Groundwater & Darcy’s Law

Presented By:
Abhishek Dewangan
(M.Sc. Final Year)
 Introduction
• This slide presentation includes the base topics of ground water geology
and the darcy’s law,
Global Water Cycle
Residence time:
Average travel
time for water
through a
subsystem of the
hydrologic cycle

Tr = S/Q
Storage/flowrate
Principal sources of
fresh water for
human activities
(44,800 km3/yr)
 Hydrologic Cycle (Local view)
Atmospheric Moisture

Snow Rain

Evaporation
Interception
Throughfall and

y
Stem Flow

rg
e
Snowpack

En
Snowmelt
Watershed
Pervious Surface Impervious Boundary
Infiltration
Our focus Evapotranspiration
Soil Moisture
Percolation Overland
Groundwater Flow
Groundwater Flow
Evaporation
Streams and Lakes
Channel Flow
Runoff
Global Water Resources
 Global Distribution of Water
Source Volume Percent
Ocean 97.2000
Glaciers and other ice 2.1500
Ground Water 0.6100
Lakes
fresh 0.0090
saline 0.0080
Soil Moisture 0.0050
Atmosphere 0.0010
Rivers 0.0001
Occurrence of Groundwater

• Ground water occurs

when water recharges
the subsurface through
cracks and pores in soil
and rock
• Shallow water level is
called the water table

7
 Distribution of Water in Subsurface
Moisture Profile Soil Profile Description
• Different zones
– depend on % of pore
space filled with water
• Unsaturated Zone
– Water held by
capillary forces, water
content near field
capacity except during
infiltration
• Soil zone
– Water moves down
(up) during infiltration
(evaporation)
• Capillary fringe
– Saturated ar base
– Field capacity at top
• Saturated Zone
– Fully saturated pores

Field capacity - Water remaining after gravity drainage

Wilting point - Water remaining after gravity drainage &
evapotranspiration
Porous Medium
• Groundwater
– All waters found beneath the
ground surface
– Occupies pores (void space space
not occupied by solid matter)
• Porous media
– Numerous pores of small size
– Pores contain fluids (e.g., water
and air)
– Pores act as conduits for flow of
fluids
• Type of rocks and their
– Number, size, and arrangement
of pores
– Affect the storage and flow
through a formation.
• Pores shapes are irregular
– Differences in the minerals
making up the rocks
– Geologic processes experienced
by them.
Particle Size of Some Soils

10
 Porosity
Soil volume V
• Property of the voids of (Saturated) Pore
with
the porous medium water
• % of total volume
occupied by voids solid
 Porosity
Soil volume V
Porosity: total volume of soil (Saturated) Pore
that can be filled with water with
water

solid
V = Total volume of element
Vi = Volume of Pores
Vs = Volume of solids

m = particles density (grain density) Void Ratio:

d = bulk density
 Typical Values of Porosity
Material Porosity (%)
Peat Soil 60-80
Soils 50-60
Clay 45-55
Silt 40-50
Med. to Coarse Sand 35-40
Uniform Sand 30-40
Fine to Med Sand 30-35
Gravel 30-40
Gravel and Sand 30-35
Sandstone 10-20
Shale 1-10
Limestone 1-10
13
 Moisture Content
Soil volume V
Moisture Content (volumetric (Unsaturated)
water content): volume of
water in total volume Pore
with
air

V = Total volume of element

Vi = Volume of Pores
Vs = Volume of solids

Saturation (% water content):

Particle Size Distribution

Poorly sorted
silty fine to
medium sand
Well sorted fine sand

• Particle size distribution curves

– Relative % of grain sizes
• Soil classification standards
• Soil texture 15
 Particle Size Distribution

Sand 49%

Clay 40%

Soil Characteristics
of Cyprus Soil
Sample

16
 Distribution of Water in Subsurface
Moisture Profile Soil Profile Description
• Different zones
– depend on % of pore
space filled with water
• Unsaturated Zone
– Water held by
capillary forces, water
content near field
capacity except during
infiltration
• Soil zone
– Water moves down
(up) during infiltration
(evaporation)
• Capillary fringe
– Saturated ar base
– Field capacity at top
• Saturated Zone
– Fully saturated pores

