CEB 3103

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING I

SOIL WATER AND WATER FLOW

Prepared by
R.Elakya, Assistant Professor
Department of Civil
Engineering
SOIL WATER

SOIL WATER

 Water present in the void spaces of a soil mass is called ‘Soil

Water’

 The sub-surface water which occupies the voids in the soil

above the ground water table.

 Movement of water into soil - Infiltration
 Downward movement of water within the soil - Percolation,
Permeability or Hydraulic conductivity

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SOIL WATER

FORMS OF SOIL WATER

There are mainly two forms of soil water.
 Gravitational water
 Free water
 Ground water
 Capillary water
 Held water
 Adsorbed water
 Capillary water
 Structural water

Fig. 1 Soil water

Department of Civil 3
Engineering Source: Fig. 1 - https://www.tutorvista.com/biology/types-of-soil-conservation
SOIL WATER

Gravitational water 
 The water in the soil due to the movement of water under
gravitational forces.

Free water :
 Similar properties as that of liquid water
 Moves under the influence of gravity, or due to difference in
hydrostatic pressure head.
 Sources - precipitation, run-off, floodwater, melting snow,
water from certain hydraulic operations.

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SOIL WATER

Ground water :
 Fills up the voids in the soil up to the ground water table and
translocates through them.
 Fills coherently and completely all voids which makes the soil
completely saturated.
 Ground water subjected to atmospheric pressure - Ground
water table
 Elevation of the ground water table at a given point - Ground
water level

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SOIL WATER

Capillary water :
 Water in a suspended condition, held by the forces of surface
tension within the interstices and pores of capillary size in the
soil.
 Retained as minute bodies of water filling part of the pore
space between particles.

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SOIL WATER

Held water
 Water held in soil pores or void spaces because of certain forces of
attraction.

Adsorbed water :
 Strongly attracted to soil mineral surfaces by electrostatic forces
especially clays.
 Dry soil mass adsorb water from atmosphere even at low relative
humidity known as hygroscopic water content.
 Water lost from an air-dry soil when heated to 105ºC.
 Neither affected by gravity nor by capillary forces and would not
move in the liquid form.
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SOIL WATER

Structural water :
 Chemically combined as a part of the crystal structure of the
mineral of the soil grains
 Cannot be separated/removed when subjected to loading
conditions or oven drying to 105ºC - 110ºC

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STRESSES IN SOIL

STRESSES IN SOIL
 Stresses (Total Stress) within a soil mass caused by external loads
applied to the soil and also self-weight of the soil.
 Total stress increases with depth (Z) and with unit weight of soil
(ɣ).
 At any point inside a soil mass, resisted by the soil grains and
water present in the pores or voids (saturated soil).
Vertical total stress at depth Z, σv = ɣ.Z

Fig. 2 Stress in soil mass

Department of Civil Source: Fig. 2
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Engineering http://environment.uwe.ac.uk/geocal/SoilMech/stresses/stresses.htm
STRESSES IN SOIL

 Below a water body, the total stress is the sum of the weight of
the soil up to the surface and the weight of water above this. 

σv = ɣ.Z + ɣw.Zw

Fig. 3 Stress in submerged soil mass

Department of Civil Source: Fig. 3

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Engineering http://environment.uwe.ac.uk/geocal/SoilMech/stresses/stresses.htm
STRESSES IN SOIL

Pore Pressure/Neutral stress

 Pore water pressure (u) - Pressure of groundwater held within a
soil or rock, in gaps between particles (pores). 
 Pore water pressures below the phreatic level of the groundwater
are measured with piezometers.
 Magnitude of the pore water pressure at water table - zero.
 Below the water table, pore water pressure - positive.
u = Ɣw . h
Ɣw – Unit weight of water

Fig 4. Pore water pressure in soil mass

Department of Civil Source: Fig.4
11
Engineering http://environment.uwe.ac.uk/geocal/SoilMech/stresses/stresses.htm
STRESSES IN SOIL

