CHAPTER 7

Groundwater – Fundamentals and

One-Dimensional Flow
SOLUTIONS TO QUESTIONS AND PRACTICE PROBLEMS

Section 7.1 Hydrology

7.1 How does groundwater get into the ground?

7.2 Explain the difference between an aquifer, an aquiclude, and an aquitard.

7.3 Explain the difference between confined flow and unconfined groundwater flow.

Section 7.2 Principles of Fluid Mechanics

7.4 Explain the difference between steady state and unsteady state (transient) flow.

7.5 In most fluid flow application the total head is the sum of the elevation head, pressure
head and velocity head. In groundwater flow we generally assume the velocity is zero.
Why is this a safe assumption?

7.6 The water in a soil flows from Point K to Point L, a distance of 250 ft. Point K is at
elevation 543 ft and Point L is at elevation 461 ft. Piezometers have been installed at
both points, and their water levels are 23 ft and 74 ft, respectively, above the points.
Compute the average hydraulic gradient between these two points.

7.7 Compute the pore water pressures at Points K and L in Problem 7.6.

7.8 The groundwater table in an unconfined aquifer is at a depth of 9.3 m below the ground
surface. Assuming hydrostatic conditions are present, and the groundwater is virtually
stationary, compute the pore water pressure at depths of 15.0 and 20.0 m below the
ground surface.
7.9 An exploratory boring is being drilled. The soil encountered between the ground surface
and a depth of 10 m has been dry sand, with no visible signs of groundwater. Then, at a
depth of 10 m the soil changes to a moist clay which becomes very wet at a depth of 12 m.
At 12 m the soil changes back to a silty sand which is very wet. The boring continues to a
depth of 15 m. A piezometer is then installed in the lower silty sand layer. Within 2 days,
the water in the piezometer had risen to a depth of only 8 m below the ground surface.
Explain the groundwater conditions that have been encountered.
7-1

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 Chap. 7 Groundwater – Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow 7-3

7.10 Compute the pore water pressures at the bottom of the piezometer in Problem 7.9.

7.11 Two small commercial buildings have been constructed at a site underlain by a sandy silt
(ML) that has D10 = 0.03 mm. The groundwater table is at a depth of 6 ft. Both buildings
have concrete slab-on-grade floors. In Building A, the slab was placed directly onto the
natural soils, while Building B has a 4-inch layer of poorly- graded coarse gravel between
the slab and the natural soils. Both buildings have vinyl floor coverings similar to those
typically used in residential kitchens. Both buildings are now three years old.

Unfortunately, the tenant in Building A is having continual problems with the

vinyl floors peeling up from the concrete slab. When the peeled sections are examined,
moisture is always evident between the vinyl and the concrete. Curiously, the tenant in
Building B has had no such problems, even though both buildings have the same floor
covering. Could the problem in Building A be due to capillary action in the underlying
soil? Explain why or why not. Also explain why Building B is not having any such
problems.

7.12 A certain clayey zone has a zone of capillary rise of 4.5 m above the groundwater table.
What is the pressure head and the pore pressure at a point 2 m above the groundwater
table?

Section 7.3 One-Dimensional Flow Through Soil

7.13 A constant-head hydraulic conductivity test has been conducted on a 110 mm diameter,
270 mm tall fine sand specimen in a permeameter similar to the one shown in Figure 7.18.
The upper and lower reservoir elevations were 2010 mm and 1671 mm above the lab
floor. The piezometers, whose tips are spaced 200 mm apart, had readings of 1809 and
1578 mm, and the graduated cylinder collected 910 ml of water in 25 min 15 s. Using the
best available data, compute the hydraulic conductivity. Does the result seem
reasonable? Why or why not?

