Hydraulicstructure Seepage

Jimma University
Jimma Institute of Technology, JiT
Chapter: Theories of
Seepage Flow/Subsurface
Flow
Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 1

Jimma University
Introduction
 The design of any hydraulic structure comprises of

two steps:
– Hydraulic design, to fix the overall dimensions
and profiles of the structure, and
– Structural design, where the various sections are
analyzed for stresses under different loads and
reinforcement or other structural details are
worked out.

Jimma University
2. Hydraulic Design for Sub-Surface Flow
 The sub-surface flow below a barrage causes two

definite instability problems, as listed below
– Uplift forces due to the sub soil pressure that tends to lift
up the barrage raft floor, and
– Upward rising seepage forces through the river bed just
downstream of the solid apron causes sand particles to
erupt upwards and tends to ‘piping’ failure of the
foundation.

Jimma University
Figure 1: Subsurface flow below a barrage

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 Seepage forces would be the most dominating for gates

closed condition, but would also exist during some cases of
full flow conditions

Jimma University
2.1 Subsurface Flow Considerations

 Most of the works in rivers and canals are built on
permeable foundations.
 The water can thus seep under the structure and the safety
of the structure against the effects of the same must be
ensured.
 As already mentioned, safety against uplift and undermining
are the two main considerations in this regard.
 The flow of water through porous media is governed by the
Laplace equation and thus the solution of the
 Laplace equation for the given geometry and boundary
conditions can provide all the necessary information about
the same.
Jimma University
2.2 Uplift Pressure

 Water seeping underneath a structure will loose head during
the flow.
 Thus if one considers the geometry shown in Fig.4, water
enters at A and emerges at B and the head lost in this is
equal to H.
 At any location between A and B, such as C, there is a
residual head h, which is less than H and this will result in an
upward pressure on the floor equal to γ h per unit area of the
floor.
 The value of h is in fact the intercept between the bottom of
the floor and the hydraulic grade line for the flow.

Jimma University
Figure 4: Simple hydraulic structure with seepage head, H

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 In order that the floor to be safe against this uplift, its weight
must be at least equal to the uplift. If the specific gravity of
the material of the floor is G and its thickness t, the weight
per unit area will be γGt. This then yields for safety against
uplift
 h’ is the intercept between the top of the floor and the

hydraulic grade line
Jimma University
2.3 Undermining
 Undermining starts if the seepage water emerging at the exit
retains enough force to dislodge sediment particles at that
location.
 This then continues upstream and creates a cavity below the
structure which can result in the collapse of the structure.
See Fig.5.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 the net seepage force dF in the direction of flow as
 Therefore, seepage force per unit volume of soil,
 to provide safety against piping failure, the seepage force at the exit end
must be less than the submerged weight of the soil particles.
 At the critical condition, the two forces will just balance each other.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 The quantity dH/dl represents the hydraulic gradient at the

exit (or, simply, the exit gradient) which is negative. The
value of dH/dl given by in the above equation is termed the
critical gradient which should not be exceeded in order to
prevent failure by piping.

Jimma University
The Methods of Subsurface Flow Analysis

 1. Flow nets (graphical or experimental).
 2. Bligh's Creep Theory.
 3. Lane's weighted Creep Theory.
 4. Khosla's Method

Jimma University
3.1 Flow Nets

 In any hydraulic structure on permeable foundations, water
flow from a region of high level (high pressure) to the region
of low level (low pressure), beneath and around the
structure.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 The method is the graphical solution of the Laplace equation

for steady state flow.
 To illustrate the method, assume a weir that retains water to
a height, H above ground surface as shown in Figure 7.
Water will percolate from the upstream side of the weir to its
downstream through the soil along imaginary paths known
as flow lines.
 Due to soil resistance, the water head decreases as water
travels downstream.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 The Laplace continuity equation for two dimensional flows is

given by the following equation.
 If the soil is isotropic with respect to the hydraulic

conductivity - that is, Kx=Kz-the above equation for two-
dimensional flow simplifies to

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 A flow line is a line along which a water particle will travel

from upstream to the downstream side in the permeable soil
medium.
 An equipotential line is a line along which the potential head
at all points is equal.
 Thus, if piezometers are placed at different points along an
equipotential line, the water level will rise to the same
elevation in all of them.
 A combination of a number of flow lines and equipotential
lines is called a flow net.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 The flow nets are constructed by dividing the soil profile

under the foundation into arbitrary numbers of equipotential
and flow lines.
 In drawing the lines, the following criteria must be
considered.
1. The flow and equipotential lines intersect lines at right
angles;
2. The flow and equipotential lines are parallel among
themselves;
3. The flow elements formed are approximate squares

