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Permeability of Soil

Permeability is the property of soil that allows water to flow through it. Darcy's law states that the rate of water flow through a saturated soil is directly proportional to the hydraulic gradient. The coefficient of permeability, k, depends on factors like particle size, pore water properties, degree of saturation, and soil structure. Laboratory tests like constant head and falling head tests are used to measure k by monitoring water flow through a soil sample under a maintained or falling head of water.

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74 views19 pages

Permeability of Soil

Permeability is the property of soil that allows water to flow through it. Darcy's law states that the rate of water flow through a saturated soil is directly proportional to the hydraulic gradient. The coefficient of permeability, k, depends on factors like particle size, pore water properties, degree of saturation, and soil structure. Laboratory tests like constant head and falling head tests are used to measure k by monitoring water flow through a soil sample under a maintained or falling head of water.

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PERMEABILITY

OF SOIL
INDEX

• Introduction

• Importance of Permeability

• Darcy’s law

• Factors affecting permeability of soil

• Laboratory Testing to find coefficient of permeability


INTRODUCTION

Definition
It is the property of soil which allows the flow
of water through it.

water

loose soil dense soil


Importance of Permeability

• The design of earth dams is very much based upon the


permeability of the soils used.

• The stability of slopes and retaining structures can be


greatly affected by the permeability of the soils involved.

• Filters made of soils are designed based upon their


permeability

• Estimating the quantity of underground seepage


Darcy’s law

Where,
A is the cross section of soil sample
L is the length of the soil sample
hin is the head at the inlet
hout is the head at the outlet
Q is the discharge
q is the rate of discharge per unit time (t) = Q/t
Darcy’s law

It states that “In a saturated soil, under laminar


flow condition, the rate of flow of water
through given sample of soil is directly
proportional to hydraulic gradient”
V=q/A=ki
q=kiA
Where,
V is the superficial velocity (m/sec)
k is the co-efficent of permeability (m/sec)
i is the hydraulic gradient= (hin-hout)/L
Superficial velocity

It is defined as discharge per unit cross section


area of soil

V=q/A

Where,
V is the superficial velocity (m/sec)
q is the discharge per unit time
A is the area of the soil sample
Seepage velocity

It is defined as discharge per unit cross section


area of voids to the direction of the flow soil
Vs=q/As
Where,
Vs is the seepage velocity (m/sec)
q is the discharge per unit time
As is the area of voids

Relationship between superficial velocity and


seepage velocity is
Vs = V/n
n is the porosity
Factors affecting permeability

• Particle size
• Properties of pore water
• Degree of saturation
• Presence of entrapped air & other foreign matter
• Structural arrangement
• Stratification of soil
Factors affecting permeability

Particle size

The Permeability varies approximately as the


square of diameter of the soil

k=100D210

Where,
D10 is the effective diameter of the soil
Factors affecting permeability

Property of pore water

The Permeability of the soil varies directly with


density & inversely proportional to the viscosity
of the water

k ∝ γw/μ
k=1/μ
kμ=constant
Factors affecting permeability

Void ratio

Increase in the void ratio increases the area


available for flow hence permeability increases.

k ∝ e3/1+e

Where,
e is the void ratio for the soil
permeability k
Factors affecting permeability

Degree of saturation
Higher the degree of saturation, higher will be
the permeability.

Presence of entrapped air &


Other foreign matter
The entrapped air and foreign matter will block the
voids in soil results in decreasing in permeability
Factors affecting permeability

Structural arrangement
For same void ratio the permeability of the soil will
be more in flocculated structure as compare to
Dispersed structure.

Flocculated structure Dispersed structure


Factors affecting permeability

Stratification of soil
Stratified soil deposits have grater permeability
parallel to the plane when compare to perpendicular
to the plane.

k1>k2
Laboratory Testing to find
coefficient of permeability

Two standard laboratory tests are us to


determine the coefficient of permeability
of soil

• The constant-head test

• The falling-head test.


Laboratory Testing to find
coefficient of permeability

The constant-head test


• The constant head test is used primarily for coarse-
grained soils.
• This test is based on the assumption of laminar
flow (Darcy’s Law apply)

V L
k
h  At

Where:
Q = volume of water collection
A = cross section area of soil specimen
t = duration of water collection
Laboratory Testing to find
coefficient of permeability

Falling Head Test a = cross sectional


area of standpipe

• Variable head method is adopted


for highly impervious soils
• This test is conducted when water flows
through the soil is very small such that it
is very difficult to measure discharge

A = cross s
2.30 aL h1 L
k log10 ectional ar
ea of soil
At h2
Where,
h1 is the initial head
h2 is the final head
a is the c/s area of the stand pipe
A is the c/s area of soil sample
L is the length of the soil sample
t is the time

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