7.14 A falling-head hydraulic conductivity test has been conducted on a clay specimen in a
permeameter similar to the one in Figure 7.19. The soil specimen was 97 mm in diameter
and 20 mm tall. The standpipe had an inside diameter of 6.0 mm. The water level in the
bath surrounding the specimen was 120 mm above the laboratory counter top and the
water level in the standpipe fell from a height of 510 mm to 261 mm above the counter
top in 46 hours 35 minutes. Compute the hydraulic conductivity. Does the result seem
reasonable? Why or why not?
7.15 A falling-head hydraulic conductivity test has been conducted on a clay specimen in a
permeameter similar to the one in Figure 7.19. The soil specimen was 4 in. in diameter
and 1 in. tall. The standpipe had an inside diameter of 0.25 in. The water level in the bath
surrounding the specimen was 5 in. above the laboratory counter top and the water level
in the standpipe fill from a height of 20 in. to 10 in. above the counter top in 38 hours 12
minutes. Compute the hydraulic conductivity in ft/s. Does the result seem reasonable?
Why or why not?

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 7-6 Groundwater – Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow Chap. 7

7.16 A certain 20 m thick sandy confined aquifer has a hydraulic conductivity of 2.4 x 10-2
cm/s and a void ratio of 0.91. Groundwater is flowing through this aquifer with a
hydraulic gradient of 0.0065. How much time would be required for water to travel 1 km
through this aquifer?

7.17 A tracer dye is injected into a 55 foot thick sandy gravel confined aquifer which has a
hydraulic conductivity of 1.2 x 10-3 ft/s. The dye appears 14 days later in an observation
well 75 feet away from the injection point. Compute the seepage velocity and estimate
the hydraulic gradient in the aquifer if the porosity of the soil is 42%?

7.18 The laboratory apparatus shown in Figure 7.22 maintains a constant head in both the
upper and lower reservoirs. The soil sample is a silty sand (SM) with k = 5×10-3 cm/s
and w = 18.5%. Assume a reasonable value for Gs, then determine the time required for
the plug of colored water to pass through the soil or absorption (i.e., from when the
leading edge first enters the soil to when it begins to exit). Assume the colored water
travels only through advection and it has the same unit weight and viscosity as plain
water.

Figure 7.22 Laboratory apparatus for Problem 7.18.

7.19 What are the pros and cons of using Hazen’s equation versus the Kozeny-Carman
equation for estimating hydraulic conductivity of a coarse grained soil?

7.20 Which of the following methods would be the better way to determine k for a clean sand?
Why?

(a) Place a soil sample in a constant-head permeameter, conduct a hydraulic

conductivity test, and compute k using Equation 7.10.
(b) Conduct a sieve analysis and compute k using Equation 7.20.

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 7-8 Groundwater – Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow Chap. 7

7.21 May we use the Hazen correlation to estimate the hydraulic conductivity for soil C in
Figure 4.13? Why or why not? If so, compute k.

Figure 4.13 Particle size distribution curves for five soils (Soil A through Soil E)

7.22 Compute the hydraulic conductivity for subrounded poorly graded soil C in Figure 4.13
using the Kozeny-Carmen equation (Eq 7.20). Assume a void ratio of 46%

7.23 Compute the hydraulic conductivity for subangular coarse grained soil B in Figure 4.13
using both Hazen’s correlation the Kozeny-Carmen equation (Eq 7.20). Assume a void
ratio of 48%

Section 7.4 Flow Through Anisotropic Soils

7.24 Derive Equations 7.23 and 7.26.

7.25 A sandy soil with k = 3×10-2 cm/s contains a series of 5 mm thick horizontal silt layers
spaced 300 mm on center. The silt layers have k = 5×10-6 cm/s. Compute kx and kz and
the ratio kx /kz.

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 Chap. 7 Groundwater – Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow
7-13

7.26 When drilling an exploratory boring through the soil described in Problem 7.25, how
easy would it be to miss the silt layers? If we did miss them, how much effect would our
ignorance have on computations of Q for water flowing vertically? Explain.

Comprehensive Questions

7.27 Apparatus A, shown in Figure 7.23, consists of a single 20 mm diameter pipe and is
subjected to a head difference of 60 mm. Apparatus B consists of four 10 mm diameter
pipes connected in parallel. How will the flow rate through A compare with that through
B? Explain.

