UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT

FACULTY OF SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY
A
SEMINAR
ON
GROUNDWATER FLOW
BY
DIKE JOHN ONUOHA
U2012/5565017
SEMINAR PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY,
FACULTY OF SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF PORTHARCOURT, IN
PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD
OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE, DEGREE IN GEOLOGY.
SEPTEMBER 2016
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to acknowledge the encouragement from my supervisor DR. H. O.
NWANKWOALA for his assistance althrough the period of this work.
My special thanks also goes to all other persons who in one way or other have
contributed to the timely completion of this work especially my parents
PRINCE AND MRS. DIKE JOHN ORJI and MISS JUSTINA AWAIKPO for
their love and financial assistance.

DEDICATION

This piece of work is dedicated to the ominipotent one, our lord and
saviour Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of my faith.

ABSTRACT
Groundwater is that water in the zone of saturation. Groundwater flow
represents the circulation of water beneath the surface of the earth, mostly in the
aquifer. These exclude any water molecule which constitutes mineral species
such as clays. Groundwater and its dissolved constituents move according t
mathematical relationship derived for flow through porous media. One of these
relatinship and indeed the major one,in 1856 was derived by henry darcy a
french hydraulic engineer with the public water supply of dijon, france, in an
experiment he carried out for the acquisation of data that would improve the
design of filter sand for water purification.
Also, equation governing groundwater flow was established by henry
Darcy. From this thiems steady state flow equation for confined and unconfined
aquifers and thiems unsteady state flow equation for confined and unconfined
aquifers also developed.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Groundwater flow is mainly concern with the movement and circulation
of water beneath the surface of the earth, mostly in aquifers. Almost all
1.1

groundwater can be considered as part of the hydrologic cycle, including

surface and meteoric water.
A number of factors affects the rate at which groundwater flows, this
include porosity, permeability, transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity and
storativity.Also, equations governing groundwater flow was established by a
french hydraulic engineer, henry darcy in 1856. These include thiems steady
state flow equation for confined and unconfined aquifers and thiems unsteady
state flow equation for confined and unconfined aquifers.
ORIGIN OF GROUNDWATER
Almost all groundwater can be considered as a part of the hydrologic cycle,
including surface and meteoritic water. Meteoritic water are water that comes
from the outer space. However, minor amounts can enter this cycle from other
origins. Connate water is the water entrapped in the interstics of sedimentary
rocks during the formation of the rocks. It may have been derived from the
ocean or fresh water sources. Juvenile water is water formed from magmatic,
volcanic or cosmic origin.
1.2

THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

The hydrologic cycle connotes the amount of moisture from the ocean
surfaces (or any other water surface) to the land, where it is precipitated, and its
eventual return by evaporatiobn and run-off to the sea.
1.3

Fig 1.1 THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

CHAPTER TWO
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUND WATER FLOW
2.1 POROSITY
Porosity is defined as the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume
of porous material. It is usually expressed as follows in percentage.
n=
X 100%
Where n= porosity
= volume of voids
= Total volume of porous rock
There are two types of porosity, namely total and effective porosity
2.1.1 TOTAL POROSITY

Total porosity is the ratio of the volume of all pores to the bulk of the
whole material under consideration.
2.1.2 EFFECTIVE POROSITY
Effective porosity is the ratio of the interconnected pore volume to the
bulk volume of the material.
Increase in porosity increases the rate of flow of ground water in the
medium.
2.2 PERMEABILITY
Permeability is defined as a measure of the ability of a porous medium to
transmit fluid without change in the structure of the medium or displacement of
its parts. For good permeability the voids must be interconnected.
Increase in porosity increases effective permeability and this increases the
rate of groundwater flow in the medium.
2.3 AQUIFER CHARACTERISTICS
The rate of flow of water in an equifer can be expressed in terms of either
the coefficient of transmissibility (T) or coefficient of permeability (K).
2.3.1 TRANSMISSIVITY (T)
Transmissivity is the rate of flow of water through unit width of an
aquifer under unit hydraulic gradient. It refers to water transmission through the
entire saturated thickness of an aquifer and is equal to the hydraulic
conductivity (K) multiplied by the saturated thickness of the aquifer (b)
T = kb
Where T= Transmissivity in /day
K = hydraulic conductivity in m/day
b = cummulative thickness of the aquifer in m
The above expression is strictly valid only for confined aquifers with a
constant thickness of b.
For effective transmissivity to take place under the aquifer must be
saturated and confined.
2.3.2 HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY (K)
This is a quantitative measure of water permeability. The coefficient of
permeability is the rate of flow of water through unit cross-section under unit
hydraulic gradient. Once transmissivity (T) is deremined, the coefficient of
permeability (k) can be obtained from
k = T/b
Where k = hydraulic conductivity in m/day
T = transmissivity in /day
b= thickness of aquifer in m.
A decrease in coeffiecient of permeability decreases the rate of flow of
groundwater.
2.3.3 STORATIVITY (S)

Water recharged to or discharged from an aquifer represents a charge in the

stroage volume within the aquifer. The water-yielding capacity of an aquifer can
be expressed in terms of its storage coefficient. Storativity is therefore defined
as the volume of water an aquifer releases from storage or takes into storage per
unit surface area of the aquifer per unit charge in head. The coefficient is a
dimensionless quantity involving a volume of water per volume of aquifer.
CHAPTER THREE
GROUND WATER FLOW EQUATIONS
3.1 DARCYS LAW
Ground water movement is governed by established hydraulic principles.
Henry Darcy, a french hydraulic engineer investigated the flow of water through
horizontal beds of sand to be used for water filtration. He discovers from his
experiment that the flow rate through a porous media is proportional to the head
loss and inversely proportional to the lenght of the flow path.
3.1.1 EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION OF DARCYS LAW
This law can be demonstrated experimental experimentally with water
flowing at the rate Q through a cylinder of cross-sectional area A, filled with
sand and having piezometers a distance L apart.

Fig 3.1 Experimental verification of Darcys law

From Darcys law
V
N/B = i ----------------------------------- (I)
Introducing proportionality constant K, the equation becomes
V = k = -------------------------------------------------------- (II)
Q = --------------------------------------------------------- (111)
In general terms
Q = -KA --------------------------------------------------------- (IV)

Therefore Q = -KAI ----------------------------------------------------- (V)

Or simply V = =
Or V = = -KI
Where

Q flow rate ()

V Darcy velocity or specific discharge

K hydraulic conductivity ()
hydraulic gradient

head (m)

cross-sectionaal area of porous media (m2)

Note: the negative sign shows that water flows in the direction of decreasing
head.
Equation (v) states Darcys law in its simplest form, that is, that flow
velocity V equals the product of the constant k, and the hydraulic gradient.
It should be noted that Darcys law is a linear law and applies only when
the flow is laminar and not turbulent.the flow rate is uniform that is it does not
change with distance.
VALIDITY OF DARCYS LAW
For Darcys law to hold certain conditions must be fulfilled. These conditions
include:
1.

The law is valid for only laminar flow, this implies that fluid has

low velocities, there should be stream line flow for water molecules and
flow should be more or less parallel to pore boundaries etc.
Laminar flow

Turbulent flow
2.

The hydraulic gradient or pore sizes in the granular material must

not be too large to avoid turbulent flow. Flows in pipes and other large
sections are commonly turbulent and here Darcys law is not applicable.
3.

Reynolds number: the reynolds number is used to distinguish

between laminar and turbulent flow. Reynolds number is expressed as

NR =
Where

NR Reynolds number, dimensionless

is the fluid density

discharge velocity

diameter of passageway through which fluid moves

viscosity

Darcys law is valid for 1

NR

10. However, most underground flow

occurs with NR < 1 so Darcys law is applicable.

4.For flow through dense clays darcys law may be invalid because the

pores may be too small.

3.2 THIEMS STEADY STATE FLOW EQUATION

(A)THIEMS STEADY STATE FLOW EQUATION IN A CONFINED

AQUIFER.
The radial flow equation is an equation which relates the well discharge to
drawdown. A 2-dimensional flow to a well centered on a circular island and
penetrating a homogenous and isotropic aquifer is considered.
Since the flow is horizontal everywhere, the well discharge Q at any
distance r equals
Q = KA1 ---------------------------------------------- (1)
A = 2rb

I=
Q = 2rbk ------------------------------------------ (2)
Rearranging and integrating for the boundary conditions at well, h = hw and r =
rw, and at the island, h = ho and r = ro yields
dh = . ------------------------------------------- (3)

------------------------------- (4)

ho hw = ln ---------------------------------- (5)
Q = ----------------------------------------- (6)
With the negative sign neglected.
In a more general case of a well penetrating an extensive confined aquifer, ther
is no external limit for r. From the above derivation at any given value of r

Q = ----------------------------------------- (7)
This shows that h increases indefinitely with increasing r. Yet the maximum h2 is
the initial uniform ho.

Equation (7) is known as the thiem or equilibrium equation. It enables the

value of K or T to be derived from a pumped well. It should be noted from the
above figure that any two points define the logarithmic drawdown curve; hence
this method consists of measuring drawdown in two observation wells at
different distances from a well pumped at a constant rate. Theoretically, h1 at
the pumped well can serve as one measurement pointing, however, well losses
caused by flow through the screen and inside the well inrtoduce errors so that h1
should be avoided. Thus converting to heads and radii, we have

Q = ----------------------------------------- (8)
Transmissity T, can be calculated from the above equation as follows;

T = kb ln

note: T = kb ----------------------- (9)

Where r1 and r2 are the distances and h1 and h2 are the heads of the respective
observation wells.
Also k = ---------------------------------------------- (10)
In terms of drawdown S rather than head h,

T = kb =

ln ---------------------------------------------- (11)

And k = ----------------------------------------------------- (12)

To apply equation (11) pumping must progress at a constant rate at a sufficient
time untill drawdown changes negligibly with (steady state condition).
The above derivation assume that
1.

Aquifer is homogenous and isotropic

2.

It is of uniform thicknessand infinite in area extent.

3.

The well penetrates the entire aquifer and that

4.

That Piezometric surface is nearly horizontal.

(B)

THIEMS STEADY STATE FLOW EQUATION FOR

UNCONFINED AQUIFER

if a well completely penetrates an aquifer to the horizontal base, the

well discharge Q is

Q = -2rkh
Upon integration between the limits h = hw at r = rw and h = ho at r = r2, we
have:

Q = k -------------------------------------------------------- (13)
But converting to heads, and radii at two observation wells.
Radial flow to a well penetrating an unconfined aquifer, we have;

Q = ------------------------------------------------------ (14)
This equation falls to describe accurately the drawdown curve near the well
because the large vertical flow components contradict the dupuit assumption,
however estimation of k for given heads, are good, in practice, drawdown
should be small in relation to the saturated thickness of the unconfined aquifer.
The transmissivity T can be approximated from equation (14) by

T = k ----------------------------------------------------- (15)
3.3 THIEMS UNSTEADY STATE FLOW EQUATION
(A) THIEMS UNSTEADY STATE FLOW EQUATION FOR CONFINED
AQUIFER
When a well penetrating an extensive confined aquifer is pumped at a constant
rate, the influence of the discharge extends outwards. Since the water must
come from a reduction of storage within the aquifer, the head will continue to
decline as long as the aquifer is effectively infinite. Therefore, unsteady or
transcient flow exists.
If the aquifer is homogenous and isotropic in a horizontal plane, then the
flow will have radial symmetry. Under these conditions the governing equation
for confined flow becomes.

