Soil Mechanics-I(CENG-2202) Chapter 5 : Seepage through soils

5. TWO-DIMENSIONAL FLOW OF WATER THROUGH SOILS

5.1 INTRODUCTION

In many instances the flow of water through soils is neither one-dimensional nor uniform over the area
perpendicular to flow. It is often necessary to know events associated with two dimensional flow of water
through soil media especially in hydraulic and earth retaining structures.
Seepage is closely associated with effective stress. Many catastrophic failures happened due to seepage
stresses.

5.2 SEEPAGE STRESSES

If water is seeping through soil, the effective stress in a soil mass will differ from that in the static case.
Two cases shall be considered:
a. Upward seepage, and
b. Downward seepage

The figure below shows a granular soil mass in a permeability setup where an upward seepage is
maintained.

In reference to the figure above, the total stress at a point located z distance from the top of the soil
specimen is
σ = H 1γ w + zγ sat
At this same location the pore water pressure is

Lecture notes for 2008/2009 Academic Year - 59 -

Instructor-Bruk Melaku
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology
Addis Ababa University
Soil Mechanics-I(CENG-2202) Chapter 5 : Seepage through soils

⎛ h ⎞
u = ⎜⎜ H 1 + z + z ⎟γ w
⎝ H 2 ⎟⎠
Thus the effective pressure will be given by
h
σ ' = σ − u = zγ '− zγ w
H2
The value h/H2 is the hydraulic gradient of the flow and thus
σ ' = zγ '−izγ w
This equation shows that in the case of an upward seepage the value of the effective stress decreases
by an amount izγw. Increasing the rate of seepage, i.e. the hydraulic gradient, will at some point result in
a critical state where
zγ '−icr zγ w = 0
γ ' Gs − 1
icr = =
γ w 1+ e
This value of the hydraulic gradient is known as the critical hydraulic gradient. At this stage the soil will
have no resistance, i.e. σ’=0 and acts like a fluid. This phenomenon is known as boiling, or a quick
condition and it usually results in failures of structures like dams and retaining walls. It should be taken
into account when designing water and earth retaining structures. It is also important to consider boiling
when planning excavations in soil strata underlain by artesian aquifers.
The critical hydraulic gradient is approximately 1.0 for most soils.

Let us now consider a case of downward seepage as shown below.

Lecture notes for 2008/2009 Academic Year - 60 -

Instructor-Bruk Melaku
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology
Addis Ababa University
Soil Mechanics-I(CENG-2202) Chapter 5 : Seepage through soils

The hydraulic gradient is h/H2. At any depth z in the soil specimen the total, pore water and effective
stresses are
σ = H 1γ w + zγ sat
⎛ h ⎞
u = ⎜⎜ H 1 + z − z ⎟γ w
⎝ H 2 ⎟⎠
h
σ ' = σ − u = zγ '+ zγ w
H2
Hence the effective stress in the case of a downward seepage increases along with an increase in depth
unlike the case of an upward seepage.

5.3 SEEPAGE AND LAPLACE’S EQUATION OF CONTINUITY

Ground water flow is generally calculated by the use of graphs referred to as flow nets. The concept of
the flow net is based on Laplace’s equation of continuity, which governs the steady flow condition for a
given point in the soil mass.

Let us consider a single row of sheet piles that have been driven into a permeable soil layer shown
below. The steady state flow of water from the upstream to the downstream side through the permeable
soil layer is a two-dimensional flow. An elemental soil with dimensions dx, dy, and dz is taken from the
flow path is selected.

dx

vx
dz

vz

Let vx and vz be the components of the discharge velocity in the horizontal and vertical directions. The
rate of inflow to the elemental block is given by vxdydz and vzdxdy in the two directions. The rate of
outflow is also given by
⎛ ∂v ⎞ ⎛ ∂v ⎞
⎜ v x + x dx ⎟dzdy and ⎜ v z + z dz ⎟dxdy
⎝ ∂x ⎠ ⎝ ∂z ⎠
∂v x ∂v
where and z are rates of change of discharge velocity in the x and z directions respectively
∂x ∂z
The total rate of inflow should be equal to the total rate of inflow, i.e.

Lecture notes for 2008/2009 Academic Year - 61 -

Instructor-Bruk Melaku
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology
Addis Ababa University
Soil Mechanics-I(CENG-2202) Chapter 5 : Seepage through soils

⎡⎛ ∂v x ⎞ ⎛ ∂v z ⎞ ⎤
⎢⎜ v x + ∂x dx ⎟dzdy + ⎜ v z + ∂z dz ⎟dxdy ⎥ − [v x dzdy + v z dxdy ] = 0
⎣⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ ⎦
or
∂v x ∂v z
+ =0
∂x ∂z
With Darcy’s law, the discharge velocities are expressed as

and

Substituting these values the previous continuity equation becomes

∂ 2h ∂ 2h
kx + k =0
∂x 2 ∂z 2
z

If the soil is isotropic, kx = kz. Hence the equation will assume the form
∂ 2h ∂ 2h
+ =0
∂x 2 ∂z 2
i.e. the function h(x,z) satisfies the Laplace equation.

