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I. Flow Nets

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21 views2 pages

I. Flow Nets

Uploaded by

Lei Migel Cube
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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FLOW NETS • Assuming that water is incompressible and that

no volume change in the soil mass occurs, we


In the previous lessons, we considered know that the total rate of inflow should equal
some simple cases for which direct application of the total rate of outflow.
Darcy’s law was required to calculate the flow of
water through soil. In many instances, the flow of
water through soil is not in one direction only, nor
is it uniform over the entire area perpendicular to
the flow. In such cases, the groundwater flow is
generally calculated by the use of graphs referred
to as flow nets. The concept of the flow net is
based on Laplace’s equation of continuity, which • With Darcy’s law, the discharge velocities can
governs the steady flow condition for a given point be expressed as
in the soil mass.

Laplace’s Equation of Continuity

To derive the Laplace differential equation


of continuity, let us consider a single row of sheet
piles that have been driven into a permeable soil
layer, as shown in the figure. The row of sheet piles
is assumed to be impervious. The steady-state flow
of water from the upstream to the downstream • where kx and kz are the hydraulic conductivities
side through the permeable layer is a two- in the horizontal and vertical directions,
dimensional flow. respectively.

• For flow at a point A, we consider an elemental • The rates of outflow from the block in the
soil block. The block has dimensions dx, dy, and horizontal and vertical directions are,
dz (length dy is perpendicular to the plane of respectively,
the paper); it is shown in an enlarged scale.
• Let vx and vz be the components of the • If the soil is isotropic with respect to the
discharge velocity in the horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivity—that is, kx = kz, the
directions, respectively preceding continuity equation for two-
• The rate of flow of water into the elemental dimensional flow simplifies to
block in the horizontal direction is equal to vx
dz dy, and in the vertical direction it is vz dx dy.
The continuity equation in an isotropic medium A combination of a number of flow lines and RATE OF SEEPAGE
represents two orthogonal families of curves, equipotential lines is called a flow net. As 1. Isotropic Soils
that is, the flow lines and the equipotential mentioned in the introduction, flow nets are
lines. A flow line is a line along which a water constructed for the calculation of groundwater flow
particle will travel from upstream to the and the evaluation of heads in the media. To
downstream side in the permeable soil complete the graphic construction of a flow net, one
medium. An equipotential line is a line along must draw the flow and equipotential lines in such
which the potential head at all points is equal. a way that
Thus, if piezometers are placed at different 1. The equipotential lines intersect the flow lines
points along an equipotential line, the water at right angles.
level will rise to the same elevation in all of 2. The flow elements formed are approximate
them. Figure 8.3a demonstrates the definition squares.
of flow and equipotential lines for flow in the
permeable soil layer around the row of sheet Figure b shows an example of a completed flow net.
piles shown in Figure 8.1 (for kx = kz = k). One more example of flow net in isotropic
permeable layer is given in Figure 8.4. In these
figures, Nf is the number of flow channels in the
flow net, and Nd is the number of potential drops.
For the flow net shown in Figure, the following four
boundary conditions apply:
Condition 1: The upstream and downstream
surfaces of the permeable layer (lines ab and de) are
equipotential lines. 2. Non isotropic Soils

Condition 2: Because ab and de are equipotential `


lines, all the flow lines intersect them at right angles.

Condition 3: The boundary of the impervious


layer—that is, line fg—is a flow line, and so is the
surface of the impervious sheet pile, line acd.

Condition 4: The equipotential lines intersect acd


and fg at right angles.

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