Chapter 1.1 - Flow in Soil

GEOTECHNIC II
BFC 34402
SEM 1 2017/2018
Dr Mohd Khaidir Bin Abu Talib
South East Tower FKAAS Level 5 (Room no. 5)
Hp:011-36851691
Chapter 1: FLOW IN SOIL
1.1 Capillary in soil, soil shrinkage and soil

expansion
1.2 Head and flow of one and two dimensional
1.3 Seepage analyses; flow net, seepage force,
quick sand and liquefaction
 The amount of water in the soil is dependent upon two factors:
i. First, soil water is intimately related to the climate, or the long term precipitation patterns
of an area.
ii. Secondly, the amount of water in the soil depends upon how much water a soil may hold.
 Before we discuss the capacity of soils to hold water, we must understand the
concept of capillarity.
 Capillarity
Water molecules behave in two ways:
a) Cohesion Force: Because of cohesion forces, water molecules are attracted to one another.
Cohesion causes water molecules to stick to one another and form water droplets.
b) Adhesion Force: This force is responsible for the attraction between water and solid
surfaces. For example, a drop of water can stick to a glass surface as the result of adhesion.
Water also exhibits a property of surface tension:

a) Water surfaces behave in an unusual way because of cohesion. Since water molecules are
more attracted to other water molecules as opposed to air particles, water surfaces behave
like expandable films. This phenomenon is what makes it possible for certain insects to
Capillary Action:
 Capillary action, also referred to as capillary motion or
capillarity, is a combination of cohesion/adhesion
and surface tension forces.
 Capillary action is demonstrated by the upward
movement of water through a narrow tube against the
force of gravity.
 Capillary action occurs when the adhesive
intermolecular forces between a liquid, such as water,
and the solid surface of the tube are stronger than the
cohesive intermolecular forces between water
molecules.
 As the result of capillarity, a concave meniscus (or
curved, U-shaped surface) forms where the liquid is in
contact with a vertical surface.
 Capillary rise is the height to which the water rises
within the tube, and decreases as the width of the
Capillarity (capillary motion):
 The phenomenon of capillarity also
occurs in the soil. In the same way
that water moves upwards through a
tube against the force of gravity;
water moves upwards through soil
pores, or the spaces between soil
particles.
 Capillarity is the primary force that
enables the soil to retain water, as
well as to regulate its movement.
 The height to which the water rises is
dependent upon pore size. As a result,
the smaller the soil pores, the higher
the capillary rise.
Capillarity (capillary motion):
 Finely-textured soils, typically have smaller
pores than coarsely-textured soils. Therefore,
finely-textured soils have a greater ability to
hold and retain water in the soil in the inter-
particle spaces. We refer to the pores between
small clay particles as micropores. In contrast,
the larger pore spacing between lager particles,
such as sand, are called macropores.
 In addition to water retention, capillarity in soil
also enables the upward and horizontal
movement of water within the soil profile, as
opposed to downward movement caused by
gravity. This upward and horizontal movement
occurs when lower soil layers have more
moisture than the upper soil layers and is
important because it may be absorbed by roots.
Soil shrinkage & soil swelling
 Soil undergo a volume change when the water content is
changed.
 Decrease in water content cause shrinkage.
 Increase of water content cause swelling.
SHRINKAGE OF SOILS
 When saturated soils is allowed to dry, a meniscus
develops in each void at the soil surface.
 Formation of such a meniscus causes tension in the soil
water leading to a compression in the soil structure and
consequent reduction in the volume.
 When the meniscus attains its minimum value,
compressive forces are maximum and shrinkage is also
maximum.
Soil shrinkage & soil swelling
SWELLING OF SOILS
 When water is added to a soil which
has shrunk, meniscus are destroyed
resulting in tension in the pore water
and consequent reduction in
compressive stresses in solid
grains.
 This result in elastic expansion of
the soil mass, causing swelling.
 In clay soils, swelling is caused
mainly due to repulsive forces
which separate the clay particles,
Capillarity, soil shrinkage & soil swelling
Phenomeno Assessment methods Effect on the mechanics of
n soils
Capillary Function of the surface Capillary action causes an
Rise tension and angle of upward migration of water
contact of the water partially saturating some of
meniscus the soil above the water
table
Shrinkage Shrinkage limit and and Causes the soil to be
linear shrinkage quantifies discontinuous through
the effects of shrinkage cracking.
Expansion Results from the absorption Causes heaving of the soil
(swell) of water due to release of due to stress release
stress by unloading and
defined by the swell index
One and two-dimensional flow of water through soils
• The flow of water through soils is Permeability measurement of soil
governed by Darcy’s law, which
states that the average flow
velocity is proportional to the
hydraulic gradient.
• One- dimensional flow – the
velocity at all points has the same
direction and (for an Seepage analysis of so
incompressible fluid) the same
magnitude(e.g. Permeability
measurement of soil)
• Two-dimensional flow – all
streamlines in the flow are plane
curves and are identical in a series
of parallel planes (e.g. Seepage
• One- dimensional flow
Bernoulli’s
principle
The flow is assumed to be steady, inviscid

