University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines

Civil Engineering Department

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
(SOIL MECHANICS)

Permeability

By: CE Faculty
OUTLINE
• Introduction
• Bernoulli’s Equation
• Darcy’s law for flow of water
• Methods for the determination of
permeability
• Factors affecting the permeability
of soil
• Sample Problems
Introduction
• Definition: Permeability refers to the ability of soil to
transmit fluids (liquids and gases) through its pore
spaces.

• Importance: Understanding permeability is crucial for

various engineering and environmental applications.
 Types of Permeability in Soil

• Highly pervious soil – water can flow through it easily

• Impervious soil – the permeability is very low and water cannot easily flow
through it
• Completely impervious soil – water cannot flow through it. However, it does
not exist in nature since soil is pervious to some degree.
Bernoulli‘s Equation
• Definition: The total head at a point in water under
motion can be given by the sum of the pressure, velocity,
and elevation heads.

If the water flows through a porous soil medium, the velocity head can be neglected because the seepage velocity is small.
The total head is:
 Bernoulli‘s Equation
• Piezometers
• Piezometric levels
• The loss of head between two points,
A and B, can be given by:

• Hydraulic gradient
 Bernoulli‘s Equation
• When the hydraulic gradient is increased gradually, the Nature of variation of v with hydraulic gradient, i
flow remains laminar in Zones I and II, and the velocity, v,
bears a linear relationship to the hydraulic gradient.
• At a higher hydraulic gradient, the flow becomes turbulent
(Zone III).
• When the hydraulic gradient is decreased, laminar flow
conditions exist only in Zone I.

• In most soils, the flow of water through the void spaces can
be considered laminar; thus,

• In fractured rock, stones, gravels, and very coarse sands,

turbulent flow conditions may exist, this equation may not
be valid.
Darcy’s Law
• Definition: A relationship between the discharge velocity and the seepage velocity can
be derived by referring to Figure, which shows a soil of length L with a gross cross-
sectional area A.
where
• v = discharge velocity, which is the quantity of water
flowing in unit time through a unit gross cross-sectional
area of soil at right angles to the direction of flow
• k = hydraulic conductivity (otherwise known as the
coefficient of permeability)
If the quantity of water flowing (flow rate) through the soil
in unit time is q, then:

q = kiA where A = cross-sectional area of the

soil
Hydraulic Conductivity
• Definition: The ability of porous medium (soil for instance) to transmit water under saturated
or nearly saturated condition. Hydraulic conductivity is generally expressed in cm/sec or m/sec
in SI units and in ft/min or ft/day in English units.

Typical Values of Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Soils

• Coefficient of permeability
Determination of Coefficient of
Permeability
Laboratory Methods:

1. Constant-head permeability test

2. Falling-head permeability test
The instruments used are known as permeameters. The former test is suitable for relatively more
pervious (sand and gravel) and the latter for less pervious soil.

Field Methods:

1. Pumping-out test
2. Pumping-in test
The pumping-out test influences a large area around the pumping well and give an overall value of
the coefficient of permeability of the soil deposit. The pumping-in test influences small area around
the hole and therefore gives a value of coefficient of permeability of the soil surrounding the hole.
Constant-head permeability test
In this type of laboratory setup, the water supply at the inlet is Since
adjusted in such a way that the difference of head between the
inlet and the outlet remains constant during the test period. After a
constant flow rate is established, water is collected in a graduated
flask for a known duration.

The total volume of water collected may be expressed as: Thus,

where
Q - volume of water collected
A - area of cross section of the soil specimen
t - duration of water collection
Falling-head permeability test
Water from a standpipe flows through the soil. The initial head Discharge :
difference h1 at time t=0 is recorded, and water is allowed to flow
through the soil specimen such that the final head difference at
time t=t2 is h2.

The rate of flow of the water through the specimen at any time t Rearrangement:
can be given by

Thus,
Time: where
h1 – initial head
h2 – final head
where a = cross-sectional area of the standpipe
A = cross-sectional area of the soil specimen
q - flow rate L = length of the specimen

a - cross-sectional area of the standpipe

A - cross-sectional area of the soil specimen Coefficient of Permeability:
 Relationships for Hydraulic Conductivity-Granular Soil

Hazen (1930) Hazen (1930)

• Solving for Coefficient of Permeability • Solving for Coefficient of Permeability

where where
• c - a constant that varies from 1.0 to 1.5 • Cs - shape factor, which is a function of the shape of flow
• D10 - the effective size, in mm channels
• Ss - specific surface area per unit volume of particles
Remarks: • T - tortuosity of flow channels
This is based primarily on Hazen’s (1930) observations of • γw - unit weight of water
loose, clean, filter sands. A small quantity of silts and clays, • h - viscosity of permeant
when present in a sandy soil, may change the hydraulic • e - void ratio
conductivity substantially
 Relationships for Hydraulic Conductivity-Granular Soil

Carrier (2003) Chapuis (2004)

• Solving for Coefficient of Permeability • Solving for Coefficient of Permeability

where
where
• D10 - the effective size, in mm
fi - fraction of particles between two sieve sizes, in percent
(Note: larger sieve, l; smaller sieve, s)
Remarks:
SF - shape factor (between 6 to 8)
Modified the Carrier (2003) equation