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 These conditions usually dictate the number of the flow

equipotential lines.
 The larger the number of the lines, the smaller size of the
square and hence there is a better chance to fulfill the
required criteria.
 The solution is achieved by trial and error.
 To draw a flow net for a weir which has three or four piles,
the trial may take several hours until the required criteria are
fulfilled.
 There are several boundary conditions which assist in
drawing the flow net.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 The up and downstream ground surface are equipotential

lines.
 Flow lines are parallel along impermeable surface and
equipotential lines meet these surfaces at right angles.
 There are infinite number of flow and equipotential lines.
However, in practice only 5 to 8 flow lines are drawn.
Similarly, only 10 to 20 equipotential lines are drawn.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 Let H=drop in the head between two equipotential lines

 B and l= length and width of a square in the flow net
 K= permeability of the soil
 H=drop in the head between two equipotential lines
 If the number of flow channels is Nf, the total seepage per

unit width of the weir is:
 The hydraulic gradient across any field is:

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 The average seepage pressure per unit volume across any

field parallel to the direction of flow is:
 If the side of the last square at the exit is le, the exit hydraulic
gradient is:
 The safe exit gradient for different types of soils is given on

Table 1.

Jimma University
3.2 Bligh's Creep Theory

 Bligh’s creep theory was given by W.G. Bligh in 1910.
1. According to this theory, the percolating water creeps along the
contact surface of the base profile of the structure with the
subsoil.
 The length of the path thus traversed by the percolating water is
called the length of creep or the creep length.
 As the water creeps from the upstream end to the downstream
end, the head loss occurs.
 The head loss is proportional to the creep distance travelled.
2. The subsoil hydraulic gradient, which is the loss of head per unit
length of creep, is constant throughout the seepage path.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
Figure 13: (a) structure with a horizontal floor of length L

subjected to a seepage head H; (b) simple hydraulic
structure with three sheet piles in which the seepage
head H

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 Consider Fig 13 (a) which shows a structure with a

horizontal floor of length L subjected to a seepage head H.
Also consider Fig 13 (b) showing a simple hydraulic
structure with three sheet piles in which the seepage head H
occurs.
 The seepage head, H is the difference of water levels on the
upstream and downstream.
 The seepage water enters the foundation at point A and
emerges at point B.
 The water follows the path indicated by arrows.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 The total creep length, L is given by
 Where d1, d2 and d3 are the depths of upstream,

downstream and intermediate piles respectively; l1 and l2 are
the lengths of the upstream and downstream floors.
 The subsoil hydraulic grade line/gradient is given by

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 It may be noted that the subsoil hydraulic grade line

indicates the pressure heads at the points below the
impervious floor due to the subsurface flow.
 If pipes (or piezometers) were inserted at different points,
the water would rise in these pipes up to the corresponding
levels indicated by the subsoil hydraulic grade line.
 It is also worth noting that there is a sudden drop in the
subsoil hydraulic grade line at the locations of the sheet
piles or cutoff walls. In the rest of the portions, there is a
gradual linear drop.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 Uplift Pressure
 The uplift pressure at any point P at a distance l from point A can
be determined from the relation
 Where u is the uplift pressure in KN/m2, w is the specific weight of
water in KN/m3 and h is the residual head in m at that point. It may
be noted that the head his measured above the top surface of the
floor.
 The residual head h at the point P can be determined by
either of the following methods.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 Method 1: The residual head is equal to the seepage head

H minus the head loss due to creep length from entry point
to pint P. Thus
 Method 2: The residual head h at P is also equal to the

head loss due to creep length from point P to point B. Thus,

Jimma University
Design Criteria
 For safety of hydraulic structure on pervious foundation, the
following two criteria should be satisfied.
 The subsoil hydraulic gradient should be less than the
permissible value to prevent piping failure.
 The floor should be sufficiently thick to prevent rupture due
to uplift pressure.

Jimma University
Piping failure
 According to Bligh, piping failure will not occur if the

hydraulic grade line is equal to or less than a safe value.
Thus for a safe design
 Bligh creep coefficient, C depends upon the type of soil as

indicated on Table 2 .Bligh called the loss of head per unit
length of creep (l) as percolation coefficient and its
reciprocal (i.e., L/H) as coefficient of creep (C).

