GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1

SOIL PERMEABILITY
T-CEET316

Ppt by Engr. Ace Daria

 “IN ENGINEERING PRACTICE, DIFFICULTIES WITH SOILS ARE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY DUE TO NOT THE SOILS
THEMSELVES, BUT TO THE WATER CONTAINED IN THEIR VOIDS. ON A PLANET WITHOUT ANY WATER THERE
WOULD BE NO NEED FOR SOIL MECHANICS”
TERZAGHI, 1939
CONDENSATION

OVERLAND FLOW TRANSPIRATION

VADOSE
ZONE PRECIPITATION

GROUNDWATER TABLE

STREAM FLOW
PERCHED INFILTRATION
ARTESIAN
WELL
EVAPORATION
UNCONFINED CONFINED SPRING
LAKE
PHREATIC
ZONE AQUICLUDE GROUNDWATER FLOW

AQUICLUDE OCEAN
CONFINED AQUIFER
PERMEABILITY
SOILS ARE PERMEABLE DUE TO THE
EXISTENCE OF INTERCONNECTED VOIDS
THROUGH WHICH WATER CAN FLOW FROM
POINTS OF HIGH ENERGY TO POINTS OF LOW
ENERGY.

ONE OF THE MAJOR PHYSICAL PARAMETERS

OF A SOIL THAT CONTROLS THE RATE OF
GWT
SEEPAGE THROUGH IT IS HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY.
GROUNDWATER FLOW CONDITION AQUICLUDE

AQUIFER

AQUICLUDE
ONE-DIMENSIONAL FLOW IS ONE WHICH VELOCITY
VECTORS ARE ALL PARALLEL AND OF EQUAL MAGNITUDE.
THE WATER MOVE PARALLEL TO AN AXIS AND THROUGH A
CONSTANT CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL FLOW CONDITIONS ARE PRESENT WHEN

ALL OF THE VELOCITY VECTORS ARE CONFINED IN A SINGLE
PLANE, BUT VARY WITH DIRECTION AND MAGNITUDE
WITHIN THAT PLANE.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL FLOW EXIST WHEN THE VELOCITY

VARY WITH X, Y AND Z AXIS.
 LAMINAR FLOW OCCURS WHEN THE VELOCITY IS LOW IN
WHERE THE FLUID FLOWS IN SMOOTH ORDERLY
FASHION.
GROUNDWATER FLOW CONDITION
DIRECTION OF FLOW
STEADY STATE CONDITION MEANS A SYSTEM REACHED EQUILIBRIUM IN
WHERE THE DIRECTION, VELOCITY, AND FLOW RATE OF THE FLUID IS
CONSTANT WITH TIME.
TURBULENT FLOW HAPPENS WHEN THE VELOCITY IS
HIGH WHICH CAUSES THE WATER TO MOVE IN SWIRL
UNSTEADY STATE ALSO KNOWN AS TRANSIENT CONDITION EXIST WHEN PATTERN.
SOMETHING IS IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING SUCH AS FLOW RATE,
VELOCITY AND/OR DIRECTION VARIES WITH TIME.

STEADY STATE
REYNOLDS NUMBER: WHERE:
UNSTEADY STATE 𝜌 - DENSITY OF FLUID
𝜌𝑣𝑑
𝑅𝑒 = 𝑣 - DISCHARGE VELOCITY
STEADY STATE 𝜇
𝜇 - VISCOSITY OF FLUID
𝑑 - AVERAGE GRAIN DIAMETER
NOTE!
WHEN: 𝑅𝑒 > 2000 ∴ TURBULENT (STREETER, 1962)
FOR SOIL: 𝑅𝑒 ≤ 1 − 10 ∴ LAMINAR (LINDQUIST, 1933; ROSE, 1945)
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
𝑢 𝑣2
ℎ= + +𝑧
𝛾𝑤 𝑔 𝑣2
VELOCITY HEAD: ℎ𝑣 =
2𝑔
WHERE:
ℎ - TOTAL HEAD, 𝑚
𝑢 - PRESSURE, 𝑘𝑃𝑎 𝑢
PRESSURE HEAD: ℎ𝑝 =
𝑣 - VELOCITY, 𝑚/𝑠 𝛾𝑤
𝑧 - ELEVATION, 𝑚

FOR THE FLOW OF WATER THROUGH A POROUS SOIL MEDIUM, THE

VELOCITY HEAD IS NEGLECTED DUE TO SMALL SEEPAGE VELOCITY
ELEVATION HEAD: ℎ𝑧 = 𝑧
WHICH SIMPLIFIED THE EQUATION TO:
𝑢
ℎ= +𝑧
𝛾𝑤 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑚
 BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
FOR HEADLOSS:
∆ℎ = ℎ1 − ℎ2 WHERE:
∆ℎ - HEADLOSS, 𝑚
FOR HYDRAULIC GRADIENT: 𝑖 - HYDRAULIC GRADIENT
HYDRAULIC GRADELINE
𝑑ℎ ∆ℎ 𝑣 - DISTANCE BETWEEN 𝑢1 ∆ℎ
𝑖= = POINT 1 AND 2, 𝑚
𝑑𝐿 𝐿 𝛾𝑤

𝒗 𝑢2
1
TURBULENT FLOW
IN MOST SOILS, THE FLOW OF WATER THROUGH THE 𝛾𝑤
VOID SPACES CAN BE CONSIDERED LAMINAR; THUS, 2
TRANSITION
𝑣∝𝑖 𝑧1
𝐿 𝑧2
NOTE!
LAMINAR FLOW
IN FRACTURED ROCK, STONES, GRAVELS, AND VERY 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑚
COARSE SANDS, TURBULENT FLOW CONDITIONS MAY EXIST

𝒊
 DARCY’S LAW
𝑣 = 𝑘𝑖
WHERE:
𝑣 - DISCHARGE VELOCITY, 𝑚/𝑠
𝑘 - HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY, 𝑚/𝑠
𝑖 - HYDRAULIC GRADIENT

THE ABOVE EQUATION WAS BASED PRIMARILY ON DARCY’S

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE FLOW OF WATER THROUGH CLEAN SANDS. IT
IS VALID FOR LAMINAR FLOW CONDITIONS AND APPLICABLE FOR A WIDE
RANGE OF SOILS.

NOTE!
THE DISCHARGE VELOCITY OF WATER IS BASED ON THE GROSS
CROSSSECTIONAL AREA OF THE SOIL.
 DARCY’S LAW
𝑣 = 𝑘𝑖
WHERE:
𝑣 - DISCHARGE VELOCITY, 𝑚/𝑠
𝑘 - HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY, 𝑚/𝑠
𝑖 - HYDRAULIC GRADIENT

THE ABOVE EQUATION WAS BASED PRIMARILY ON DARCY’S

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE FLOW OF WATER THROUGH CLEAN SANDS. IT
IS VALID FOR LAMINAR FLOW CONDITIONS AND APPLICABLE FOR A WIDE
RANGE OF SOILS.