Field capacity - Water remaining after gravity drainage

Wilting point - Water remaining after gravity drainage &
evapotranspiration
 Surface Tension
• Below interface
– Forces act equally in all directions
• At interface
– Some forces are missing
Interface air
– Pulls molecules down and together
– Like membrane exerting tension on
the surface water Net force
• Curved interface inward
– Higher pressure on concave side
• Pressure increase is balanced by
surface tension No net force
– = 0.073 N/m (@ 20oC)
• Capillary pressure
– Relates pressure on both sides of interface
 Capillary Pressure
Air

Negative
pressure Solid Solid

Water
Positive r
pressure
 Capillary Pressure
A
ir

Solid Solid

Wate
rr

Liquid rises due to attractive force of pore, until gravity force stops it.
Subsurface Pressure Distribution
z
Capillary pressure head Ground surface

in zone above water Pressure is

negative above
table water table

Unsaturated zone

Hydrostatic pressure Water table z  0; p  0

distribution exists below Pressure is
positive below
the water table (p = 0). water table
d1

Saturated zone P  d1  0

p0 p0 p0
 Soil Water Characteristic Curves
Vadose
Zone Porosity

Capillary
Zone

• Capillary pressure head

• Function of:
– Pore size distribution
– Moisture content
Capillary Rise in Soils
 Specific Yield & Retention
• Specific yield
– Water obtained by gravity drainage when water table declines

• Specific retention
– Water retained against gravity (field capacity)
Porosity, Specific Yield, & Specific
Retention
 Aquifer Types
• Confined aquifer • Unconfined aquifer
– Under pressure
– Bounded by impervious
layers
• Aquifer
– Store & transmit water
– Unconsolidated deposits
sand and gravel,
sandstones etc.
• Aquiclude
– Store, don’t transmit
water
– Clays and less shale
– Impervious boundaries of
aquifers
• Aquitard
– Transmit don’t store
water
– Shales and less clay
– Leaky confining layers of
aquifers
– Phreatic or water table
– Bounded by a water table
 Aquifer Types
• Confined aquifer
– Under pressure
– Bounded by impervious layers
• Unconfined aquifer
– Phreatic or water table
– Bounded by a water table
• Aquifer
– Store & transmit water
– Unconsolidated deposits
sand and gravel,
sandstones etc.
• Aquitard
– Transmit don’t store water
– Shales and less clay
– Leaky confining layers of
aquifers
 Aquifer Storage
• Fluid Compressibility ()
• Porous Medium Compressibility ()
• Specific Storage
– Volume of water released from a unit volume of aquifer due to a unit decline
in head
• Confined Aquifer
– Water produced by 2 mechanisms
1. Aquifer compaction due to increasing effective stress V  g
2. Water expansion due to decreasing pressure
• Unconfined aquifer
– Water produced by draining pores Ss  S y

Book
Storage Relations in Aquifers

Unconfined Aquifer Confined Aquifer

Ss  S y S s   g (  n )
 Pressure and Elevation Heads
• Piezometric head - energy per
unit weight of the fluid

Elevation
head
Pressure
head
 Piezometric Head
• Piezometric head

• Unconfined aquifer
– piezometric head =
elevation

Pressure
head = 0
 Two Confined Aquifers with Different Heads

Groundwater will tend to flow from

the top aquifer to the bottom
aquifer.

We can’t make any conclusion about

horizontal head gradients from this
picture.
Horizontal and Vertical Head Gradients
Hydrologic Cycle

34
 Modern Theories
• Modern Theory
– Henri Darcy (1856): Relationship
for the flow through sand filters.
Resistance of flow through aquifers.
Solution for unsteady flow.
– Hazen, Slichter, O. E.
Meinzer(1900s): practical
applications, basing on theoretical
principles of French hydrogeology
– King (1899): Water table maps, Henri Darcy
groundwater flow, cross-section
– C.V. Theis(1930s): Well Hydraulics
– Hubbert(1940) “…penetrating
thought experiments recast the
theory of groundwater flow in
physically meaningful terms,
rescuing the field from a morass of
internal inconsistencies”
– C. E. Jacob (1940) Partial
differential equation of transient
groundwater flow
C.V. Theis
 Ground Water Definitions
• Porosity: Volume percentage of rock that
consists of voids or openings. It is a
measure of the rock’s ability to hold water.

• Permeability: Capacity of a rock to

transmit fluid through pore space and
fractures.
– Rocks that allow water to flow easily are
referred to as permeable, while those that
do NOT are referred to as impermeable.
Permeability
Table
Water Table in quarry

Water Table
Perched Water Tables
Ground Water
Movement Hydraulic head (h) = elevation + pressure

Hydraulic gradient =
difference in head/distance

h.g. = h/L

Water flows from zones of high

hydraulic gradient to low
hydraulic gradient!
Velocity and
Potential

Potential = acceleration of gravity • hydraulic head = g • h ~ h

Flow is always perpendicular to the lines of equal potential.

 Groundwater Flow Velocity
• Flow velocity is governed by Darcy’s Law
– Darcy’s Law states that the velocity is equal to the
permeability times the hydraulic gradient, where
permeability is the capacity of a porous material to
transmit fluid.
– This gives the equivalent flow velocity through an open
pipe.
– To correctly apply to real rocks, must divide by the
porosity.

• Ground water velocity = perm./porosity • hydraulic gradient

– V = (K/n) • (h/L)
– where K is hydraulic conductivity (a measure of
permeability) and n is porosity.
 Aquifers
• Aquifer: body of saturated rock or sediment through
which water can move easily.
– Examples: Sandstone, conglomerate, well-fractured
limestone, bodies of sand and gravel
– Unconfined aquifer: water table is only partly filled.
– Confined aquifer: water table completely filled with
water under pressure.

• Aquitard or aquiclude: body of rock with low

permeability, which retards the flow of water across it.
Confined vs. Unconfined Aquifers
Fractured
Rocks
Changes in Water Table with Rainfall
Drawdown
Artesian Well Controls
Artesian Well
Spring Controls and Types
 Gaining vs. Losing Streams
Gaining stream: ground water
flow into stream

Losing stream:
water flows into
saturated zone

Eventually can produce

dry stream!

Stream type controlled by changes in the water table.

 Groundwater Basics
Unsaturated
Soil Particles
Zone

Water Table

Saturated
Zone

All the water below the water table is considered groundwater.

 Groundwater Movement

Impermeable bedrock
 Groundwater flow
Impermeable bedrock
 Groundwater Movement:
Where does your water come from?
How fast is it going?
 Darcy’s Law
• Water flow through an aquifer.
• Darcy's law (conservation of momentum) was
determined experimentally by Darcy, it can be
derived from the Navier-Stokes equations
• Analogous to Fourier's law, Ohm's law, or Fick's
law
• Darcy's law (conservation of momentum) and the
continuity equation (conservation of mass) are
used to derive the groundwater flow equation
 Properties
• Fluid
– Density () = mass per unit volume
– Specific weight (g) = weight per unit volume
– Specific gravity (SG=w) = ratio of fluid density to
that of water
– Viscosity () = resistance of fluid to yield to shear
when it is in motion
• Porous Medium
– Storage Properties (porosity, particle size, elasticity)
– Transmissive Properties (conductivity)
 Darcy

http://biosystems.okstate.edu/Darcy/

/echo.epfl.ch/VICAIRE/
 Darcy’s Experiment

hL
P1/

P2/
v
Q

A
Sand

,
z1

ea
Ar
column

Datum z2
plane
Q
 Darcy’s Experiments
• Flow through sand filters
• Discharge (Q) proportional to
K= hydraulic conductivity [L/T]
– Area, A
– Head drop, h1-h2
– Inverse of length, L

h1  h2
QA
L

h  h2  h1

Q h
q  K
A L
 Groundwater Velocity
• Specific discharge q
Q
A
– Darcy velocity
• Q= flow
• A = total cross-sectional area
through which flow occurs

