Permeability

Permeability
Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
• Recognize that the permeability of soil is due to the existence of

interconnected voids where water can flow, causing seepage.
• Apply Bernoulli’s equation to the flow of water through permeable soil
mediums.
• Identify Darcy’s law as a simple equation used to calculate the discharge
velocity of water through saturated soils.
• Discuss the many factors of hydraulic conductivity, such as fluid viscosity,
pore-size distribution, grain-size distribution, void ratio, roughness of
mineral particles, and degree of soil saturation.
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Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
• Assess hydraulic conductivity using the constant head test and the falling-head
test.
• Evaluate the relationships for hydraulic conductivity for granular soils.
• Evaluate the relationships for hydraulic conductivity for cohesive soils.
• Interpret the directional variation of permeability.
• Devise the equivalent hydraulic conductivity in stratified soil.
• Discuss experimental verification of equivalent hydraulic conductivity.
• Employ a permeability test in the field by pumping from wells.
• Identify the hydraulic conductivity of compacted clayey soils.
Introduction
• Soils are permeable due to interconnected voids through which water can
flow from points of high energy to low energy.
• Study of the flow of water through permeable soil is important in soil
mechanics. It is necessary for:
• Estimating the quantity of underground seepage under various hydraulic
conditions
• Investigating problems involving the pumping of water for underground

construction
• Making stability analyses of earth dams and earth-retaining structures subject to

seepage forces
Bernoulli’s Equation (1 of 3)
• The total head at a point in water under motion is related by Bernoulli’s

equation:
u v2
h= + +Z
 w 2g
Where:
h = total head
u = pressure
v = velocity
g = acceleration due to gravity
γw = unit weight of water
From Figure 7.1, we can deduce:
The head loss between two points is
equal to:
h = hA − hB
The hydraulic gradient is the

nondimensionalized form of the head
loss:
h
i=
L
Figure 7.1 Pressure, elevation, and total heads for flow of

water through soil
• The three zones of the fluid flow

are the laminar flow,
transition, and turbulent flow
zones.
• Most flows through soil are

laminar, and velocity is linearly
related to the hydraulic gradient:
vi
Figure 7.2 Nature of variation of v with hydraulic gradient, i
Darcy’s Law (1 of 3)
• The discharge velocity, v, is the quantity of water flowing in unit time

through a unit gross cross-sectional area of soil at right angles to the flow
direction.
• Darcy’s law states that:
v = ki
k is the hydraulic conductivity, and is also called the coefficient of
permeability
• Darcy’s law is valid for a wide range of soils.
• This equation was based primarily on Darcy’s observations about the flow of
water through clean sands.
• The actual velocity of water (the seepage velocity, vs) is greater than the
discharge velocity, v.
• The seepage velocity, vs, may be related to the discharge velocity through the
void ratio, e, or the porosity, n, by Eq (7.10):
 1+ e  v
vs = v  =
 e  n
Figure 7.3 Derivation of Eqs. (7.7) and (7.8)
• Hansbo (1960) found a variation of

discharge velocity with hydraulic
gradient while studying four
undisturbed natural clays.
• For very low discharge velocities,
the relationship between v and i is
non-linear as can be observed in
Figure 7.4.
Figure 7.4 Variation of discharge velocity with hydraulic

gradient in clay
Hydraulic Conductivity (1 of 3)
• The hydraulic conductivity depends on many factors, including fluid

viscosity, pore-size distribution, grain-size distribution, void ratio, and
soil saturation.
• The hydraulic conductivity may be related to the unit weight of water, γw, and
dynamic viscosity of water, η:
w
k= K

K is the absolute permeability of the soil
Table 7.1 Typical Values of Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Soils
k
Soil type cm/s
Clean gravel 100−1.0
Coarse sand 1.0−0.01
Fine sand 0.01−0.001
Silty clay 0.001−0.00001
Clay <0.000001
• Hydraulic conductivity depends on the viscosity of water, which varies with

temperature.
• The value of hydraulic conductivity at 20°C may be related to the hydraulic
conductivity at the test temperature T:
 T C 
k20C =  kT C
  20C 
• Table 7.2 in the text gives the value of ηT° C/η20° C for 15°C ≤ T ≤ 30°C.
Laboratory Determination of Hydraulic
Conductivity
• Two standard laboratory tests are used to determine the
hydraulic conductivity of soil:
• The constant-head test
• The falling-head test
Constant-head Test (1 of 2)
• Once a constant flow rate is
established, the hydraulic
conductivity is calculated based on
how much water is collected after a
set duration of time (t) by:
QL
k=
Aht
• Q is the volume of water collected, A
is the cross-sectional area, and L is
the length of the specimen
Figure 7.5 Constant-head permeability test
Constant-head Test (2 of 2)
Figure 7.6 A constant-head permeability
test in progress (Courtesy of Khaled
Sobhan, Florida Atlantic University, Boca
Raton, Florida)
Falling-head Test (1 of 2)
• Water from a standpipe flows

through the soil so that the final
head difference at time t = t2 is h2.
• The rate of flow of the water
through the specimen at any time
can be given by:
dh
q = −a
dt
where q is the flow rate and a is the

cross-sectional area of the pipe
Figure 7.7 Falling-head permeability test
Falling-head Test (2 of 2)
• By rearranging and integrating the previous equation, the hydraulic gradient,

k, can be calculated by:
aL h1
k = 2.303 log10
At h2
A is the cross-sectional area of the soil specimen

