Water flow through soil

1. Driving potential- total head

2. Darcy’s law
3. Determination of the coefficient of permeability
4. Effective stress and pore water pressure in soil
5. Seepage force and critical hydraulic gradient

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

  Soil is a kind of porous medium and the
seepage
pores interconnect with each other. Once
energy difference exists between two
point inside soil, water will flows in soil
pores from points of high energy to low. Soil particle water

 the slow movement of water through soil is commonly referred as

seepage.
 the property that water or other liquid can flow through soil is
referred as soil permeability.
School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23
 对土的渗透问题研究主要包括下述三个方面：

 Seepage discharge
 Seepage deformation
Seepage control

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 problem：
1. Seepage flow？
2. seepage failure？
3. seepage force ？

project

Earth-rockfill dam
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 problem：
1. Seepage flow？
2. seepage failure？
3. seepage force ？

project

Seepage in foundation pit

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 Seepage in well
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 Seepage in river
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 problem：
1. Seepage force?
2. Infiltration
process？

project

Landslide induced by rain

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• Water retaining structure
• water collecting structure
• Foundation engineering
• Underground engineering
• Slope engineering
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•Seepage quantity
•Uplift pressure
SEEPAGE •seepage water pressur
DEFORMATION
• seepage failure
STRENGTH
•Seepage location
2021-09-23
 Water head and hydraulic gradient Driving energy of seepage
 The permeability test and Darcy's law Reflecting the characteristic
of seepage
 Determination
of permeability coefficient and effect The permeability soil
factors
 Equivalent penetration coefficient of Permeability coefficien
layered foundation t of foundation

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

 location：make the water flow
Water flows downwards from higher height potential energy
to the lower one.

Water flows upwards v

Flow velocity ： kinetic energy of water
pressure： pressure potential

Also makes the water flow

Pressure u

driving force of water flow

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23
 Soil consists of discrete particles, the pore spaces
between particles are all interconnected so that
water is free flow within the soil mass. In such a
porous media, water will flow from zones of
higher head to lower. Head refers to the
mechanical energy per unit weight.

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

 Total head：the energy per unit weight water 2
u v
h  hz  
 Position or elevation head (hz)： the height potential w 2g
energy at arbitrary datum plane
 pressure head (u/w) ： Pressure potential energy of
water （u is pore pressure)
 velocity head v2/(2g)： kinetic energy of water(v is
velocity of water flow)

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

The velocity of flow through soil is generally small, and usually can be neglected.
Therefore, the total head in soil is:

u
h  hz 
w

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 uA
• total head at A： hA  hz A 
w
• total head at B ： h  h  uB
B zB
w
• The difference between A and B
reflects the energy loss due to
friction with the soil particles

h  h A  hB

• hydraulic gradient i：head loss at unit flow path length h

i
hydraulic gradient L
School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23
 Darcy’law
The average flow velocity through soils is
proportional to the gradient of the total head: Q
v  ki

h1
Q  kAi

h2
L
A
where，v is average velocity; Filter plate
k is the coefficient of permeability;
i is hydraulic gradient= △h/L Q
△h is difference in total head over
a flow path length of L
A is cross section area
Q is quantity flowing in unit time

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

  Darcy’s law：the seepage is under laminar flow, the flow velocity v is proportional
to hydraulic gradient i ，and is related to soil type.
 k: depends on the soil type, the particle size distribution, the structural
arrangement of the grains or void ratio, the degree of saturation, the viscosity of
the water which varies with temperature, and the wholeness of the soil mass.
unit： cm/s, m/s, m/day
 v：average velocity.

v
v  vs 
where，Vs is seepage velocity in porosity

n
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 Most of the seepage problems in geotechnical
engineering is laminar flow problems, including 2.0
sand and general clay

Hydraulic gradient
1.5
 In coarse soil, the water flow can change
into turbulent flow along with the increasing 1.0
velocity, not obeying Darcy's law.
0.5 Scope of Darcy’s law

0
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
velocity (m/h)

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 Special cases
 For coarse grains such as gravels, with larger hydraulic gradients and velocity,
there is an evidence that the flow does depart from linear relationship of Darcy’s
law, since it turns to turbulent state. Under this condition, the relationship is:

v  ki m
(m  1)

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

 Special cases
 For clay soil, with large charged surface area of clays, there are some suggestion
that water does not act as a Newtonian fluid, at least for small gradients, and that
there is a threshold gradient ,i0, which must be exceeded before flow occurs. If we
extrapolate the linear portion to i0, the following empirical model should apply
approximately over the entire range for i＞i0

i>i0, v=k(i - i0 )

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 Exercises
A soil sample with 10cm in diameter is placed in a tube 1m long. A constant supply of water
is allowed to flow into one end of the soil at A and the outflow at B is collected by a beaker.
The average amount of water collected is 1 cm3 for every 10s. Determine the (a) hydraulic
gradient,(b) flow rate, (c) average velocity, (4) seepage velocity, if e=0.6, and (e) coefficient
of permeability.

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

 Determination of permeability coefficient

• The constant head test

 Laboratory test
• The falling head test

 Field test • Pumping test

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 The constant head test
The constant head test is used to determine the
coefficient of permeability of coarse-grained
soils. h
Water is allowed to flow through a cylindrical soil L

sample of soil under a constant head(h). The Q

A
outflow is collected in a graduated at a
convenient duration. V

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

  Test condition : Δh，A，L=const
 Variables : V，t
V=qt=vAt
VL h
v=ki k 
Aht soil L
i=Δh/L
Q
V is the total quantity of water collected in the measuring A
cylinder over time;
A is cross section area of soil sample;
v is the velocity of water; V
i is hydraulic gradient;
Δh is difference in total head over a flow path length of L;
k is the coefficient of permeablity.

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

 t=t1
The falling head test
The falling head test is used for fine-grained soils(the h1
flow of water through these soils is too slow to get
t=t2
reasonable measurements from the constant-head test).
h2

A compacted soil sample or a sample extracted from the Measuring

field is placed in a metal or acrylic cylinder. Porous Q
soil L tube
stones are placed at the top and bottom faces of the
valve
sample. Why? A a

Water flow through the sample from a standpipe attached

to the bottom of the cylinder, the head of water changes
with time as flow occurs through the soil. At different times, the water head is recorded.
School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23
 t=t1
 Test condition: Δh changed
A，a，L=const h1

 Variables : h，t t=t2

h2

Measuring
 soil type：fine-grained soils Q
soil L tube

valve
A a

Falling head test

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23
 From tt+dt ：
• Inflow： dVe= - adh dh
t t=t1
t+dt
• Outflow： dVo=kiAdt=k (Δh/L)Adt

• Continuity conditions ：dVe=dVo h1h

aL dh t=t2
-adh =k (h/L)Adt dt   h2
kA h
t2 aL h2 dh aL h1 tube
 t1
dt  
kA h1 ht2  t1 
kA
ln
h2
Q
soil L
valve
aL h1 A
k  ln
A(t2  t1 ) h2
Note: a is the cross section are of the tube
Select the results at different times ，calculate the value of k then averaged it.

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

 Constant head test Falling head test
condition Δh=const Δh changed

Known parameters Δh，A，L a，A，L

measurement V，t Δh，t
aL h1
equation k
VL k  ln
Aht A(t2  t1 ) h2
evolution repeated tests，average value Different time points，average value

application Coarse soil Fine-grained soil

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

 Pumping test
One common method of determining the
coefficient of permeability in the field is by
pumping water at a constant flow rate from
a well and measuring the decrease in
groundwater level at observation wells.

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23

Let dz be the water head drop over a distance
dr, then the hydraulic gradient is i=dh/dr.
The area of flow at a radial distance r from the center
of the pumping well is A=2πrh and h is the thickness
of an elemental volume of the previous soil layer.
According to Darcy’s law, the flow is:
dh
Q  Aki  2 rh  k
dr dr
Q  2 khdh
r
Integrate it between the limits r2 and r2 , then :
Q ln( r2 / r1 )
r2 k 
Q ln   k (h22  h12 )  h2  h1
2 2
r1

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 Nature soil is layered

• determining the parameter at each layer ki

• determining the equivalent permeability
coefficient according to the seepage direction

equivalent permeability coefficient

Taking a single soil layer instead of multilayer

soil and the total permeability keep the same.

