Objective of the chapter

When you complete this chapter, you should be able

to:
Calculate flow under and within earth structures.
Calculate seepage stresses, pore water pressure
distribution, uplift forces, hydraulic gradients, and
the critical hydraulic gradient.
Determine the stability of simple geotechnical
systems subjected to two dimensional flow of
water.

INTRODUCTION
Many catastrophic failures in geotechnical engineering
result from instability of soil masses due to groundwater
flow. Therefore
1. Lives are lost,
2. Infrastructures are damaged or Destroyed, and
3. Major economic losses occur.
That is why?, we give an emphasis on gaining an
understanding of the forces that provoke failures
resulting from groundwater flow.
You will learn methods to calculate flow, pore water
pressure distribution, uplift forces, and seepage stresses.







Two-dimensional Flow of Water Through Porous Media
The flow of water through soils is described by Laplaces
equation. The popular form of Laplaces equation for two-
dimensional flow of water through soils is :-

Where
H is the total head and
k
x
and k
z
are the coefficients of permeability in the X & Z
direction
Laplaces equation expresses that
Changes of hydraulic gradient in one direction are balanced
by the changes in the other directions.

0
2
2
2
2
=
c
c
+
c
c
z
H
k
x
H
k
z x
The assumptions in Laplaces equation are:
Darcys law is valid.
The soil is homogeneous and saturated.
The soil and water are incompressible.
No volume change occurs.
If the soil were an isotropic material then k
x
= k
z
and
Laplaces equation becomes:-


The Solution of Laplace equation.
The solution of the equation can be approximated by one of
the following methods .
1. Analytical method,
2. Electrical analog method,
3. Scaled model method,
4. Graphical method.
0
2
2
2
2
=
c
c
+
c
c
z
H
x
H
But graphical method is the of choice among geotechnical
Engineers. which is called flow net sketching.
The flow net sketching technique is simple and flexible and
conveys a picture of the flow regime.
Let us introduce a velocity potential (, ), which describes
the variation of total head in a soil mass as.

o The velocities of flow in the X and Z directions are:-



The Laplace equation represents two sets of lines (curves) ,
such as flow lines and equipotential lines to form a flow net.
Which is the graphical solution of the Laplace equation .

kH =
x x
H
k v
x x
c
c
=
c
c
=

z x
H
k v
z z
c
c
=
c
c
=

Flow through an earthen Dam
Drainage
blanket
Phreatic line
Unsaturated
Soil
Flow of water
c
c
c
c
2
2
2
2
0
h
x
h
z
+ =
z
x
Water in reservioure
Saturated perviouse soil layer
Graphical representation of solution
1. Equipotentials :- Lines of constant head, h(x,z)
Equipotential (EP)
Phreatic line
Flow line (FL)
2. Flow lines :- Paths followed by water particles tangent to
. flow of water
Equipotential (EP)
3. Flow channel :- The area between two flow lines is called a
flow channel.
PROPEREIS OF FLOW AND FLOW NETS
Flow lines are normal to equipotential lines, there fore no
flow can occur across flow lines.
The rate of flow between any two flow lines is constant.
The rate of flow is constant in a flow channel.
The head difference between two equipotential lines is
called a potential drop or head loss (Ah).


FLOW NET SKETCHING

1. Criteria for Sketching Flow Nets
A flow net must meet the following criteria:
The boundary conditions must be satisfied.
Flow lines must intersect equipotential lines at right angles.
The area between two adjacent flow lines and equipotential
lines must be curvilinear squares. Which can inscribed circle.
The quantity of flow through each flow channel is constant.
The head loss between each consecutive equipotential line is
constant.
A flow line cannot intersect another flow line.
An equipotential line cannot intersect another equipotential
line.

Demonstration of square rectangles with inscribed circles
Procedure for Sketching Flow Nets

1) Draw the structure and soil mass to a suitable scale.
2) Identify impermeable and permeable boundaries.
The soil impermeable boundary interfaces Flow lines.
The soil permeable boundary interfaces Equipotential lines.
3) Sketch a series of flow lines (in most case three up to ten)
and then sketch an appropriate number of equipotential
lines.
Check that the cell b/n two adjacent flow lines and
equipotential lines is curvilinear square.
If not ,You should have to adjust the flow lines and
equipotential lines to make curvilinear squares.
4) You should check that the average width and the average
length of a cell are approximately equal. You should also
sketch the entire flow net before making adjustments.

head loss determination b/n each equipotential lines, and
uplift force at bottom dam.
Identification of permeable and impermeable boundary
How to determine N
d
& N
f
for flow net
Nd =14=(equipotential line 1)
Nf =4=(flow line -1)
Flow Net Under Different Structure.




