HYDRAULIC

CONDUCTIVITY
INTRODUCTION
Soils have interconnected voids through which water can flow
from points of high energy to points of low energy.

Studying the flow of water through porous soil media is

important for various reasons.

The quantity of water flowing in unit time through a unit gross

cross-sectional area of the soil is a function of hydraulic
conductivity and hydraulic gradient.
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
According to Bernoulli’s equation from fluid mechanics, the total
head (h) at a point in water under motion can be given by the
sum of the pressure, velocity, and elevation heads, or
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
For flow of water through a porous soil medium, we
neglect the velocity head because seepage velocity is
small.
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
The figure at the right
shows the relationship
among the pressure,
elevation, and total
heads for the flow of
water through soil.
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
Open standpipes called piezometers
are installed at points A and B.

The levels to which water rises in

the piezometer tubes situated at A
and B are known as the piezometric
levels of A and B, respectively

The pressure head at a point (A or B) is the height of the vertical

column of water in the piezometer installed at that point.
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
The loss of total head
between two points (A and
B), can be given by;
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
The total head loss () can be
expressed in a
nondimensional form as:

= hydraulic gradient
= distance between A and B
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
In general, the variation of the
velocity () with the hydraulic
gradient is shown in the figure
which divides into three zones:

1. Laminar Flow Zone (Zone I)

2. Transition Zone (Zone II)
3. Turbulent Flow Zone (Zone III)
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
If hydraulic gradient is gradually
increased from zero, the flow
remains laminar in Zones I and II,
and the velocity bears a linear
relationship to the hydraulic
gradient.
At a high hydraulic gradient, the
flow becomes turbulent (Zone III).

If hydraulic gradient is decreased, laminar flow conditions exist

only in Zone I.
BERNOULLI’S EQUATION
In most soils, the flow of water through the void spaces
can be considered laminar, and thus the velocity is
proportional to the hydraulic gradient;

In fractured rock, stones, gravels, and very coarse sands,

where the velocity is high, turbulent flow condition may
exist and the above equation may not be valid.
DARCY’S LAW
Darcy published an empirical equation for the discharge velocity
of water through saturated soils. The equation below assumes
flow of water through clean sands and is,

Where:
= discharge velocity, which is the quantity of water flowing in
unit time through a unit gross cross-sectional area of soil at
right angles to the direction of flow
hydraulic conductivity (coefficient of permeability)
DARCY’S LAW
The equation on the previous slide is VALID for laminar flow
conditions and applicable for a wide range of soils.

The discharge velocity of water is based on the gross cross-

sectional area of the soil. However, the actual velocity of water
through the void spaces is greater than .
DARCY’S LAW
A relationship between the discharge velocity and the seepage
velocity can be derived by referring to the figure below.
DARCY’S LAW
If the quantity of water flowing through the soil in unit time is ,
then,

= Area of void in the cross section of the specimen (m2)

= seepage velocity (m/s)

= Actual velocity (m/s)

= porosity
DARCY’S LAW
We need to keep in mind that the terms actual velocity ()
and seepage velocity () are defined in an average sense.

The actual and seepage velocities will vary with location

within the pore volume of the soil.
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
The hydraulic conductivity of soils depends on several factors:
Fluid viscosity Void ratio
Pore-size distribution Roughness of mineral particles
Grain-size distribution Degree of soil saturation

In clayey soils, structure plays an important role in hydraulic

conductivity. Other major factors that affect the hydraulic
conductivity of clays are the ionic concentration and the thickness
of layers of water held to the clay particles
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
The value of hydraulic conductivity (k) varies for different soils.
Some typical values of saturated soils are given in the table
below. SOIL TYPE k (cm/s)
Clean Gravel 100 - 1
Coarse Sand 1.0 - 0.01
Fine Sand 0.01 - 0.001
Silty Clay 0.001 - 0.00001
Clay <0.00001
LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
The two standard laboratory tests used to determine the
hydraulic conductivity of soil are the constant head test
and the falling head test.
LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
CONSTANT HEAD TEST
In this laboratory setup, the
water supply at the inlet is
adjusted making the head
difference between the inlet and
the outlet remains constant
during the test.
LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
CONSTANT HEAD TEST

After a constant flow rate is

established, water is collected
in a graduated flask for a
known duration. The total
volume of collected water, V,
may be expressed as,
LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
CONSTANT HEAD TEST

V = Volume of water collected

A = Cross section of soil
specimen
t = duration of water collection
L = Length of the specimen
LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
CONSTANT HEAD TEST

From the previous equation,

Rearranging the variables,

LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
CONSTANT HEAD TEST
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
Refer to the constant-head permeability test arrangement
A test gives these values:
• L = 30 cm
• A = area of the specimen 177 sq.cm
• Constant-head difference, h = 50 cm
• Water collected in a period of 5 min = 350 cu.cm

Calculate the hydraulic conductivity in cm/sec.

LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FALLING HEAD TEST

Water from a standpipe flows

through the soil. The initial head
difference, h1, at time t = 0 is
recorded, and water is allowed to
flow through the soil specimen such
that the final head difference at time
t = t2 is h2.
LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FALLING HEAD TEST

The rate of flow of the water, q,

through the specimen at any time t
can be given by;

a = cross section of standpipe

A = cross section of soil specimen
LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FALLING HEAD TEST

Rearranging,

Integrate and rearrange,

LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FALLING HEAD TEST
SAMPLE PROBLEM 2
For a falling-head permeability test, the following values are given:
• Length of specimen = 200 mm
• Area of soil specimen = 1000 sq.mm
• Area of standpipe = 40 sq.mm
• Head difference at time t = 0 = 500 mm
• Head difference at time t = 180 sec = 300 mm

Determine the hydraulic conductivity of the soil in cm/sec.

SAMPLE PROBLEM 3
A permeable soil layer is underlain by an impervious layer as
shown. With k = 5.3 x 10-5 m/s for the permeable layer,
calculate the rate of seepage through it in m3/hr/m width if H
= 3m and = 8.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 4
Find the flow rate in m3/s/m
length (at right angles to the
cross section shown) through
the permeable soil layer,
given H = 8m, H1 = 3m, h =
4m, S = 50m, = 8 and k =
0.08 cm/s.
EMPIRICAL RELATIONS FOR HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY
Several emirical equations for estimating hydraulic conductivity
are provided here. For fairly uniform sand, the empirical
relationship for hydraulic conductivity (in cm/s) is,

c = a constant that varies from 1.0 to 1.5

= Effective Size (mm)
EMPIRICAL RELATIONS FOR HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY
Another form of the equation that gives fairly good results in
estimating the hydraulic conductivity of sandy soils is,

= Shape Factor (function of the shape of flow channels)

= Specific Surface Area per unit Volume of particles
= Tortuosity of Flow Channels
= Dynamic Viscosity of Permeant
EMPIRICAL RELATIONS FOR HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY
At 20℃, the previous equation becomes,

= Fraction of Particles between two sieve sizes

SF = Shape Factor
EMPIRICAL RELATIONS FOR HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY
Tavenas, et al. gave the
correlation between the
void ratio and the
hydraulic conductivity of
clayey soil for flow in
vertical direction. This
correlation is shown at the
right.
EMPIRICAL RELATIONS FOR HYDRAULIC
CONDUCTIVITY
The hydraulic conductivity of normal consolidated clays can
be given by the following equation:

C and n = constants to be determined experimentally

EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY

Soils are anisotropic, showing directional variation in their

properties.

Hydraulic conductivity is one of the soil parameters that

can be sometimes anisotropic.
EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
Depending on the natural of soil deposit, the hydraulic
conductivity of a given layer of soil may vary with the direction
of flow.

In a stratified soil deposits where the hydraulic conductivity

for flow in different directions changes from layer to layer, an
equivalent hydraulic conductivity determination becomes
necessary to simplify calculations.
EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
The following derivations relate to the equivalent hydraulic
conductivity for flow in vertical and horizontal directions
through multilayered soils with horizontal stratification.
EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FLOW IN HORIZONTAL DIRECTION

The figure shows n layers of soil

with flow in the horizontal
direction.
EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
Consider a cross-section of unit length passing through the n layer
and perpendicular to the direction of flow. The total flow through
the cross-section in unit time can be written as,

v = average discharge velocity

, = discharge velocities of flow in layers
EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FLOW IN HORIZONTAL DIRECTION

If kH1, kH2, kH3, ... kHn, are the hydraulic conductivity of the individual
layers in the horizontal direction, and kH(eq), is the equivalent
hydraulic conductivity in the horizontal direction, then from Darcy’s
law, , the equation becomes,

and the individual layers,

EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FLOW IN HORIZONTAL DIRECTION

Substituting of the preceding relations for the preceding equation

for velocities and noting =, the equivalent hydraulic conductivity in
horizontal direction,
EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FLOW IN VERTICAL DIRECTION

The figure at the right shows

layers of soil with flow in
vertical direction.

