LABORATORY WORK

IN
HYDROLOGY

KANCHAN KASWAN

KANISHKA SAHNI

KAPIL DEV BANSAL

KARAN PREET SINGH

K. S. HARI PRASAD

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
ROORKEE-247667
FEBRUARY 2012
Contents

Page No.
1. Determination of Average Rainfall over a Catchment

. Kapil Dev Bansal

2. Determination of In-situ Soil Hydrological Properties

10

. Kanishka Sahni
3. Determination of Infiltration Parameters with Double Ring Infiltrometer

15

. Kanchan Kaswan
4. Measurement of Discharge in an Open Channel with Current Meter

19

. Karanpreet Singh
5. Determination of Hydraulic Conductivity with Constant Head Permeameter

24

. K. S. Hari Prasad
References

29

Chapter 1
Determination of Average Rainfall over a Catchment
Aim:
To determine average rainfall over a catchment by (i) Arithmetic Average Method (ii) Thiessn
polygon method and (iii) Isohyetal Method
Apparatus Required: Thematic map of the catchment with location of raingauge stations,
Planimeter, Tracing and Graph Sheets, Surfer software
Theory:
The average rainfall over a catchment is needed in the analysis and design of several
hydrological process such stream flow estimation, flood analysis and identification of areas
vulnerable during heavy rains. The rainfall recorded at a raingauge station represents only
point a small part of the catchment. However, the rainfall distribution may not be uniform
over the entire catchment and necessitates the need for arriving at an average value for the
entire catchment. The rainfall distribution over a catchment depends primarily on the nature
of the catchment (plain or hilly area) and one has to devise an accurate of way of
deterimining the average rainfall for individual catchment. The commonly used methods for
the determination of average rainfall in a catchment area are (i) Arithmetic Average Method
(ii) Thiessn polygon method and (iii) Isohyetal Method
Arithmetic Average Method:
When the rainfall measured at various raingauge stations in a catchment show little variation,
the average precipitation over the catchment is determined as the arithmetic mean of the
rainfall values recorded at each of the stations. If P1, P2,, PN are the rainfall values
recorded at N raingauge station in the catchment, the average rainfall Pave is computed as the
arithmetic average;
Pave

P1 P2 .... Pi ..... PN
1

N
N

Pi
i 1

(1.1)
This method is very simple and can be used for very small catchments which are plain. Since,
the methods does not take into account the terrain characteristics of the catchment, it is rarely
used in case of large catchments.

Thiessen Polygon Method:

In Theissen polygon method (Subramanya, 2008), each raingauge station is given weight on
the basis of the area closest to that station. Fig 1.1 shows a catchment with five rain gauge
stations. Among these, one rain gauge station is outside the catchment.

Fig 1.1: Thiessen Polygon Method

The raingauge stations are joined with one another to form a network of triangles.
Perpendicular bisectors for each side of these triangles are drawn as shown in Fig. 1.1. These
bisectors form polygons around each raingauge station and are called Thiessen Polygons.
These polygons have the property that every point within the polygon will be closest to the

rain gauge station representing that polygon. In case of rain gauges located out side the
catchment, the intersection of the bisectors with the catchment boundary is considered as the
polygon representing that station Station D in fig. 1.1). The areas of the polygons are
determined either with a planimeter or using an overlay grid. If P1, P2,, PN are the rainfall
recorded at N raingauge station in the catchment and A1, A2,, AN are the corresponding
Thiessen polygons, the average rainfall Pave over the catchment is determined as
N

Pave

P1 A1 P2 A2 .... Pi Ai ..... PN AN

A1 A2 .... Ai ...... AN

Pi Ai
i 1
N

Ai

(1.2)

i 1

This method gives very good results for plain catchments. However, it is not very much
suitable for mountainous catchments.
Isohyetal Method:
Isohyetal method uses isohyets to determine the average rainfall over a catchment. An isohye
is a line joining points of equal rainfall magnitude. In Isohyetal method, the catchment is
drawn to a scale and the position of the raingauge stations both in the catchment and
neighbouring stations are marked. Knowing the recorded values of rainfall at these stations,
isohyets of various values are drawn through interpolation. The interpolation can be carried
out either manually or using softwares such as SURFER. Fig. 1.2 shows the plotting of
isohyets for a catchment having 13 rain gauge stations. Having drawn the contours, the area
between the adjacent isohyets are determined with planimeter. If the isohyets go out of the
catchment, the catchment boundary is used as the bounding line. . If P1, P2,, PN are the
values of the isohyets and A1, A2,, AN-1 are the corresponding inter-isohyets, then the mean
precipitation of the catchment is determined as
P P3
P PN
P1 P2
...... AN 1 N 1

A2 2
2
2
2

A1 A2 ..... AN 1

A1
Pave

(1.3)
Isohyetal method is the best among all the methods of determining the average precipitation
of a catchment.