NOTE!
THE DISCHARGE VELOCITY OF WATER IS BASED ON THE GROSS
CROSSSECTIONAL AREA OF THE SOIL.
 SEEPAGE VELOCITY
DISCHARGE VELOCITY SEEPAGE VELOCITY
FOR THE SEEPAGE VELOCITY: DIRECTION OF FLOW 𝑄 = 𝑣𝐴 𝑄 = 𝑣𝑠 𝐴𝑣
𝑣𝐴 = 𝑣𝑠 𝐴𝑣 𝐴𝑣
𝐴 𝐴𝑠
𝐴
𝑣𝑠 = 𝑣
𝐴𝑣
AREA OF THE SOIL SPECIMEN AREA OF THE VOID
𝐴𝐿 𝐿
𝑣𝑠 = 𝑣
𝐴𝑣 𝐿

𝑉
𝑣𝑠 = 𝑣
𝑉𝑣
𝑣
𝑣𝑠 =
𝑛

TRUE VELOCITY SEEPAGE VELOCITY

RECALL: POROSITY 𝑛 = 𝑉𝑣 /𝑉
 HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY, ALSO CALLED COEFFICIENT OF
PERMEABILITY, IS A PHYSICAL PROPERTY WHICH MEASURES THE TYPICAL VALUES OF HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY OF SATURATED SOILS
ABILITY OF THE SOIL TO TRANSMIT LIQUID (USUALLY WATER)
THROUGH PORE SPACES AND FRACTURES. IT IS GENERALLY HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
EXPRESSED IN 𝑐𝑚/𝑠. SOIL TYPE
𝑐𝑚/𝑠 𝑓𝑡/𝑚𝑖𝑛

IT DEPENDS ON THE PROPERTIES OF THE SOIL AND THE LIQUID CLEAN GRAVEL 100 − 1.0 200 − 2.0
FLOWING THROUGH THE SOIL, COARSE SAND 1.0 − 0.01 2.0 − 0.02
FINE SAND 0.01 − 0.001 0.02 − 0.002
SOIL PROPERTIES: LIQUID PROPERTIES:
SILTY CLAY 0.001 − 0.00001 0.002 − 0.00002
✓ VOID RATIO ✓ DENSITY
CLAY < 0.000001 < 0.000002
✓ SOIL STRUCTURES ✓ VISCOSITY
✓ VOID CONTINUITY
✓ PARTICLE SHAPE
 HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
MATHEMATICALLY, IT CAN BE EXPRESSED AS: CONSIDERING VARYING TEMPERATURE, 𝑇1 and 𝑇2 :
𝑘 𝑇1 𝜂 𝑇1 𝑘 𝑇2 𝜂 𝑇2
𝛾𝑤 𝑘𝜂 =
𝑘= ഥ
𝐾 ഥ=
𝐾 𝛾𝑤 𝑇1 𝛾𝑤 𝑇2
𝜂 𝛾𝑤
IT IS CONVENTIONAL TO EXPRESS THE VALUE OF 𝑘 AT A
WHERE: TEMPERATURE OF 20°C AND ASSUMING THAT 𝛾𝑤 𝑇1 ≅ 𝛾𝑤 𝑇2
𝛾𝑤 - UNIT WEIGHT OF WATER 𝑘20°𝐶 = 𝑘 𝑇2
𝜂 𝑇2
𝜂 - DYNAMIC VISCOSITY 20°𝐶
ഥ - ABSOLUTE PERMEABILITY, 𝑐𝑚2
𝐾

ABSOLUTE PERMEABILITY (ALSO CALLED SPECIFIC

PERMEABILTY OR INTRINSIC PERMEABILITY) IS THE
PROPERTY OF THE SOIL ALONE WHICH AFFECTS THE
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY. IT REEPRESENTS THE VOID
CAPACITY THROUGH WHICH A FLUID CAN FLOW. IT IS
GENERALLY USED BY HYDROGEOLOGIST AND GEOLOGISTS.
PROBLEM 01
GS

Calculate the rate of seepage

through the permeable layer of
soil shown, the hydraulic
conductivity of the soil is 4.8 ×
10−3 cm/s. Express the 10𝑚

answer in ft³/hr per ft width of

5°
permeable layer.
IMPERMEABLE LAYER
FOR HYDRAULIC GRADIENT: 𝑘 = 4.8 × 10−3 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 ×
1𝑓𝑡
×
3600𝑠
30𝑐𝑚 1ℎ𝑟
ℎ 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒
𝑖=
𝐿
RECALL: sin 𝜃 =
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒
𝑘 = 0.576𝑓𝑡/ℎ𝑟

𝑖 = sin 5
𝑖 = 0.0872 GS

FOR THE AREA PERPENDICULAR TO THE FLOW: 5°

𝑦 = 10𝑓𝑡 cos 5 𝐴 = 9.9619𝑓𝑡(1𝑓𝑡)

𝑦 = 9.9619𝑓𝑡 𝐴 = 9.9619𝑓𝑡 2 ℎ
10𝑓𝑡

FOR THE RATE OF SEEPAGE: 𝑦

5°
𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴
𝐴 𝐵
2
𝑄 = 0.576𝑓𝑡/ℎ𝑟 0.0872 9.9619𝑓𝑡
IMPERMEABLE LAYER 𝐿
𝑄 = 0.5001𝑓𝑡 3 /ℎ𝑟
PROBLEM 02
𝐿
GS
WATER FLOWS THROUGH THE
PERMEABLE LAYER AS SHOWN.
GIVEN H= 3.5 ft, h = 4.6 ft, L= 120 ℎ
ft, α = 14˚ AND k = 0.0016 ft/sec.
Calculate: IMPERMEABLE LAYER
a. HYDRAULIC GRADIENT
𝐻
b. FLOW RATE PER FT WIDTH IN
𝑓𝑡 3 /ℎ𝑟
𝛼
c. THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF WATER
PERCOLATED PER DAY
IMPERMEABLE LAYER
FOR HYDRAULIC GRADIENT: FOR THE VOLUME PERCOLATED PER DAY:
ℎ 120𝑓𝑡 𝑉 = 0.7276𝑓𝑡 3 /ℎ𝑟(24ℎ𝑟𝑠)
𝑖= cos 14 =
𝐿 𝐿 𝑉 = 17.4617𝑓𝑡 3
4.6𝑓𝑡 𝐿 = 123.6736𝑓𝑡
𝑖=
123.6736𝑓𝑡 120𝑓𝑡
GS
𝑖 = 0.0372

FOR THE AREA PERPENDICULAR TO THE FLOW: 14° 4.6𝑓𝑡

𝑦 = 3.5𝑓𝑡 cos 14 𝐴 = 3.3960𝑓𝑡(1𝑓𝑡)

𝑦 = 3.3960𝑓𝑡 𝐴 = 3.3960𝑓𝑡 2 IMPERMEABLE LAYER

3.5𝑓𝑡
FOR THE RATE OF SEEPAGE:
𝑦
𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴 14°
3600𝑠 𝐴
𝑄 = 0.0016𝑓𝑡/𝑠 0.0372 3.3960𝑓𝑡 2 × 𝐿 𝐵
ℎ𝑟 IMPERMEABLE LAYER
𝑄 = 0.7276𝑓𝑡 3 /ℎ𝑟
CONSTANT HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST
THE CONSTANT HEAD TEST IS A LABORATORY
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY TEST THAT
APPLIES A CONSTANT HEAD OF WATER AT
EACH END OF A SOIL SAMPLE IN A
PERMEAMETER. THE HEAD ON ONE END IS
GREATER THAT THAT ON THE OTHER , SO A
FLOW IS INDUCED. WE DETERMINE 𝑸, 𝒊, FROM
𝑨 FROM THE TEST RESULT, THEN CALCULATE
𝒌.
𝑄 = 𝑣𝐴 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴
 UPPER RESERVOIR