In this case, the velocity of flow

through all the layers is the
same.
EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FLOW IN VERTICAL DIRECTION

However, the total head loss (h)

is equal to the sum of the head
loss in each layer. Thus,

and,
EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FLOW IN VERTICAL DIRECTION

Using Darcy’s Law,

and thus,
EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
FLOW IN VERTICAL DIRECTION

, = hydraulic conductivites of the

individual layers in the vertical
direction
= equivalent conductivity in vertical
direction
SAMPLE PROBLEM 5
H k (cm/sec)
H1 H1 k1
H2
H3
H2 k2
Estimate the ratio of the equivalent hydraulic
conductivity;
H3 k3
𝒌 𝑯 (𝒆𝒒 )
𝒌𝑽 (𝒆𝒒 )
SAMPLE PROBLEM 6
The figure shows three layers of soil in a tube that is 100 mm x 100 mm in cross section.
Water is supplied to maintain a constant-head difference of 400 mm across the sample.
The hydraulic conductivities of the soils in the direction of flow through them are as
follows:
Soil k (cm/sec) Porosity, n
A 1x10^-2 25%
B 3x10^-3 32%
C 4.9x10^-4 22%

Calculate the following:

• Equivalent k in cm/sec
• Discharge in cu.cm/hr
• Seepage velocity through soil
C in m/sec
PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS
In the field, the average
hydraulic conductivity of a
soil deposit in the
direction of flow can be
determined by performing
pumping tests from wells
for unconfined and
confined aquifer.
PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS
The figure shows a case
where the top permeable
layer, whose hydraulic
conductivity has to be
determined, is unconfined,
and underlain by an
impermeable layer.
PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS UNCONFINED
During the test, water is pumped out at a constant rate from a test
well that has a perforated casing. Several observation wells at
various radial distances are made around the test well.

Continuous observations of the water level in the test well and in

the observation wells are made after the start of pumping, until a
steady state is reached.
PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS UNCONFINED
The steady state is established when the water level in the test
and observation wells becomes constant. The expression for the
rate of flow of groundwater, Q, into the well, which is equal to the
rate of discharge from the pumping can be written as,
PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS UNCONFINED
The previous equation,

Integrate and rearrange the variables, the equation becomes,

PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS
Unconfined permeable
layer underlained by an
Qimpermeable stratumfrom the pumping (m3/s)
= rate of discharge
= radial distance of observation well 1 from the test well (m)
= radial distance of observation well 2 from the test well (m)
= height of observation well 1 from the impermeable layer (m)
= height of observation well 2 from the impermeable layer (m)
PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS CONFINED

The average hydraulic conductivity for a confined aquifer

can also be determined by conducting a pumping test from
a well with a perforated casing that penetrates the full
depth of the aquifer and by observing the piezometric level
in a number of observations at various radial distances.
PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS CONFINED

Pumping is continued at a
uniform rate Q until a steady
state is reached.

The figure shows the pumping

test from a well penetrating the
full depth in a confined aquifer.
PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS CONFINED
Because water can enter the test well only from the aquifer of
thickness H, the steady state of discharge is,
PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS CONFINED
The previous equation,

Which gives the hydraulic conductivity in the direction of flow as,

PERMEABILITY TEST IN THE FIELD BY PUMPING
FROM WELLS CONFINED

Q = rate of discharge from the pumping (m3/s)

= radial distance of observation well 1 from the test well (m)
= radial distance of observation well 2 from the test well (m)
= height of observation well 1 from the top of test well (m)
= height of observation well 2 from the top of test well (m)
H = thickess of confined aquifer (m)
SAMPLE PROBLEM 6
A 300 mm diameter test well penetrates 27 m. below the static water table.
After 24 hours of pumping at 69 liters/sec. The water level in an
observation well at a distance of 95 m. from the test well is lowered 0.5 m.
and the other observation well at a distance of 35 m. from the test well,
the drawdown is 1.1 m.

a) What is the rate of flow in m³/day.

b) Compute the coefficient of permeability of the aquifer in m/day.
c) Compute the transmissibility of the aquifer in m²/day.
 r1
Water table r2

z1
z2

27m h1
h2

Observation
Wells
SAMPLE PROBLEM 7
A permeability pumping test was carried out in a confined aquifer with the piezometric
level before pumping is 2.18 m. below the ground surface. The aquiclude (impermeable
layer) has a thickness of 5.7 m. measured from the ground surface and the confined
aquifer is 7.6 m. deep until it reaches the aquiclude (impermeable layer) at the bottom.
At a steady pumping rate of 15.6 m³/hour the drawdown in the observation wells were
respectively equal to 1.62 m. and 0.47 m. The distances of the observation wells from
the center of the test well were 15 m. and 32 m. respectively.

a) Compute the depth of water at the farthest observation well.

b) Compute the coefficient of permeability.
c) Compute the transmissibility of the impermeable layer.
END