Effective Stress / Inter-granular Pressure

Effective stress - Pressure transmitted through grain to grain at the
contact points through a soil mass causing displacements.
Compression and Shear strength of the soil depends on effective
stress.
Effective stress (σ') acting on a soil is calculated from two
parameters, total stress (σ) and pore water pressure (u) according
to:
σ‘ = σ – u

Fig. 5 Total stress, Effective stress and Pore water pressure

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Source: Fig. 5 – Schofield and Wroth, “Critical State Soil Mechanics”
Engineering
STRESSES IN SOIL

Fig. 6 Schematic representation of Total stress, Effective stress and Pore

water pressure
Department of Civil Source: Fig. 6
13
Engineering http://environment.uwe.ac.uk/geocal/SoilMech/stresses/stresses.htm
STRESSES IN SOIL

For the soil deposit shown below, draw the total stress, pore water
pressure and effective stress diagrams. The water table is at ground
level.

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Engineering
STRESSES IN SOIL

Total stress
At - 4m, σ = 1.92 x 4 = 7.68 T/m2
At -11m, σ = 7.68 + 2.1 x 7 = 22.38 T/m2
Pore water pressure
At - 4 m, u = 1 x 4 = 4 T/m2
At -11 m, u = 1 x 11 = 11 T/m2
Effective stress
At - 4 m , σ‘ = 7.68 - 4 = 3.68 T/m2
At -11m , σ‘ = 22.38 - 11 = 11.38 T/m2

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STRESSES IN SOIL

Determine the neutral and effective stress at a depth of 16 m below the

ground level for the following conditions: Water table is 3 m below
ground level ; G = 2.68; e = 0.72; average water content of the soil above
water table is 8%.
Solution:

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STRESSES IN SOIL

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STRESSES IN SOIL

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SOIL PERMEABILITY

PERMEA BILITY OF SOIL

 Darcy's law states that there is a linear relationship between flow
velocity (v) and hydraulic gradient (i) for any given saturated soil
under steady laminar flow conditions.
 If the rate of flow is q (volume/time) through cross-sectional area
(A) of the soil mass, Darcy's Law can be expressed as
v=q/A=k.i
where
k – permeability of soil (cm/sec)
i – hydraulic gradient (Δh/L)
Δh - difference in total heads
L – Length of soil mass

Fig. 7 Flow of water in soil

Department of Civil Source: Fig. 7 - NPTEL 19
Engineering
SOIL PERMEABILITY

What is permeability of soil?

 Permeability is defined as the property of a porous material which permits
the passage or seepage of water through its interconnecting voids.
 Rate of permeability varies based on void spaces between the grains
(irregular shape of the individual particles)

Fig. 8 Comparison of Permeability of different soil

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Source: Fig.8 - https://www.pinterest.com/jvonstorch/muro-contenci/
Engineering
SOIL PERMEABILITY

PERMEABILITY FOR DIFFERENT SOILS

For different soil types as per grain size, the orders of magnitude for
permeability are as follows:

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SOIL PERMEABILITY

FACTORS AFFECTING SOIL PERMEABILITY

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SOIL PERMEABILITY

DETERMINATION OF CO-EFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY

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SOIL PERMEABILITY

CONSTANT HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST

 Quantity of water (Q) that flows under a given hydraulic gradient
through a soil sample of known length & cross sectional area in a
given time (t).
 Water is allowed to flow through the cylindrical sample of soil
under a constant head.
For testing of pervious, coarse grained soils

k = Coefficient of permeability
Q = total quantity of water
t = time
L = Length of the coarse soil
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Engineering
SOIL PERMEABILITY

CONSTANT HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST SETUP

Fig. 9 Constant Head Permeability test setup

Department of Civil Source: Fig. 9 - Venkatramaiah, C., “Geotechnical Engineering” 25
Engineering
SOIL PERMEABILITY

FALLING HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST

 Relatively for less permeable soils
 Water flows through the sample from a standpipe attached to the top
of the cylinder.
 The head of water (h) changes with time as flow occurs through the
soil. At different times the head of water is recorded.

