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\
|
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ = z
g
p
z
g
p
h
L
Darcys Law
Darcys law states that the flow rate through porous
media is proportional to the head loss h
L
and inversely
proportional to the length of flow path L. Introducing
a proportionality constant K leads to the equation
) 5 ( =
L
h
KA Q
L
Expressed generally as
Or simply
L
) 6 ( =
dl
dh
KA Q
) 7 ( = =
dl
dh
K
A
Q
v
Darcys Law
Where v is the Darcy velocity or specific discharge, K is
the hydraulic conductivity which serves as a measure
of permeability of the porous medium and dh/dl is the
hydraulic gradient
The negative heads indicates that the flow of water is
in the direction of decreasing head in the direction of decreasing head
Darcys law is valid for lamina flow whereby the
Reynolds number N
R
is less than 1 and does not depart
seriously up N
R
= 10
Most groundwater flow occurs with N
R
< 1 such that
Darcys law is applicable. Deviation from Darcys law
can occur where steep hydraulic gradients exist such as
near pumped wells
Hydraulic Conductivity
Where water is the prevailing fluid, the term hydraulic
conductivity is employed.
- Which means that hydraulic conductivity has velocity units
) 8 (
/
=
dl dh
v
K
- Which means that hydraulic conductivity has velocity units
Transimissivity T is a widely used term in groundwater
hydraulics. It may be defined as the rate at which water of
prevailing kinematic viscosity is transmitted through a unit
width of aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient
-Where b is the saturated thickness of the aquifer
( )( ) ) 9 ( / /
2
= = = day m m day m Kb T
Methods of Determining
Hydraulic Conductivity
Hydraulic conductivity K in saturated zone can be
determined by a variety of techniques which includes
- Calculation from formulas
- Laboratory methods
- Tracer tests - Tracer tests
- Auger hole tests
- Pumping test of wells
Pumping test of wells is considered the most reliable
method for estimating aquifer hydraulic conductivity. Based
on observations of water levels near pumping wells an
integrated K value over a sizeable aquifer section can be
obtained.
Example of Darcys Law
Utilization
A sand aquifer 12.19 m thick is about 1.61 km wide. The
aquifer is covered by a confining unit of glaciar till
about 13.72 m thick beginning from the land surface.
The difference in the hydraulic head between two wells The difference in the hydraulic head between two wells
1524 m apart is 3.05 m. The hydraulic conductivity of
the sand aquifer is 20.44 m/day. What is the quantity
of groundwater passing through a cross-section of this
aquifer per day?
Anisotropic and In homogeneous
Aquifers
The discussion of hydraulic conductivity up to now has
assumed that the geologic material is homogeneous
and isotropic implying that the value of K is the same in
at every point and in all direction at every point and in all direction
However, homogeneity and isotropy is rarely the case,
instead in homogeneity & anisotropy is the rule where
directional properties of hydraulic conductivity exist
Considering an aquifer consisting of two horizontal
layers, each individually isotropic with different
thicknesses and hydraulic conductivities as shown
Anisotropy and In homogeneity
Diagram of two horizontal strata, each isotropic with
different thickness and hydraulic conductivities
q
z
q
1
z
1
K
1
q
2
z
2
K
1
K
2
Anisotropy and In homogeneity
For horizontal flow parallel to the layers, the flow q
1
in
the upper layer per unit width is
- q
1
= K
1
iz
1
(10)
Where i is the hydraulic gradient and K
1
and z
1
are as
indicated. Because i must be the same in each layer for
horizontal flow, then the total horizontal flow q
x
is
- q = q + q = i(K z + K z ) (11) - q
x
= q
1
+ q
2
= i(K
1
z
1
+ K
2
z
2
) (11)
For a homogeneous system this is expressed as
- q
x
= K
x
i(z
1
+ z
2
) (12)
Where K
x
is the horizontal hydraulic conductivity for
the entire system. Equating and solving for K
x
yields
-
) 13 (
2 1
2 2 1 1
+
+
=
z z
z K z K
K
x
Anisotropy and In homogeneity
For vertical flow through the two layers, the flow q
z
per unit
horizontal area in the upper layer is
-
- where dh
1
is the head loss within the first layer. Expressing
in terms of head loss
) 14 (
1
1
1
=
z
dh
K q
z
in terms of head loss
-
- By continuity q
z
must be the same for the other layer, hence
-
For a homogeneous system; K
1
= K
2
= K
z
, it follows that
) 15 (
1
1
1
=
z
q
K
z
dh
) 16 (
2
2
1
1
2 1
(
+ = +
z
q
K
z
K
z
dh dh
Anisotropy and In homogeneity
-
- K
z
is the hydraulic conductivity for the entire system, hence
-
) 17 (
2 1
2 1
(
+
+
=
z z
dh dh
K q
z z
) 18 (
2 1
(
(
+
= + q
z z
dh dh
- Equating with equation (16) and rearranging for K
z
gives
