Module-2

Fundamentals of Ground Water Flow: Aquifer parameters, specific yield and specific
retention, porosity, storage coefficient, derivation of the expression, Darcy’s law, hydraulic
conductivity, coefficient of permeability and intrinsic permeability, transmissibility,
permeability in isotropic, anisotropic layered soils, steady one-dimensional flow.
The ground water occurs in many types of geological formations which are known as aquifers
and are of most important. An aquifer may be defined as a formation that contains sufficient
saturated permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs. Thus
an aquifer as the ability to store and transmit the water.

Aquifer parameters:
An aquifer has the ability to store and transmit water. The quantity of water stored by the aquifer
and the quantity of water released by the aquifer depends upon the nature and composition of
the aquifer which are quantified through certain parameters like porosity, Specific yield,
Storage coefficient, Permeability and transmissibility, these parameters are called as aquifer
parameters.

1. Specific Retention (Sr)

The specific retention Sr, of a soil or rock is the ratio of the volume of water it will retain after
saturation against the force of gravity to the total volume of the soil or rock or formation. Thus

where wr, is the volume occupied by retained water and Vt, is the bulk volume of the soil or
rock.

2. Specific Yield (Sy):

Specific yield is defined as the ratio expressed as volume of water which after being saturated
can be drained by gravity to its total volume.
Sy is the water removed from unit volume of aquifer by pumping or drainage and is expressed
as percentage volume of aquifer.
The specific yield depends on
1. Grain size 2. Shape and distribution of pores. 3. Compaction of the formation.
where wy, is the volume of water drained. Values of Sr, and Sy, can also be expressed as
percentages. Because wr, and wy, constitute the total volume of water, which is the total pore
space, it is observed as follows:

n= Sr + Sy

3. Porosity (n)
It is the ratio of volume of voids or pores in a soil mass to its total volume.
𝑉𝑣
n= ∗ 100
𝑉
n ranges from 1% to 70%
where n is the porosity, Vv volume of voids or pores, V is total volume.
And

The porosity of an aquifer is equal to n = ne + nr

Where ne = effective porosity (specific yield), nr = Specific retention
• Shape, size and packing of grains affect the porosity of granular material.
• In sediments the porosity depends on grain size, the shape of the grains, the degree of
sorting and degree of cementation.
• In rocks the porosity depends upon the extent, spacing and pattern of cracks and fractures.
• Well –rounded coarse-grained sediments usually have higher porosity than fine grained
sediments because the grains do not fit together well.
• In unconsolidated material or in rocks the porosity is dependent on the extent of spacing,
pattern of fracturing and nature of solution channels.
• Wider the range in size, lower is the porosity.
• The arrangement of grains or the type of packing also affects porosity.
• In square packing the porosity is as high as 47.6%, while in rhombic packing it is as low as
26%

Figure 1: Square (a) and Rhombic (b) Packing.

4. Storage Coefficient (S):
Water recharged to, or discharged from, an aquifer represents a change in the storage volume
within the aquifer. Storage coefficient of an aquifer is the volume of water discharged from a
unit prism, i.e., vertical column of aquifer standing on a unit area (1m2) as water level falls by
unit depth (1m).
The storage coefficient is a dimensionless quantity.
• In confined aquifers the value ranges from - 0.00005 to 0.005
• In unconfined aquifers the value ranges from – 0.05 to 0.30
• The storage coefficient can be best determined from,
1. Pumping test of wells.
2. Ground water fluctuation in response to atmospheric pressure.
3. Ocean tide variation.
Storage coefficient is given by Jacob in 1950 as,

Where,
S: - Coefficient of storage.
𝛾𝑤: - Unit weight of water (9810 N/m3).
b: - Saturated thickness (1mm).
∝: - 1/Es =reciprocal of bulk modulus of elasticity of aquifer. It varies with material.
𝑛: - Porosity of aquifer.
β: - 1/Kw [reciprocal of bulk modulus of elasticity of water]. Kw =2.1GN/m2 = 2.1*10^9 N/m^2

For unconfined aquifers this is simply expressed by the product of the volume of aquifer lying
between the water table at the beginning and at the end of a period of time and the average
specific yield of the formation. In confined aquifers, however, if the aquifer remains saturated,
changes in pressure produce only small changes in storage volume. The water- yielding
capacity of an aquifer can be expressed in terms of its storage coefficient.
For a vertical column of unit area extending through a confined aquifer, as in Figure 2 (a),
the storage coefficient S equals the volume of water released from the aquifer when the
piezometric surface declines a unit distance. The coefficient is a dimensionless quantity
involving a volume of water per volume of aquifer. In most confined aquifers, values fall in
the range of 0.00005 < S < 0.005, indicating that large pressure changes over extensive areas
are required to produce substantial water yields.
The fact that S normally varies directly with aquifer thickness enables the rule-of-thumb
relationship for a confined aquifer,

S= 3 × 10-6 b
where b is the saturated aquifer thickness in meters to be applied for estimating purposes.
The storage coefficient for an unconfined aquifer corresponds to its specific yield, as shown in
Figure 2 (b). S for an unconfined aquifer ranges from 0.05 to 0.30.

Figure 2: Illustrative sketches for defining storage coefficient of (a) Confined and (b)
unconfined aquifers.