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 If the seepage head is H and L is creep length the equation

can be written as follows
 In the limiting case

 In other words, for hydraulic structure to be safe against
piping failure, the creep length L should be equal to (or
greater than) the product of creep coefficient (C) and
seepage head (H).

Jimma University
Failure due to rupture of floor
 The second criterion for the safe design of hydraulic

structures on pervious foundation is that the weight of
impervious floor must be sufficient to counterbalance the
uplift pressure. The floor is usually designed as gravity
section.
 Consider Fig 14 (a) which shows a simple horizontal floor of
length L, subjected to a seepage head of H. The residual
head at any point P is given by
 Where l is the horizontal length from the entry point A to

point P.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 The residual head, h can be obtained from the hydraulic

grade line (HGL). It may be noted that the vertical intercept h
of the subsoil HGL is measured from the top surface of the
floor. If h’ is the vertical intercept measured above the
bottom surface of the floor
 Fig 14 (b) shows the uplift pressure diagram on the bottom

surface.
 It is more convenient to measure the intercept h than the
intercept h/. The intercept h/ above the bottom surface of the
floor can be determined only after the thickness t has been
determined or has been assumed.
Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 For determination of floor thickness t, let us consider the

forces acting on a unit area of the floor shown hatched on
Fig 14 (a).
 The upward force U due to the uplift pressure is given by
 The downward force W due to the weight of the floor

material is given by
 Where G is the specific gravity of the floor material.
 For equilibrium, the upward force should be
counterbalanced by the weight. See Fig 14 (c). Hence

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 Upstream floor:
 It may be mentioned that the floor thickness determined by
the above equation is applicable only for the portion of floor
on the downstream of the barrier.
 On the upstream of the barrier, there is weight of water on
the floor which exerts a downward force equal to wH, which
is more than to counterbalance the upward force, U due to
uplift.
 Theoretically, the thickness of U/S floor required is zero, but
as this is not feasible some nominal thickness is provided so
that the floor can act as an impervious floor

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 and can resist wear, impact etc. The nominal thickness for
different hydraulic structures is different.
 For the U/S floor of diversion weirs a thickness of 0.5 to
0.8m may be provided.
 It is important and economical to provide as much length of
the creep length as possible on the u/s of the barrier.
Moreover, the provision of a greater length on the u/s side
also reduces the uplift pressure on the d/s floor because of a
large loss of head would occur up to the barrier and the
residual head and hence the thickness on the d/s floor would
be reduced (See Fig 15 a).

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 Upstream and downstream Piles: It is also worth noting

that a pile (or Cutoff) at u/s end of the impervious floor
reduces uplift pressure all over the length and the thickness
required is considerably decreased. On the other hand, a
pile (or Cutoff) at d/s end of the impervious floor increases
the uplift pressure thought and hence the thickness of the
floor is increased. See Fig 15 b. However, a d/s pile is
needed for prevention of piping as per Khosla’s theory.
Hence, a d/s pile is always provided even though it
increases the uplift pressure. Both the u/s and d/s piles are
required from scour considerations.

Jimma University
Limitations of Bligh’s Theory
 The Bligh theory does not differentiate between the vertical

creep and the horizontal creep and gives the same
weightage to both, actually, the vertical creep is more
effective than the horizontal creep.
 The theory assumes that the head loss variation is linear,
while the actual head loss variation is non-linear.
 No distinction is made between the head loss on the outer
faces and that on the inner faces of the sheet piles. Actually,
the outer faces are more effective than the inner faces.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 The theory does not emphasize the importance of the

downstream pile without which piping failure occurs. It
considers the downstream pile only as a component of the
total creep length and not as a controlling factor for the exit
gradient and the piping.
 The theory does not give any theoretical or practical method
for the determination of the safe gradient.
 Bligh did not consider the effect of the length of the
intermediate pile. Later investigations by Khosla indicated
that the intermediate pile is ineffective if its length is shorter
than that of the outer piles. However, there is some local
redistribution of uplift pressure.
Jimma University
3.3 Lane’s Weighted Creep Theory
 Lane conducted a statistical analysis of 290 existing

hydraulic structures all over the world founded on pervious
foundations and gave a theory in 1932. This theory is known
as the lane Weighted Creep Theory.
 The theory gives different weightage to the vertical and
horizontal creeps.
 From the analysis, Lane’s concluded that horizontal creep is
less effective in reducing uplift than vertical creep.
 He found out that the vertical creep is 3 times more effective
than the horizontal creep in reducing the uplift pressure.

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 For the structure in the Figure 18 below, lanes equations is

derived as follows.

Jimma University
3.4 Khosla’s Theory
 In 1926-27, some siphons constructed on the upper Chenab

canal (India), which were designed based on Bligh’s theory,
had undermining problems. Dr Khosla’s and his associates
carried out an investigation on these siphons.
 They measured the actual uplift pressures at their bases
with the help of pipes inserted in the floors of these siphons.
They found out that the actual pressures were quite different
from those computed on the basis of Bligh’s theory.
 This investigation led to the following provisional
conclusions.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
i. The outer faces of end sheet piles were much more effective
than the inner faces and the horizontal length of the floor.
ii. Intermediated piles of smaller length than the outer piles are
ineffective except for some local redistribution of pressure.
iii. Undermining/piping of floor started from tail end when the
hydraulic gradient at the exit is greater than the critical gradient
for that particular soil. The soil particles move with the flow of
water, thus causing progressive degradation of the subsoil and
resulting in cavities below the floor and ultimate failure.
iv. It is absolutely essential to have a reasonably deep vertical cut
off/pile at the downstream end of the floor to prevent
undermining/or piping.

Jimma University
Soil – A system
 Khosla et al determined the flow pattern below the

impermeable base of hydraulic structures on permeable
foundations.
 They started with the potential theory and found the solution
of Laplace’s equation for different configuration of floors.
 From the flow pattern, the distribution of uplift pressure on
the base of the hydraulic structures and also the exit
gradient were found. Various cases were analyzed and
studied by them.

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil – A system

Jimma University
Soil Physical Properties Influencing Soil – Water Relationship
 The important physical properties of soil affecting the soil-

water relationship relate to soil characteristics that governs
 entry of water in to the soil during irrigation or rain,
 water movement through the soil,
 retention of water by the soil and
 availability of water to crop plants.
 The two main physical properties of soil influencing soil-
water relationship are
 soil texture
 soil structure

Jimma University
Soil Physical Properties Influencing Soil – Water Relationship
 Soil texture refers to the relative sizes of soil particles in a

given soil.
 The sizes of particles making up a soil determine its texture.
 Soil structure refers to the manner in which soil particles are
arranged in groups or aggregates.
 The structure of soil is dynamic and it changes constantly
with soil management practices.

Jimma University
Cont…
 Description of Soil Texture

 Physical Characteristics of Textural Classes of soils
 Soil Structure

Hydraulicstructure Seepage

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hydraulicstructure Seepage

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Jimma University

Jimma Institute of Technology, JiT

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 1

 The design of any hydraulic structure comprises of

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 2

2. Hydraulic Design for Sub-Surface Flow

 The sub-surface flow below a barrage causes two

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 3

Figure 1: Subsurface flow below a barrage

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 4

 Seepage forces would be the most dominating for gates

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 5

2.1 Subsurface Flow Considerations

2.2 Uplift Pressure

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 7

Figure 4: Simple hydraulic structure with seepage head, H

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 8

 h’ is the intercept between the top of the floor and the

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 10

 the net seepage force dF in the direction of flow as

 Therefore, seepage force per unit volume of soil,

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 11

 The quantity dH/dl represents the hydraulic gradient at the

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 12

The Methods of Subsurface Flow Analysis

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 13

3.1 Flow Nets

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 14

 The method is the graphical solution of the Laplace equation

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 15

 The Laplace continuity equation for two dimensional flows is

 If the soil is isotropic with respect to the hydraulic

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 16

 A flow line is a line along which a water particle will travel

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 17

 The flow nets are constructed by dividing the soil profile

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 18

 These conditions usually dictate the number of the flow

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 19

 The up and downstream ground surface are equipotential

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 20

 Let H=drop in the head between two equipotential lines

 If the number of flow channels is Nf, the total seepage per

 The hydraulic gradient across any field is:

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 21

 The average seepage pressure per unit volume across any

 The safe exit gradient for different types of soils is given on

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 22

3.2 Bligh's Creep Theory

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 23

Figure 13: (a) structure with a horizontal floor of length L

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 24

 Consider Fig 13 (a) which shows a structure with a

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 25

 The total creep length, L is given by

 Where d1, d2 and d3 are the depths of upstream,

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 26

 It may be noted that the subsoil hydraulic grade line

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 27

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 28

 Method 1: The residual head is equal to the seepage head

 Method 2: The residual head h at P is also equal to the

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 29

Hydraulic Structures II Civil Engineering Department 30