CONSTANT HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST

∆ℎ
𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴 RECALL: WATER INLET
𝑉
𝑉 ∆ℎ 𝑄= OVERFLOW
=𝑘 𝐴 𝑡
𝑡 𝐿
∆ℎ
𝑖= VALVE
𝑉𝐿 𝐿
𝑘= LOWER RESERVOIR
𝐴∆ℎ𝑡
WHERE:
𝑄 - VOLUMETRIC DISCHARGE, 𝑐𝑚3 /𝑠 SOIL 𝐿
𝑘 - HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY, 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
𝑖 - HYDRAULIC GRADIENT
𝐴 - CROSS SECTIONAL AREA OF THE SOIL SPECIMEN, 𝑐𝑚2 𝑄
𝑉 - VOLUME OF WATER COLLECTED, 𝑐𝑚3 PIEZOMETER @𝑡; 𝑉
𝑡 - TIME OF WATER COLLECTION, 𝑠
𝑘 - HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY, 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 𝐴 GRADUATED
∆ℎ - HEADLOSS BETWEEN TO OBSERVATION POINT, 𝑐𝑚 CYLINDER
𝐿 - DISTANCE PARALLEL TO THE FLOW BETWEEN TO OBSERVATION POINT, 𝑐𝑚 @𝑡0 ; 𝑉0
PROBLEM 03
𝑑
FOR A CONSTANT HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST, THE
FOLLOWING ARE GIVEN:
LENGTH OF SOIL SPECIMEN = 10”
DIAMETER OF SOIL SPECIMEN = 2.5” ℎ
HEAD DIFFERENCE = 18”
𝐿
WATER COLECTED IN 2 min. = 0.031 cu.in
VOID RATIO OF SOIL = 0.46
DETERMINE THE FOLLOWING in/min:
A. COEFFICENT OF PERMEABILITY (𝑘)
B. VELOCITY (𝑣)
C. SEEPAGE VELOCITY (𝑣𝑠 )
FOR THE DISCHARGE:
𝑉 0.031𝑖𝑛3
𝑄= = = 0.0155𝑖𝑛3 /𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑡 2𝑚𝑖𝑛

FOR THE CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA: WATER SUPPLY

2.5𝑖𝑛

2
𝜋 2.5𝑖𝑛 25
𝐴= = 𝜋 𝑖𝑛2
4 16

FOR HYDRAULIC GRADIENT: 18𝑖𝑛

ℎ 18𝑖𝑛 10𝑖𝑛
𝑖= = = 1.8
𝐿 10𝑖𝑛

FOR THE COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY:

𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴
25
0.0155𝑖𝑛3 /𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝑘 1.8 𝜋 𝑖𝑛2
16
𝑉 = 0.031𝑖𝑛3
𝑘 = 1.7542 × 10−3 𝑖𝑛/𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑡 = 2𝑚𝑖𝑛
FOR THE VELOCITY:
𝑣 = 𝑘𝑖

𝑣 = 1.7542𝑖𝑛/𝑚𝑖𝑛 1.8
2.5𝑖𝑛
WATER SUPPLY
𝑣 = 3.1576 × 10−3 𝑖𝑛/𝑚𝑖𝑛

FOR THE POROSITY:

𝑒 0.46 18𝑖𝑛
𝑛= = = 0.3151
1+𝑒 1 + 0.46 10𝑖𝑛

FOR THE SEEPAGE VELOCITY:

𝑣
𝑣𝑠 =
𝑛
3.1576 × 10−3 𝑖𝑛/𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑣𝑠 =
0.3151
𝑉 = 0.031𝑖𝑛3
𝑣𝑠 = 0.010 𝑖𝑛/𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑡 = 2𝑚𝑖𝑛
 𝑎
@𝑡0

FALLING HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST

@𝑡
THE FALLING HEAD TEST, UNLIKE CONSTANT
STANDPIPE
HEAD, USES STANDPIPE ON THE UPSTREAM ∆ℎ0

SIDE. IN THIS TEST, THE WATER IN THE

STANDPIPE IS NOT REPLENISHED AS IT IS IN ∆ℎ

THE CONSTANT-HEAD RESERVOIR. THUS, AS LOWER RESERVOIR

THE TEST PROGRESSES , THE WATER LEVEL IN
THE STANDPIPE FALLS. THIS METHOD IS MORE SOIL 𝐿
SUITABLE FOR SOIL WITH VERY LOW
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITIES, SUCH AS 𝑄

CLAYS, WHERE THE FLOW RATE IS SMALL AND

NEEDS TO BE PRECISELY MEASURED. 𝐴 GRADUATED
CYLINDER
 𝑎
@𝑡0

FALLING HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST

@𝑡
𝑘𝑖𝐴 = 𝑣𝑎 RECALL: STANDPIPE ∆ℎ0
∆ℎ 𝑑 ∆ℎ 𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴
𝑘 𝐴= − 𝑎 𝑄 = 𝑣𝑎
𝐿 𝑑𝑡
∆ℎ 𝑑𝑠 𝑑 ∆ℎ ∆ℎ
𝑘𝐴 𝑑 ∆ℎ 𝑖= 𝑣= =−
𝑑𝑡 = − 𝐿 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑎𝐿 ∆ℎ LOWER RESERVOIR
𝑘𝐴 𝑡 ∆ℎ
𝑑 ∆ℎ
න 𝑑𝑡 = − න
𝑎𝐿 𝑡0 ∆ℎ0 ∆ℎ WHERE:
𝑘 - HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY, 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 SOIL 𝐿
𝑡 𝑡 𝑎 - CROSS SECTIONAL AREA OF THE STANDPIPE, 𝑐𝑚2
𝑘𝐴
𝑡 = − ln ∆ℎ 𝐴 - CROSS SECTIONAL AREA OF THE SOIL, 𝑐𝑚2 𝑄
𝑎𝐿 𝑡0 𝑡0 𝐿 - LENGTH OF THE SOIL SPECIMEN, 𝑐𝑚
𝑡 - TIME OF OBSERVATION, 𝑠
𝑘𝐴
𝑡 − 𝑡0 = − ln ∆ℎ − ln ∆ℎ0 ∆ℎ0 - INITIAL HEADLOSS AT THE INITIAL TIME (𝑡0 ), 𝑐𝑚
𝑎𝐿 𝐴 GRADUATED
∆ℎ - HEADLOSS OBSERVE AFTER SOME TIME (𝑡), 𝑐𝑚
𝑡 - TIME OF OBSERVATION, 𝑠
CYLINDER
𝑎𝐿 ∆ℎ0
𝑘= ln
𝐴𝑡 ∆ℎ
PROBLEM 04
FOR A FALLING-HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST, 𝑡=0
THE FOLLOWING ARE GIVEN:
LENGTH OF SOIL SPECIMEN = 20” 𝑡 = 10𝑚𝑖𝑛
AREA OF THE SOIL SPECIMEN = 4 sq.in
AREA OF THE STANDPIPE = 0.2 sq.in 30"
HEAD DIFFERENCE AT TIME (t=0) IS 30” 12"

HEAD DIFFERENCE AT TIME (t=10min) IS 12” 20"

A. DETERMINE THE COEFFICENT OF
PERMEABILITY (𝑘) in in/min
B. DETERMINE THE HEAD DIFFERENCE AT TIME
t=5min.
FOR THE COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY:
𝑎𝐿 ∆ℎ0
𝑘= ln
𝐴𝑡 ∆ℎ

0.2𝑖𝑛2 20𝑖𝑛 30𝑖𝑛

𝑘= ln
4𝑖𝑛2 (10𝑚𝑖𝑛) 12𝑖𝑛 𝑡=0
𝑡 = 5𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑘 = 0.0916 𝑖𝑛/𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑡 = 10𝑚𝑖𝑛