Darcy’s Law
In 1856, Henry Darcy, a French hydraulic engineer, on the basis of his experimental findings
proposed a law known as Darcy’s law which states that the velocity of flow (V) through a
porous media is directly proportional to the hydraulic gradient.
Experimental Verification
The experimental verification of Darcy's law can be performed with water flowing at a rate Q
through a cylinder of cross-sectional area A packed with sand and having piezometers a
distance L apart, as shown in Figure 3 Total energy heads, or fluid potentials, above a datum
plane may be expressed by the energy equation:

where p is pressure, γ is the specific weight of water, v is the velocity of flow, g is the
acceleration of gravity, z is elevation, and hL, is head loss. Subscripts (1 & 2) refer to the two
sections separated by a distance L as shown in Figure 3.
Since the velocities in porous media are usually low, velocity heads may be neglected without
appreciable error. Hence, by rewriting, the head loss becomes,

Which shows that head loss is independent of the inclination of the cylinder. Darcy’s
experiments showed that the discharge Q is directly proportional to head loss HL, area of flow
(A), and inversely proportional to the length L.
A𝐻𝐿
i.e., Q α
𝐿
𝑄 𝐻𝐿
α
𝐴 𝐿
𝐻𝐿
V=
𝐿
h𝐋 𝑑ℎ
In limiting case as the two sections become closer and closer, tends to
L 𝑑𝑙
Introducing a constant of proportionality,
𝑑ℎ
V = -K
𝑑𝑙
Hydraulic conductivity may be defined as rate of flow per unit area of an aquifer under a unit
hydraulic gradient.
Validity of Darcy’s Law
Darcy’s Law is valid (applied) only if the flow through soil is laminar.
The flow of water through soils depends upon the dimension of particles. In fine grained soil –
dimensions of pores (voids) are very small and so, flow is laminar.
In case grained soil – flow is laminar. However, in very coarse-grained soil like gravels the
flow may be turbulent.
Darcy’s Law is valid for Reynold’s number (NR) < 1. Which is upper limit to the validity of
Darcy’s Law.
For flow in pipes and other large sections, Reynolds number which expresses the dimensionless
ratio of inertial to viscous forces, serves as a criterion to distinguish between laminar and
turbulent flow.
Reynolds Number is expressed as

𝜌𝑣𝐷
𝑁𝑅 =
𝜇
Where 𝜌 = 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑢𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦; v = Velocity; D= Diameter of pipe; 𝜇 = 𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑

Figure 3: Pressure distribution and head loss in flow through a sand column
LIMITATIONS OF DARCY’S LAW
1. According to Darcy’s law the velocity of flow through soil mass is directly proportional to
the hydraulic gradient for laminar flow condition only.
2. The flow is always laminar in the case of fine grained soils.
3. In case of sand and gravel, the flow will be laminar upto a certain value of velocity for each
deposit.

ASSUMPTIONS OF DARCY’S LAW

1. No change in the volume of voids.
2. The soil is saturated.
3. The quantity of flow should remain the same for steady condition.

4. HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
In ground water hydrology, where water is the prevailing fluid, hydraulic conductivity K is
employed.
A medium has a unit hydraulic conductivity if it will transmit in unit time a unit volume of
ground water at the prevailing kinematic viscosity through a cross section of unit area,
measured at right angles to the direction of flow, under a unit hydraulic gradient.

K= -V/ (dh/dL)
Hydraulic conductivity has units of velocity m/day.
Hydraulic conductivity (k) of a rock or soil depends on:

1. Porosity
2. Particle size and distribution
3. Shape of particles
4. Arrangement of particles

PERMEABILITY: Permeability is the ability of the formation to transmit water through its
pores when subjected to difference in head.

Fig 4: Air bubbles (vesicles) trapped in a former basalt lava flow

❖ Permeability
1 Intrinsic Permeability
The permeability of a rock or soil defines its ability to transmit a fluid. This is a property only
of the medium and is independent of fluid properties. To avoid confusion with hydraulic
conductivity, which includes the properties of groundwater, an intrinsic permeability k may be
expressed as

where K is hydraulic conductivity, u is dynamic viscosity, p is fluid density, and g is

acceleration of gravity.

2. Hydraulic Conductivity
For practical work in groundwater hydrology, where water is the prevailing fluid, hydraulic
conductivity K is employed. A medium has a unit hydraulic conductivity if it will transmit in
unit time a unit volume of groundwater at the prevailing kinematic viscosity through a cross
section of unit area, measured at right angles to the direction of flow, under a unit hydraulic
gradient. The units are:

indicating that hydraulic conductivity has units of velocity.

3. Transmissivity
The term transmissivity T is widely employed in groundwater hydraulics. It may be defined as
the rate at which water of prevailing kinematic viscosity is transmitted through a unit width of
aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient. It follows that

COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY
The coefficient of permeability (K) is the rate of flow per unit cross sectional area under unit
hydraulic gradient (at a specified temperature) and is usually expressed as m/sec, cm/sec, m/day
and lpd/m2 (liters per day/m2).
Factors affecting permeability,
1. size soil particle and shape
2. structural arrangement of soils and voids ratio

𝛾𝑤 𝑒3
K = CD 2
( )( )
𝜇 1+𝑒
Where,
C - Constant.
𝐷 - Effective size of the formation material (aquifer)
e - Voids ratio

𝛾𝑤 - Unit weight of water at the flow temperature.

𝜇 - Viscosity of water at the flow temperature

TRANSMISSIBILTY
The term transmissibility is widely employed in ground water hydraulics. Transmissibility may
be defined as the rate at which water of prevailing kinematic viscosity is transmitted through a
unit width of aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient.