CE 353 Geotechnical Engineering

Dr M. Touahmia

7 Permeability

Lecture Outline:

1. Soil Permeability
2. Bernoulli’s Equation
3. Darcy’s Law
4. Hydraulic Conductivity
5. Permeability Test in the Field

Textbook: Braja M. Das, "Principles of Geotechnical Engineering", 7th E. (Chapter 7).

1
Soil Permeability

What is Permeability?
• Soils are assemblages of solid particles with interconnected voids where
water can flow from a point of high energy to a point of low energy.
• Permeability is the measure of the soil’s ability to permit water to flow
through its pores or voids.
• It is one of the most important soil properties of interest to geotechnical
engineers

Loose soil Dense soil

Easy to flow - High permeability Difficult to flow – Low permeability

2
Soil Permeability

Importance of permeability:
• Permeability influences the rate of settlement of a saturated soil under load.
• 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.
The study of permeability is important for:
• Estimating the quantity of underground seepage.
• Investigating problems involving pumping seepage of water for underground
constructions.
• Analyzing the stability of earth dams and earth retaining walls subjected to
seepage forces.

3
Bernoulli’s Equation

• According to Bernoulli’s equation, the total head at a point in water under

motion can be expressed as the summation of the pressure, velocity, and
elevation heads:
2
v p
h  z h: total head (m)
 2g m p: water pressure (Pa)
v: velocity of water (m/s)
Pressure Velocity Elevation
Head Head Head z: elevation head (m)

• When water flows through soils, the seepage velocity is often very small. It is
even smaller when squared, and the third component in Bernoulli’s equation
becomes negligible compared to the first two components. Therefore, the
total head at any point can be adequately represented by :
p
h z
 m

4
Bernoulli’s Equation

• The heads of water at points A and B as the water flows from A to B are
given as follows (with respect to a datum):
p
• Total head at A: h  z A

 A
w
A

p
• Total head at B: h   z B

 B
w
B

• The loss of head between A and B:

p  p 
h  h  h    z
A
    z
B

  
A B A B
w w 
• The head loss may be expressed as:
h i: hydraulic gradient
i
L L: distance between points A and B

5
Bernoulli’s Equation

• the variation of the velocity (v) with the hydraulic gradient (i) may be
divided into three main zones, as shown in the figure:

• In most soils, the flow of water through the void spaces can be considered
laminar, thus: v  i

6
Darcy’s Law

• Henri Darcy in 1856 derived an empirical formula for the behavior of flow
through saturated soils. He found that the quantity of water (q) per sec
flowing through a cross-sectional area (A) of soil under hydraulic gradient (i)
can be expressed by the formula:
Q
v  ki or q   kiA
where, t
v: discharge velocity, which is the quantity of water flowing in unit time
through a unit gross cross-sectional area of soil (cm/s).
k: coefficient of permeability or hydraulic conductivity (cm/s).
q: flow rate (cm3/s).
Q: volume of collected water (cm3).
A: cross-sectional area (cm3).
i: hydraulic gradient.

7
Darcy’s Law

• Seepage velocity vs: is the actual velocity of water through the void spaces.
• vs is greater then v.

A A  A
v s

q  vA  v A s s

q  v A  A   A v
v s v s

v A  A  v A  A L vV  V 
v 
s
v
 s
 v s v s

A v
AL V v v where,
 V 
1     Vv: volume of voids.
v

  V  1  e  v Vs: volume of solids.

v v  v
s

 V   e  n e: void ratio.
s
v

 V  n: porosity.
 s
8
Hydraulic Conductivity

• The coefficient or permeability (k), also known as hydraulic conductivity, is a

measure of soil permeability. It is generally expressed in cm/sec or m/sec in
SI units.
• The hydraulic conductivity of soils depends on several factors:
 Fluid viscosity
 Pore size distribution
 Grain size distribution
 Void ratio
 Degree of soil saturation
• k is determined in the lab using two methods:
 Constant-Head Test
 Falling-Head Test

9
Constant Head Test

• The constant head test is used primarily for coarse-grained soils.

• It is based on the assumption of laminar flow where k is independent of i
(low values of i).
• This test applies a constant head of water to each end of a soil in a
“permeameter” (ASTM D 2434).
• After a constant flow rate is established, water is collected in a graduated
flask for a known duration.