Fig.3.2: Plotting of Isohyets

Procedure and Computations:
Arithmetic Average Method:
1. Knowing the rainfall at the raingauge stations, compute Pave using eqn. (1.1).
Thiessen Polygon Method.

1.

Plot the location of rain gauges on the base map with a pencil.

2.

Connect adjacent points with dashed lines using a straight edge and pencil.

3.

Construct perpendicular bisectors across the dashed boundary lines.

4.

Connect the bisector lines to outline polygons belonging to each station or region.

5.

Count squares on the graph paper to determine the size of each area and fill in Table 1.1.

6. Use eqn. (1.2) to compute Pave.

Table:1.1: Thiessen Polygon Method
Station

Theissen Area (Ai)

Rainfall (Pi)

Ai x P i

(L2)

(L)

(L3)

Isohyetal Method:
Drawing Isohyets using Surfer 9.0
1. Open Surfer 9.0
2. Press Ctrl+W
3. In the first column give heading X-values and enter X-values in the subsequent rows.
Similarly add Y-values in the second column and the precipitatipn values in the third
column.
4. Save the file with dat extension
5. If you have the worksheet window open, click on the Window menu and choose Plot1,
or click on the Plot1 tab. Alternatively, you can create a new plot window with the File |
New | Plot command.
6. In the plot window, choose the Grid | Data command, or click the

button in the grid

toolbar. The Open Data dialog is displayed.

7. In the Open Data dialog, click the file TUTORWS.DAT (located in Surfer's SAMPLES
folder). The name appears in the File name box below the list of data files.

8. Click the Open button and the Grid Data dialog is displayed. Alternatively, you can
double-click the data file name to display the Grid Data dialog.
9. The Grid Data dialog allows you to control the gridding parameters. Take a moment to
look over the various options in the dialog. Do not make changes at this time, as the
default parameters create an acceptable grid file.
10. Click the OK button. In the status bar at the bottom of the window, a display indicates the
progress of the gridding procedure. By accepting the defaults, the grid file uses the same
path and file name as the data file, but the grid file has a [.GRD] extension.
11. By default, a Surfer dialog appears after gridding the data with the full path name of the
grid file that was created. Click the OK button in the Surfer dialog. The TutorWS.GRD
grid file is created.
12. If Grid Report was checked in the Grid Data dialog, a report is displayed. You can
minimize or close this report.
13. Choose the Map | New | Contour Map command, or click the

button in the map

toolbar.
14. The Open Grid dialog is displayed. The grid file you created in Lesson 2
(TUTORWS.GRD) is automatically entered in the File name box. If the file does not
appear in the File name box, select it from the file list.
15. Click the Open button to create a contour map.
16. The map is created using the default contour map properties.
17. If you want the contour map to fill the window, choose the View | Fit to Window
command, or click the button. Alternatively, if you have a wheel mouse, roll the wheel
forward to zoom in on the contour map. Click and hold the wheel button straight down
while you move the mouse to pan around the screen.
18. Having plotted the isohyets, determine the area between the adjacent isohyets and fill in
Table 1.2.
19. Use eqn. (1.3) to compute Pave.

Table:1.2: Isohyetal Method

Isohyets

Average value of P (Pi)

Area (Ai)

Ai x P i

(L)

(L2)

(L3)

Chapter 2
Determination of In-situ Soil Hydrological Properties
Aim:
To determine and compare the in-situ soil hydrological properties using Core Cutter and Time
Domain Reflectometry
Apparatus Required:
Cylindrical Core Cutter, Time Domain Reflectometer, Steel Rammer,

Steel Dolly,

Containers, Balance sensitive to 0.01 gms, Spade, Trowel, Trimming Knife and Oven
Theory:
Determination of soil hydrological properties is important in the analysis of many
hydrological processes such as infiltration, percolation, surface runoff and in soil science and
irrigation engineering,. The soil is a three phase system comprising solid particles, water and
air. The water and air are present in the voids between solid particles. These pores may be
filled up with only water, only air or with water and air. Correspondingly, the soil may be
saturated, dry or partially saturated (unsaturated).
Definitions:
Let V be the volume of a soil sample, Vs be he volume of solid particles, Vv is the volume of
voids (pores), Vw be the volume of water and Va be the volume of air in the soil sample
respectively.
The porosity ( ) is defined as the volume of voids per unit soil volume;

