Basic Subsurface Flow

LAW OF DARCY
Law of Darcy
•Darcy's law states the principle which governs
the movement of fluid in a given substance.
Darcy's law equation

•describes the capability of the liquid to flow
via any porous media like a rock.
 The law is based on the fact according to which, the

flow between two points is directly proportional to the
pressure differences between the points, the distance,
and the connectivity of flow within rocks between the Permeability
points. •Measuring the inter-connectivity
Application of Darcy Law Darcy’s Law Equation
 To understand the mathematical

•One application of Darcy's law is to flow
aspect behind liquid flow in the
water through an aquifer.
substance, Darcy’s law can be
•Darcy's law with the conservation of described as:
mass equation is equivalent to the
Darcy’s law describes the relationship
groundwater flow equation, being one of
between the instantaneous rate of
the basic relationships of hydrology.
discharge through a porous medium and
•Darcy's law is also applied to describe oil, pressure drop at a distance.
gas, and waterflows through petroleum
Darcy’s law is expressed as:
reservoirs.
Q = -KA dh/dl
Q = -KA dh/dl •Darcy’s Law diagram is as shown below:
•Wherein:
•Q is the rate of water flow
•K is the hydraulic conductivity
•A is the column cross-section area
•dh/dl indicates a hydraulic gradient.
Example:
A confine water has a source of recharge.
K for the aquifer is 50m/day, and n is 0.2.
The piezometer head in two wells 1000m
apart is 55m respectively, from a common
datum. The average thickness of the
aquifer is 30 m, and the average width of The solution:
the aquifer is km=5000m. c.) Rate of flow for K= 50m/day
a.) Cross sectional area
=30(5)(1000)
Q=(50m/day)(150000)(0.005)
= 15×10⁴ m²
Compute the following: = 37500 m³/day.
a. Cross-sectional area b.) Hydraulic gradient
d.) Darcy Velocity
b. hydraulic gradient =(55-50)/1000
V=Q/A
c. rate of flow for K=50m/day = 0.005
=37500/150000
d. darcy velocity = 0.25m/day
GROUNDWATER FLOW IN CONFINED AND
UNCONFINED AQUIFER
If there is a homogeneous porous formation extending

from the ground surface up to an impervious bed
underneath, rainwater percolating down in the soil
saturates the formation and builds up the groundwater
table (GWT).
This aquifer underwater table conditions is called an

unconfined aquifer (water-table aquifer) and well
drilled into this aquifer is called water table well
Confined Aquifer
Are permeable rock units that are usually deeper under

the ground than unconfined aquifers. They are overlain
by relatively impermeable rock or clay that limits
groundwater movement into, in or out of, the confined
aquifer.
Groundwater in a confined aquifer is under pressure

and will rise up inside a borehole drilled into the
aquifer. The level to which the water rises is called the
potentiometric surface. An artesian flow s where water
flows out of the borehole under natural pressure
Unconfined Aquifer
• Is where the groundwater is in direct contact with the

atmosphere through the open pore spaces of the
overlaying soil or rock, then the aquifer is said to be
unconfined. The upper groundwater surface in an
unconfined aquifer is called the water table
• The depth of the water table varies according to

factors such as the topography, geology, season and
tidal effects, and the quantities of water being
pumped from the aquifer. Unconfined aquifers are
usually recharged by rain or stream water infiltrating
directly through the overlying soil
Example: areas in coastal sands and alluvial
deposits in river valleys
•Since the water is under pressure in an artesian • Since water is practically
aquifer, the storage coefficient of an artesian incompressible, expansibility of
aquifer is attributable to the compressibility of the water as it comes out of the
aquifer skeleton and expansibility of the pore pores has a very little
water (as it comes out of the aquifer to
atmospheric pressure when the well is pumped) contribution to the value of the
and is given by the relation. storage coefficient.
• The storage coefficient of an artesian
S=×nb( aquifer ranges from 0.00005 to 0.005,
• while for a water table aquifer
where S = storage coefficient (decimal)
Y specific weight of water S = Sy= 0.05–0.30.
n = porosity of soil (decimal)
b = thickness of the confined aquifer
K= bulk modulus of elasticity of water
E = modulus of compressibility (elasticity) of the
soil grains of the aquifer.
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
• The specific yield (unconfined aquifers) and storage
coefficient (confined aquifers), values have to be Example 7.1 In a certain alluvial basin of 100 km²,
determined for the aquifers in order to make estimates of 90 Mm³ of ground water was pumped in a year and
the changes in the ground water storage due to fluctuation the ground water table dropped by about 5 m
in the GWT or piezometric surface (ps) from the relation. during the year. Assuming no replenishment,
estimate the specific yield of the aquifer. If the
where; specific retention is 12%, what is the porosity of
GWS=Aaq×GWT or ps x S or Sy the soil?
GWS = change in ground water storage

