Hydraulic Conductivity /

Permeability

Learning Outcomes:
1.

2.

Describe and determine the hydraulic

conductivity of soils.
Determine the rate of flow of water
through soils.

Fig. 8 Plane Flow under a Dam

Seepage under
a
dam
Cross section of a long dam
(flow in the y direction is negligible)

Dam
z

Soil
x

Flow
Impermeable bedrock

Topics to be covered in
permeability, k

Terminology
Groundwater flow conditions
Hydraulic conductivity, k
Factors affecting permeability
Bernoullis equation and Darcy law
Empirical relationships for k
Laboratory determination of k
Constant-head test
Falling-head test

Field determination of k - Pumping test

Equivalent k in stratified soil

Terminology

Subsurface water
All underground water located within the soil voids
or rock fissures
Phreatic zone: portion below GWT(+pore
pressure)
Vadose zone: portion above GWT(-pore pressure
due to capillary action)

Ground water table (phreatic surface)

Surface of ground water (denoted by )

Aquifer layer of soils that able to transmit

large quantities of groundwater in a short
period of time (sands, gravels)

Terminology
Aquiclude layer of soils transmit water
slowly (clays)
Aquitard layer of rock having low
permeability that stores gw but delay its flow
Unconfined aquifer

Layer of phreatic zone which the bottom flow

boundary is defined by an aquiclude, but the
upper flow boundary (GWT) is free to reach it own
natural level

Confined aquifer (artesian)

Both the upper and lower flow boundaries are
defined by aquiclude

Terminology

Head
Energy at particular point
Three types of pressure
head:
Elevation head-difference
in elevation between
point and datum
Pressure head-different
in elevation between
point and water level in
piezometer
Velocity head-difference
in water elevations due to
water flow

Standpipe or
piezometer

Groundwater Flow Conditions

One-dimensional flow
Velocity vectors are all parallel to some axis
& equal in magnitude
e.g. hydraulic conductivity tests & some
idealized field conditions
Constant head test
Falling head test
Field test

Groundwater Flow Conditions

Two-dimensional flow
Velocity vectors vary within one single
plane in terms of direction and magnitude
e.g. flow in natural soils underneath a
concrete dam

Three-dimensional flow
Velocity vectors vary in x,y, & z directions
e.g. flow toward a water well

Hydraulic conductivity, k

Ability for a water to flow through the

existence interconnected voids in soils
Typical values of hydraulic conductivity of
saturated soils
Soil Type
Clean gravel
Coarse sand
Fine sand
Silty sand
Clay

k (cm/s)
100 - 1.0
1.0 - 0.01
0.01 - 0.001
0.001 - 0.00001
< 0.000001

Hydraulic Conductivity, k

Factors Affecting k
1.
2.

3.
4.

Soil properties
Liquid properties
Temperature
The pressure difference existing
between the two points when flow is
occurring

Factors Affecting k
1. Soil Properties
Void size (depends on particles size,
gradation, void ratio, etc)
Soil structure
Void continuity
Particle shape and surface roughness

Factors Affecting k
2. Liquid Properties

Underground water usually are considered

clean and less contaminated
Therefore the influence of the liquid
properties such as viscosity can be ignored

= unit weight of water

= viscosity of water
K = absolute / specific permeability (m2)

Factors Affecting k
3. Temperature
Temperature (refer Table 6.2 for
variation of ToC/ 20oC)

k20o C

T oC
20o C

kTo C

It is conventional to
express value of k at
20 C.

KToC, K20oC = hydraulic conductivity at

temperature ToC and 20oC respectively
ToC, 20oC = viscosity of water at
temperature ToC and 20oC respectively

Factors Affecting k
-Temperature

Factors Affecting k
4. Pressure Difference-Bernoullis equation
uA/

h
w

uB/

A Flow

hA

hB

ZA

v2

u
h=

+
w

Total
head

ZB

Pressure
head

2g
Velocity
head

Elevation
head

Note: in soil, the velocity

head can be neglected due
to small seepage velocity

Darcys law

Discharge velocity of water through soils is

proportional to the gradient of the total head
v = ki
v = discharge velocity (velocity of water based on gross-sectional area
of the soil
k = coefficient of permeability or hydraulic conductivity
i = hydraulic gradient = h/L
h = loss of head
L = length of flow over which the loss of head occurred

vs = seepage velocity = v/n

vs = actual velocity of water (seepage velocity through void
spaces)
n = porosity

Flow rate, q = vA = Aki (m3/s or cm3/s)

A = cross-sectional area of specimen

Example 6.5(p167)

Find the flow rate in m3/s/m (at right angle to the

cross section) through the permeable soil layer
shown below.
Given H = 8m, H1 = 3m, h = 4m, L = 50m, = 8o,
and k = 0.08cm/s
h

H
H1

Empirical relationships for k

In homogenous soils, hydraulic conductivity, k

depends predominantly on void ratio
For a uniform sand in loose state (nearly maximum
void ratio), Hazen (1930) proposed k as:

k = cD102

(cm/s)

c is a constant varying between 0.4 - 1.2 if the unit

measurement of D10 is in mm. Typically c = 1.0
D10 is the effective size (mm)-aggregate size with 10% finer

For fine-to-medium sand, Casagrande proposed:

k = 1.4e2k0.85

(cm/s)

K0.85 is the corresponding value at void ratio of 0.85

Empirical relationships for k

For cohesive soils, Samarasinghe, Huang, and

Drnevich (1982) suggested that k for normally
consolidated soil is given by:
k = C(en/1+e)
where C and n are constants

Other researchers such as Mesri, Olson, Taylor etc.

had different k value for different types of cohesive
soil.

