Florida International University

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

CEG 4011 L Geotechnical Engineering I Laboratory

Prof. Luis A. Prieto-Portar PhD, PE, SE.

Lab Report #07

The Coefficient of Permeability

(ASTM D-2434 and ASHTO T-215)

Performed on 11 March 2009

Team Members:

Member Attendance Writing Assignment Completed

 07- The Permeability of a Soil

1. Introduction

The phenomenon of permeability in soils is an important soil property that is considered

when planning and designing geotechnical projects. To illustrate the importance of
permeability in geotechnical design and in civil engineering in general, consider the
following applications where knowledge of permeability is required:

 Permeability influences the rate of settlement of a saturated soil under load.

 The rate of flow to wells from an aquifer is dependent on permeability.
 The design of earth dams is very much based upon the permeability of the soils
used.
 The performance of landfill liners is based upon their permeability.
 The stability of slopes and retaining structures can be greatly affected by the
permeability of the soils involved.
 Filters to prevent piping and erosion are designed based upon their permeability.

Soils are permeable (water may flow through them) because they consist not only of solid
particles, but a network of interconnected pores. The degree to which soils are permeable
depends upon a number of factors, such as soil type, grain size distribution and soil
history. This degree of permeability is characterized by the coefficient of permeability.
The coefficient of permeability, k, is a product of Darcy’s Law. In 1856, Darcy
established an empirical relationship for the flow of water through porous media. His
relationship has evolved into Darcy’s Law, which states:

Q = kiA

Where:

Q = flow rate (volume/time)

I = hydraulic gradient (unit less)
A = cross-sectional area of flow (area)
k = coefficient of permeability (length/time)

A number of different methods for determining the coefficient of permeability for soils
exist, including in-situ (field) methods and laboratory methods. Some relations exist
between k and the voids ratio e for sandy soils such as

 k  e2
e2
 k
1 e
e3
 k
1 e
In the laboratory, two common tests are generally used to determine this soil property.
These two tests are the falling head permeability test and the constant head permeability
test. Which test is used depends upon the type of soil to be tested. For soils of high
permeability (sands and gravels) a constant head test is used. For soils of intermediate to
low permeability, a falling head test is used. In the constant head test, a constant total
head difference is applied to the soil specimen, and the resulting quantity of seepage can
then be measured. This works very well for coarse-grained soils, but with clays and silts,
the quantity of seepage is much too small to be accurately measured. The falling head test
is different in that it does not fix the total head difference across the specimen. Instead, a
standpipe is connected to the inflow, and the water level in this standpipe is then allowed
to drop as water flows through the specimen. This will not work well for coarse-grained
soils, because they are so permeable that the head drops too rapidly to be accurately
measured.

Coefficients of permeability are usually given at a test temperature of 20oC. Figure 1

below is used to calculate the permeability at a test temperature of 20oC using the
equation, k20C = kTC(ηTC/η20C).

Figure 1: Variation of Ratios with Respect to

Temperature
Temperture, T(oC) ηTC/η20C
15 1.135
16 1.106
17 1.077
18 1.051
19 1.025
20 1.000
21 0.976
22 0.956
23 0.931
24 0.910
25 0.889
26 0.869
27 0.850
28 0.832
29 0.814
30 0.797
2. Equipment.

1. Permeameter cell

2. Two porous stones.

3. Stopwatch

4. Beaker (1000 mL)

5. Oven-Dried Sand

6. Scale
7. Thermometer

8. Funnel mounted at a height

9. Ruler
3. Procedure.

1. Weigh the permeameter with porous stone and spring inside.

2. Measure diameter of cylinder.

3. Place one porous stone on the bottom and pour sand into cylinder.

4. Place second porous stone and spring on top of sand.

5. Measure height of sand.

6. Complete assembly of permeameter.

7. Weigh assembled permeameter with sand inside.

8. Supply water to funnel and allow water to flow through tubes in to the chamber.
9. Establish steady flow and collect water flowing out of chamber into the beaker.

