PERMEABILITY

Soils consist of particles with interconnected voids between them, hence they are permeable,
that is, water can flow, or seep, through them, even though it may be at a very slow rate in
some soils. Soil permeability and seepage are of interest to geotechnical engineers for a variety
of reasons, including the following:

a) The rate at which seepage occurs. This is of vital importance in the design of water-
retaining structures, especially earth dams, embankments, and canals.
b) The influence that seepage has on stability. The seepage situation governs pore
pressures, which in turn govern the effective stress and the strength of the soil. The
stability in question may be that of soil slopes, either natural or man-made, or it could
that of deep excavations below the water table.
c) The rate of transport of contaminants. The growth of environmental concerns over the
last several decades means that a great deal of attention is now given to the rate at which
contaminants may travel through the ground and the means by which this may be
prevented.
When considering problems of water flow, it is usual to express a pressure as a pressure head
or head, measured in metres of water. Bernoulli’s equation states three head components, the
sum of which provide the total head (h) causing a water flow:
𝑢 𝑣2
ℎ = ℎ𝑧 + +
𝛾𝑤 2𝑔

ℎ𝑧 = 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑

𝑢
= 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑢
𝛾𝑤

𝑣2
= 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑠 𝑣
2𝑔

The last component, the velocity head, is usually ignored in problems of ground water flow,
since 𝑣 is quite small owing t high resistance to flow offered by granular structure of the soil.
The first two terms, therefore, represent the head tending to cause the flow of water through a
mass of soil.
In saturated conditions, one dimensional flow is governed by Darcy’s law, which states that
the flow velocity is proportional to the hydraulic gradient.

𝑣 ∝ 𝑘𝑖 𝑜𝑟 𝑣 = 𝑘𝑖

Where,

𝑣 = 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦

𝑘 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦

∆ℎ
𝑖 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
∆𝐿

∆ℎ = 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑎 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑝𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 ∆𝐿

Figure 1: One dimensional flow

The quantity flowing is therefore given by:

𝑞 = 𝐴𝑣 = 𝐴𝑘𝑖
Where

𝑞 = 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝐴 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒

Coefficient of Permeability

The capacity of a soil to allow water to pass through it is termed as its permeability or
(hydraulic conductivity). The coefficient of permeability (k) may be defined as the flow of
velocity produced by a hydraulic gradient of unity. The value of k is used as a measure of
resistance of flow offered by the soil, and is affected by several factors:

a) The porosity of the soil

b) The particle-size distribution
c) The shape and orientation of soil particles
d) The degree of saturation/presence of air
e) The type of cation and thickness of adsorbed layers associated with clay minerals (if
present)
f) The Viscosity of the soil water, which varies with temperature

The range of values of k is extremely large, extending from 100m/s in the case of very coarse-
grained gravels to almost nothing in the case of clay. In granular materials, k varies
approximately inversely with specific surface value, but in cohesive soils the relationships are
more complex. In clay soils, such factors as water content and temperature are significant, as
also is the presence of fissures when considering the permeability of large masses.
 Table 1: Typical values of coefficient of permeability

Approximations of k

A number of approximate empirical relationships have been suggested between k and other
soil properties:

𝑘 ∝ 𝑑210

𝑘 ∝ (𝑑𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 )2

𝑒3
𝑘 ∝ 1+𝑒

𝑘 ∝ 𝑒2

𝑘 ∝ log 𝑒

However, none of the above is particularly reliable and its far more realistic to obtain estimates
of k sing field pumping tests or a laboratory method. The most frequently used approximation
is one suggested by Hazen for filter sands:

𝑘 = 𝐶𝑘 𝑑 210 𝑚𝑚/𝑠

Where 𝑑10 = 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 (𝑚𝑚)

𝐶𝑘 = 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙

Experimental evidence suggests that acceptable approximate values for k can be obtained when
Hazen’s formula is applied over a wide range of soils. The table below gives the range of
suggested values for the coefficient 𝐶𝑘 .
 Table 2: Value of Hazen’s Coefficient, 𝐶𝑘

Effect of Temperature

Since the viscosity and density of water both vary markedly with temperature, it follows that
the value of the coefficient of permeability will be affected by changes in temperature. It may
be shown theoretically that for a laminar flow condition in saturated soil mass:

𝑘𝑡 ∝ 𝐾𝑡 𝑘20

𝑘𝑡 = 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑘 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡

𝑘20 = 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑘 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 20° (𝑖. 𝑒. 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝)

𝐾𝑡 = 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡

The table below gives values of 𝐾𝑡 , which will have a value of 1.0 at 20° since it is at this
temperature that most laboratory graduations are standardised.

Table 3: Values of temperature correction coefficient, 𝐾𝑡

MEASUREMENT OF PERMEABILITY

The permeability of a soil mass is dependent on both its microstructure (i.e., particle size, shape,
arrangement, etc.) and its microstructure (i.e., whether or not stratified, presence of fissures,
pipes, lenses, etc.). For obvious and practical reasons, the size of samples taken for laboratory
tests is quite small, and therefore unlikely to be satisfactorily representative in soils with
significant macrostructure characteristics. To some extent this deficiency may overcome by
obtaining carefully selected groups of samples.