Permeameter cell

10
Constant Head Test

• The total volume of water collected may be expressed as:

Q  Avt
h
v  ki and i
L
 h
Q  A k t
 L
therefore,

k
QL
m/s
Aht

Q: volume of water collected

A: area of cross section of the soil sample
t: duration of collection of water

11
Constant Head Test

• Test procedure (ASTM D 2434):

1. Setup screens on the permeameter
2. Measurements for permeameter, (D), (L), (H1)
3. Take 1000 g passing No.4 soil (M1)
4. Take a sample for M.C.
5. Assemble the permeameter–make sure seals are air-tight
6. Fill the mold in several layers and compact it as prescribed.
7. Put top porous stone and measure (H2)
8. Weigh remainder of soil (M2)
9. Complete assembling the permeameter. (keep outlet valve closed)
10. Connect Manometer tubes, but keep the valves closed.
11. Apply vacuum to remove air for 15 minutes (through inlet tube at top)
12. Run the Test (follow instructions in the lab manual) …..
13. Take readings
• Manometer heads (h1) & (h2)
• Collect water at the outlet, Q (in ml) at time t ≈60 sec.
12
Falling Head Test

• The falling head test is used for both coarse-grained soils as well as fine-
grained soils.
• Same procedure in constant head test except:
 Record initial head difference, h1 at t = 0
 Allow water to flow through the soil specimen
 Record the final head difference, h2 at time t = t2
 Collect water at the outlet, Q (in ml) at time t ≈ 60 sec

Permeameter cell

13
Falling Head Test

• The rate of flow of the water through the specimen at any time t can be
given by: h dh
q  k A  a
L dt
q: rate of flow
a: cross sectional area of standpipe
A: cross sectional area of the soil sample
aL  dh  t1
aL dh
h1

dt     dt   
Ak  h  0 Ak h
h2

aL h aL h
t ln 1
k ln 1

Ak h 2
At h 2

aL h
k  2.33 log 1

At h 2

h1: distance to bottom of the beaker before the test

h2: distance to bottom of the beaker after the test
14
Hydraulic Conductivity Relationships

• For fairly uniform sand (that is, sand with a small uniformity coefficient),
Hazen (1930) proposed an empirical relationship for hydraulic conductivity in
the form:
k cm/s  cD
2 c: constant that varies from 1.0 to 1.5
10
D10: the effective size, in mm

• The Kozeny-Carman equation (Kozeny, 1927; Carman, 1938, 1956):

1  e 3

k w

C S T  1 2
2 2
s s

Cs: shape factor, which is a function of the shape of flow channels

Ss : specific surface area per unit volume of particles
T: tortuosity of flow channels
η: viscosity
e: void ratio

15
Hydraulic Conductivity Relationships

• Based on Kozeny-Carman equation, Carrier (2003) suggested the following

equation:
fi: fraction of particles between a
pair of two sieve sizes, li (larger)
and si (smaller), in percent.
SF: shape factor

• Chapuis (2004) proposed the following empirical relationship for the

hydraulic conductivity :
 e  3 0.7825

k (cm/s)  2.4622 D
2
where D10 is in (mm)
 1  e 
10

• Samarasinghe, Huang and Drnevich (1982) suggested that the hydraulic

conductivity of normally consolidated clays can be given by:
 e 
n

k  C where C and n are constants to


1  e  be determined experimentally
16
Equivalent Hydraulic Conductivity: Stratified Soil

• In a stratified soil deposit where the hydraulic conductivity for flow in a given
direction changes from layer to layer, an equivalent hydraulic conductivity
can be computed to simplify calculations:
• The equivalent hydraulic conductivity in the horizontal direction (kH(eq) ) is:

 k H  k H  ...  k H 
1
k H  eq  H1 1 H2 2 Hn n
H

where kH1, kH2,…kHn, are the hydraulic

conductivities of the individual layers
in the horizontal direction

17
Equivalent Hydraulic Conductivity: Stratified Soil

• The equivalent hydraulic conductivity in the vertical direction (kV(eq) ) is:

H
kV  eq 

H  H  H 
      ...  
1 2 n

k  k  k 
   
V1 V2  Vn 

where kV1, kV2,…kVn, are the hydraulic conductivities of the individual layers
in the vertical direction.

18
Permeability Test in the Field: Pumping Well

• Pumping test: the average hydraulic conductivity of a soil deposit in the

direction of flow can be determined by performing pumping tests from wells.
• 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.
• Steady state: the equilibrium state when the drawdown keeps no change at
one particular location to the well, no further drawdown develops as
pumping continues.
 dh 
q  k  2rh
 dr 
dr  2k 
r1 h1

    h dh
r2r  q  h2

r 
2.303q log  1

k r 
 h  h 
2
2 2

1 2
19