Where h = hydraulic head

S = Storativity
T = Transmissivity
t = time since beginning of pumping and
r = radial distance or an observation well from the pumped well.
Thiems obtained a solution for the above equation based on analogy between
flow of water in an aquifer and flow of heat in a thermal conductor. The solution
of the equation is:

S(r,t) =

du

Whrere Q is the steady pumping rate and U =

Expansion of the integral gives:

S(r,t) = [ -0.577216 ln u + u - + ----------------]

The expression within the bracket is usually denoted by W(U) know as the well
function so that:

S(r,t) = W(U)

with U =

Knowing the formation constants of the aquifer sand T, and for a given Q, the
drawdown S(r,t) can be estimated for any radius r and time t.
(B) THIEMS UNSTEADY STATE FLOW EQUATION FOR
UNCONFINED AQUIFER.
In an unconfined aquifer, it has been seen that steady flow ,based on the
dupuit forchheimer assumptions becomes somewhat unrealistic close to the
well, in assessing non-steady flow, dewatering of the medium results in changes
in transmissivity and when the water table is lowered, the storativity is
decreased. Thus the application of the non-steady flow equation becomes
difficult. However, for small drawdown over short time periods, the thiems
equation may be used for rough estimates of S (r,t).

CHAPTER FOUR
GROUND WATER FLOW NET
4.1 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS AND FLOW NETS
Basically, there are two kinds of boundary conditions: the first, is a
specified head along a given boundary. An important special case for this
boundary condition is when the specified head is constant, termed a constant

head boundary. Any line along which the head is constant must be an
equipotential line. This means that there can be no flow along the equipotential
line, but instead, for isotropic material, the flow must ne at right angle to the
equipotential line.
A second type of boundary is where the normal component of the gradient
is specified. Given the normal component of a gradient along a boundary, there
must be a flux across the boundary. Thus, we use the term flux boundary or
more commonly, flow boundary, where flow either enters or leaves a region
across a boundary. A special type of flow boundary is a no-flow boundary that is
a region across which no flow is permitted to leave or enter a region.
FLOW NETS
For specified boundary conditions, flow lines and equipotential lines can be
mapped in two dimensions to form a flow net. These two set of lines form
orthogonal pattern of small squares. In some situation, the differential equation
governing flow can be solved to obtain flow net.

Fig. 4.1 Flow Net And Its Characteristics. (Source: Punmia, B. C. 1994)
Portion of an orthogonal flow net formed by flow and equipotential lines.
Consider the portion of a flow net shown, the hydraulic gradient is given by
I=
And the constant flow Q between two adjacent flow lines by
q = k dm
for unit thickness
But for the squares of the flow net the approximation can be made so that
q = k dm reduces to
q = kdh
if applying this to an entire flow net, where the total head loss h is divided into n
squares between any 2 adjacent flow lines then dh =

If the flow is divided into m channels by flow lines, then trhe total flow Q =

mq =
Thus the geometry of the flow net, together with k and head los, enables the
total flow m the section to be computed directly.

CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 FLOW IN FRACTURED ROCKS
In fractured rocks, the interconnected discontinuities are considered to be
impermeable. Thus, on the scale of the field problem, one of two approaches
might be followed when dealing with the flow of fluids in fractured rock:
continuum or discontinuum (discrete). The continuum approach assumes that
the fractured mass is hydraulically eqquivalent to a porous medium. The
obvious advantage of treating fractured rocks as continuum is that darcys law as
developed can be applied so that no new theories are involved. If the conditions
for a continuum do not exist, the flow must be described in relation to
individual fractures or fracture sets.
CONTINUUM APPROACH TO FLUID FLOW
Applying a continuum based approach to fluid flow in fractures first
requires an understanding of some of the basic assumptions implicit in a model
for an intergranular porous medium. This understanding is essential in
establishing to what extent these conditions can be achieved in some fractured
rocks.
Let us state at the outset that the conditions for a continuum approach to fluid
flow in intergranular porous media are seldom, if ever challenged. Such is not
the case for fractured rocks. As with porous intergranular media, a small control
volume of fractured rock may be filed entirely with openings or with solid rock,
but the proportion of each will change as different points are sampled within the
small- scale fracture.

