EAS 44600 Groundwater Hydrology Lecture 9: Flow Nets Dr.

Pengfei Zhang Specific Discharge and Average Linear Velocity Recall Darcys law:

h h dh Q = KA a b = KA L dl

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It states that the flow (discharge) will be proportional to the hydraulic gradient (dh/dl), the hydraulic conductivity (K), and the cross-sectional area of flow (A). The specific discharge (Darcian velocity), q, of groundwater is equal to Q/A:

dh q = K dl

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The specific discharge is an apparent velocity only, since flow of water does not occur through the entire cross section (Figure 9-1A). Remember that flow occurs only in the void spaces between grains (Figure 9-1A). Hence, the specific discharge given above underestimates the actual velocity of water moving through the void spaces.

Flow No flow

Figure 9-1. Cross section of an R.E.V. (A) and average linear velocity (B). To find the actual average linear velocity, v, at which the water is moving, one divides the specific discharge by the porosity (n) to account for the actual open space available for flow: v= in terms of units: Q L3 1 q= = w 2 A T LREV (9-4) q K dh = n n dl (9-3)

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Q 1 L3 1 L3 L REV = w 2 = REV v= 3 A n T LREV Lw T Notice that in the above units for porosity it is assumed that all voids are filled with water ( L3 / L3 versus L3 / L3 ), in other words, we are talking about groundwater, not the w REV voids REV unsaturated zone.

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The units are useful because they help us to distinguish between specific discharge (L3w/L2REVT) and the average linear velocity (LREV/T). The specific discharge concerns the volume of water that passes by a particular cross section of the R.E.V. in a given amount of time, whereas the average linear velocity concerns the length of R.E.V. that the average molecule of water travels in a given amount of time. The specific discharge is less straightforward to understand physically, and the units show that. The average linear velocity is an average because the water molecules follow various tortuous paths through the porous medium (Figure 9-1B). Some water molecules travel through paths of greater tortuosity, resulting in lower linear velocities, whereas other water molecules follow more straightforward paths, resulting in higher linear velocities. The value obtained above is the average linear velocity, representing the average path of water through the medium. The average linear velocity is extremely important. It is the value used to determine how long it would take a contaminant to move from point A to point B in an aquifer. Since the average linear velocity is determined from dh/dl, K, and n, one can understand why characterization of these aquifer parameters is required in order to understand whether contaminants released at point A could reach point B in a given amount of time.
Flow Nets

A simple visual method of capturing the major elements of a groundwater flow system is to use flow nets. A flow net is a visual solution of a groundwater flow system that uses available hydrologic data (e.g., hydraulic heads from piezometers, and places of relatively constant hydraulic head such as lakes) along with fundamental principles of groundwater flow to construct a qualitative model of the flow system. A flow net is comprised of equipotential lines and flow lines. Equipotential lines are lines of equal hydraulic head. Flow lines are imaginary lines that trace the path of a groundwater molecule as it flows through an aquifer. Since the movement of groundwater is from higher hydraulic head to lower hydraulic head, flow lines cross equipotential lines. In an isotropic aquifer, the flow lines will cross the equipotential lines at right angles (Figure 9-2A). This means that the groundwater flow is in the direction of steepest hydraulic gradient. In an anisotropic aquifer, the flow lines may cross the equipotential lines at angles other than 90 degrees (Figure 9-2B), since the hydraulic conductivity may be highest in a direction different from the steepest hydraulic gradient.

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Figure 9-2. Relationship of flow lines to equipotential field. A. Isotropic aquifer. B. Anisotropic aquifer (Fetter). A flow net is most useful in isotropic media. Flow net construction is based on the following assumptions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The aquifer is homogenous and isotropic. The aquifer is fully saturated. There is no change in the potential field over time. The soil and water are incompressible. The flow is laminar (Darcys law is valid). All boundary conditions are known.

There are basically three types of boundary conditions. The first type of boundary condition is a constant head boundary, such as a lake surface. Since a constant head boundary is also an equipotential line, flow lines intersect constant head boundaries at right angles. Another boundary condition is a confining layer, e.g., clay above or bedrock below. This boundary condition is known as a no-flow boundary, since flow is not allowed to cross the boundary. Flow lines will run parallel to a no-flow boundary, and equipotential lines will cross the boundary at right angles. For unconfined aquifers, there is a water-table boundary at the surface. The water table is neither a flow line nor an equipotential line; it is merely a surface where the head is known. If there is recharge or discharge across the water table, flow lines will be at an oblique angle to the water table. If there is no recharge across the water table, flow lines can be parallel to it. Following RULES must be obeyed in drawing flow nets: 1. Flow lines and equipotential lines are always perpendicular and form curvilinear squares in a homogeneous, isotropic medium. 2. Equipotential lines are always perpendicular to no-flow boundaries. 3. Equipotential lines are always parallel to constant head boundaries. 4. Flow lines can never intersect. In other words, flow lines constitute imaginary no-flow boundaries in that there is no flow across a flow line.

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The following hints might be helpful in construction of a flow net: 1. Ensure that the use of a flow net is valid (e.g., steady-state flow, third dimension is constant, and boundary conditions are known or can be approximated well). 2. Prepare for a trial-and-error solution. 3. Ensure that the boundaries are drawn to scale. 4. Always identify the boundary conditions (e.g., equipotential or constant-head boundary; flow line or no-flow boundary; known-head boundary, commonly the water table). Remember RULES 2 and 3! 5. Ask yourself the following: Where is the groundwater entering the system? Where can it leave? What path might it take between the two? Remember that what comes in must go out. 6. Always look for any symmetry in the boundary conditions. This can reduce the size of the region where the flow net must be drawn (i.e., make the problem easier). 7. Decide on the number of flow tubes you want to use (any number of tubes can be used). 8. Where flow tubes constrict, higher hydraulic gradients are needed to move the same quantity of water through the flow tube. Therefore, the equipotential lines will be more closely spaced. The following example (Figure 9-3) gives the steps in construction of a flow net: 1. Set the boundary conditions. Notice that Figure 9-3 could be interpreted as either plan or cross-sectional view. 2. Draw a trial set of equally spaced flow lines. The flow lines will run parallel to no-flow boundaries, and will intersect equipotential lines at right angles. 3. Draw a trial set of equipotential lines orthogonal to the flow lines. Make squares! Why should one make squares? Well, if we know the hydraulic conductivity, K, for the material, we can calculate the discharge through the system. The area between two adjacent flow lines is called a streamtube or a flowtube. If the flow lines are equally spaced, the discharge through each streamtube is the same. In Figure 9-3, the flow through a particular square with unit depth normal to the page is: dh dQ = K dm (9-6) ds where dh is the head drop over distance ds. This discharge is the same along the entire length of the streamtube as long as flow lines are parallel. If dm = ds (i.e., squares are used):

dQ = Kdh
For a system with m streamtubes:

(9-7) (9-8)

Q = mKdh

If the total head drop across the net is H, and there are n divisions of head in the flow net, then:
Q= mKH n

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Step 1

No flow boundary

Constant head boundary

60m

50m

Constant head boundary

No flow boundary
Step 2

No flow boundary

Constant head boundary

60m

50m

Constant head boundary

No flow boundary
Step 3

No flow boundary

Constant head boundary

ds 60m dm 50m

Constant head boundary

No flow boundary
Figure 9-3. Steps in making a flow net. For Figure 9-3, m = 4, n = 7, and H = 10 meters. Therefore, Q = 5.7K. If K=10-5 m/s, Q = 5.710-5 m3/s.

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