FOR THE HEAD DIFFERENCE AT t=5min: ℎ5𝑚𝑖𝑛

30"
12"
𝑎𝐿 ∆ℎ0
𝑘= ln 20"
𝐴𝑡 ∆ℎ

0.2𝑖𝑛2 20𝑖𝑛 30𝑖𝑛

0.0916 𝑖𝑛/𝑚𝑖𝑛 = ln
4𝑖𝑛2 (5𝑚𝑖𝑛) ℎ5 𝑚𝑖𝑛

ℎ5𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 18.9737 𝑖𝑛
RELATIONSHIP FOR HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY – GRANULAR SOIL
HAZEN (1930)
FOR FAIRLY UNIFORM SAND (THAT IS, SAND WITH A SMALL UNIFORMITY COEFFICIENT):
𝑘(𝑐𝑚/𝑠) = 𝑐1 𝐷10 2 WHERE:
𝑐1 - CONSTANT THAT VARIES FROM 1.0-1.5
𝐷10 - THE EFFECTIVE SIZE, 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑚

KOZENY-CARMAN (1927)
FOR SANDY SOIL:
WHERE:
𝐶𝑠 - SHAPE FACTOR, WHICH IS A FUNCTION OF THE SHAPE OF FLOW CHANNELS
1 𝛾𝑤 𝑒 3 𝑆𝑠 - SPECIFIC SURFACE AREA PER UNIT VOLUME OF PARTICLES
𝑘=
𝐶𝑠 𝑆𝑠 𝑇 2 𝜂 1 + 𝑒 𝑇 - TORTUOSITY OF FLOW CHANNELS
𝛾𝑤 - UNIT WEIGHT OF WATER
𝑒3 𝜂 - VISCOSITY OF PERMEANT
𝑘 = 𝑐2 𝑒 - VOID RATIO
1+𝑒
𝑐2 - A CONSTANT WHICH REPRESENTS THE PROPERTIES OF THE CHANNEL AND THE LIQUID
RELATIONSHIP FOR HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY – GRANULAR SOIL
KOZENY-CARMAN (1927) MODIFIED BY CARRIER (2003): ASSUMPTIONS:
𝛾𝑤 1
AT 20°C, = 9.93 × 104
𝜂 𝑐𝑚∙𝑠
2 2 𝐶𝑠 𝑇 2 IS APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO 5.
100% 1 𝑒3
𝑘 = 9.93 × 104
𝑓 𝑆𝐹 1+𝑒 WHERE:
σ 0.404 𝑖 0.595
𝐷𝑙𝑖 × 𝐷𝑠𝑖 𝑓𝑖 - FRACTION OF PARTICLES BETWEEN TWO SIEVE SIZES, %
𝑆𝐹 - SHAPE FACTOR
- THIS MAY VARY BETWEEN 6 TO 8, DEPENDING ON THE
ANGULARIITY OF THE SOIL

CHAPIUS (2004)
FOR NATURAL, UNIFORM SAND AND GRAVEL TO PREDICT K THAT IS IN THE RANGE OF 10−1 TO
10−3 𝑐𝑚/𝑠. THIS CAN BE EXTENDED TO NATURAL, SILTY SANDS WITHOUT PLASTICITY. IT IS
NOT VALID FOR CRUSHED MATERIALS OR SILTY SOILS WITH SOME PLASTICITY.
3 0.7825 WHERE:
2
𝑒 𝐷10 - THE EFFECTIVE SIZE, 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑚
𝑘 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 = 2.4622 𝐷10
1+𝑒 𝑒 - VOID RATIO
PROBLEM 05
THE RESULT OF A SIEVE SIEVE SIEVE PERCENT
ANALYSIS IS SHOWN ON THE NO. OPENING (cm) PASSING
TABLE. ESTIMATE THE HYDRAULIC 30 0.06 200
CONDUCTIVITY USING MODIFIED 40 0.0425 96
KOZENY-GERMAN EQUATION. THE 60 0.02 84
VOID RATION OF THE SAND IS
0.60 AND THE SF=7.0. 100 0.015 50
200 0.0075 0
FOR FRACTION BETWEEN SIEVE NO. 30 & 40: FOR FRACTION BETWEEN SIEVE NO. 40 & 60:
𝑓𝑖 100 − 96 96 − 84
= = 440.7571
𝐷𝑙𝑖0.404 × 𝐷𝑠𝑖
0.595 0.06 0.404 × 0.0425 0.595 0.0425 0.404 × 0.02 0.595

𝑓𝑖
0.404
𝐷𝑙𝑖 0.595 = 81.6198
× 𝐷𝑠𝑖 FOR FRACTION BETWEEN SIEVE NO. 60 & 100:
84 − 50
= 2009.5023
0.02 0.404 × 0.015 0.595

FOR FRACTION BETWEEN SIEVE NO. 60 & 100:

50 − 0
= 5013.8078
USING KOZENY-CARMAN EQUATION: 0.015 0.404 × 0.0075 0.595

2 2
4
100% 1 𝑒3
𝑘 = 1.99 × 10
𝑓 𝑆𝐹 1+𝑒
σ 0.404 𝑖 0.595
𝐷𝑙𝑖 × 𝐷𝑠𝑖
2 2
4
100% 1 0.6 3
𝑘 = 1.99 × 10
81.6198 + 440.7571 + 2009.5023 + 5013.8078 7 1 + 0.6

𝑘 = 0.0096𝑐𝑚/𝑠
RELATIONSHIP FOR HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY – GRANULAR SOIL
AMER AND AMAD (1974)
FOR FAIRLY UNIFORM SAND (THAT IS, SAND WITH A SMALL UNIFORMITY COEFFICIENT):
WHERE:
𝑒3
𝑘(𝑐𝑚/𝑠) = 35 𝐶𝑢 0.6
𝐷10 2.32 𝑒 - VOID RATIO
1+𝑒 𝐶𝑢 - UNIFORMITY COEFFICIENT
𝐷10 - THE EFFECTIVE SIZE, 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑚

CASSAGRANDE
FOR FINE TO MEDIUM CLEAN SAND:
WHERE:
𝑒 - VOID RATIO
𝑘 = 1.4𝑒 2 𝑘0.85 𝑘 - HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY AT THE VOID RATIO, 𝑒
𝑘0.85 - HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY AT THE VOID RATIO OF 0.85
PROBLEM 06
FOR A SANDY SOIL, THE FOLLOWING
PARAMETER MAGNITUDE
INFORMATION ARE GIVEN ON THE
TABLE. ESTIMATE THE HYDRAULIC 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝟎. 𝟑𝟔
CONDUCTIVITY WHEN Dr=50%. 𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝟎. 𝟔𝟔
A. USING KOZENY-CARMAN
EQUATION 𝑫𝒓 𝟗𝟎%
B. USING CASSAGRANDE 𝒌@𝑫𝒓=𝟗𝟎 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟖𝒄𝒎/𝒔
EQUATION
USING KOZENY-CARMAN EQUATION: FOR k at Dr=50%:
1 𝛾𝑤 𝑒 3 (0.51)3
𝑘= 𝑘@𝐷𝑟=50 = 0.1875
𝐶𝑠 𝑆𝑠2 𝑇 2 𝜂 1 + 𝑒 1 + 0.51
𝑒3 𝑘@𝐷𝑟=50 = 0.0165𝑐𝑚/𝑠
𝑘=𝐶
1+𝑒

USING CASSAGRANDE EQUATION:

FOR e: 𝐷𝑟 =
𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑒
𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑘 = 1.4𝑒 2 𝑘0.85
0.66 − 𝑒 0.66 − 𝑒
0.9 = 0.5 =
0.66 − 0.36 0.66 − 0.36
0.008 = 1.4 0.39 2 𝑘0.85
𝑒 = 0.39 𝑒 = 0.51
𝑘0.85 = 0.0376

FOR C: 0.008 = 𝐶
(0.39)3
𝑘@𝐷𝑟=50 = 1.4 0.51 2
0.0376
1 + 0.39

𝐶 = 0.1875 𝑘@𝐷𝑟=50 = 0.0137𝑐𝑚/𝑠

RELATIONSHIP FOR ABSOLUTE PERMEABILITY– GRANULAR SOIL
KENNEY, LAU &OFOEGBU (1984):
WHERE:
ഥ(𝑚𝑚2) = 𝑐3 𝐷5 2 𝑐3 - IS A CONSTANT WHICH RANGES FROM 0.05 TO 1.0
𝐾
𝐷5 - DIAMETER (𝑚𝑚) THROUGH WHICH 5% OF SOIL PASSES

RELATIONSHIP FOR HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY – COHESIVE SOIL

SAMARASINGHE, HUANG, AND DRNEVICH (1982)
FOR NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED CLAY: WHERE:
𝑐3 , 𝑛 - ARE EXPERMENTALLY DERIVED CONSTANTS.
𝑒𝑛
𝑘 = 𝑐3 𝑒 - VOID RATIO
1+𝑒
RELATIONSHIP FOR HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY – COHESIVE SOIL

TAYLOR (1948)
FOR 𝑒0 LESS THAN ABOUT 2.5: WHERE:
𝑒0 − 𝑒 𝑘0 - in situ hydraulic conductivity at a void ratio 𝑒0
log 𝑘 = log 𝑘0 − 𝑘 - hydraulic conductivity at a void ratio 𝑒
𝐶𝑘 𝐶𝑘 - hydraulic conductivity change index

MESRI AND OLSON (1971)

FOR SANDY SOIL:
WHERE:
log 𝑘 = 𝐴′ log 𝑒 + 𝐵′ 𝐴′ , 𝐵′ - ARE EXPERMENTALLY DERIVED CONSTANTS.
𝑘 - hydraulic conductivity at a void ratio 𝑒
𝑒 - VOID RATIO
PROBLEM 07
𝒆 𝒌 (𝒄𝒎/𝒔)
FOR A NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED
CLAY, THE FOLLOWING 𝟏. 𝟏 𝟎. 𝟑𝟎𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟕
INFORMATION ARE GIVEN ON THE 𝟎. 𝟗 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟕
TABLE. ESTIMATE THE HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY WHEN e = 0.75
FOR A NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED CLAY: FOR C and n:
𝐶𝑒 𝑛 6.342 × 10−8 2.28 × 10−8
𝑘= SAMARASINGHE (1982) =
1+𝑒 (1.10)𝑛 (0.9)𝑛

𝑛 = 5.0980

FOR e=1.1: 0.302 × 10 −7

=
𝐶(1.10)𝑛
1 + 1.1 6.342 × 10−8
𝐶=
(1.10)5.0980
6.342 × 10−8
=𝐶
(1.10)𝑛 𝐶 = 3.9013 × 10−8

FOR THE ESTIMATED k:

FOR e=0.9: 0.12 × 10 −7
=
𝐶 0.9 𝑛
1 + 0.9
3.9013 × 10−8 0.75 5.0980
2.28 × 10−8 𝑘0.75 =
=𝐶 1 + 0.75
(0.9)𝑛
𝑘0.75 = 5.1432 × 10−9 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
DIRECTIONAL VARIATION OF PERMEABILITY
MOST SOILS ARE NOT ISOTROPIC WITH RESPECT TO PERMEABILITY. IN
A GIVEN SOIL DEPOSIT, THE MAGNITUDE OF K CHANGES WITH RESPECT
TO THE DIRECTION OF FLOW. THE FIGURE SHOWS A SOIL LAYER
THROUGH WHICH WATER FLOWS IN A DIRECTION INCLINED AT AN
ANGLE 𝜃 WITH THE VERTICAL.
THE MAGNITUDES OF 𝑘𝑉 AND 𝑘𝐻 IN A GIVEN SOIL DEPEND ON
SEVERAL FACTORS, INCLUDING THE METHOD OF DEPOSITION IN THE
FIELD. 𝜃

THERE ARE SEVERAL PUBLISHED RESULTS FOR FINE-GRAINED SOILS

THAT SHOW THAT THE RATIO OF 𝑘𝐻 /𝑘𝑉 VARIES OVER A WIDE RANGE.
DIRECTIONAL VARIATION OF PERMEABILITY
MOST SOILS ARE NOT ISOTROPIC WITH RESPECT TO PERMEABILITY. IN
A GIVEN SOIL DEPOSIT, THE MAGNITUDE OF K CHANGES WITH RESPECT
TO THE DIRECTION OF FLOW. THE FIGURE SHOWS A SOIL LAYER
THROUGH WHICH WATER FLOWS IN A DIRECTION INCLINED AT AN
ANGLE 𝜃 WITH THE VERTICAL.
THE MAGNITUDES OF 𝑘𝑉 AND 𝑘𝐻 IN A GIVEN SOIL DEPEND ON
SEVERAL FACTORS, INCLUDING THE METHOD OF DEPOSITION IN THE
FIELD.
THERE ARE SEVERAL PUBLISHED RESULTS FOR FINE-GRAINED SOILS 𝑘𝑉
THAT SHOW THAT THE RATIO OF 𝑘𝐻 /𝑘𝑉 VARIES OVER A WIDE RANGE.
𝑘𝐻
 FLOW THROUGH ANISOTROPIC SOILS ∆ℎ

FOR EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY

IN STRATIFIED SOIL - PARALLEL FLOW: 𝑄1
𝐻1 𝑘1
∆ℎ
𝑖 = 𝑖1 = 𝑖2 = 𝑖3 = ⋯ = 𝑖𝑛 = 𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴
𝐿 𝑄2
𝐻2 𝑘2
𝑄 = 𝑘𝑒𝑞 𝑖𝐻 1
𝑄 = 𝑄1 + 𝑄2 + 𝑄3 + ⋯ + 𝑄𝑛
DIRECTION OF FLOW 𝑄3 𝐻
𝑄1 = 𝑘1 𝑖1 𝐻1 1 𝐻3 𝑘3
𝑘𝑒𝑞 𝑖 𝐻 = 𝑘1 𝑖1 𝐻1 + 𝑘2 𝑖2 𝐻2 + 𝑘3 𝑖3 𝐻3 + ⋯ + 𝑘𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐻𝑛

𝑄2 = 𝑘2 𝑖2 𝐻2 1
𝑘𝑒𝑞 𝐻 = 𝑘1 𝐻1 + 𝑘2 𝐻2 + 𝑘3 𝐻3 + ⋯ + 𝑘𝑛 𝐻𝑛 𝑄𝑛
𝐻𝑛 𝑘𝑛
𝑄3 = 𝑘3 𝑖3 𝐻3 1
𝑘𝑒𝑞 ෍ 𝐻𝑖 = ෍ 𝑘𝑖 𝐻𝑖