-
- which defines the equivalent vertical hydraulic conductivity
for a stratified aquifer of two layers
) 18 (
2 1
2 1
(
+
= +
z
z
q
K
z z
dh dh
) 19 (
2
2
1
1
2 1
+
+
=
K
z
K
z
z z
K
z
Groundwater Flow Equation-derivation
The two fundamental principles of the governing equation
are Darcys law and the principle of continuity
The magnitude of the velocities change across the element,
hence if the velocity on the left-hand face of the element is
v
x
, on the right hand face at distance dx the velocity becomes
-
) 20 (
c
c
+ dx
x
v
v
x
x
In the flow balance there are 4 components, net flows in the
x, y and z directions and a further component due to the
compressibility of the aquifer system which equals the
specific storage S
s
multiplied by the rate of change of
groundwater head with time. These four components must
sum to zero. (S
s
is the volume of water released from a unit
volume of saturated aquifer for a unit fall in hydraulic head)
) 20 (
c
+ dx
x
v
x
Groundwater Flow Equation-derivation
One-Dimensional Flow Problem
When the flow is predominantly in one horizontal direction,
one dimensional formulation is used to understand regional
groundwater flow starting with steady state problems
Considering an element of aquifer dx shown below which
extends upwards from an impermeable base to the water
table, distance m, with a vertical recharge at the water table q
One-Dimensional Flow Problem
Continuity of flow can be written/described as
- Inflow at left + Inflow due to recharge = Outf low at right
In mathematical terms (note the unit width of the aquifer)
-
) 23 (
|
.
|
\
|
+ = + m dx
dx
dv
v dx q m v
x
x x
Simplifying and combining with Darcys law gives
-
Considering an aquifer with impermeable base and constant
saturated depth and uniform recharge such that that the
transmissivity T is constant (T = K
x
m) as illustrated hereafter
. \
( ) ) 24 ( =
|
.
|
\
|
x q
dx
dh
mK
dx
d
x
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
On the left-hand side, x = 0 is
an impermeable stratum
On the right-hand side, x = L
the aquifer is in contact with
a large lake at an elevation H
above the datum
The recharge q is constant
and hence not a function of x
As with the derivation of the
governing equation (24) unit
width is considered
Since the transmissivity T is
constant, equation 24 can be
written as follows
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
-
Integrating once
-
) 25 (
2
2
=
T
q
dx
h d
) 26 ( + = A
qx dh
-
Where A is the constant of integration, integrating again
-
Where B is the second constant of integration
) 26 ( + = A
T dx
) 27 (
2
2
+ + = B Ax
T
qx
h
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
The two constants of integration can be determined from the
two boundary conditions as A = 0 and B = H + qL
2
/2T
Substituting the values of the two constants the resultant
equation for groundwater head is
-
( )
2 2
+ =
x L q
-
And the flow through the aquifer can be calculated as
-
( )
) 28 (
2
+ =
T
x L q
H h
) 29 ( = = qx
dx
dh
T Q
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
In the previous figure (b) the distribution of groundwater
head above the lake level is plotted as a function of qL
2
/2T
The maximum groundwater head occurs at x = 0, left-hand
side
Figure (c), shows the variation of flow in the aquifer with x Figure (c), shows the variation of flow in the aquifer with x
There is a linear increase from zero at the no-flow boundary
to qL per unit width of the aquifer at the lake
These expression will be used to estimate the maximum
groundwater head and maximum flows into the lake when
the following parameters apply
- Transmissivity T=250 m
2
/d; Constant recharge q=0.5 mm/d
- Length L= 1 km, 3 km & 10 km; Head in the lake H=50 m
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
Solutions: The flows into the lake for the three lengths of
aquifer are 0.5, 1.5 and 5.0 m
3
/d per metre width of aquifer
The maximum calculated groundwater head show greater
variations:
- L = 1.0 km h
max
= 50 + 1.0 m
- L = 3.0 km h = 50 + 9.0 m - L = 3.0 km h
max
= 50 + 9.0 m
- L = 10.0 km h
max
= 50 + 100.0 m
The maximum groundwater head is far higher for the aquifer
length of 10 km since, compare to the 1 km length, the flow to
the lake is ten times higher, in addition some of the water has
to travel ten times the distance through the aquifer.
Check whether the changes in saturated thickness between
the lake and the outer boundary invalidate the analysis?
Home Work
Derive the relationship for the following:
Aquifer with constant saturated depth and linear
variation in recharge
Confined aquifer with varying thickness Confined aquifer with varying thickness
Unconfined aquifer with saturated depth a function of
unknown groundwater head