Remarks:
Modified the Kozeny-Carman equation
 Relationships for Hydraulic Conductivity-Granular Soil

Amer and Awad (1974)

• Solving for Coefficient of Permeability

Remarks:
This equation is valid for natural, uniform sand and gravel to predict k that is in the range of 101 to 103 cm/s. This
can be extended to natural, silty sands without plasticity. It is not valid for crushed materials or silty soils with some
plasticity
 Relationships for Hydraulic Conductivity-Cohesive Soil

Taylor (1948) Samarasinghe et al. (1982(

• Solving for Coefficient of Permeability • Solving for Coefficient of Permeability

where
C and n are constants to be determined experimentally
 Relationships for Hydraulic Conductivity-Cohesive Soil

Variation of hydraulic conductivity of sodium clay minerals Variation of void ratio with hydraulic conductivity of clayey soils
(Based on Mesri and Olson, 1971) (Based on Tavenas et al, 1983)
Directional Variation of Permeability

In a given soil deposit, the magnitude of k changes with respect to the direction
of flow. Figure shows a soil layer through which water flows in a direction
inclined at an angle a with the vertical.

Hydraulic conductivity
• vertical (α = 0) = kv
• horizontal (α = 90°) = kH

Variation of kV and kH for Masa-do soil compacted in the

laboratory (Based on the results of Fukushima and Ishii, 1986)
Directional Variation of Permeability
kH/kV for Fine-Grained Soils—Summary of Several Studies
Equivalent Hydraulic Conductivity in Stratefied Soil

In a stratified soil deposit where the hydraulic conductivity for flow in a given
direction changes from layer to layer, an equivalent hydraulic conductivity can be
computed to simplify calculations.

Equivalent hydraulic conductivity determination—horizontal flow in stratified

soil

The total flow through the cross section in unit time can be written as

Thus,
Equivalent Hydraulic Conductivity in Stratefied Soil

In this case, the velocity of flow through all the layers is the same. However, the
total head loss, h, is equal to the sum of the head losses in all layers.

Equivalent hydraulic conductivity determination—vertical flow in stratified soil

Velocity:

Headloss:

Hydraulic Conductivity
Permeability Test in the Field by
Pumping from Wells
In the field, the average hydraulic conductivity of a soil deposit in the direction
of flow
can be determined by performing pumping tests from wells.

The expression for the rate of flow of groundwater into the well, which is equal
to the rate of discharge from pumping, can be written as:

Thus, the hydraulic conductivity in the direction of flow Pumping test from a well in an unconfined permeable layer
underlain by an impermeable stratum.
Permeability Test in the Field by
Pumping from Wells
In the field, the average hydraulic conductivity of a soil deposit in the direction
of flow can be determined by performing pumping tests from wells.

Because water can enter the test well only from the aquifer of thickness H, the
steady state of discharge is:

Thus, the hydraulic conductivity in the direction of flow

Pumping test from a well penetrating the full depth in a confined
aquifer
SAMPLE
PROBLEMS
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
Situation 1

For a constant laboratory permeability test on a fine sand, the following data are
given:
Length of specimen = 16 cm
Diameter of specimen = 9.6 cm2
Constant-head difference = 50 cm
Water collected in a period of 4 min = 420 cm3
Void ratio of the specimen = 0.55

Calculate the hydraulic conductivity in cm/sec, the

discharge velocity in cm/sec, and the seepage velocity
in cm/sec.
 Solution 1:
Solve for the Coefficient of Permeability: Solve for the Seepage Velocity:

Solve for the Discharge Velocity:

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
Situation 2

The data from a falling head test are shown below:

Diameter of standpipe = 6mm
Initial head = 92cm
Final head = 85cm
Duration of test = 12min
Length of soil sample = 30cm
Diameter of permeameter = 40cm

Calculate the hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic gradient, rate of flow of water in the soil, and
seepage velocity if the porosity of the soil is 0.25.
 Solution 2:
Solve for the Coefficient of Permeability: Solve for the Seepage Velocity:
 Area of standpipe Discharge velocity

 Area of permeameter

Solve for the hydraulic gradient:

Solve for the flow rate of water:

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
Situation 3

A layered soil is shown and the following parameters are given:

H1 = 1.5 m k1 = 10-4 cm/sec
H2 = 3 m k2 = 3.2 x 10-2 cm/sec
H3 = 2 m k3 = 4.1 x 10-5 cm/sec

Estimate the ratio of equivalent hydraulic conductivity.

Solution 3:
Solve for the Horizontal hydraulic Solve for the Vertical hydraulic
conductivity: conductivity:

Hence:
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
Situation 4

The figure shows three layers of soil in a tube that is 100 mm x

100 mm in cross section. Water is supplied to maintain a
constant-head difference of 300 mm across the sample. The
hydraulic conductivities of the soils in the direction of flow
through them are as follows:

Soil k (cm/sec)
A 10-2
B 3 x 10-3
C 4.9 x 10-4
Find the rate of water supply in cm3/hr.
 Solution 4:
Solve for the Vertical hydraulic
conductivity:
Vertical hydraulic conductivity Solve for the Rate of Water:
QUESTIONS?