(no change in viscosity), incompressible (no
change in volume), and irrotational (fluid
particles do not spin).
The elevation or potential head is referenced
to an arbitrary datum, and the total head will
change depending on the choice of the
datum position. Therefore, it is essential that
you identify your datum position in solutions
to flow problems.
The velocity of flow through soils is generally
small (<1 cm/s)and we usually neglect the
velocity head. The total head in soils is then
• One- dimensional flow
Darcy’s law
• Two- dimensional flow
Seepage
analysis
• Many catastrophic failures in geotechnical engineering result
from instability of soil masses due to ground water flow
• Lives are lost, infrastructures are damaged or destroyed, and
major economic losses occurred
Seepage analysis
• In this subchapter, you will study the basic
principles of two-dimensional flow of water
through soils
• The topics that you will study would help you to
avoid pitfalls in the analyses and design of
geotechnical systems where flow of ground
water can lead to instability
• The emphasis of this chapter is on gaining an
understanding of the forces that provoke failures
from flow of ground water
Seepage
analysis
Learning Objectives:
Understand the basic principles of two-dimensional

flow
Be able to calculate seepage stresses, pore-water
pressure distribution, uplift forces, hydraulic gradients,
critical hydraulic gradient, flow under and within earth
structures
Be able to determine the stability of geotechnical
systems subjected to two-dimensional flow of water
Seepage
Basic concepts:
analysis
• The two-dimensional flow of water through soils is governed by
Laplace’s equation. The popular form of Laplace’s equation for
two-dimensional flow of water through soils is
2 H 2 H
kx  kz 0
x 2
z 2
• Where kx and kz are the coefficient of permeability in the x and z

directions and H is the head
• The assumptions in Laplace’s equation are:
(i) Darcy’s law is valid, v = ki
(ii) The soil is homogeneous and saturated
(iii) The soil and water are incompressible
(iv) No volume change occurs
• Two- dimensional flow Seepage
Basic concepts:
analysis
• If the soil were an isotropic material then kx = kz and Laplace’s equation
becomes:
2 H 2 H
 2 0
x 2
z
• The solution of Laplace’s equation requires knowledge of the boundary
conditions.
• Common geotechnical problems have complex boundary conditions
from which it is difficult to obtain a closed form solution.
• Approximate methods such as graphical methods and numerical
methods are often employed.
• In this subchapter, graphical method, called the flow net technique or
flow net sketching, that satisfies Laplace’s equation is discussed.
Seepage analysis- flownet sketching

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GEOTECHNIC II

1.1 Capillary in soil, soil shrinkage and soil

Water also exhibits a property of surface tension:

The ﬂow is assumed to be steady, inviscid

Understand the basic principles of two-dimensional

• Where kx and kz are the coefﬁcient of permeability in the x and z

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