Equivalent permeability coefficient of soil layers

School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23
 h
i
 Known conditions : i  i 
L
H  H i

 Darcy’s law: qx=vxH=kx i H

Σqix=Σki ii Hi

 Equivalent conditions : qx  q ix

Equivalent permeability coefficient: k x  1 k H

i i
H

Flow parallel to soil layers

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 vi  v
 Known conditions :
h   h i H  H i

 Darcy’s law: vi = ki (Δhi / Hi )

v = kz (Δh / H )
 Equivalent conditions :
vi H i vH
hi  h 
ki kz
vH vi H i
 h   h i  
kz ki
H
Equivalent permeability coefficient: k z  Hi
k
Flow normal to soil layers i

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  Example x

H1  1.0m, k1  0.01m / day k1 z H1

H 2  1.0m, k2  1m / day k2 H2 H

H 3  1.0m, k3  100m / day k3 H3

kx 
 kH i i
 33.67m / day
H Controlled by the thickness layer
H
kz   0.03m / day
Hi
k Controlled by the thinner layer
i

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 Flow parallel to soil layers Flow normal to soil layers

Conditions
q q i ;H  H ; i v1  v 2  ...  v ;

ii  i 
h h   h ;H   H
i i
L
equivalent H1 , H 2 ...;k1 ... H1 , H 2 ...;k1 ,k 2 ...
permeability
h
coefficient q  k x iH v  kzi  kz
H
H
kz 
k H
1
kx 

i i Hi
H
ki

Comparison
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 The effective stress principle of soil
Pore fluid Three phases
Soil＝ The solid skeleton + Pore water + air

Applied loads Total stress 

The total stress is undertaken by the solid skeleton and pore fluid.
How to share the total stress?
That about the transformation?
What about the influence on the strength and deformation of soil?

The effective stress

principle Soil mechanics became an impendent subject.
(Terzaghi, 1923）
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 a-a section is formed by
A
Stress in saturated soil contact point
A： Section area of soil element
As：Area of contact points A  AS  A w
a a
Aw：Section of pore water u：pore water
pressure
a-a section -vertical direction force balance ：

  A   Psv  uA w 
 Psv A
 w u PSV
A A
PS

Effective stress σ’ Aw
1
A

  ' u
PS
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    ' u
Total stress does not contribute any to the volume change of soils, the effective stress
is the one to cause the volume change of soils.

To determine the effective stress in a soil mass, the pore water stress must be known.
The pore water stress at a particular point in a soil mass is the depth of water above
that point multiplied by the unit weight of water.
u=γwz

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 Effective stress due to hydrostatic stress field
(1) A soil element at a depth of z below the ground surface
And the groundwater level is at ground surface.
Thus, the total vertical stress is:
σ=γsatz
The pore water pressure:
z
 sat
u=γwz
The effective stress:
σ’=σ-u=γsatz-γwz=(γsat-γw)z=γ’z

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 Effective stress due to hydrostatic stress field
(2)If the groundwater level is at a depth zw below ground
level, then
the total vertical stress is: zw

The pore water pressure:
σ=γsat(z-zw)+γzw z  sat
u=γw(z-zw)
The effective stress:
σ’=σ-u= γsat(z-zw)+γzw –γw(z-zw)
=(γsat-γw)(z-zw)+γzw=γ’(z-zw )+γzw

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 Effect of seepage
If seepage occurs downward, the water level of
the standpipe located at the element will be lower than
the ground water level, the pore water pressure becomes
z
u=γw(z-iz)
And the effective stress is:

σ’=σ-u=γsatz-γw(z-iz)=(γsat-γw)z+γwiz=γ’z+γwiz

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 Effect of seepage
If seepage occurs upward, the water level of
the standpipe located at the element will be higher than
the ground water level, the pore water pressure becomes
z
u=γw(z+iz)
And the effective stress is:

σ’=σ-u=γsatz-γw(z+iz)=(γsat-γw)z-γwiz=γ’z-γwiz

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 Example
Ground level
Calculate the effective stress for a soil element at 5m-
depth in a uniform deposit of soil . Sr=0.6
2m w=30%
e1=Vv/Vs=(Vv/Vw)(Vw/Vs) Gs=2.7
5m
=(1/Sr)(mw/ρw)/(ms/ρs)
w=40%
=(1/Sr)(mw/ms)/(ρs/ρw)
=w1Gs/Sr=0.3×2.7/0.6=1.35
ρ=m/V=ms(1+w1)/(Vs+Vv)=(ms/Vs)(1+w1)/(1+Vv/Vs)
=Gs (1+w1)/(1+e)
=2.7×(1+0.3)/(1+1.35)
Thus, γ1=ρg=14.6kN/m3
=1.49g/cm3
School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23
 Example
Ground level
Calculate the effective stress for a soil element at 5m-
depth in a uniform deposit of soil . Sr=0.6
2m w=30%
e1=Vv/Vs=(Vv/Vw)(Vw/Vs) Gs=2.7
5m
=(1/Sr)(mw/ρw)/(ms/ρs)
w=40%
=(1/Sr)(mw/ms)/(ρs/ρw)
=w1Gs/Sr=0.3×2.7/0.6=1.35
ρ=m/V=ms(1+w1)/(Vs+Vv)=(ms/Vs)(1+w1)/(1+Vv/Vs)
=Gs (1+w1)/(1+e)
=2.7×(1+0.3)/(1+1.35)
Thus, γ1=ρg=14.6kN/m3
=1.49g/cm3
School of Civil Engineering 2021-09-23
 Example
Ground level
For the effective stress
Sr=0.6
total stress σ=γz1+γsat(z2-z2)=14.6×2+17.8×(5-2)2m w=30%
=82.6 kPa Gs=2.7
5m
Pore water stress u=γw(z2-z1)=9.8×3=29.4 kPa w=40%

Effective stress σ’=σ-u=82.6-29.4=53.2 kPa

Or σ’=γz1+γ’(z2-z1)=14.6×2+(17.8-9.8) ×(5-2)=53.2 kPa

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 Example
Water is seeping downward through a soil layer.
Two standpipes located 2 m apart showed a head
loss of 0.2m, calculate the resultant vertical stress
for a soil element at a depth of 6m.
For the hydraulic gradient
△h=0.2m; L=2m; i= △h/L=0.1
For the effective stress
σ’=γ’z1+iγw z1=(18.5-9.8)×6+0.1× 9.8 ×6=58.1 kPa

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 Seepage force
 Δh=0 soil skeleton will subject to buoyancy
under hydrostatic pressure .
 Δh>0 water flows through soil sample, and
will be prevented by soil skeleton. Meanwhile,
the pore fluid also can apply drag force to it.
 It is often convenient to define the drag per
unit volume as the seepage force.

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 Seepage force j：the drag force applied to unit soil skeleton
due to seepage water flow passing through it.

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  Force analysis – Hydrostatic pressure

R + P2 = W + P1
R = L
R + wh2 = L(+ w) + whw

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  Force analysis – seepage flow

R + P2 = W + P1
R = L - wh
R + wh1 = L(+ w) + whw

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 comparison
• soil in still water R = L
• soil in seepage R = L - wh

Once there is a upward flow, the resistance of

filter screen decreases.
Who will undertake the decrease part?
Total seepage force: J=wh

 Seepage force j：
j = J/V = wh /L = wi

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  Critical hydraulic gradient
Two parts of effective stress: formed by gravity and
caused by seepage.
Upward flow:
σ’=σ-u=γsatz-γw(z+iz)=(γsat-γw)z-γwiz=γ’z-γwiz
Downward flow:
σ’=σ-u=γsatz-γw(z-iz)=(γsat-γw)z+γwiz=γ’z+γwiz
Upward flow: at critical state σ’=γ’z-γwiz
The critical hydraulic gradient icr = =/w
(Gs  1) w Gs  1
  Then, icr 
1 e 1 e
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 Heaving, boiling and piping
If the hydraulic gradient increases and the effective stress becomes zero,
the soil loses its strength and behaves like a viscous fluid. The failure from
seepage occurs.
The soil state at which the effective stress is zero is called static liquefaction.
Boiling occurs when seepage force exceeds the downward force of silt.

Boiling

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  Heaving, boiling and piping
Heaving occurs when seepage force push the bottom of an excavation upward.
If the upward seepage forces exceed the submerged weight, the particles may be
carried upwards to be deposited at the ground surface and a pipe is formed in
the soil near the surface. It terms as piping.

piping

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  Example
An excavation is proposed for a site consisting of a homogeneous, isotropic
layer of silty clay, 12.24m thick, above a deep deposit of sand. The groundwater
is 2m below ground level. The void ratio of the silty clay is 0.62 and its specific
gravity is 2.7. what is the limiting depth of the excavation to avoid heaving?
icr= (Gs-1)/(1+e)=(2.7-1)/(1+0.62)=1.05 2m
Total head difference: △h=12.24-h
Average hydraulic gradient: i=△h/h=(12.24-h)/h D
Critical state: i=icr
1.05 =(12.24-h)/h 12.24m
Then, h=5.97m
D=12.24+2-h=8.27m
h
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