L is the length of the specimen
h1 is the head difference at t = 0
h2 is the head difference at t = t2
• In most cases, laboratory tests for determination of hydraulic conductivity are
conducted with no effective overburden pressure.
Relationships for Hydraulic Conductivity–Granular Soil (1 of 3)
• For fairly uniform sand, Hazen proposed:
 cm 
k  = cD 2
10
 sec 
c is a constant between 1.0 and 1.5
D10 is the effective size, in mm
• This equation is based primarily on Hazen’s (1930) observation of loose,
clean, filter sands.
• A small quantity of silts and clays, when present in a sandy soil, may change
the hydraulic conductivity substantially.
• The equation based on the Kozeny-Carman equation gives fairly good

results in estimating the hydraulic conductivity of sandy soil
1  w e3
k=
CS S S2T 2  1 + e
where 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
γw = unit weight of water
η = viscosity of permeant
e = void ratio
• On the basis of laboratory

experiments, the US Department
of Navy (1986) provided an
empirical correlation between k
and D10 for granular soils.
• This correlation is valid for
uniformity coefficients varying
between 2 and 12.
Figure 7.11 Hydraulic conductivity of granular soils

(Redrawn from US Department of Navy, 1986)
Relationships for Hydraulic Conductivity–Cohesive Soil (1 of 3)
• Taylor (1948) proposed a linear relationship for cohesive soils as:
e0 − e
log ( k ) = log ( k0 ) −
Ck
k0 is the in situ hydraulic conductivity at a void ratio e0
k is the hydraulic conductivity at a void ratio e
Ck is the hydraulic conductivity change index and may be taken to be
about 0.5e0
• This equation is good for e0 less than about 2.5.
• Mesri and Olson (1971) suggested the use of a linear relationship between
log k and log e in the form
log k = A log e + B
Figure 7.14 Variation of hydraulic conductivity of sodium

clay minerals (Based on Mesri and Olson, 1971)
• Samarasinghe (1982) conducted laboratory tests on New Liskeard clays and

proposed that, for normally consolidated clays:
 en 
k = C 
 1+ e 
where C and n are constants to be determined experimentally
Directional Variation of Permeability
• Most soils are not isotropic with

respect to permeability.
• In Figure 7.16, there is a soil layer
through which water flows at an
angle α from the vertical.
• kV and kH correspond to the
hydraulic conductivity in the vertical Figure 7.16 Directional variation of permeability
and horizontal directions,
respectively.
Equivalent Hydraulic Conductivity in Stratified Soil (1 of 4)
• For soils where the hydraulic conductivity varies from layer to

layer, an equivalent hydraulic conductivity may be calculated from
the hydraulic conductivities of the layers.
• This value is different for horizontal and vertical flows.
• For horizontal flow, the total flow is the sum of the flow through each layer.
• Applying this knowledge, we get an expression:
k H ( eq ) =
1
H
(
k H1 H1 + k H 2 H 2 + + kHn H n )
H is the total height of the soil cross section

Hn is the height of the ith layer of soil
Figure 7.17 Equivalent hydraulic conductivity
determination—horizontal flow in stratified soil
• For flow in the vertical direction, the total losses will be the sum of the
losses through each layer Accordingly:
H
kV ( eq ) =
H1 H 2 Hn
+ + +
kV 1 kV 2 kV n
Figure 7.18 Equivalent hydraulic conductivity determination—vertical

flow in stratified soil
• Varved soil is a rhythmically

layered sediment of coarse and
fine minerals.
• It is a good example of naturally
deposited layered soil.
• Figure 7.19 shows the layer
variation seen in New Liskeard,
Canada, varved soil.
Figure 7.19 Variation of moisture content and grain-size distribution in New

Liskeard varved soil. (Source: Based on Laboratory Investigation of
Permeability Ratio of New Liskeard Varved Clay,” by H. T. Chan and T. C.
Kenney, 1973, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 10(3), pp. 453–472.)
Experimental Verification of Equivalent Hydraulic Conductivity
• Sridharan and Prakash (2002)

showed that if the thickness of soil
layers (H) are not equal, then
 kV −exit 
 H 
kV ( eq ) = f  exit 
 kV −inlet 
 H 
 inlet 
  
