CHAPTER V

SEEPAGE ANALYSIS THROUGH SOILS

Introduction

Seepage is the flow of water under gravitational forces in a permeable medium. Flow of water takes place
from a high head to a point of low head. Water seeping through interconnected soil voids plays a decisive
role in the stability of hydraulic structures.

Figure 1: Flow of water underneath of a sheet pile

Two dimensional flow- Laplace equation

The following are the assumptions made in the derivation of the Laplace equation:

1) The flow is two-dimensional.

2) Water and soil are incompressible.
3) Soil is isotropic and homogeneous.
4) The soil is fully saturated.
5) The flow is steady.
6) Darcy‘s law is valid.
Let us consider an element of soil of size dx by dz through which flow is taking place. For convenience
third dimension is taken unity. Let the velocity at inlet and outlet faces be vx and ( vx + d ) in x-
direction and vz and ( vz + d ) in z- direction.

Figure 2: Two dimensional flow

As the flow is steady and the soil is incompressible, the discharge entering the element is equal to that
leaving the element.

v d v d v d )d v d )d
v v
or, ( )d d
v v
or, ( ) (1)
The above equation is the continuity equation.

Let h be the total head at any point. The horizontal and vertical components of the hydraulic gradient are
respectively

i i
The negative sign indicates that the head decreases in the direction of flow.

v v
Substituting in eq. (1)

As the soil is isotropic, = . Therefore

 (2)
The above equation is the Laplace equation in terms of head h.

Sometimes the Laplace equation is represented in terms of velocity potential ∅, given by

∅
For isotropic soil = =k

∅ ∅
v v
∅ ∅
(3)
The above equation is the Laplace equation in terms velocity potential.

Laplace equation can be solved if the boundary conditions at inlet and exit are known. The equation
represents two families of curves which are orthogonal to each other.
Flow Net
The graphical representation of the Laplace equation is a flow net. The flow net consists of two family of
curves which are orthogonal to each other. One family represents the flow lines along which the flow
takes place. The other family represents the equipotential lines along which the potential (∅) or head (h) is
constant

Figure 3: Flow Net constructed for flow of water under gravity dam

Characteristics of Flow Net

 The intersection between flow line and equipotential line should be at right angles.
 The discharge (Δ q) between any two adjacent flow lines is constant and the drop of head (Δ h)
between any two adjacent equipotential lines is constant.
 The ratio of the length and width of each field is generally taken unity. In other words the flow net
consists of approximate squares.

Some Terminologies

Flow channel- The space between any two adjacent flow lines is called flow channel.

Flow Field- The section of a flow channel between two successive equipotential lines.

Potential drop- The loss of head between any two successive equipotential lines is called potential drop.
Application of Flow Net

A flow net can be utilized for computing the following:

i) Determination of seepage discharge

ii) Determination of hydrostatic pressure
iii) Determination of seepage force
iv) Determination of exit gradient

Determination of seepage discharge

Let us consider a field indicated by a shaded area in figure. Suppose the length of field in the direction of
Δ
flow is ‗a‘ and at right angle to it is ‗b‘. The hydraulic gradient is: i

Figure 4: Flow Net constructed for flow of water under sheet pile

The discharge velocity is given by:

v i (4)
where, Nd = Number of potential drops

Let Δq be the quantity of water flowing through the field. The flow per unit width is given by

v (5)
if we take a square field, then a = b then discharge becomes
If Nf be the number of flow channels in the flow net then the total discharge is given by

(6)
The above equation gives the seepage discharge if a flow net diagram is available.

Determination of hydrostatic pressure

Suppose we have to determine the water pressure at point C in the figure. Considering the datum at the
level of downstream water surface, total head at upstream soil surface = h1

The point C is located at fifth equipotential drop i.e. Nd = 5. The head lost due to seepage at C becomes

At point Total Head Elevation Head Pressure Head = Total Head - Elevation Head
C - -

Determination of Seepage Force

Let the shaded area in figure is the element of side ‗a‘. Let F1 and F2 be the forces exerted by the seeping
water respectively on the upstream and downstream faces of the element. Then

Force = area * hydrostatic pressure

( ) γ ( ) γ ) γ

Similarly, ( ) γ ( ) γ ) γ
Therefore, seepage force = force transmitted to soil

i γ
Seepage force per unit volume is:

D= i γ (7)

Exit Gradient
Hydraulic gradient is the ratio of head difference between any two points on the flow line and length
between two points. Mathematically, i = Δh / Δl

Exit gradient is the hydraulic gradient at the point where the water moving through soil comes out of soil.
The exit gradient is generally maximum at exit point because the length of the flow field is minimum. It is
denoted by ie = Δh / Δl
Seepage through earth dam on an impervious base and construction of phreatic line on earth dam

The following are the cases of seepage through dam:

i) Seepage through earth dam with filter

ii) Seepage through earth dam without filter

Usually horizontal filter is provided to drain out the water without letting is exposed on the downstream
slope of the earth dam.