Vv
V

(2.1)
The volumetric moisture content ( ) is defined as the volume of water per unit soil volume;

Vw
V

(2.2)

Degree of saturation (S) is defined as the ratio of volume of water and the volume of voids;
S

Vw
Vv

(2.3)

From eqn. (2.1) to (2.3) it can be proved that

10

(2.4)
In laboratory, soil samples are collected and the soil moisture is determined gravimetrically
by weighting the wet and dry soil samples and is reported as percentage of dry weight of the
soil. Fig. 2.1 shows the core cutter assembly used for collecting the in-situ soil samples
needed for the gravimetric analysis. The dry weight moisture fraction (W) is defined as
(Walker and Skogerboe, 1987);
W

Sample wet weight Sample dry weight Ww

Sample dry weight

Wd

(2.5)
Where Ww is the weight of water and Wd is the dry weight of the soil sample. As the
hydrologists and irrigation engineers require water in volume units, the dry weight soil
moisture fraction W has to be converted to corresponding volumetric moisture content .
These two terms are related as;

b
W
w

(2.6)

Where b is the dry mass density of the soil sample and w is the mass density of soil
water.

11

Fig. 2.1: Core cutter assembly for gravimetric analysis

The technique of time domain reflectometry is being widely used now a days by hydrologists
for the determination of in-situ volumetric moisture content. As shown in Fig. 2.2, the time
domain reflectometer (TDR) consists of two metal probes and an assembly to generate
electromagnetic pulses. The metal probes are either 12 cm or 15 cm in length and the TDR
records the average volumetric moisture contneent over the length of these probes. It enables
to measure moisture content of soil quickly and precisely in a non-destructive manner. The
principle that a TDR follows is discussed hereafter. The probes are inserted at the desired
depth at which moisture content needs to be measured. An electromagnetic pulse is injected
into a waveguide inserted into or buried in the soil. The time required for the pulse to travel
along the metal rods of the waveguide depends upon the bulk electrical permittivity (BEC) of
the soil. The BEC is a function of the volumetric moisture content. Hence the time taken for
the pulse to travel along the metal rods depends on the moisture content. The time taken by
the pulse is converted to the corresponding volumetric moisture content through calibration
which would be recorded digitally.

Fig. 2.2: Time Domain Reflectometer

Procedure:
1.Weigh the core cutter and measure its inner dimensions and calculate its volume.
2. Push the cylindrical cutter into the soil to its full depth by gently ramming it.
3. Lift the cutter up carefully with the help of a trowel.
4. Trim the top and bottom surface carefully.
5. Nearby the site where the core cutter was inserted, measure the volumetric moisture
Content using TDR
6. Take the empty pans and weigh them.
7. Determine the weight of the soil inside the cutter by placing the soil in the pan.
8. Take the soil mass in the pan and place it in the oven for a period of about 24 hours.
9 After oven drying, again note down the weight of the pan in order to determine the dry
weight of the soil mass.

12

Observations and Calculations:

Diameter of the core cutter (L) =

Height of the core cutter (L) =

Volume of the core cutter (V) (L3) =

Table 2.1: Comparison of volumetric moisture using gravimetric analysis and TDR
Pan

Wt. of

No.

Empty pan
with
Pan
(w1)
(M)

b =

b
W
w

by

moi.

w3 w1
V

(w2-w3)

frac.

(M/L3)

(M)

(W)

Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Dry

wet soil pan

dry

with

soil

wet soil (w -w )
2
1
(w2)
(M)

dry
soil

(w3-w1)

(M)

(w3)

(M)

(M)

13

water

wt.

TDR

Precautions:
- Steel dolly should be placed on the top of the cutter before ramming it down into the
ground.
- Core cutter should not be used for gravels, boulders or any hard ground.
- Before removing the cutter, soil should be removed around the cutter to minimize the
disturbances.
- While lifting the cutter, no soil should drop down
- The TDR readings should be taken carefully.