The aim in any laboratory procedure should be to reproduce similar results using the same
procedure and for these to compare favourably with results using different procedures. In
laboratory permeability tests disparities may occur due to:

a) The presence of air bubbles in the permeant water

b) Variations in sample density and porosity
c) Variations in temperature and therefore viscosity of the permeant

Since the range of values of k is so large the choice of method and equipment varies with the
type of soil. The most common types of test in present use are:

a) Constant head test: suitable for gravels and sands with values of 𝑘 > 10−5 𝑚/𝑠.
b) Falling head test: suitable for fine sands, silts and clays with values of k between 10−4
and 10−7

Constant Head

Used to determine the coefficients of permeability (k) of coarse-grained soils such as gravels
and sands having values of k above 10−4 𝑚/𝑠.
 Figure 2: Constant head test apparatus

The soil sample is contained in a Perspex cylinder with wire mesh and gravel filters above and
below. In the side of the cylinder, a number of manometer connection points are provided to
enable pairs of pressure head readings to be taken (only one pair is shown in the diagram).
Water is allowed to flow through the sample from a tank of reservoir designed to maintain a
constant head and the quantity of water measured by weighing a collecting vessel.

Since the presence of air bubbles can seriously affect the results, it is imperative to ensure as
little air as possible in the systems. This may be affected by first of all supplying only de-aired
water to the constant head tank and secondly by applying a vacuum to the sample prior to
commencement of the test. The test is then started with valve A and B open and valve C closed,
with the valve A being used o control the rate of flow. Flow is allowed to continue until a
steady state has been established, i.e., the levels in the manometer tubes remain constant. Once
a steady state has been reached, the quantity flowing during a given time interval is measured,
and the manometer levels noted. The flow rate is then varied and the procedure repeated.
Several tests at varying flow rates and heads should be carried out and the average value of k
established which is then corrected for temperature. The dry density and void ration should
also be reported.
Recall, 𝑞 = 𝑘𝐴𝑖

𝑞 𝑄𝐿
𝑘= = 𝑚𝑚/𝑠
𝐴𝑖 𝐴ℎ𝑡

Where 𝑄 = 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡 𝑠 = 𝑄 (𝑚𝑙) × 103 (𝑚𝑚3 )

𝐴 = 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 (𝑚𝑚2 )

ℎ = 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑠 (𝑚𝑚)

𝐿 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 (𝑚𝑚)

Worked Example

During a test using a constant-head permeameter, the following data were collected. Determine
the average value of k.

𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 = 100 𝑚𝑚 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 17℃

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 = 150 𝑚𝑚

Quantity collected in 2 min.(ml) 541 503 509 474

Difference in manometer levels 76 72 68 65

𝜋
𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 = 1002 × = 7854 𝑚𝑚2
4

𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑄 = 𝑄(𝑚𝑙) × 103 𝑚𝑚3

𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑡 = 2 × 60 = 120 𝑠

𝑄𝐿 𝑄 × 103 × 150
𝑘= = = 0.159𝑄/ℎ 𝑚𝑚/𝑠
𝐴ℎ𝑡 7854 × ℎ × 120
Tabulated results (𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝐾𝑇 = 1.09)

Flow quantity Q (ml) Head difference h (mm) 𝑘 = 0.159𝑄/ℎ (𝑚𝑚/𝑠)

541 76 1.13
503 72 1.11
509 68 1.19
474 65 1.16

𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑘 = 1.15 𝑚𝑚/𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑘 = 1.15 × 1.09 = 1.25 𝑚𝑚/𝑠

The Falling Head Test

The falling head test is used to determine the coefficient of permeability of fine soils such as
fine sands, silts, and clays. For these soils, the rate of flow of water through them is too small
to enable accurate measurements using constant head permeameter.

An undisturbed sample is obtained in a 100 mm diameter (usually) cylinder, which may be a

U100 sample tube or a core cutter tube used in field density tests. Samples can also be prepared
by compaction in a standard mould. A wire mesh and gravel filter is provided at the top and
bottom of the sample. The base of the cylinder is stood in a water reservoir fitted with a constant
-level overflow and the top connected to a glass standpipe of known diameter.

The test is conducted by filling the standpipe with de-aired water allowing seepage to take
place through the sample. The height of water in the standpipe is recorded at several time
intervals during the test, and the test repeated using standpipes of different diameters.
Following computation of the results, the average value of k is determined. It is usual also to
report the initial and final unit weights and water contents of the sample.

𝑞 = 𝑘𝐴𝑖

But referring to Figure 3, if the level in the standpipe fall by dh in a time of dt then

𝑑ℎ ℎ
𝑞 = −𝑎 𝑑𝑡 and the hydraulic gradient 𝑖 = 𝑙

𝑑ℎ ℎ
So that 𝑞 = −𝑎 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑘𝐴 𝐿

Where 𝑎 = 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒

𝐴 = 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒

 Figure 3: Falling head test apparatus

Rearranging and integrating

ℎ2
𝑑ℎ 𝑘𝐴 𝑡2
−∫ = ∫ 𝑑𝑡
ℎ1 ℎ 𝑎𝐿 𝑡1

ℎ 𝑘𝐴
∴−𝑙𝑛 ℎ2 = 𝑎𝐿 (𝑡2 − 𝑡1 )
1

𝑎𝐿 𝑙𝑛 (ℎ1 ⁄ℎ2 ) 2.3𝑎𝐿 log10 (ℎ1 ⁄ℎ2 )

Giving 𝑘 = or 𝑘=
𝐴(𝑡2 −𝑡1 ) 𝐴(𝑡2 −𝑡1 )
Assignment [Submission Date: 13th July 2022]

During a test using a falling-head permeameter the following data were recorded.

Recorded Data
Standpipe Time
diameter, d Level in standpipe interval
(mm) (𝑡2 − 𝑡1) (s)
Final
Initial ℎ1 (𝑚𝑚)
ℎ2 (𝑚𝑚)
5.00 1200 800 82
800 400 149

9.00 1200 900 177

900 700 169
700 400 368

12.50 1200 800 485

800 400 908

Determine the average value of k.

Diameter of sample = 100 mm

Length of sample = 150 mm