Figure 5: Seepage through earth dam without filter and with horizontal filter
Seepage through earth dam with horizontal filter

Seepage through earth dam is a case of unconfined seepage in which the upper boundary of flow net is
not known. In such cases, it becomes necessary to locate the upper boundary before drawing a flow net.

Figure 6: Seepage through earth dam with horizontal filter

Let us consider the case of a homogeneous earth dam on an impervious foundation and having a
horizontal filter at the downstream end. The horizontal filter starts at point A. The impermeable boundary
AB is a flow line which forms the lower boundary of the flow net. The upstream face BC is an
equipotential line as the total head at every point on this face is equal to h. The discharge face AD is the
equipotential line of zero potential. Thus, three hydraulic boundary conditions are known.

The fourth boundary of the flow net is the top flow line CD. Below CD, the soil is saturated and pressure
on every point on CD is atmospheric. Line CD is also known as phreatic line or seepage line.

Kozney studied the problem using the method of conformal transformation. Kozney‘s solution represents
a family of confocal parabolas of flow lines and equipotential lines. The equation of Kozney‘s basic
parabola CD, with A as focus as well as origin, is

( ) (8)
An inconsistency occurs due to the fact that the upstream equipotential line in an actual earth dam is a
plane surface and not a parabola as assumed by Kozney. Casagrande (1940) recommended that the
seepage line in actual dam can also be taken as basic parabola, provided the starting point for the parabola
is taken at G, such that GC = 0.3 HC.

Substituting z = 0 that is D ( , 0) in eq (8), the value of x is given by

( ) or,
Focal distance, s = , is the distance between focus and the directrix.
 (9)
Substituting the value of q in eq (8)

( )

or, (10)
The value of s can be determined using the coordinates of the starting point G (x = h, z = d)

or, d

or, d √ d

or,
√ d ) d (11)
Once the value of s has been determined, the above equation can be used to determine the coordinates of
various points on the phreatic line and plotted.

x (meters) x0 0 5 ………. D
z (meters) 0 …….... ……… ………. H

Discharge through the body of earth dam

To determine the discharge through the body of the earth dam, let us consider the flow passing through
the section. From Darcy‘s law, discharge per unit length is given by

i
d
( ) )
d
⁄
)
d
d ) ⁄

⁄
)
⁄
)
(12)
The above equation gives approximate discharge through the body of the dam.
Seepage through anisotropic soil

The coefficient of permeability of stratified soil deposits parallel to the plane of stratification is generally
greater than that normal to this plane. Such soils are anisotropic in permeability. Let x-x and z-z axes be
parallel and normal to the plane of stratification respectively and kx > kz. From Darcy‘s law,

v i (13)

v i (14)
Substituting the values of vx and vz in continuity equation

v v
( )

or,

or, (15)
The above equation is not Laplace‘s equation, the principle of flow net construction are not applicable to
the anisotropic soils.

However the above equation can be converted to Laplace‘s equation by transformation. Let the x
coordinate be transformed to the new coordinate xt by the transformation.

√ (16)
The above equation can be written as

( )

or, (17)
The above equation is the Laplace equation in xt and z. Therefore, the principles of flow net construction
can be used for anisotropic soils after construction.

The cross section of the soil mass whose flow net is required is redrawn keeping the z-scale unchanged
but reducing the x-scale by the ratio √ . The flow net is constructed for the transformed section by
usual methods.
 Figure 7: Flow field in transformed and natural section

Equivalent coefficient of permeability for transformed section

Discharge through an anisotropic soil mass

(18)
Where k‘ is the equivalent (or modified) coefficient of permeability.

Discharge through a flow channel on the transformed scale per unit width

(19)
Discharge through the same flow channel on the natural scale per unit width

(20)
Since the discharge is same in both the channels

or,

or, √

or, √ (21)
The discharge is determined with a value of k' obtained.