Aag= involved area of the aquifer Solution:
GWT or ps = fluctuation in GWT or ps
S or S = storage coefficient (confined aquifer) or specific (i) Change in ground water storage
yield (unconfined aquifer). GWS=Aaq x GWT x S
90 x 10⁶=(100 x 10⁶) x 5 x Sy
Sy= 0.18
(ii) Porosity
n=Sy+Sr
0.18+0.12=0.30. or 30%
RADIAL FLOW TO A WELL
•groundwater resources in a confined aquifer with a nonsteady-state flow can be

evaluated for the consideration of the construction of wells.
•A confined aquifer is a primary source for well tapping and is defined to be an

aquifer bonded by an upper and lower bed of material that allows only small
amounts of groundwater to penetrate through.
•A non-steady state flow is a flow in which the velocity changes direction or

magnitude at some point in time. Equation 2 is the diffusion equation.
The solution h(x,y,z,t) gives the value of the hydraulic head at any
point in a low field at any time. In this form, the equation
describes a flow through a saturated anisotropic porous medium.
•Incorporating the two basic
assumption of essentially horizontal
flow obeying Darcy’s Law which
reduces the equation to a two
dimensional form and that the flow is
in an aquifer that is homogeneous,
saturated and isotropic (1.e.
Kx=Ky=Kz).
• Equation 2 reduces to:

Figure 4 shows that
the radial flow from r=o at
the well to r=∞ as the cone For the theoretical analysis of the hydraulic head
of depression radiates out drawdown in a proposed well, we will make the following
from the well. assumptions:
•A single pumping well in the aquifer

• Pumping rate is constant with time
•Well diameter is infinitely small such that the volume of water
removed from the wellbore during pumping does not affect the
total amount of water in the aquifer
•Wall penetrates the entire thickness of the aquifer and receives
water by a horizontal flow.
•Hydraulic head or initial water level is horizontal throughout
the aquifer prior to pumping.
RADIAL WATER FLOW IN
UNCONFINED AQUIFER
To solve for the permeability of unconfined

•An aquifer that does not have a confining
aquifer we use Darcy’s Law.
layer between it and the ground surface.
2 types of flow in radial unconfined

aquifer:
* Steady Flow
* Unsteady Flow
TRAVEL TIME OF GROUND IN
CONFINED
The time interval between recharge and discharge points is The equation that governs the travel times of
defined as the travel time groundwater flow. the groundwater of flow in the circular and strip-
shaped freshwater lenses are; respectively;

Time travel is used in several applications such as;
· Designing exploitation
· Monitoring systems
· Identifying areas affected by contaminant migration
· Assessing the potential for natural attenuation of

pollutants
Travel time •Travel time serves a fundamental role
in the relationship between the volume
of exploitation and the variation in
groundwater reserves, as well as in the
possibilities of remediation in case of
chemical degradation

Basic Subsurface Flow

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LAW OF DARCY

Darcy's law equation

 The law is based on the fact according to which, the

 To understand the mathematical

If there is a homogeneous porous formation extending

This aquifer underwater table conditions is called an

Are permeable rock units that are usually deeper under

Groundwater in a confined aquifer is under pressure

• Is where the groundwater is in direct contact with the

• The depth of the water table varies according to

GWS = change in ground water storage

•groundwater resources in a confined aquifer with a nonsteady-state flow can be

•A confined aquifer is a primary source for well tapping and is defined to be an

•A non-steady state flow is a flow in which the velocity changes direction or

• Equation 2 reduces to:

•A single pumping well in the aquifer

To solve for the permeability of unconfined

2 types of flow in radial unconfined

· Identifying areas affected by contaminant migration

· Assessing the potential for natural attenuation of

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