Figure 7.23 Pipe networks for Problem 7.27.

7.28 On the Basis of your observations in Problem 7.27, explain why saturated clays have a
significantly lower hydraulic conductivity than saturated sands, even though the total
void areas per square foot of soil are about the same for both.

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 Chap. 7 Groundwater – Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow 7-15

7.29 An engineer is searching for a suitable soil to cap a sanitary landfill. This soil must have
a hydraulic conductivity no greater than 1×10-8 cm/s. A soil sample from a potential
borrow site has been tested in a falling head permeameter similar to the one in Figure
7.19. This sample was 120 mm in diameter and 32 mm tall. The standpipe had an inside
diameter of 8.0 mm. Initially, the water in the standpipe was 503 mm above the water in
the water bath surrounding the sample. Then, 8 hours 12 min later the water was 322 mm
above the water in the water bath. Compute k and determine if this soil meets the
specification.

7.30 An unlined irrigation canal is aligned parallel to a river, as shown in Figure 7.24. This
cross-section continues for 4.25 miles. The soils are generally clays, but a 6 inch thick
sand seam is present as shown. This sand has k = 9×10-2 cm/s. Compute the water loss
from the canal to the river due to seepage through this sand layer and express your
answer in acre-ft per month.

Note: One acre-foot is the amount of water that would cover one acre of ground to
a depth of one foot, and thus equals 43,560 ft3.

Figure 7.24 Cross-section for Problem 7.30. el. = elevation.

7.31 The constant head permeameter shown in Figure 7.25 contains three different soils as
shown. Their hydraulic conductivities are:

Soil 1 — k = 9 cm/s
Soil 2 — k = 6×10-2 cm/s
Soil 3 — k = 8×10-3 cm/s

The four piezometer tips are spaced at 100 mm intervals, and the soil interfaces
are exactly aligned with piezometer tips B and C. The total heads in piezometers A and
D are 98.9 and 3.6 cm, respectively. Compute the total heads in piezometers B and C.

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 Chap. 7 Groundwater – Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow 7-17

Figure 7.25 Constant-head permeameter for Problem 7.31.

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 7-18 Groundwater – Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow Chap. 7

7.32 Landfills often use clay soils to control the flow of fluids in and out of the landfill. At the
sides and bottom of the land fill, compacted clay liners are used to contain the
accumulating fluid within the landfill (called leachate). At the top of the landfill, clay
cover systems keeps water from rain and snow from infiltrating into the landfill and
creating excess leachate. The fluid flow though these liner systems can generally be
approximated as one-dimensional flow.

Leachate containing trichloroethylene collects on the clay liner at the bottom of

landfill as shown in Figure 7.26. Below the clay liner is a gravel layer that collects the
leachate so it can be pumped out and treated. There is a second clay layer below the
gravel layer to prevent leachate from entering the groundwater below. For the hydraulic
conditions shown clay in Figure 7.26 and a typical effective porosity value of 0.10,
compute:

(a) The total amount of leachate that must be collected and treated each year.
Assume the total area of the landfill base is 5,000 m2
(b) The time it takes the leachate to penetrate through the top clay liner.

Figure 7.26 Cross-section of landfill liner for Problem 7.32.

7.33 he cross section shown in Figure 7.27 consist of alternating layers of sand and silty sand.
Assume the soils have subangular grain shapes and the grain size distributions shown
below. Use the Kozeny-Carmen method to find k for each soil. The void ratio for the silty
sand is 0.63 and sand is 0.59. Then compute kx and kz for the layered system.

Sieve Percent Passing

Sieve Size
Opening (cm) Sand Silty Sand
0.475 #4 100 100
0.2 #10 86 92
0.085 #20 72 76
0.0425 #40 48 63
0.015 #100 8 23
0.0075 #200 4 14
Estimated D0 0.05 mm 0.01 mm

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 Chap. 7 Groundwater – Fundamentals and One-Dimensional Flow 7-19

Figure 7.27 Cross-section for Problem 7.33.

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