t = time
L = Length of the fine soil
A = cross section area of soil
a= cross section area of tube
k = Coefficient of permeability
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Engineering
SOIL PERMEABILITY

FALLING HEAD PERMEABILITY TEST SETUP

Fig. 10 Falling Head Permeability test setup

Department of Civil Source: Fig. 10 - Venkatramaiah, C., “Geotechnical Engineering” 27
Engineering
SOIL PERMEABILITY

Example 3
A sample in a variable head permeameter is 8 cm in diameter and 10 cm
high. The permeability of the sample is estimated to be 10 × 10 –4cm/s. If
it is desired that the head in the stand pipe should fall from 24 cm to 12
cm in 3 min., determine the size of the standpipe which should be used?
Solution:

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SOIL PERMEABILITY

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SOIL PERMEABILITY

Example 4
The discharge of water collected from a constant head
permeameter in a period of 15 minutes is 500 ml. The internal
diameter of the permeameter is 5 cm and the measured difference
in head between two gauging points 15 cm vertically apart is 40
cm. Calculate the coefficient of permeability.
Solution:

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SOIL PERMEABILITY

PERMEABILITY – STRATIFIED SOIL DEPOSITS

 Soil deposit consists of a number of horizontal layers having
different permeabilities, the average value of permeability
can be obtained separately for both vertical flow and horizontal
flow, as kV and kH respectively.
 Consider a stratified soil having horizontal layers of
thickness H1, H2, H3, etc. with coefficients of
permeability k1, k2, k3, etc.

Fig. 11 Permeability of stratified soil deposits

Department of Civil Source: Fig. 11 - NPTEL 31

Engineering
SOIL PERMEABILITY

For vertical flow

For horizontal flow

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SOIL PERMEABILITY

Example 5
A horizontal stratified soil deposit consists of three layers each
uniform in itself. The permeabilities of these layers are 8 × 10 –4
cm/s, 52 × 10–4 cm/s, and 6 × 10–4 cm/s, and their thicknesses are 7,
3 and 10 m respectively. Find the effective average permeability of
the deposit in the horizontal and vertical directions.

Solution:

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SOIL PERMEABILITY

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SOIL LIQUEFACTION

QUICK SAND CONDITION

 Quicksand forms in saturated loose sand when suddenly agitated.
 When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil
that loses strength and cannot support weight.
 In the case of upwards flowing water, seepage forces oppose the
force of gravity and suspend the soil particles causing lose of
strength.
 The cushioning of water gives quicksand, and other liquefied
sediments, a spongy, fluid-like texture.
 Objects in liquefied sand sink to the level at which the weight of
the object is equal to the weight of the displaced soil/water mix
and the submerged object floats due to its buoyancy.
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SOIL LIQUEFACTION

MECHANISM
 An upward flow opposes the force of gravity and cause to
counteract completely the contact forces.
 Effective stress is reduced to zero and the soil behaves like a
very viscous liquid - Quick sand condition.
 This condition occurs in coarse silt or fine sand subject to
artesian conditions.

Fig. 12 Quick sand condition - Mechanism

Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eImtYyuQCZ8
Department of Civil Source: Fig.12 - NPTEL 36
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SOIL LIQUEFACTION

Contd….

At the bottom of the soil column,

During quick sand condition, the effective stress is reduced to zero.

where icr = critical hydraulic gradient This shows that when water flows
upward under a hydraulic gradient of about 1, it completely neutralizes the
force on account of the weight of particles, and thus leaves the particles
suspended in water.
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SOIL LIQUEFACTION

SOIL LIQUEFACTION

 Liquefaction is a special case of quicksand.

 In this case, sudden earthquake forces immediately increase
the pore pressure of shallow groundwater.
 The saturated liquefied soil loses strength, causing buildings or
other objects on that surface to sink.

Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMWKTuRgJjY

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 REFERENCES
 Arora K R., “Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering”,
Standard Publishers, 2011.
 Venkatramaiah, C., “Geotechnical Engineering”, New Age
International Publishers, New Delhi,6th edition, 2018.
 https://nptel.ac.in/courses.php

 https://en.wikipedia.org/

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