σ 𝑘𝑖 𝐻𝑖
𝑘𝑒𝑞 = 𝑄𝑛 = 𝑘𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐻𝑛 1
σ 𝐻𝑖 𝐿
NOTE! CONSIDERING 1 UNIT WIDTH
 FLOW THROUGH ANISOTROPIC SOILS
∆ℎ1
DIRECTION OF FLOW
∆ℎ2
∆ℎ
∆ℎ3
FOR EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY ∆ℎ𝑛
IN STRATIFIED SOIL - PERPENDICULAR FLOW:
𝐻1 𝑘1
∆ℎ
𝑄 = 𝑄1 = 𝑄2 = 𝑄3 = ⋯ = 𝑄𝑛 𝑄=𝑘 𝐴
𝐿
𝐻2 𝑘2
𝑄𝐻
∆ℎ = ∆ℎ𝟏 + ∆ℎ𝟐 + ∆ℎ𝟑 + ⋯ + ∆ℎ𝒏 ∆ℎ =
𝐵 1 𝑘𝑒𝑞
𝑄𝐻 𝑄𝐻1 𝑄𝐻1 𝑄𝐻3 𝑄𝐻𝑛
= + + + ⋯+ 𝑄𝐻1 𝐻3 𝑘3
𝐵𝑘𝑒𝑞 𝐵𝑘1 𝐵𝑘1 𝐵𝑘3 𝐵𝑘𝑛 ∆ℎ1 =
𝐵 1 𝑘1
𝐻 𝐻1 𝐻1 𝐻3 𝐻𝑛
= + + + ⋯+ 𝑄𝐻1
𝑘𝑒𝑞 𝑘1 𝑘1 𝑘3 𝑘𝑛 ∆ℎ2 =
𝐵 1 𝑘1 𝐻𝑛 𝑘𝑛
σ 𝐻𝑖 𝐻𝑖
=෍ 𝑄𝐻3
𝑘𝑒𝑞 𝑘𝑖 ∆ℎ3 =
𝐵 1 𝑘3

σ 𝐻𝑖 PIEZOMETER
𝑘𝑒𝑞 =
𝐻
σ 𝑖 ∆ℎ𝑛 =
𝑄𝐻𝑛 𝐵
𝑘𝑖 𝐵 1 𝑘𝑛 NOTE! CONSIDERING 1 UNIT WIDTH
PROBLEM 08
IF THERE ARE FOUR LAYERS OF SOIL, 3M
THICK EACH AND THEIR COEFFICIENTS OF 𝑖 = 0.70
PERMEABILITY ARE 2 × 10−3 ,1 ×
10−5 , 2 × 10−4 , & 1 × 10−3
CM/S RESPECTIVELY (FROM TOP TO
BOTTOM), DETERMINE THE EQUIVALENT 3𝑚 2 × 10−3 cm/s
COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY IN THE 3𝑚 DIRECTION OF FLOW 1 × 10−5 cm/s
PARALLEL DIRECTION. IF 𝑖 = 0.70 .
DETERMINE THE TOTAL FLOW RATE 3𝑚 2 × 10−4 cm/s
(𝑐𝑚3 Τ𝑠). 3𝑚 1 × 10−3 cm/s
CONSIDERING 1m WIDTH: FOR EQUIVALENT COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY :
𝑄1 = 2 × 10−3 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 0.70 300𝑐𝑚 × 100𝑐𝑚 𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴
𝑄1 = 42𝑐𝑚3 /𝑠 PER 1m WIDTH 67.41𝑐𝑚3 /𝑠 = 𝑘 0.70 1200 × 100𝑐𝑚

−5 𝑘𝑒𝑞 = 8.025 × 10−4 𝑐𝑚/𝑠

𝑄2 = 1 × 10 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 0.70 300𝑐𝑚 × 100𝑐𝑚

𝑄2 = 0.21𝑐𝑚3 /𝑠 PER 1m WIDTH

𝑄3 = 2 × 10−4 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 0.70 300𝑐𝑚 × 100𝑐𝑚

𝑖 = 0.70
𝑄3 = 4.2𝑐𝑚3 /𝑠 PER 1m WIDTH

𝑄4 = 1 × 10−3 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 0.70 300𝑐𝑚 × 100𝑐𝑚 3𝑚 −3

𝑄1
2 × 10 cm/s
𝑄4 = 21𝑐𝑚3 /𝑠 PER 1m WIDTH 3𝑚 −5
𝑄2
DIRECTION OF FLOW 1 × 10 cm/s
FOR THE TOTAL FLOW RATE: 3𝑚 −4
2 × 10 cm/s
𝑄3

𝑄 = 𝑄1 + 𝑄2 + 𝑄3 + 𝑄4 𝑄4
3𝑚 −3
1 × 10 cm/s
𝑄 = 42 + 0.21 + 4.2 + 21
SINCE THE FLOW IS PARALLEL TO THE SOIL LAYER,
𝑄 = 67.41𝑐𝑚3 /𝑠 PER 1m WIDTH THEREFORE, 𝑖 IS THE SAME FOR EVERY LAYER
PROBLEM 09
THE FIGURE SHOWS LAYERS OF SOIL IN TUBE THAT IS 10mm
X 100mm IN CROSS SECTION. WATER IS SUPPLIED TO
MAINTAIN A CONSTANT HEAD DIFFERENCE OF 400mm
ACROSS THE SAMPLE. THE HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITIES OF
THE SOILS IN THE DIRECTION OF FLOW THROUGH THEM ARE
AS FOLLOWS: 400𝑚𝑚
Soil K(cm/s) Porosity, n
A 1x10-2 25%
B 3x10 -3 32% DIRECTION OF FLOW

C 4.9x10-3 22%
100𝑚𝑚
CALCULATE: × 100𝑚𝑚
A B C
A) THE EQUIVALENT COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY (cm/s)
1 × 10−2 3 × 10−3 4.9 × 10−3
B) THE RATE OF WATER SUPPLY IN (cu.cm/hr) cm/s cm/s cm/s

C)THE SEEPAGE VELOCITY THROUGH SOIL C IN (cm/s)

150𝑚𝑚 150𝑚𝑚 200𝑚𝑚
FOR THE EQUIVALENT COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY (cm/s):
𝐿 𝐿𝑖
=෍
𝑘𝑒𝑞 𝑘𝑖
500𝑚𝑚 150𝑚𝑚 150𝑚𝑚 200mm
= + +
𝑘𝑒𝑞 1 × 10−2 cm/s 3 × 10−3 cm/s 4.9 × 10−3 cm/s
𝑘𝑒𝑞 = 4.7252 × 10−3 𝑐𝑚/𝑠

SINCE THE FLOW IS PERPENDICULAR TO THE SOIL LAYER,

THEREFORE, 𝑄 IS THE SAME FOR EVERY LAYER
FOR THE RATE OF WATER SUPPLY IN (cu.cm/hr)
𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴 400𝑚𝑚
−3
4𝑚 3600𝑠
𝑄 = 4.7252 × 10 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 10𝑐𝑚 × 10𝑐𝑚
5𝑚 1ℎ𝑟
DIRECTION OF FLOW
3
𝑄 = 1360.8486𝑐𝑚 /ℎ𝑟
100𝑚𝑚
FOR THE SEEPAGE VELOCITY THROUGH SOIL C IN (cm/s): × 100𝑚𝑚
A B C
𝑣𝑠 = 𝑣/𝑛 1 × 10−2 3 × 10−3 4.9 × 10−3
cm/s cm/s cm/s
4.7252 × 10−3 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 0.8
𝑣𝑠 =
0.22
𝑣𝑠 = 0.0172𝑐𝑚/𝑠 150𝑚𝑚 150𝑚𝑚 200𝑚𝑚
PROBLEM 10
FOR THE STRATIFIED SOIL SHOWN, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ARE
RECCORDED:
COEFFIECIENT OF PERMEABILITY: (cm/hr )
k1 = 6.25 k2 = 5.75 k3 = 4.50
k4 = 6.25 k5 = 8.15 k6 = 3.60
THICKNESS: 1.8𝑚
H = 1.20m H3 = 0.30m
H4 = 0.50m H5 = 0.40m
LENGTH: DIRECTION OF FLOW
𝑘3 0.3𝑚
L1 = 0.8m L2 = 0.70m
L3 = 1.5m L6 = 0.9m 1.2𝑚
𝑘1 𝑘2 𝑘4 𝑘6 0.5𝑚
HEAD:
h= 1.8m
DETERMINE: 𝑘5 0.4𝑚
A. THE TOTAL FLOW RATE PER METER WIDTH
B. THE EQUIVALENT “K”
0.8𝑚 0.7𝑚 1.5𝑚 0.9𝑚
FOR THE EQUIVALENT COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY (cm/hr):
𝐿 𝐿𝑖
=෍
𝑘𝑒𝑞 𝑘𝑖

