MANILA: Room 206, JPD Building CM Recto Avenue, Manila

CEBU: 4/F J. Martinez Bldg., Osmeña Blvd., Cebu City

Telephone Number: (02) 516 7559 (Manila) E-Mail: buksmarquez1 @yahoo.com
(032) 254 9967 (Cebu)

Review MODULE – Geotechnical Engineering (Permeability)

SITUATION. The permeameter in a permeability test setup involves a
DARCY’S LAW (BASIC PRINCIPLE OF PERMEABILITY) soil sample 200mm in diameter and a length of 300mm. The height of
the water is kept constant at 400mm. In a duration of 4min, water was
Hydraulic Conductivity (k) - is a measure of the ease with which collected in the graduated flask having a volume of 420 cu.cm.
water flows through permeable materials. It is inversely proportional to 6. Calculate the coefficient of permeability in cm/sec.
the viscosity of water which decreases with increasing temperature 7. Calculate the discharge velocity.
Hydraulic Gradient - the loss of head per unit length of flow 8. If the temperature during the experiment is 40 degrees Celsius,
ℎ compute the corrected value of hydraulic conductivity.
𝑖=
𝐿
Falling Head Method
Discharge velocity/Discharge A test in which the hydraulic gradient is continuously changing
𝑣 = 𝑘𝑖; 𝑄 = 𝑘𝑖𝐴 throughout the duration of experiment
Seepage velocity 𝑎𝐿 ℎ1
𝑣 𝑘= ln( )
𝑣𝑠 = 𝐴𝑡 ℎ2
𝑛 a = area of standpipe
SITUATION. A permeable soil layer is underlain by an impervious h1 = initial head difference
layer, as shown. With k=5.2x10^-4 cm/sec for the permeable layer, h2 = final head difference
H=3.8 m and α=80. SITUATION. A falling head permeability test was performed on a
1. Determine the hydraulic gradient. sample of silly sand. The time required for the head to fall in the stand
2. Calculate the rate of seepage through it in m3/hr/m. pipe from 60 cm to the 30 cm mark was 70 min. The cross-sectional
3. Calculate the seepage velocity if e = 0.75. area of the stand pipe was 1 .25 cm2. If the height and diameter of the
sample were respectively 10cm and 9 cm,
9. Determine the value k in cm/min.
10. Calculate the time it takes for the water to drop from 50cm to
40cm.
11. Determine the hydraulic head in the standpipe after 45 minutes.
12. If the test temperature is 10degrees Celsius, compute the
corrected value of hydraulic conductivity.

FIELD DETERMINATION OF HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY

A. Pumping test on an unconfined aquifer underlain by

impermeable layer
𝑟
SITUATION. A canal and a river run parallel an average of 1500m 𝑄𝑙𝑛( 1 )
𝑟2
apart. The elevation of the water surface in the canal is +95m and in the 𝑘=
river at +105m. A stratum of sand intersects both the river and the canal 𝜋(ℎ1 2 − ℎ2 2 )
below their water levels. If the sand is 2m thick and is sandwiched k = coefficient of permeability of the aquifer
between strata of impervious clay, Q = rate of discharge
4. Compute the seepage loss from the canal if the permeability of the r1 = the farther distance from the center of the well
sand is 2x10-3 cm/sec. r2 = the nearer distance from the center of the well
5. If the specific gravity of the sand is 2.67 and its dry unit weight is h1 = hydraulic head at the farther observation well
19.62kN/m3, what is the interstitial velocity? h2 = hydraulic head at the nearer observation well

Transmissibility of the aquifer

𝑟
𝑄𝑙𝑛( 1 )
𝑟2
𝑇=
2𝜋(𝑧2 − 𝑧1 )
z2 and z1 are corresponding drawdowns

SITUATION. A 300mm diameter test well penetrates 27m below the

static water table. After 24 hours of pumping at 69liters/sec, the water
level in an observation well at 95m from the test well is lowered 0.5m
and the other observation well at a distance of 35m from the test well,
the water level dropped by 1.1m.
LABORATORY DETERMINATION OF HYDRAULIC 13. Estimate the rate of flow in cu.m/day.
CONDUCTIVITY 14. Evaluate the coefficient of permeability in m/day.
Constant Head Method 15. Evaluate the drawdown in the test well.
A test in which the hydraulic gradient is constant throughout the 16. Evaluate the transmissibility of the aquifer in m2/day.
duration of experiment
𝑞𝐿 B. Pumping test on a confined aquifer underlain by impermeable
𝑘=
𝐴ℎ𝑡 layer
k = hydraulic conductivity of the soil sample 𝑟
𝑄𝑙𝑛( 1 )
q = volume collected at a certain time t 𝑟2
𝑘=
t = time of collection 2𝜋𝑡(ℎ1 − ℎ2 )
L = length of the soil sample t = thickness of the aquifer
A = cross-sectional area of the soil sample Transmissibility of the aquifer
h = head difference between the inflow and outflow 𝑇 = 𝑘𝑡
 MANILA: Room 206, JPD Building CM Recto Avenue, Manila
CEBU: 4/F J. Martinez Bldg., Osmeña Blvd., Cebu City
Telephone Number: (02) 516 7559 (Manila) E-Mail: buksmarquez1 @yahoo.com
(032) 254 9967 (Cebu)

SITUATION. A pumping test was conducted to determine the

coefficient of permeability of sand aquifer having uniform thickness of
15m by constructing a 0.6m diameter test well. The sand is overlain by
an impermeable layer with a depth of 35m. After the water was pumped
at a rate of 13 liters/sec for several days, water levels in the well
stabilized with the following drawdowns, 3.7m in the observation well
10m from the test well and 2.4m in the second observation well at 30m.
The initial piezometric surface was 15m below the ground surface
datum of the test well and observation wells. Assuming that the water
surface in the test well is above the water surface of the aquifer,
17. Find the depth of water in the test well
18. Compute the coefficient of permeability
19. Compute the transmissibility of the permeable layer.