GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1

CE161P
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF
SOILS

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 ONE-DIMENSIONAL
FLOW OF WATER
THROUGH SOILS
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 INTRODUCTION
◆ Soils are porous materials, much like
sponges. Water can flow between the
interconnected voids.
◆ The flow of water has caused instability
and failure of many geotechnical
structures (e.g., roads, bridges, dams,
and excavations).
◆ The key physical property that governs
the flow of water in soils is hydraulic
conductivity (or permeability).
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 HEAD AND PRESSURE VARIATION IN
A FLUID AT REST

◆ According to Bernoulli’s principle, the total Head (H) is:

V2
◇ H = hz + hp + 2g
Where hz = elevation head
hp = pressure head
v = velocity
g = gravitational force

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 HEAD AND PRESSURE VARIATION IN
A FLUID AT REST
◆ Pressures are defined relative to atmospheric pressure
(atmospheric pressure is 101.3 kPa at a temperature of 150C. This
is called gage pressure. The gage pressure at the groundwater
level (free surface) is zero.
◆ The velocity of flow through soils is generally small (<1 cm/s) and
we usually neglect the velocity head.
◆ The total head in soils is then:
◇ H = hz + hp = hz + γu𝒘
Where u = hpγw is the porewater pressure.
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 HEAD AND PRESSURE VARIATION IN
A FLUID AT REST

Illustration of elevation and pressure heads

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 HEAD AND PRESSURE VARIATION IN
A FLUID AT REST

Head loss due to flow of water through soil

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 HEAD AND PRESSURE VARIATION IN
A FLUID AT REST

◆ As the water flows through the soil, energy is dissipated through

friction with the soil particles, resulting in a loss of head.
◆ The head loss between A and B, assuming decrease in head, is
positive and our datum arbitrarily selected at the top of the
cylinder is ΔH = (hp)A – (hp)B.

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 DARCY’S LAW

◆ Darcy (1856) proposed that average flow velocity through soils

is proportional to the gradient of the total head. The flow in any
direction, j, is:
dH
◇ vj = kj dx
i
Where v is the average flow velocity, k is a coefficient of
proportionality called the hydraulic conductivity (sometimes
called the coefficient of permeability), and dH is the change in
total head over a distance dx.

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 DARCY’S LAW

◆ The unit of measurement for k is length/time, that is, cm/s.

Then Darcy’s law becomes:
◇ vx = kx ΔLH = kxi
Where i = ΔH/L is the hydraulic gradient.

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 DARCY’S LAW

◆ The average velocity, v, is for the cross-sectional area

normal to the direction of flow. Flow through soils, however,
occurs only through the interconnected voids. The velocity
through the void spaces is called seepage velocity (vs) and
is obtained by dividing the average velocity by the porosity
of the soil:
kj
◇ vs = 𝒊
n

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 DARCY’S LAW

◆ The volume rate of flow, qj, or simply, flow rate is the product of
the average velocity and the cross-sectional area:
◇ qj = vjA = Akji

◆ The unit of measurement for qj is m3/s or cm3/s. The conservation

of flow (law of continuity) stipulates that the volume rate of inflow
(qj)in into a soil element must equal the volume rate of outflow,
(qj)out, or, simply, inflow must equal outflow: (qj)in = (qj)out.

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 DARCY’S LAW

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 SAMPLE PROBLEM

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 SAMPLE PROBLEM 1

◆ A soil sample 10 cm in diameter is placed in a tube 1 m long. A

constant supply of water is allowed to flow into one end of the
soil at A, the outflow at B is collected by a beaker. The average
amount of water collected is 1 cm3 for every 10 seconds. The
tube is inclined as shown in the figure. Determine the (a)
hydraulic gradient, (b) flow rate, (c) average velocity, (d) seepage
velocity if e = 0.6, and (e) hydraulic conductivity.

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 SAMPLE PROBLEM 1

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 SAMPLE PROBLEM 1

◆ Answers:
◇ a. hydraulic gradient, i = 1.2
◇ b. Flow rate, qz = 0.1 cm3/s
◇ c. average velocity, v = 0.0013 cm/s
◇ d. seepage velocity, vs = 0.0034 cm/s
◇ e. hydraulic conductivity, kz = 10.6 x 10-4 cm/s

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 END OF
DISCUSSION!
Any questions?

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