CHAPTER 6 :

GROUND WATER
AND PERMEABILITY
BY : ENGR. HALINA BINTI HAMID
 LEARNING OUTCOME :

By the end of this topic, students should be able to :

Explain the term of permeability of soil including the term

of ground water zone.
Explain laboratory test for measuring the permeability
including Constant Head Permeability Test and Failing Head
Permeability Test.
Determine coefficient of permeability on site including
unconfined and confined aquifer.
Discussion Section :

1 Group consists of 6 team members

( 10 minute )
Discuss the hydrologic cycle. Draw a schematic
diagram of a hydrologic cycle and show the
various components of the hydrologic cycle
including groundwater label.
What are the factors that affect the ground water
level.
ANSWERS :

Type of soil
Duration & intensity of
rain
Vegetation
Urban / rural
 WHAT IS GROUNDWATER?

Groundwater is water that is found underground in

the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock.
Groundwater is stored in--and moves slowly
through--layers of soil, sand and rocks called
aquifers.
Aquifers typically consist of gravel, sand, sandstone,
or fractured rock, like limestone.
These materials are permeable because they have
large connected spaces that allow water to flow
through. The speed at which groundwater flows
depends on the size of the spaces in the soil or rock
and how well the spaces are connected.
 GROUNDWATER ZONE

Subsurface water occurs in two

different zones. One zone, located
immediately beneath the land
surface in most areas, contains both
water and air in the voids. This zone is
referred to as the unsaturated zone.
Other names for the unsaturated zone
are zone of aeration and vadose
zone.
The unsaturated zone is almost always
underlain by a second zone in which
all voids are full of water. This zone is
defined as the saturated zone. Water
in the saturated zone is referred to as
groundwater and is the only
subsurface water available to supply
wells and springs.
 SOIL PERMEABILITY

The ability of water to flow through a soil is referred

to as the soil's permeability.
The permeability of gravel is higher than that of
clay.
 DARCYS LAW

Darcy's Law is a generalized relationship for flow in

porous media.
It shows the volumetric flow rate is a function of the
flow area, elevation, fluid pressure and a
proportionality constant. It may be stated in several
different forms depending on the flow conditions.
DARCYS LAW
 where,
Q = volumetric flow rate (m3/s or ft3/s),
A = flow area perpendicular to L (m2 or ft2),
K = hydraulic conductivity (m/s or ft/s),
L = flow path length (m or ft),
h= hydraulic head (m or ft), and
= denotes the change in h over the path L.
 COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY

The coefficient of permeability for common soil

types :

Soil Types k (cm/sec)

Clean gravel >1
Coarse sand 1.0 0.01
Fine Sand 0.01 0.001
Salty Clay 0.001 0.00001
Clay < 10-7
 LABORATORY TESTS

CONSTANT HEAD TEST

Primarily used to determine the permeability of coarse-
grained soil.
EQUIPMENT :
Permeameter, Tamper, Balance,
Scoop, 1000 mL Graduated
cylinders, Watch (or Stopwatch),
Thermometer, Filter paper.

PROSEDURE :
Measure the initial mass of the pan
along with the dry soil (M1).
Remove the cap and upper
chamber of the permeameter by
unscrewing the knurled cap nuts
and lifting them off the tie rods.
Measure the inside diameter of
upper and lower chambers.
Calculate the average inside
diameter of the permeameter (D).
 Mix the soil with a sufficient
quantity of distilled water to
prevent the segregation of
particle sizes during placement
into the permeameter. Enough
water should be added so that
the mixture may flow freely (see
Photo B).
Place one porous stone on the
inner support ring in the base of
the chamber then place a filter
paper on top of the porous
stone (see Photo C).
 Using a scoop, pour the prepared
soil into the lower chamber using a
circular motion to fill it to a depth
of 1.5 cm. A uniform layer should
be formed.
Use the tamping device to
compact the layer of soil. Use
approximately ten rams of the
tamper per layer and provide
uniform coverage of the soil
surface. Repeat the compaction
procedure until the soil is within 2
cm. of the top of the lower
chamber section (see Photo D).
 Replace the upper chamber section,
and dont forget the rubber gasket
that goes between the chamber
sections. Be careful not to disturb the
soil that has already been
compacted. Continue the
placement operation until the level
of the soil is about 2 cm. below the
rim of the upper chamber. Level the
top surface of the soil and place a
filter paper and then the upper
porous stone on it (see Photo E).
Place the compression spring on the
porous stone and replace the
chamber cap and its sealing gasket.
Secure the cap firmly with the cap
nuts (see Photo F).
 Measure the sample length at four
locations around the circumference of the
permeameter and compute the average
length. Record it as the sample length.
Keep the pan with remaining soil in the
drying oven.
Adjust the level of the funnel to allow the
constant water level in it to remain a few
inches above the top of the soil.
Connect the flexible tube from the tail of
the funnel to the bottom outlet of the
permeameter and keep the valves on the
top of the permeameter open (see Photo
G).
Place tubing from the top outlet to the sink
to collect any water that may come out
(see Photo G).
 Open the bottom valve and allow
the water to flow into the
permeameter.
As soon as the water begins to flow
out of the top control (deairing)
valve, close the control valve,
letting water flow out of the outlet
for some time.
Close the bottom outlet valve and
disconnect the tubing at the
bottom. Connect the funnel tubing
to the top side port (see Photo H).
 Allow adequate time for the flow pattern to
stabilize (see Photo I).
Measure the time it takes to fill a volume of
750 - 1000 mL using the graduated cylinder,
and then measure the temperature of the
water.
Repeat this process three times and
compute the average time, average
volume, and average temperature. Record
the values as t, Q, and T, respectively (see
Photo I).
Measure the vertical distance between the
funnel head level and the chamber outflow
level, and record the distance as h.
Remove the pan from the drying oven and
measure the final mass of the pan along
with the dry soil (M2).
ANAYSIS :
Calculate the permeability, using the following equation:
EXAMPLE :

A constant head test was conducted on a soil

sample obtained from a construction site.

Available data :
Length of the sample = 254 mm
Diameter of the sample = 63.5 mm
Head difference = 450 mm
Water collected in 2 minutes = 0.71 cm 3

Calculate the coefficient of permeability

SOLUTION :

k = QL = (0.71 X 103) (254)

Aht (/4 63.52)(450)(2)

= 0.063 mm/sec
 LABORATORY TESTS

FALLING HEAD TEST

This method is suitable for fine-
grained soil because the flow of
water too slow to get reasonable
out flow.
Water is allowed to flow from the
standpipe attached to the top of
the soil sample. The head of water
in the stand-pipes starts to drop as
water flow through the soil.
The head of water is recorded at
many different time during the test
 the coefficient of permeability can be calculated by the
following equation :
1
k= ( )
(2 1) 2
EXAMPLE :

A falling permeability test was conducted on a sample of

silty clay soil.

Available data :
Cross sectional area of soil sample (A) = 80 cm2
Length of the soil (L) = 10cm
Initial head (h1) = 100 cm
Final head (h2) = 86 cm
Duration of the test (t) = 15 minutes
Cross sectional area of the tube (a) = 0.28 cm2
Temperature = 32 oC
SOLUTION :

1
k= ( )
(2 1) 2
0.28 10 100
k= ( )
80 (15 60) 86
= 5.86 x 10-6 cm/sec
 CONFINED AQUIFER

A confined aquifer is
one that is bounded
from above and from
below by impervious
formations.
The water level in a well
(or a piezometer) that is
open (i.e., screened) in
such an aquifer is higher
than the impervious
surface that bounds the
aquifer from above.