q Q
• Average velocity v 
 A
 Head Loss in Porous Media
• Piezometric head

• Energy is lost in the flow through the porous medium due to

friction

• Energy equation

• Neglect velocity terms

• Flow is always from higher head to lower head

 Validity of Darcy’s Law
• We ignored kinetic energy (low velocity)
• We assumed laminar flow
• We can calculate a Reynolds Number for the
flow

q= Specific discharge
d10 = effective grain size diameter
• Darcy’s Law is valid for NR< 1
 Hydraulic Conductivity
• A combined property of the medium and the fluid
• Ease with which fluid moves through the medium

g
K k


k = intrinsic permeability Porous medium property

ρ = density
Fluid properties
µ = dynamic viscosity
g = gravitational constant Water vs NAPL
Water vs Air
Permeability and Hydraulic Conductivity
 Estimating Conductivity
Kozeny – Carman Equation
• A combined property of the medium and the fluid
• Ease with which fluid moves through the medium

g
K k


k = intrinsic permeability
ρ = density
g = gravitational constant 2   3  2
 d
µ = dynamic viscosity k  cd   2
 180(1   ) 
d = mean particle size
Kozeny – Carman eq.
 = porosity
 Lab Measurement of Conductivity
Permeameters
• Darcy’s Law is useless unless we can measure the
parameters
• Set up a flow pattern such that
– We can derive a solution
– We can produce the flow pattern experimentally
• Hydraulic Conductivity is measured in the lab with a
permeameter
– Steady or unsteady 1-D flow
– Small cylindrical sample of medium
 Lab Measurement of Conductivity
Constant Head Permeameter

• Flow is steady Continuous Flow

• Sample: Right circular cylinder

– Length, L
Overflow
– Area, A
• Constant head difference (b) is
applied across the sample
producing a flow rate Q
• Darcy’s Law Outflow
A
Q
 Lab Measurement of Conductivity
Falling Head Permeameter
• Flow rate in the tubemust equal that in the column

Outflow
Q
 Heterogeneity and Anisotropy
• Homogeneous aquifer
– Properties are the same at
every point
• Heterogeneous aquifer
– Properties are different at
every point
• Isotropic aquifer
– Properties are same in every
direction
• Anisotropic aquifer
– Properties are different in
different directions
• Often results from stratification
during sedimentation
K horizontal  K vertical

www.usgs.gov
Layered Porous Media
(Flow Parallel to Layers)

b1 K1 Q1

b b2 K2 Q2 Q

b3 K3 Q3
 Layered Porous Media
(Flow Perpendicular to Layers)
Q
W

b1 K1 h1

b b2 K2 h2

b3 K3 h3

Q
 Units
• Hydraulic Conductivity
– K [L/T]
• m/s
• gal/(day-ft2)

• Permeability
– k [L2]
• m2
• ft2
• darcy
 Boundary Conditions
dam
• Specified Head Boundary

reservoir

• Specified Flow Boundary

Constant Head BC

Constant Head BC Specified flow BC

No Flow BC

• No-flow boundary
 Simple Flow Net Analysis
• Flow Line – a line such that the velocity vector is tangent to it
• Flow net – the set of Flow lines and Equipotentials intersect at right angles
• Flow lines terminate on Equipotentials (delineates boundaries of flow domain)
• Discharge of any Flowtube (area between two Flow lines) per unit width is
Flow net
Flow line

• So specific discharge is

Equipotential
 Constructing Flow Nets

• nf = number of Flowtubes
• nd = number of Equipotential drops
• Q = flow for one Flowtube
• H = head loss for one Flowtube
• l = total length of flow tube
• b = Total width of flow
Simple Flow Net Analysis

Q Q
 Flow Net Under a Dam
• Flow happens
– Head above dam > head below dam
• Bottom of reservoir
– Equipotential
– Flow is down
• Impervious boundary,
– Streamline dam
– No-flow
• Base of dam
– Streamline reservoir
– No flow
• Water surface below dam
– Equipotential Equipotential Flowline
– Constant head
 Groundwater Flow Direction
• Water level
measurements from
three wells can be used
to determine
groundwater flow
direction
 Contour Map of Groundwater Levels
• Contours of
groundwater level
(equipotential lines)
and Flowlines
(perpendicular to
equipotiential lines)
indicate areas of
recharge and discharge
 Refraction of Streamlines
y
• Vertical component of
velocity must be the same q1 Upper Formation
on both sides of interface 1
K1