3.9𝑚 0.8𝑚 0.7𝑚 1.5m 0.9𝑚

= + + +
𝑘𝐴 6.25𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 5.75𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 4.5𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 3.6𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟

𝑘𝐴 = 4.6815𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟

3.9𝑚 0.8𝑚 0.7𝑚 1.5m 0.9𝑚

= + + +
𝑘𝐵 6.25𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 5.75𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 6.25𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 3.6𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
DIRECTION OF FLOW
1.8𝑚
𝑘𝐵 = 5.2721𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟

𝑄𝐴
3.9𝑚 0.8𝑚 0.7𝑚 1.5m 0.9𝑚 4.50
= + + + 0.3𝑚 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
𝑘𝐶 6.25𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 5.75𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 8.15𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 3.6𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
𝑄𝐵
𝑘𝐶 = 5.7035𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 1.2𝑚 6.25 5.75 6.25 3.60
0.5𝑚 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟

𝑄𝐶
FOR HYDRAULIC GRADIENT: 0.4𝑚
8.15
𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟

ℎ 1.8𝑚
𝑖= = = 0.4615
𝐿 3.9𝑚
0.8𝑚 0.7𝑚 1.5𝑚 0.9𝑚
FOR THE FLOW RATE (cu.cm/hr):
𝑘𝑒𝑞 𝐿 = ෍ 𝑘𝑖 𝐿𝑖
𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴
𝑘𝑒𝑞 1.2𝑚 = 4.6815𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 0.3𝑚 + 5.2721𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 0.5𝑚 + 5.7035𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 0.4𝑚
𝑄𝐴 = 4.6815𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 0.4615 30𝑐𝑚 × 100𝑐𝑚
𝑘𝑒𝑞 = 5.2683𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
3
𝑄𝐴 = 6482.0292𝑐𝑚 /ℎ𝑟 PER METER WIDTH

𝑄𝐵 = 5.2721𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 0.4615 50𝑐𝑚 × 100𝑐𝑚

𝑄𝐵 = 12166.4512𝑐𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟 PER METER WIDTH

𝑄𝐶 = 5.7035𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 0.4615 40𝑐𝑚 × 100𝑐𝑚

DIRECTION OF FLOW
1.8𝑚
𝑄𝐵 = 10529.5761𝑐𝑚 /ℎ𝑟 3
PER METER WIDTH

𝑄 = 6482.0292 + 12166.4512 + 10529.5761 𝑐𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟 4.50

𝑄𝐴
0.3𝑚 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
𝑄 = 29178.0564 𝑐𝑚 /ℎ𝑟 3
PER METER WIDTH
𝑄𝐵
1.2𝑚 6.25 5.75 6.25 3.60
0.5𝑚 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟

FOR THE EQUIVALENT COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY (cm/hr): 𝑄𝐶

8.15
29178.0564𝑐𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟 = 𝑘𝑒𝑞 0.4615 120𝑐𝑚 × 100𝑐𝑚
0.4𝑚 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟

𝑘𝑒𝑞 = 5.2683𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
0.8𝑚 0.7𝑚 1.5𝑚 0.9𝑚
PUMPING [WELL] TEST
AN SPECIFIC WATER-RELATED GEOTECHNICAL ISSUES
INCLUDE THE POTENTIAL FOR PUMPING WATER
THROUGH WELLS OR OTHER FACILITIES. REMEMER
THAT ONLY 2.5% OF WORLD’S AVAILABLE WATER IS 𝑟
FRESH AND 30.1% OF THOSE FRESHWATER IS
GROUNDWATER WHICH MAKES IT VITAL.

PUMPING GROUNDWATER FROM A VERTICAL WELL

GROUNDWATER TABLE CREATES AN AXISYMMETRICAL FLOW CONDITION
WHERE THE FLOW IS IN A RADIAL DIRECTION
LAKE
TOWARD THE WELL AND IS SYMMETRICAL ABOUT ITS
OCEAN VERTICAL AXIS.
CONFINED AQUIFER 𝑟𝑤

OBSERVATION WELL
A CONFINED AQUIFER IS ONE THAT IS GROUND SURFACE PUMPING TEST WELL
SANDWICH BETWEEN TWO AQUICLUDE. THE INITIAL PIEZOMETRIC LEVEL 𝑄
UPPER AND LOWER FLOW BOUNDARIES ARE
FIXED AND THE FLOWS THROUGH THE ENTIRE DRAWDOWN
DEPTH OF THE AQUIFER SURFACE

AQUICLUDE
RECALL:
DIRECTION OF FLOW DIRECTION OF FLOW
𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴 CONFINED
𝐻 AQUIFER
𝑑ℎ 𝑑ℎ 𝑟
𝑖= = ℎ
𝑑𝐿 𝑑𝑟
ℎ𝑤 AQUICLUDE
𝐴 = (2𝜋𝑟)𝐻 𝐻
CONFINED AQUIFER 𝑟𝑤

OBSERVATION WELL
𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴 GROUND SURFACE PUMPING TEST WELL
𝑑ℎ INITIAL PIEZOMETRIC LEVEL 𝑄
𝑄=𝑘 (2𝜋𝑟)𝐻
𝑑𝑟 𝑧2 𝑧1
DRAWDOWN
𝑑𝑟 SURFACE
= (2𝜋𝑘𝐻)𝑑ℎ
𝑟
𝑟1
𝑑𝑟 ℎ1 RECALL:
𝑄න = (2𝜋𝑘𝐻) න 𝑑ℎ AQUICLUDE ℎ1
𝑟2 𝑟 ℎ2 𝐴 = (2𝜋𝑟)𝐻 ℎ2
𝑟1 ℎ1 𝑑ℎ 𝑑ℎ
𝑖= = DIRECTION OF FLOW DIRECTION OF FLOW
𝑄 ln 𝑟 = 2𝜋𝑘𝐻 ℎ CONFINED
𝑑𝐿 𝑑𝑟 𝐻
𝑟2 AQUIFER
ℎ2

ln 𝑟1 − ln 𝑟2 = 2𝜋𝑘𝐻 ℎ1 − ℎ2 NOTE! AQUICLUDE 𝑟2

𝑟 ℎ1 − ℎ2 = 𝑧2 − 𝑧1 𝑟1
𝑄 ln 1ൗ𝑟2
𝑘=
2𝜋𝐻 ℎ1 − ℎ2
CONFINED AQUIFER 𝑟𝑤

OBSERVATION WELL
IN AN UNCONFINED AQUIFER, THE LOWER GROUND SURFACE PUMPING TEST WELL
FLOW BOUNDARY IS FIXED, BUT THE UPPER INITIAL GROUNDWATER TABLE 𝑄
FLOW BOUNDARY IS THE GROUNDWATER
TABLE, WHICH IS FREE TO SEEK ITS OWN DRAWDOWN
LEVEL. THE GROUNDWATER TABLE IS DRAWN SURFACE
DOWN IN THE VICINITY OF THE WELL, SO THE
HEIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING ZONE
DECREASES AS THE WATER APPROACHES 𝐻 ℎ
THE WELL.
DIRECTION OF FLOW DIRECTION OF FLOW
UNCONFINED
RECALL: AQUIFER

𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴 AQUICLUDE 𝑟
𝑑ℎ 𝑑ℎ
𝑖= =
𝑑𝐿 𝑑𝑟

𝐴 = 2𝜋𝑟 ℎ
CONFINED AQUIFER 𝑟𝑤

OBSERVATION WELL
𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴 GROUND SURFACE PUMPING TEST WELL
𝑑ℎ INITIAL GROUNDWATER TABLE 𝑄
𝑄=𝑘 2𝜋𝑟 ℎ
𝑑𝑟
DRAWDOWN
𝑑𝑟 SURFACE
= 2𝜋𝑘 ℎ𝑑ℎ
𝑟
𝑟1 ℎ1
𝑑𝑟
𝑄න = 2𝜋𝑘 න ℎ𝑑ℎ 𝐻 ℎ1
𝑟2 𝑟 ℎ2
ℎ ℎ2
𝑟1 ℎ1 DIRECTION OF FLOW DIRECTION OF FLOW
𝑄 ln 𝑟 = 2𝜋𝑘 ℎ2 UNCONFINED
𝑟2 AQUIFER
ℎ2

ln 𝑟1 − ln 𝑟2 = 2𝜋𝑘𝐻 ℎ12 − ℎ22 AQUICLUDE 𝑟 𝑟2

𝑟1
𝑄 lnൗ𝑟2
𝑟1
𝑘= RECALL: 𝑖=
𝑑ℎ 𝑑ℎ
=
2𝜋 ℎ12 − ℎ22 𝑑𝐿 𝑑𝑟

𝐴 = 2𝜋𝑟 ℎ
 TRANSMISSIVITY
TRANSMISSIVITY DESCRIBE THE EASE WITH WHICH WATER MOVES THROUGH A LARGE POROUS MEDIUM BODY
SUCH AS A HORIZONTAL OR LAYERED AQUIFER. IT IS THE DISCHARGE THROUGH THE ENTIRE THICKNESS OF AN
AQUIFER PER UNIT WIDTH PER UNIT HEAD GRADIENT. MATHEMATICALLY, IT IS THE PRODUCT OF THE HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY AND THE SATURATED THICKNESS OF THE AQUIFER.

𝑇 = 𝑘𝐻
AQUICLUDE 1
1
1
𝑘
WHERE: 𝐻

𝑘 - THE HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY CONFINED

AQUIFER
𝐻 - SATURATED THICKNESS OF THE AQUIFER. AQUICLUDE
𝑇
PROBLEM 11
A PERMEABILITY PUMPING TEST WAS CARRIED OUT IN A CONFINED
1𝑚
AQUIFER WITH THE PIEZOMETRIC LEVEL BEFORE PUMPING OF 2.18
32𝑚
m BELOW THE GROUND SURFACE. THE AQUICLUDE HAS A
15𝑚
THICKNESS OF 10.7 m MEASURED FROM THE GROUND SURFACE OBSEVATION WELL
GROUND SURFACE
PUMPING WELL
AND CONFINED AQUIFER IS 7.6 m DEEP UNTIL IT REACHES THE
AQUICLUDE AT THE BOTTOM. AT A STEADY STATE PUMPING RATE OF 2.18𝑚 INITIAL PIEZOMETRIC LEVEL
15.6 cu.m/hr. THE DRAWDOWN IN THE OBSERVATION WELLS WERE 1.62𝑚 0.47𝑚
DRAWDOWN
RESPECTIVELY EQUAL TO 1.62 m AND 0.47 m. THE DISTANCES OF SURFACE
THE OBSERVATION WELLS FROM THE CENTER OF THE TEST WELL 10.7𝑚
WERE 15 m AND 32 m RESPECTIVELY. THE DIAMETER OF THE TEST
WELL IS 1m. COMPUTE:
A.)THE DEPTH OF WATER AT THE FARTHEST OBSERVATION WELL.
B.) THE COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY CONFINED
7.6𝑚
AQUIFER
C.) THE TRANSMISSIVITY OF THE CONFINED AQUIFER.
D.) THE DRAWDOWN IN THE TEST WELL.
𝑄 = 15.6𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟
FOR THE COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY : FOR THE DEPTH OF WATER AT THE FARTHEST OBSERVATION WELL:
𝑟1 𝑟1 ℎ1 = 10.7𝑚 + 7.6𝑚 − 2.18𝑚 + 0.47
𝑄 lnൗ𝑟2 𝑄 lnൗ𝑟2
𝑘= =
2𝜋𝐻 ℎ1 − ℎ2 2𝜋𝐻 𝑧2 − 𝑧1 ℎ1 = 15.65𝑚

15.6𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟 ln 32𝑚ൗ15𝑚

𝑘= 1𝑚
2𝜋 7.6𝑚 1.62𝑚 − 0.47𝑚
32𝑚
𝑘 = 0.2152𝑚/ℎ𝑟 15𝑚 OBSEVATION WELL
PUMPING WELL GROUND SURFACE

2.18𝑚
FOR THE TRANSMISSIVITY : INITIAL PIEZOMETRIC LEVEL
1.62𝑚 0.47𝑚
𝑇 = 𝑘𝐻 DRAWDOWN
10.7𝑚 SURFACE
𝑇 = 0.2152𝑚/ℎ𝑟 7.6𝑚

𝑇 = 1.6358𝑚2 /ℎ𝑟

FOR THE DRAWDOWN IN THE TEST WELL:

CONFINED
7.6𝑚
15.6𝑚 /ℎ𝑟 ln 15𝑚ൗ0.5𝑚
3 AQUIFER
0.2152𝑚/ℎ𝑟 =
2𝜋 7.6𝑚 𝑧 − 1.62𝑚

𝑧 = 6.7823𝑚 𝑄 = 15.6𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟

PROBLEM 12
A 300mm DIAMETER TEST WELL PENETRATES 0.3𝑚
27 m BELOW STATIC WATER TABLE. AFTER 24 95𝑚
HOURS OF PUMPING AT 69 liters/s. THE WATER TEST WELL
35𝑚
OBSEVATION WELL GROUND SURFACE
LEVEL IN AN OBSERVATION WELL AT A
DISTANCE OF 95m FROM THE TEST WELL IS
STATIC WATER TABLE
LOWERED 0.5m FROM THE TEST WELL, THE 1.10𝑚 0.5𝑚
DRAWDOWN IS 1.1m. COMPUTE: DRAWDOWN
SURFACE
A. THE RATE OF FLOW IN m3/day. 27𝑚 UNCONFINED
AQUIFER
B. THE COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY OF THE
AQUIFER IN m/day.

𝑄 = 69𝐿/𝑠
FOR THE RATE OF FLOW IN m3/day:
69𝐿 1𝑚3 24(3600𝑠)
𝑄= × × 0.3𝑚
𝑠 1𝐿 1𝑑𝑎𝑦
95𝑚
𝑄 = 5961.6𝑚3 /𝑑𝑎𝑦 35𝑚
TEST WELL OBSEVATION WELL GROUND SURFACE

FOR THE COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY :

𝑟1
𝑄 ln ൗ𝑟2 STATIC WATER TABLE
𝑘= 0.5𝑚
𝜋 ℎ12 − ℎ22 1.10𝑚
DRAWDOWN
SURFACE
5961.6𝑚3 /𝑑𝑎𝑦 ln 95𝑚ൗ35𝑚
𝑘=
𝜋 26.5𝑚 2 − 25.9𝑚 2 27𝑚 UNCONFINED 26.5𝑚
25.9𝑚 AQUIFER
𝑘 = 60.2686𝑚/𝑑𝑎𝑦

69𝐿
𝑄=
𝑠