will be more accurate.
When the number of Nh is small, there will be some errors. This is one of the reasons
why the value of Flow net cannot be completely accurate.

Finally, there will be errors between the permeability value deduced by the
experimental flow net and the permeability value tested by the permeameter. The
reason is that for experiments, in order to ensure that the error of the experimental
results is minimized, the soil used must be exactly the same and the characteristics of
the soil samples should be completely constant. The soil samples in the experiment
should be fully saturated, isotropic and homogeneous. But for this experiment, the
results obtained are only for reference. It is very difficult to obtain multiple soil
samples that meet the above conditions, therefore, the soil samples in the experiment
are not isotropic and completely homogeneous(Elhakim, A. F, 2016 ). Therefore, only
roughly the same soil samples can be used to ensure that the error of the results is not
too large, which leads to the inaccuracy of the net flow value.

5.Conclusion
Related conclusions can be drawn from the completion of the two experiments: the
results of the experiment are basically in line with the theory. The permeameter
experiment has concluded that as the void ratio increases, the permeability increases
accordingly(Zhang, Y, Li, H, Abdelhady, A, & Yang, J, 2020). From figure 1 in the
report, it can be seen that their present is a positive correlation. Although the accuracy
cannot be fully guaranteed, the relationship is consistent with the theory. At the same
time, the drafting of flow net also basically played a reference role.
6.Reference lists
Elhakim, A. F, 2016 , Estimation of soil permeability, Alexandria Engineering
Journal, 55(3), 2631–2638.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2016.07.034

Verruijt, A, 2017, Permeability,In An Introduction to Soil Mechanics ,Springer

International Publishing, page,59-65.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61185-3_7

Zhang, Y, Li, H, Abdelhady, A, & Yang, J, 2020, Comparative laboratory

measurement of pervious concrete permeability using constant-head and falling-head
permeameter methods, Construction & Building Materials, 263, 120614.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120614

Zhang, F, Fredlund, D. G, & Ward Wilson, G, 2016, Water Permeability Function for
Soils that Undergo Volume Change as Suction Changes, Indian Geotechnical
Journal, 46(3),pages, 210–227.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-016-0187-5

Zhang, M., Yao, D., Lu, H., & Wang, H. (2020). Solution of seepage field in different
soil layers of concrete dam foundation by flow net method. IOP Conference Series.
Earth and Environmental Science, 546(5), 52053–.
https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/546/5/052053

7.Appendix
Method of Permeameter for soil.
Calculations related to flow net.

All calculations and raw data are displayed in excel, if necessary, excel can be
provided.