Lab determination of k

Constant head test

BS 1377:1990
Suitable for coarse aggregate (sand and sandgravel mixtures) with hydraulic conductivity in the
range of 10-2 to 10-5 m/s
Head loss remain constant during the test

Falling head test

Suitable for soils of low to intermediate
permeability
Water level falls in the stand pipe

Constant-head test
h
L

Porous stone

Derivation of formulae:

Soil specimen

Let, H = h, i= h/L
The flow rate through soil, qz = Akzi
kz = qz
Ai

kz = QL
Aht

kz =

QL
Aht

Where, Q = volume of water collected

A = cross-sectional area of soil specimen

t = duration of water collection

Example

The results of a constant-head permeability test for a

given fine sand sample having a diameter of 150mm
and a length of 300mm are as follows:
Constant head different = 500 mm
Time of collection of water = 5 min
Volume of water collected = 350 cm3
Temperature of water = 24oC
Find the hydraulic conductivity at 20oC.

k=

QL

Aht
Answer: 3.6 x 10-3 cm/s

Example

Falling-head test
Stand pipe

Derivation of formulae:
The velocity rate of head loss in tube, v = - dh/dt

h2

h1

The inflow of water to the soil, (qz)in = av = - a.dh/dt

The outflow , using Darcy Law, (qz)out = Akzi = A.k.h/L

The continuity equation of flow: (qz)in = (qz)out

- a.dh/dt = A.k.h/L
t1

h1

Ak/aL t dt = - hdh/dt
Where, a = cross-sectional area of standpipe

A = cross-sectional area of soil specimen

t = time taken for total head to reduce from
h1 to h2

k = kz = 2.303 a.L log10 (h1)

At

(h2)

Example 6.3 (p149)

For a falling-head permeability test, Given that:

Length of specimen = 15 in.
Area of specimen = 3 in.2
k = 0.0688 in./min
What should be the area of the standpipe for
the head to drop from 25 in. to 12 in. in 8
minutes?
k = kz = a.L ln (h1)
A(t2-t1)
(h2)

Answer: 0.15 in.2

Example

PUMPING TEST
To determine the coefficient of
permeability, k in the field.
Pumping out water at a constant rate
from a well measure the decrease in
GWL at observation wells.

PUMPING TEST-ASSUMPTIONS
The pumping well penetrates through
the water-bearing stratum and
perforated ONLY at the section below
the GWL.
The soil mass- homogenous, isotropic
and of infinite size
Darcys law is valid

PUMPING TEST-ASSUMPTIONS
The flow is radial toward the well.
The hydraulic gradient at any point in
the water-bearing stratum constant
and equal to the slope of groundwater
surface ( Dupuits assumptions ).

Field determination of k
Pumping Test (unconfined aquifer)
k=

2.303qlog10

r2
r1

q = Aki
r2

(h22 - h12)
Ground surface

r1

GWT
dz
dr

Drawdown curve
after pumping h
Impermeable
layer

Test well

h1

h2

Observation wells

Field determination of k
Pumping Test (confined aquifer)
q log10
k=

r2
r1

q = Aki
r2

(h2 - h1)
Ground surface
GWL

r1

r
dh

Drawdown curve
after pumping
Impermeable
layer
Confined Aquifer

dr

h1

h2

H
Test well

Observation wells

Example 6.9 (p168)

Consider the case of pumping from a well in

an unconfined permeable layer underlain by
an impermeable stratum. Given that:
q = 0.74m3/min
h1 = 6m
at r1 = 60m
h2 =
5.2m at r2 = 30m
Calculate the hydraulic conductivity (m/min)
of the permeable layer.
r1
2.303 q log10 r
2
k=
(h12 - h22)
Answer: 0.018 m/min

Field Permeability test over Lab

Permeability test

Field permeability test

Soil would not be disturbed by a sampling procedure, test
can be undertaken in the field concurrently with other field
work being performed (such as when drilling borings and
obtaining soil samples).
Taking consider the effect of the relatively large zone/volume
of soil surrounding the test location.

Lab permeability test

Soil sample can be aligned as desired to study effects of
different directions for flow (may be important in stratified
soil). Probably will have better information on the soil type
and condition
if soil deposit is not homogeneous, test sample may not be
accurately represent condition for deposit

Equivalent k in stratified soil

Hydraulic conductivities vary from layer

to layer
H1
H

H2

kv1
kH1
kv2
kH2

H3

kv3

Hn

kvn

kH3

kHn

Equivalent k in stratified soil

Two directional flow in stratified soil

Horizontal flow
kH(eq) = (kH1H1+ kH2H2 + . + kHnHn)/ H
Vertical flow H
Hn
H2
1
++
+
kv(eq) = H /
k
k
k
v1

kv(eq)
keq =

v2

vn

are generally smaller than kh(eq)

(kv(eq).kH(eq) )

Important points to stress on:

The flow of water through soils is governed by

Darcy Law, which states that the average flow
velocity is proportional to the hydraulic
gradient
The proportionality coefficient in Darcys law is
referred as hydraulic conductivity or
permeability, k
The value of k is affected by the void ratio,
particle size distribution and the wholeness of the
soil mass
Homogeneous clays are practically impervious
while sands and gravel are pervious

Important points to stress on:

The constant-head test is used to determine the

hydraulic conductivity of coarse-grained soils
The falling-head test is used to determine the
hydraulic conductivity of fine-grained soils