10. Record the temperature of the water.

4. Data.

Table I: Experimental Data*

Test Volume Time of Temperature Head Hydraulic Hydraulic
Number of Water Collection, of Water, T Difference, Conductivity, Conductivity,k20C
Collected, t (sec) (oC) h (cm) k25.5C (cm/s)
Q (cm3) (cm/sec)
1 500 57 25.5 75.2475 4.207x10-02 3.698x10-02
*Description of Soil: Sand
η25.5C/η20C = 0.879

Table II: Experimental Data

Weight of Weight of Flow Rate, Initial Total Final Total Dry Unit Weight
Assembly, Assembly Q/t, Head, Head, of the Soil,
W1 (g) with Soil, W2 (cm3/s) h1 (cm) h2 (cm) γd (g/cm3)
(g)
3054.545 3598.636 8.772 100.33 25.0825 1.5031

Table III: Experimental Data

Length of Area of Void Ratio, Diameter of Dry Weight Specific Gravity
Specimen, L Specimen, A e Specimen, D of Specimen, of Solids,
(cm) (cm) (cm) W (g) Gs

11.43 31.669 0.764 6.35 544.091 2.66

5. Calculations.

1. The permeability “K” is calculated from the following formula:

QL
k = (500 cm3)(11.43cm) / [(31.67cm)(75.25cm)(57 sec)] = 4.207x10-02 (cm/sec)
Aht

2. Calculate the dry unit weight, γd, of the soil specimen:

W2  W1 (3598.64 g )  (3054.55 g )
d   
 2  2 1.503 (g/cm3)
D L (6.35cm) (11.43cm)
4 4

3. Calculate voids ratio e of soil specimen:

Gs w (2.66)(1)
e 1   1  0.764
d 1.503

Gs = specific gravity of soil solids.

γw = density of water.
γd = dry density of soil.
4. Correct and record the coefficient of permeability, K, to that for 20 °C, using the appropriate
correction
factor.

k20C = k25.5C(η25.5C/η20C) = (4.207x10-2)(0.879) = 3.698x10-02 (cm/sec)

ηTºC and η20ºC are viscosities of water at TºC and 20ºC.

6. Conclusions.

Sample: “The objective of the Constant Head Permeability Experiment was to determine
the hydraulic conductivity of a laboratory prepared soil, in this case sand. The hydraulic
conductivity of the sand was determined using the empirical formula called Darcy’s Law,
which is k = QL/(Aht). The parameters that govern the hydraulic conductivity such as
the volume of water collected, Q, the constant head difference, h, and the time required to
collect the volume of water, t, were obtained by conducting a constant-head test with a
permeameter. The purpose of the permeameter is to generate a constant head of water at
each end of the soil sample in the cylinder of the permeameter to induce a flow of water
through the soil. The constant head of water at each end of the soil sample was
determined by measuring with a ruler the elevation of the water at each end with respect
to a convenient datum. The flow rate of the water, Q/t, was determined by collecting 500
cm3 of water in a beaker and recording the time it took to collect the water with a
stopwatch. The other parameters such as the area that the water flows through, A, and
the length the water flow travels, L, was determined by measuring the dimensions of the
permeameter cylinder where the soil sample is placed with a ruler. Once all these
parameters are obtained the hydraulic conductivity is easily calculated using Darcy’s
Law.

The objective of the experiment was accomplished. The value of the hydraulic
conductivity for a test temperature of 20 oC was determined to be k20C = 3.698x10-2 cm/s.
The value of this hydraulic conductivity conforms to values from fine to clean coarse
sand, which ranges in value from 10-3 to 1 cm/s. Thus, the value of the experimentally
determined hydraulic conductivity, k20C, according to tables of soil description and
corresponding hydraulic conductivities is consistent with the sand used in the
permeability experiment. However, the permeability experiment was not without
experimental error. The permeameter device used in this experiment did not have
piezometers and the hydraulic gradient was calculated by dividing the head loss, h,
between the ends of the soil by the length the water flows, L. This method badly assumes
that the head loss due to the tubes and valves is small in comparison to the head loss
between the ends of the soil, which can introduce significant errors when experimentally
determining the value of the hydraulic conductivity of the soil. Thus, it is recommended
to decrease experimental error to have a permeameter with piezometers installed at the
ends of the soil sample to measure more accurately the head loss and the hydraulic
conductivity of the soil.”

7. References.

1. Coduto, P. Donald. Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices. New Jersey:

Pearson Education, Inc., 1999.

2. L. A. Prieto-Portar, “Geotechnical Laboratory Notes”, www.fiu.edu/prietol, Miami,

2008.