Darcys Law Exercises

Problem

TRI RANI PUJI ASTUTI, S.T., M.ENG

Darcy allows an
estimate of:
the velocity or flow rate moving within the
aquifer
the average time of travel from the head of the
aquifer to a point located
downstream
Darcys Law
for Groundwater flow

dh
Q KA
dL
h2 h1
KA
l 2 l1
Darcys Law
Henri Darcy established empirically that the flux of water
through a permeable formation is proportional to the
distance between top and bottom of the soil column.
The constant of proportionality is called the hydraulic
conductivity (K).

V = Q/A, V h, and V 1/L

V = K (h/L) and since
Q = VA (A = total area)
Q = KA (dh/dL)
Q= flow rate (m3/day)
A= area (m2)
K= permeability (m/day)
h= water level (m)
l= distance between water level (m)
Aquifer Characteristics

Hydraulic Conductivity / Permeability (K)

Transmissivity (T)
Storativity / Specific Yield (S)
Specific Capacity (Sc)
Hydraulic Conductivity (K)
Hydraulic
Conductivity (K)
Hydraulic Conductivity
Transmissivity (T)

Transmissivity is the ability of an entire aquifer

to transmit water.

T=K.H

where:
T = aquifer transmissivity (m2/day)
H = saturated aquifer thickness (m)
Storativity (S)

the volume of water stored in, or released from

a control volume.

S = Su. H

where:
S = storativity (dimensionless)
H = saturated aquifer thickness (m)
Simple Computation in
Aquifer
Darcys Law Practice
Problems
If the elevation of H1 is 35m and the elevation
of h2 is 0m, what is the hydraulic gradient if the
distance from h1 to h2 is 5.6 km? (Answer in
m/km)
Darcys Law Practice Problems

What we know:
h2-h1= 35m
L=5600m

Equation: I=(h2-h1)/L
Answer: I=0.00625
What we know:
K=114m/day; (h2-h1)=60m; L=1000m
Hydraulic gradient (I) = 0.06

Equation: V=KI or V=K(h2-h1/L)

Solution:
V=114m/day * 0.06
V=6.84 m/day
An aquifer is 2045 wide and 28 m tall. Its
hydraulic gradient is 0.05 and its hydraulic
conductivity is 145m/day. Calculate the velocity
of the groundwater as well as the amount of
water that passes through the end of the
aquifer its day if the porosity of the aquifer is
32%.
What we know:
K=145m/day I= 0.05
W=2045 D=28 Porosity =32%
Equation:
V=KI or V=K(h2-h1/L) and Q=V*W*D

Solution:
First we must solve for V
V=145m/day * 0.05
V=7.25m/day
Now that we know V we can determine the discharge (Q) of water through the end of the
aquifer
Q= 7.25m/day * 2045m * 28m
Q=415,135 m3/day.
This means that each day, if the aquifer had a porosity of 100%, like a river, that 415,135
m3/day.
However, most of the aquifer is not made up of empty space, only 32% is (porosity of
32%).
So we must multiply 415,135 m3/day by 0.32 to get the amount of water that flows
through the aquifer with a porosity of 32%.
415,135 m3/day * 0.32 = 132843.2 m3/day
Flownet Type of
Boundaries
Impermeable boundary: This boundary includes
the contact between a groundwater system and
impermeable rock.
Constant head boundary: This boundary could be
the contact zone
between a groundwater system and a surface water
system including
a sea, lake, stream or river.
Groundwater table boundary: This boundary is
the upper boundary of a groundwater system that
may be influenced by recharge or discharge or none
of these phenomena.
Flownet Type of Boundaries
Class Assignment

A confined aquifer is 20 m thick and 2

km wide. Two observation wells are
located 1 km apart in the direction of
flow. The head in well 1 is 90 m and in
well 2 it is 87 m. The hydraulic
conductivity is 0,8 m/day.
What is the total daily flow of water
through the aquifer?
Class assignment

An unconfined aquifer has a

hydraulic conductivity of 0.0020 cm/s
and an effective porositv 0.27. The
aquifer is in a bed of sand with a
uniform thickness of 31 m, as
measured from the lateral surface.
At well 1, the water table is 21 m
below the land surface. At well 2,
located some 175 m away, the water
table is 23.5 m from the surface.
What is the discharge per unit width?