To characterise the flow in fractured rocks, information is required about

the orientation, fractture density, degree of connectivity, aperture opening, and
smoothness of fractures. If the apertures are large, the flow may ne turbulent
rather than laminar, and Darcys law no longer applies. The values of hydraulic
conductivity will vary with changes in the three-dimentional stress field and the
fluid pressure.
An equivalent hhydraulic conductivity or permeability may be calculated for a
set of planar fractures with equations developed by snow (1968),

K=

K=

Where k is hydraulic conductivity,

K is permeability
b is the aperture
N is the number of joints per unit diatance acrross the face of the rock (L-1)
For this cause the product Nb is the planar porosity.
THE CUBIC LAW
The cubic law states that for a given gradient in head, flow through a
fracture is proportional to the cube of the fracture aperture. For laminar flow
between two smooth parallel plates, the volumetric flow rate can be expressed
(Romm, 1966) as

Q=

(bw)

Where

Q is a volumetric flow rate

Pw is the density of water
g is the gravitational acceleration
U is viscosity
b is the aperture opening
w is the fracture width perpendicular to the flow direction and
Is the gradient in the flow direction.
This equation is of the form Q =KIA
Where I is the gradient and the area A is (bw). Hence the flow rate is related to
the cube of the fracture aperture.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Almost all ground water can be considred as a part of the hydrologic cycle,
including surface and meteoric water. A number of fracture affects the rate at

which groundwater flows, this include porosity, permeability, transmissivity,

hydraulic conductivity and storativity.
Ground water hydrology was demonstrated by a french hydraulic engineer,
henry Darcy in 1856, in an experiment he carried out for the aquisition of data
that would improve the design of filter sand for water purification. He
discovered from his experiment that the flow rate through porous media is
proportional to the head loss and inversely proportional to the lenght of the flow
path. This is known as Darcys law. This law was valid only under certain
conditions which include laminar flow and hydraulic gradient of pore size in the
granular material.
Also equations governing groundwater flow was established by henry
Darcy in 1856. These include thiems steady state flow equation for confined and
unconfined conditions and thiems unsteady state flow equation for confined and
unconfined conditions.
Boundary conditions and flow nets was also considered, for specified boundary
conditions, flow lines and equipotential lines can be mapped in two dimensions
to form a flow net.
In fractured rocks, the interconnected discontinuities are considered to be the
main passages for fluid flow, with the solid rock blocks considered to be
impermeable.

REFERENCE
Davies, S. And De Weist R. (1970), Hydrology, John Wiley And Sons, New
York, Pp. 114 139.
Donfenico, P. A. And Schwartz F. W. (1990), physical and new york, pp.9-18,
57-58,118-123.
Ofodile, M.E. (1992), An Approach To Groundwater Study And Development
In Nigeria. Mecon Service Ltd., Jos, Nigeria Pp.173-178.
Shaw E.M. (1988), Hydrology In Pratice, Chapmam And Hall, New York,
Pp.122-142
Told D.K. (1980), Groundwater Hydrology, John Wiley And Sons, New York,
Pp. 114-139.
Wanielista M. (1990), Hydrology And Water Quantity Control, John Wiley And
Sons, New York, Pp. 346-365
Ward R.C. And Robinson M. (1989), Priinciples of Hydrology, Mcgraw Hill
Book Company, Singapore Pp. 174-207.
World Book Encyclopedia, (1992), World Book Inc. Copyright (C) 1992, Scott
Fester Co. Pp. 68-83.