K2 2 x

• Head continuity along K 2  K1 q2

interface Lower Formation

• So
 Darcy’s Law
h
• Darcy’s Law q  K
L
1-D expression

• 1-D expression q 
• When flow is not 1-D, q  x vector with
q  q y 
3components
is a vector with q 
 z
3components
q   Kh 3-D expression
 Darcy’s Law
• Often we can align the
coordinate axes in the
principale directions of
layering
• Horizontal conductivity
often order of
magnitude larger than
vertical conductivity
 Darcy’s
Law and Flow

Philip B. Bedient
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Rice University
Darcy allows an estimate of:
• the velocity or flow rate moving within the aquifer
• the average time of travel from the head of the
aquifer to a point located downstream
Darcy’s Law

• Darcy’s law provides an accurate

description of the flow of ground
water in almost all hydrogeologic
environments.
Flow in Aquifers
Darcy’s Experiment (1856):

Flow rate determined by Head loss dh = h1 -

h2
Darcy’s Law

• Henri Darcy established empirically that the

flux of water through a permeable formation is
proportional to the distance between top and
bottom of the soil column.
• The constant of proportionality is called the
hydraulic conductivity (K).

• V = Q/A, V  – ∆h, and V  1/∆L

Darcy’s Law

V = – K (∆h/∆L)
and since
Q = VA (A = total area)

Q = – KA (dh/dL)
Hydraulic Conductivity

• K represents a measure of the ability for flow

through porous media:
• Gravels - 0.1 to 1 cm/sec

• Sands - 10-2 to 10-3 cm/sec

• Silts - 10-4 to 10-5 cm/sec
• Clays - 10-7 to 10-9 cm/sec
Conditions
• Darcy’s Law holds for:
1. Saturated flow and unsaturated flow 2.
Steady-state and transient flow 3. Flow in
aquifers and aquitards 4. Flow in
homogeneous and heterogeneous systems
5. Flow in isotropic or anisotropic media 6.
Flow in rocks and granular media
Darcy Velocity

• V is the specific discharge (Darcy velocity).

• (–) indicates that V occurs in the direction of
the decreasing head.
• Specific discharge has units of velocity.
• The specific discharge is a macroscopic
concept, and is easily measured. It should be
noted that Darcy’s velocity is different ….
Darcy Velocity

• ...from the microscopic velocities

associated with the actual paths if
individual particles of water as they wind
their way through the grains of sand.

• The microscopic velocities are real, but

are probably impossible to measure.
Darcy & Seepage Velocity
• Darcy velocity is a fictitious velocity
since it assumes that flow occurs across
the entire cross-section of the soil
sample. Flow actually takes place only
through interconnected pore channels.

Av voids
A = total area
Darcy & Seepage Velocity

• From the Continuity Eqn:

• Q = A vD = AV V s
– Where:
Q = flow rate
A = total cross-sectional area of
       material
AV = area of voids
Vs = seepage velocity
VD = Darcy velocity
Darcy & Seepage Velocity
• Therefore: VS = VD ( A/AV)
• Multiplying both sides by the length of the
medium (L)
VS = VD ( AL / AVL ) = VD ( VT / VV )
• Where:
VT = total volume
VV = void volume
• By Definition, Vv / VT = n, the soil porosity

• Thus VS = V D / n
Equations of Groundwater Flow

• Description of ground water flow is based on:

Darcy’s Law Continuity Equation -
describes conservation of fluid
mass during flow through a
porous medium; results in a partial
differential equation of flow.

• Laplace’s Eqn - most important in math

Derivation of 3-D GW Flow
Equation from Darcy’s Law
z

Vx 
Vx  Vx 
x

y

Mass In - Mass Out =Change in Storage

  
 Vx   Vy  Vz   0
x y z
Derivation of 3-D GW Flow
Equation from Darcy’s Law
Replace Vx, Vy, and Vz with Darcy using Kx, Ky, and Kz

  h    h    h 
K x  K y  K z  0
x  x  y  y  z  z 

Divide out constant , and assume Kx= Ky= Kz = K

 2h  2h  2h
 2  2 0
x 2
y z
 2 h  0 called Laplace Eqn.
Transient Saturated Flow
   
 Vx   Vy  Vz   n
x y z t
A change in h will produce change in  and n, replaced
with specific storage Ss = g( + n). Note, is the compressibility of aquifer
and B is comp of water,
therefore,

  h    h    h  h
K x  K y  K z  Ss
x  x  y  y  z  z  t
Solutions to GW Flow Eqns.
Solutions for only a few simple problems can be
obtained directly - generally need to apply numerical
methods to address complex boundary conditions.

 2h  2h  2h
 2  2 0
x 2
y z
 2 h  0 called Laplace Eqn.

h0 h1


Transient Saturated Flow
Simplifying by assuming K = constant in all dimensions
And assuming that S = Ssb, and that T = Kb yields

 h   h   h  Ss h

     
x x  y y  z z  K t

 2 h  2 h  2 h Ss h
 2  2 
 x 2
y z K t
S h
 h
2
from Jacob, Theis
T t
Steady State Flow to Well
Simplifying by assuming K = constant in all dimensions
and assuming that Transmissivity T = Kb and
Q = flow rate to well at point (x,y) yields

h h
2 2
Qx, y 
 2 
x 2
y T


Example of Darcy’s Law

• A confined aquifer has a source of recharge.

• K for the aquifer is 50 m/day, and n is 0.2.
• The piezometric head in two wells 1000 m
apart is 55 m and 50 m respectively, from a
common datum.
• The average thickness of the aquifer is 30
m, and the average width of aquifer is 5 km.
 Compute:
• a) the rate of flow through the aquifer
• (b) the average time of travel from the head of the
aquifer to a point 4 km downstream
• *assume no dispersion or diffusion
The solution
• Cross-Sectional area= 30(5)(1000) =
15 x 104 m2
• Hydraulic gradient = (55-50)/1000
= 5 x 10-3
• Rate of Flow for K = 50 m/day
Q = (50 m/day) (75 x 101
m2) = 37,500 m3/day
• Darcy Velocity: V = Q/A =
(37,500m3/day) / (15 x 104 m2) =
0.25m/day
And • Seepage Velocity:
Vs = V/n = (0.25) / (0.2) =
1.25 m/day (about 4.1 ft/day)

• Time to travel 4 km downstream:

T = 4(1000m) / (1.25m/day) =
3200 days or 8.77 years

• This example shows that water moves

very slowly underground.
Limitations of the
Darcian Approach
1. For Reynold’s Number, Re, > 10 or where the flow
is turbulent, as in the immediate vicinity of pumped
wells.

2. Where water flows through extremely fine-grained

materials (colloidal clay)
Darcy’s Law:
Example 2
• A channel runs almost parallel to a river, and they are 2000 ft
apart.
• The water level in the river is at an elevation of 120 ft and 110ft in
the channel.
• A pervious formation averaging 30 ft thick and with K of 0.25 ft/hr
joins them.
• Determine the rate of seepage or flow from the river to the
channel.
Confined Aquifer

Confining Layer Aquifer

30 ft
Example 2
• Consider a 1-ft length of river (and channel).
Q = KA [(h1 – h2) / L]

• Where:
A = (30 x 1) = 30 ft2 K
= (0.25 ft/hr) (24 hr/day) = 6 ft/day

• Therefore,
Q = [6 (30) (120 – 110)] / 2000
= 0.9 ft3/day/ft length = 0.9 ft2/day
Permeameters

Constant Head Falling Head

Constant head Permeameter
• Apply Darcy’s Law to find K:
V/t = Q = KA(h/L)
or:
K = (VL) / (Ath)
• Where:
V = volume flowing in time t
A = cross-sectional area of the sample
L = length of sample
h = constant head
• t = time of flow