Figure 7.21 Effect of  kV −exit  kV −inlet  on kV(eq) for a two-layered system (Based on Sridharan and Prakash, 2002)
 H exit  H inlet 
Permeability Test in the Field by Pumping from Wells
• The average hydraulic conductivity • The expression for the rate of flow of
for a soil deposit may be determined groundwater into the well, which is
using pumping tests from wells. equal to the rate of discharge from
pumping can be written as
• Water is pumped from a test well
with a perforated casing at a
constant rate and a steady state is  r1 
established when the water level in 2.303q log10  
the test and observation wells k=  r2 
becomes constant.  ( h12 − h22 )
Pumping from a Confined Aquifer
• For a confined aquifer, the

hydraulic conductivity can be
calculated as:
 r1 
q log10  
 cm   r2 
k =
 s  2.727 H ( h1 − h2 )
H is the thickness of the aquifer Figure 7.26 Pumping test from a well penetrating the full depth
in a confined aquifer
Hydraulic Conductivity of Compacted Clayey Soils (1 of 2)
• It was shown in Chapter 6 that when a clay is compacted at a lower

moisture content, it possesses a flocculent structure.
• At optimum moisture content of compaction, the clay particles have a lower
degree of flocculation.
• A further increase in moisture content at compaction provides a greater
degree of particle orientation, but the dry weight decreases.
Hydraulic Conductivity of Compacted Clayey Soils (2 of 2)
• Observations can be made from Figure 7.27

1. For similar compaction effort and molding
moisture content, the magnitude of k decreases
with the decrease in clod size.
2. For a given compaction effort, the hydraulic
conductivity decreases with the increase in
molding moisture content, reaching a minimum
value at about the optimum moisture content
(that is, approximately where the soil has a higher
unit weight with the clay particles having a lower
degree of flocculation). Beyond the optimum
moisture content, the hydraulic conductivity
increases slightly. Figure 7.27 Tests on a clay soil: (a) Standard and modified Proctor
compaction curves; (b) variation of k with molding moisture content
(Source: Benson, Daniel, “Influence of Clods on Hydraulic Conductivity of
Compacted Clay,” Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 116(8), 1990, pp.
1231–1248. With permission from ASCE.)
Summary (1 of 2)
• Darcy’s law can be expressed as

 k i
 =  
discharge velocity hydraulic conductivity hydraulic gradient
• Seepage velocity of water through the void spaces can be given as:
discharge velocity
S =
porosity of soil
• Hydraulic conductivity is a function of viscosity (and hence temperature) of

water.
Summary (2 of 2)
• Constant-head and falling-head types of tests are conducted to determine the

hydraulic conductivity of soils in the laboratory.
• There are several empirical correlations for hydraulic conductivity in granular
and cohesive soil.
• For layered soil, depending on the direction of flow, an equivalent hydraulic
conductivity relation can be developed to estimate the quantity of flow.
• Hydraulic conductivity in the field can be determined by pumping from wells.

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Permeability

• Recognize that the permeability of soil is due to the existence of

• Investigating problems involving the pumping of water for underground

• Making stability analyses of earth dams and earth-retaining structures subject to

• The total head at a point in water under motion is related by Bernoulli’s

The hydraulic gradient is the

Figure 7.1 Pressure, elevation, and total heads for flow of

• The three zones of the fluid flow

• Most flows through soil are

• The discharge velocity, v, is the quantity of water flowing in unit time

Figure 7.3 Derivation of Eqs. (7.7) and (7.8)

• Hansbo (1960) found a variation of

Figure 7.4 Variation of discharge velocity with hydraulic

• The hydraulic conductivity depends on many factors, including fluid

K is the absolute permeability of the soil

Table 7.1 Typical Values of Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Soils

• Hydraulic conductivity depends on the viscosity of water, which varies with

• Water from a standpipe flows

where q is the flow rate and a is the

• By rearranging and integrating the previous equation, the hydraulic gradient,

A is the cross-sectional area of the soil specimen

• For fairly uniform sand, Hazen proposed:

• The equation based on the Kozeny-Carman equation gives fairly good

• On the basis of laboratory

Figure 7.11 Hydraulic conductivity of granular soils

• Taylor (1948) proposed a linear relationship for cohesive soils as:

Figure 7.14 Variation of hydraulic conductivity of sodium

• Samarasinghe (1982) conducted laboratory tests on New Liskeard clays and

• Most soils are not isotropic with

• For soils where the hydraulic conductivity varies from layer to

H is the total height of the soil cross section

Figure 7.18 Equivalent hydraulic conductivity determination—vertical

• Varved soil is a rhythmically

Figure 7.19 Variation of moisture content and grain-size distribution in New

• Sridharan and Prakash (2002)

• For a confined aquifer, the

• It was shown in Chapter 6 that when a clay is compacted at a lower

• Observations can be made from Figure 7.27

• Darcy’s law can be expressed as

• Hydraulic conductivity is a function of viscosity (and hence temperature) of

• Constant-head and falling-head types of tests are conducted to determine the

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