5.3.1 FLOW NETS

The previous continuity equation for an isotropic medium represents two orthogonal families of curves.
These curves are known as flow lines and equipotential lines.
A flow line is a line along which a water particle travels from the upstream to the downstream side.
An equipotential line is a line along which the potential head at all points is the equal. If piezometers are
installed at different points along an equipotential line, the same water level will be observed in all.

A combination of a number of flow lines and equipotential lines is called a flow net. Flow nets are
important to estimate flow of groundwater. In constructing flow nets the following requirement must be
met.
1. Equipotential lines intersect flow lines at right angles.
2. Flow elements formed are approximate squares.

Lecture notes for 2008/2009 Academic Year - 62 -

Instructor-Bruk Melaku
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology
Addis Ababa University
Soil Mechanics-I(CENG-2202) Chapter 5 : Seepage through soils

5.3.1.1 SEEPAGE CALCULATION FROM FLOW NETS

In any flow net, the strip between two adjacent flow lines is called a flow channel. The figure below shows
a flow channel with the equipotential lines forming square elements. Let h1, h2, h3, …, hn be the
piezometric levels in each equipotential line. Since there is no cross flow between flow channels, the flow
can be given as
Δq1 = Δq2 = Δq3 = K = Δq
According to Darcy’s law, q = kiA. Thus
⎛h −h ⎞ ⎛h −h ⎞
Δq = k ⎜⎜ 1 2 ⎟⎟l1 = k ⎜⎜ 2 3 ⎟⎟l 2 = ...
⎝ l1 ⎠ ⎝ l2 ⎠
H
=> h1-h2 = h2-h3 = … =
Nd
Where H = head difference between the upstream and downstream sides
Nd = number of potential drops
and
H
Δq = k
Nd
If the number of flow channels in a flow net is Nf, the total rate of flow through all the channels per unit
HN f
length can be given by Δq = k
Nd
An example of trials of flow nets for a single row of sheet piles is shown below. The flow net shown in (b)
is a trial with obvious mistakes while a correct one is shown in (c).

Lecture notes for 2008/2009 Academic Year - 63 -

Instructor-Bruk Melaku
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology
Addis Ababa University
Soil Mechanics-I(CENG-2202) Chapter 5 : Seepage through soils

(c)
In the flow net above, the number of flow channels is 4.3 and the number of equipotential drops is 12;
thus the ration Nf/Nd is 0.36. The equipotentials are numbered from zero at the d/s boundary; this number
denoted by nd. The loss in total head between any two adjacent equipotentials is
h 4
Δh = = = 0.33m
N d 12
The total head at every point on an equipotentail numbered nd is ndΔh. The total volume of water flowing
under the piling per unit length of piling is given by
HN f
Δq = k = k x 4.00 x 0.36 = 1.44k m3/s
Nd
A piezometer tube is shown at a point P on the equipotential denoted by nd = 10. The total head at P is
n 10
h p = d h = × 4.00 = 3.33m
Nd 12
i.e. the water level in the tube is 3.33m above the datum.

Lecture notes for 2008/2009 Academic Year - 64 -

Instructor-Bruk Melaku
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology
Addis Ababa University
Soil Mechanics-I(CENG-2202) Chapter 5 : Seepage through soils

The point P is at a distance zp below the datum, i.e. the elevation head is –zp. The pore water pressure at
P can then be calculated from Bernoulli’s theorem:
[
u p = γ w h p − (− z p ) ]
=γw (h p + zp )

The hydraulic gradient across any square in the flow net involves measuring the average dimensions of
the square. The highest hydraulic gradient (and hence the highest seepage velocity) occurs across the
smallest square and vice versa.

The condition adjacent to a sheet piling subjected to seepage is best studied using flow nets. A row of
sheet piles with upward seepage on the downstream face is depicted below.

Model test have shown that a volume of soil d x d/2 just adjacent to the sheet pile may become unstable
to support the wall. Failure first shows in the form of a rise or heave at the surface associated with an
expansion of the soil which results in an increase in permeability. This in turn leads to increased flow,
surface ‘boiling’ in the case of sands and complete failure.
The average hydraulic gradient for this condition is given by
hm
im =
d
Since failure due to heaving (quick condition) occurs when the hydraulic gradient becomes ic, the factor of
ic
safety against heaving may be expressed as FS =
im

Lecture notes for 2008/2009 Academic Year - 65 -

Instructor-Bruk Melaku
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology
Addis Ababa University
Soil Mechanics-I(CENG-2202) Chapter 5 : Seepage through soils

Example

Lecture notes for 2008/2009 Academic Year - 66 -

Instructor-Bruk Melaku
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology
Addis Ababa University