Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
LUÍS RIBEIRO
INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO
UNIVERSITY OF LISBON
Where does groundwater flow?
How water flows?
Groundwater moves from areas of high hydraulic head to
areas of low hydraulic head
K e θ are function of ψ
Type of aquifers
Unconfined aquifer
Ground surface
PERCHED AQUIFERS are aquifers that have a confining layer below the
groundwater, and sits above the main water table.
Effects of groundwater pumping
Q/A = - K Δh / Δ l
q=-Ki
Darcy velocity
• The term q, referred to as the specific discharge,
has the dimensions of velocity and is also known
as the darcy velocity or darcy flux.
• It is important to remember that the darcy velocity
is not the true, microscopic velocity of the water
moving along winding flow paths within the soil
or rock.
• Instead, by dividing the specific discharge by the
fraction of open space (in other words, effective
porosity) through which groundwater flows across
a given sectional area, this provides an average
measure of groundwater velocity.
Macroscopic Law
Validity of Darcy law
Re – number of Reynolds
q = K im
Hydraulic conductivity and
permeability
K=k(ρg/μ)
k - Permeability [L2]
k = C d2
DENSITY AND VISCOSITY
• The density and viscosity of water are
functions of temperature and pressure but
these effects are not great for the ranges of
temperature and pressure encountered in
most groundwater situations
POROSITY
θ
Heterogeneity
K is lognormal distributed
Histogram: ce
K-S d=.18063, p<.20 ; Lilliefors p<.01
Expected Normal
16
14
12
10
No. of obs.
0
-1 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4
X <= Category Boundary
K is a tensor
9 components
3 components,
Main directions
Heterogeneity vs Anisotropy
Kz
Kx
Kx
Kmi i
Kz
m i
m i m / K
i i
mi – thickness of layer i
Head as Energy
Kinetic Energy . Energy required to accelerate fluid packet
from velocity v1 to velocity v2.
Eq 1
Eq 2
Pressure work. Energy required to raise fluid packet
pressure from P1 to P2.
Eq 3
datum
h=ψ+z [ L]
HYDRAULIC HEAD
• Equation confirms that the hydraulic head at
a point within a saturated porous material is
the sum of the elevation head, z, and
pressure head, ψ, thus providing a
relationship that is basic to an
understanding of groundwater flow.
EQUIPOTENTIAL LINES
• Observation boreholes and piezometers located
within a district provide a picture of the three-
dimensional distribution of hydraulic head
throughout an aquifer system.
• Lines drawn joining points of equal groundwater
head, or groundwater potential, are termed
equipotential lines.
• Lines perpendicular to the equipotential lines are
flow lines and can be used in the construction of a
flow net
EQUIPOTENTIAL CONTOURS
• In plan view, the construction of equipotential contours
results in a map of the potentiometric surface. In an
unconfined aquifer, the potentiometric surface is a map of
the water table, where the groundwater is by definition at
atmospheric pressure.
• that more water was pumped from the region than could be accounted
for (as water was pumped, a cone of depression developed and the rate
of abstraction decreased, but with no apparent effect on groundwater
levels in the recharge zone), such that the water-bearing formation was
demonstrating elastic behaviour in releasing water from storage.
• There are two mechanisms that explain how water is produced by confined
aquifers: the porosity of the aquifer is reduced by compaction and
groundwater is released; and the water itself expands since water is
slightly compressible
The total downward stress, σT, applied at the top of
a confined aquifer is supported by an upward
effective stress, σe, on the aquifer material, and the
water pressure contained in the pore space Pw.
eq1
• If the pore water pressure is decreased by
groundwater pumping or by natural
groundwater outflow, the stress on the
aquifer material will increase causing it to
undergo compression.
Specific storage
• Specific storage represents the volume
of water that an aquifer releases from
storage per unit surface area of aquifer
per unit decline in the component of
hydraulic head normal to that surface
Compressibility of water
The compressibility of water β is defined as:
eq2
Compressibility of aquifer
material
The compressibility of aquifer materiasl α is defined as:
eq3
eq4
dσe = 0 − ρgdψ = −ρgdh eq5
For a unit decline in head, dh = −1, and if unit volume
is assumed (VT = 1), then eq4 becomes:
• T=Kxb [L2T-1]
It represents the rate at which water of a given density and
viscosity is transmitted through a unit width of aquifer or aquitard
under a unit hydraulic gradient.
VALUES OF GOOD AQUIFER
PRODUCTIVITY
h2
h1 h1
h2
1 1
3 3
2 2
h1 > h2 h1 < h2
AQUIFER SYSTEM OF QUERENÇA- SILVES
Influent and Efluent river sector streams
0m 5000m 10000m
Arade
Alcantarilha
Quarteira