CONSTANT HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST

Introduction

Permeability is the property of soil which permits flow of water through it from points of high energy to
points of low energy, due to existence of interconnected voids. The constant head permeability test is a
common laboratory testing method used to determine the permeability of large-grained soils with
intermediate and high permeability such as sand and gravel. The test uses a constant head
permeameter, which is an instrument in which water is made to flow through a column of soil under
application of a pressure difference which remains constant, i.e. under a constant head.

Theory background

The constant head method is based on measuring the volume of water flowing through a soil specimen
in a certain time, under conditions of constant head, steady state of flow, full saturation of the soil and
direct proportionality between discharge velocity and hydraulic gradient.

The discharge velocity is measured as the volume of water passing through the specimen per unit time
divided by the cross-sectional area of soil. The coefficient of permeability is determined as the slope of
the curve representing the discharge velocity as a function of the gradient.

Objective

To determine the coefficient of permeability of the soil sample.

Apparatus

- A Perspex cylinder with all the connections

- Glass tube manometers.
- Clean water and a sink.
- De-airing tank and a vacuum pump.
- Stop-watch, balance and various laboratory items.
- Clean gravels and a measuring cylinder

The setup is illustrated on the next page:

 i = hydraulic gradient.

2- Calculate unit weight of the soil.

c b a

Δh

Air valve Loading piston

Perforated
plate

L A
Q

Wire
gauze

Procedure

Preparation

1. Make a sieve analysis of the soil to be tested and check the permeameter connections, sealing
gaskets and place the cylinder on the base and tighten down.
2. Fill the cell with de-aired water and place the bottom part of the filter gravel under water to a
thickness of about 5cm.
3. Put the soil into the permeameter and stir with a rod to settle the soil particles. The soil level
should be about 7cm from the top of the cylinder.
4. Place the upper filter gravel also to a thickness of 5cm and put the top plate on.
5. Place the 4kg weight on the loading shelf and measure the height of the specimen.
6. Connect the permeameter inlet to the constant head tank and top up the permeameter with de-
aired water, letting the air escape through the bleeder valve.

Test procedure

1. Operate the de-airing tank under high vacuum until it is filed withed-aired water.
2. Fill the constant-head tank with de-aired water and disconnect the vacuum and open the
connection to the constant-head tank to let water overflow from the latter tank.
 3. Open the permeameter inlet and outlet and adjust the level of the outlet tube to give a mean
head loss (Δh). Measure and record the mean temperature.
4. Start to fill the measuring cylinder from the permeameter outlet starting the stop watch at the
same time. When the water has been collected enough stop the stop watch, record the time (t)
and record the volume of water (v).
5. Lower the permeameter outlet to increase Δh in steps and obtain more readings.

Results

Diameter of the cell = 100mm

Area of the cell = 7850mm2

Manometer outlet L = 315mm

Specific gravity = 2.65

Time (sec) Water Temperature Manometer Reading

Discharged (oC)
(cm3) H1 (cm) H2 (cm) H3 (cm)

17.97 110 25 87.1 62.8 36.5

19.06 115 25 86.9 62.8 36.1

21.44 127 25 86.5 61.7 35.4

20.90 120 25 86.7 60.4 34.3

20.12 120 25 86.6 62.3 35.1

Analysis

We compute the velocity and gradient for each data and draw a graph of Velocity against Gradient for
the whole range of measurement.

Time V H1 H2 H3 H1-H2 H2-H3 Δh Gradient Velocity

(sec) (cm3) (cm) (cm) (cm)

17.97 110 87.1 62.8 36.5 24.3 26.3 2 0.063492 0.077978

19.06 115 86.9 62.8 36.1 24.1 26.7 2.6 0.082539 0.076860

21.44 127 86.5 61.7 35.4 24.8 26.3 1.5 0.047619 0.075458

20.9 120 86.7 60.4 34.3 26.3 26.1 0.2 0.006349 0.073141

20.12 120 86.6 62.3 35.1 24.3 27.2 2.9 0.092063 0.075977
 Graph of Velocity against Gradient
0.079

0.078
y = 0.0404x + 0.0735
0.077
Velocity (m/s)

0.076

0.075

0.074

0.073

0.072
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1
Gradient (i)

We compute the coefficient of permeability as the slope of the graph

𝐾 = 4.04 × 10−2 𝑐𝑚/𝑠

Correct the permeability to that for 20 oC by the formula

η𝑇
𝐾20 = 𝐾𝑇 ( )
η20

Where

𝐾𝑇 − 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑇

η 𝑇 𝑎𝑛𝑑 η20 − 𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑇 𝑑𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 20 𝑑𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦

0.00894
𝐾20 = 4.04 × 10−2 ( )
0.01005

𝐾20 = 3.59 × 10−2 𝑐𝑚/𝑠

Discussion

Permeability is a very important engineering property of soils. Knowledge of permeability is essential in

a number of soil engineering problems: -
 - To determine the amount of seepage through and beneath earth structures.
- To control seepage velocities such that fine particles of soil mass not eroded.
- Rate of settlement (consolidation) studies.
- The permeability of soils is also required in design of filters used to prevent piping in hydraulic
structures.

The soil being tested has a coefficient of permeability of 3.59 × 10−2 𝑐𝑚/𝑠. This indicates that the soil
has intermediate permeability. Soils with intermediate include sands and gravels. Such soil are ideal for
areas where intermediate permeability is desired, for example when growing crops which require well
drained soils such as watermelons and tomatoes.

Sources of error in the experiment include;

- Inaccurate reading volume from the measuring cylinder.

- Lack of synchrony between the time and manometer readings.
- Leaks within the hydrometric system

Conclusion

In summary, the soil sample was found to have a coefficient of permeability of 3.59 × 10−2 𝑐𝑚/𝑠. This
indicates that the soil has intermediate permeability.

References

- Principles of Geotechnical engineering by Braja M. Das.

- University of Nairobi Soil Mechanics Lab manual.