1. Flow net under a
dam with a cutoff
curtain.

2. Flow net in the back
fill of a retaining
wall with a vertical
drainage blanket.
. 3. Flow net under a
cutoff curtain
(sheet pile wall.)
4. Flow net under
Concrete dam
with no cut-off
walls.
. 3. Flow net through
earthen dam.
4. Flow net under
two cut-off walls.
Interpretation of Flow Nets

1. Head Loss (Ah) :- The head loss between consecutive pair
of equipotential lines is:-
Where
AH is the total head loss across the flow domain and
N
d
is the number of equipotential drops. It is also given as
number of equipotential lines minus one.
2. FLOW RATE (q) :- From Darcys law, the flow through
each (single) flow channel for an isotropic soil is given as :


Where b and L are sides of the curvilinear square.
But consider unit width normal to the curvilnear square.










d
N
H
h
A
= A
L
b
N
H
k
L
b
h k
L
h
k b Aki q
d
A
= A =
A
= = A ) 1 (
By construction b/L = 1, and Thus the Total flow in whole
mass is :-

Where
N
f
= The number of flow channels (number of flow lines 1)
The ratio N
f
/N
d
is called the shape factor.
Quantity of flow is the case of anisotropic soils
For anisotropic soil coefficient of permeability in X and Z
directions are different.


3. Hydraulic Gradient (i) :- The hydraulic gradient over
each square is given by dividing the head loss (Ah) by the
length, (L), of the cell, that is:-


f
d
f
f
hN k
N
N
H k q N q A = A = A =
z x
d
f
k k
N
N
H q A =
L
h
i
A
=
The hydraulic gradient is not constant.(Reason L is not constant)
The maximum hydraulic gradient occurs where L is a minimum,
that is :- Usually, L
min
occurs at exit
points or around corners.

4. Static Liquefaction :- If the effective stress becomes zero,
the soil loses its strength and behaves like a viscous fluid.
The soil state at which the effective stress is zero is
called static liquefaction.

Events connected to the static liquefaction state are
Boiling, Quicksand, Piping, and Heaving.[Refer in books]
Liquefaction can also be produced by dynamic events such
as earthquake. A structure founded on a soil that statically
liquefies will collapse.
min
max
L
h
i
A
=
0
' '
= = z i z
w z
o
Critical Hydraulic Gradient (i
cr
)
We can determine the hydraulic gradient that brings a soil
mass (For coarse grained soils) to static liquefaction.



Where
G
s
is specific gravity, and e is the void ratio.

Since G
s
is constant the critical hydraulic gradient is solely
a function of the void ratio of the soil.
.In designing structures that are subjected to steady state
seepage, it is absolutely essential to ensure that the critical
hydraulic gradient cannot develop.

e
G
e
G
i i
s
w
w s
w
cr
+

= |
.
|

\
|
+

= = =
1
1
1
1
'

5. Pore Water Pressure Distribution.

The pore water pressure at any point j is calculated as
follows :-
1) Select a datum (choose the downstream water level)
2) Determine the Total head at j
Where (N
d
)
j
is the number of equipotential drops at point j.
3) Calculate the pressure Head by:-
Where h
z

the

elevation head.
4) The pore water pressure is :-


, ) ( h N H H
j d j
A A =
z j j p
h H h = ) (
w j p j
h u ) ( =
6. Uplift Forces (p
w
)

Lateral and uplift forces due to groundwater flow can badly
affect the stability of structures such as dams and weirs.
The uplift force per unit length is found by calculating the
pore water pressure at discrete points along the base and
then finding the area under the pore water pressure
distribution diagram. that is,


It is convenient to use Simpsons rule to calculate P
w
:

=
A =
n
i
j j w
x u P
1
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + +
A
=

= =
n
odd
3
n
even
4
1
4 2
3
i i
i i n w
u u u u
x
P




Flow Through Earth Dams
Flow through earth dams is a vital design
consideration.
We need to ensure that the pore water pressure at the
downstream end of the dam will not lead to instability
and the exit hydraulic gradient does not lead to piping.
The major exercise under this topic is to find the top
flow line called the phreatic surface.
Casagrande (1937) showed that the phreatic surface
can be approximated by a parabola with corrections at
the points of entry and exit. And the focus of the
parabola is at the toe of the dam.




Phreatic surface within an earth dam.










F = focus of the parabola f = focal length
a= discharge face




The procedure to draw a phreatic surface within an earth
dam,
1. Draw the structure to scale.
2. Locate a point A at the intersection of a vertical line from
the bottom of the upstream face and the water surface, and
a point B where the waterline intersects the upstream face.
3. Locate point C, such that BC=0.3AB.
4. Project a vertical line from C to intersect the base of the
dam at D.
5. Locate the focus of the basic parabola. The focus is located
at the toe of the dam.
6. Calculate the focal distance,
Where b is the distance FD and H is the height of water at
the upstream face.





2 / ) (
2 2
b H b f + =
7. Construct the basic parabola from .
8. Sketch in a transition section BE.
9. Calculate the length of the discharge face, a, using:-



Where
TF is distance can be measured from figure.
Aa/L can be collected for angle | from the chart.
10. Sketch in a transition section, GK.
11. Calculate the flow using appropriate equation given as:-


) ( 2 x f f z + =
0
30 ) / 1 ( > A = | L a TF a
. 30 ; cot
cos
1
cos
0 2 2 2
s = | |
| |
H b
b
a
0
30 , tan sin < = | | | ak q
0 0 2
90 30 , sin < < = | | ak q
If there is drainage blanket use:-