14

Chapter 3
Determination of Infiltration Parameters with Double Ring Infiltrometer
Aim:
To conduct infiltration test using a flooding type double ring infiltrometer and determination
infiltration parameters
Apparatus Required:
Double ring infiltrometer, wooden hammer, Pointer Gauge with Vernier Scale, Stopwatch and
Bucket
Theory:
Infiltration is the process water entering from the ground surface into the soil. The infiltration
rate depends on many factors such as soil type, texture, vegetative cover, soil properties such
as hydraulic conductivity and porosity and the antecedent moisture condition. The infiltration
rate f (L/T) is the rate at which water enters the soil at the surface and is usually expressed in
cm/hr.
During infiltration, the infiltration rate f varies with time and many empirical relationships are
proposed to describe the infiltration phenomenon. (Horton,1933, Green and Ampt, 1911,
Philip 1969). Among these, Hortons infiltration equation is the simplest and is quite widely
used for determining infiltration rates.
Horton (1933) observed that the infiltration rate begins at a high rate f0 and exponentially
decreases with time until it reaches a constant rate fc and proposed the following empirical
relation for infiltration rate f at any time t;
f f c f 0 f c e k t

(3.1)

In eqn. (1.1), k is the decay constant and has the dimensions T-1. It is evident from eqn.(3.1)
that f = f0 when t = 0 and f f c as t . It is clear from eqn. (3.1) that the determination
of infiltration parameters f0, the initial infiltration capacity, fc, final steady state infiltration
capacity and k, the decay constant, is necessary for the use of Hortons infiltration equation.
The parameter f0 depends upon the soil type, vegetative cover and the antecedent moisture
content prevailing at the ground surface whereas the parameters fc and k depend on the soil

15

type. The parameter fc is essentially the hydraulic conductivity of the soil. The infiltration
parameters are determined in the filed either with (i) Single ring infiltrometer or (ii) double
ring infiltromter. The major drawback of single ring infiltrometer is that water infiltrates
laterally at the bottom of the ring and as such does not accurately represent the vertical
infiltration phenomenon and is rarely used in the field. Hence, the double-ring infiltrometer
is most commonly used for measuring infiltration rate and determination of infiltration
parameters.
Double ring infiltrometer:
The double ring infiltrometer consists of two concentric hollow cylinders of length 25 cm
made of cast iron as shown in Fig. 3.1. The diameters of the inner and outer cylinders are
about 30 cm and 60 cm respectively.

Fig. 3.1: Double Ring Infiltrometer

During an infiltration test, the field is first levelled and the infiltrometer is driven to a depth
of 15 cm into the soil with a wooden hammer. Then Water is applied initially to the outer ring
and water is applied to the inner rings after some time. The purpose of the outer ring to is to
restrict the later flow of water from the inner cylinder which ensures vertical movement of
water at the centre of the infiltrometer. The rate of downward movement of water at the
centre is measured with a pointer gauge with Vernier scale.
Procedure:
1. Level the filed at which infiltration test is being carried out
2. Hammer the double ring infiltrometer at least 15 cm into the soil. Use the timber to
protect the ring from damage during hammering. Ensure that the infiltrometer is driven
vertically and approximately about 12 cm of the infiltrometer is above thr ground.
3. Start the test by pouring water into the outer ring first. Add water into the inner ring up
to the same level as in the outer ring.
4.

Start the stop watch and record the water level with a pointer gauge

5.

Keep recording the water levels at regular intervals

6. The frequency of recording would 1 min for the first 15 minutes, 2 min fro 15 min to
45 min and 5 min from 45 min to 1.5 hrs.

16

7. Continue the recording of water levels until the rate of fall of water level becomes
constant.
Observations and Computations:
Lease Count of Pointer Gauge =
Table 3.1: Calculations
Time
(T)

Pointer gauge
Reading
(L)

Drop in
water level
(L)

Infiltration f - fc
rate f
(L/T)
(L/T)

ln(f fc)

1. Plot f v/s t on a normal graph sheet and draw the best fitting curve for the data points.
From the graph, Find the value of fc as the limiting (asymptotic) value of f at large
time.
2. Use the value of f so obtained to compute ln(f fc) in Table 3.1
3. Plot ln(f fc) v/s t and draw a best fitting line through the data points and obtain the
slope of the line and the y-intercept. The y intercept gives the value of ln(f0 fc)
4. The slope gives the decay constant k
5. Knowing ln(f0 fc) from step 3 and fc from step 1, f0 can be determined
Precautions:
1. Water is to be first filled in the outer ring, so that water in the inner ring moves
vertically downwards
2. Presence of vegetation may effect observations.
3. The water depth in inner and outer ring must be same during the observation period.
Sources of error:
1. Measurement of Vernier scale upto 0.1mm
2. Stray points on the curve may be due to loose fixing of pointer gauge used.

Chapter 4
17

Measurement of Discharge in an Open Channel with Current Meter

Aim:
To measure discharge in an open channel using current meter and heck its accuracy.
Apparatus:- Current Meter, Scale, Stop watch
Theory:
Measurement of discharge in rivers, wide open channels is essential to assess the surface
water potential to meet domestic, agricultural and industrial needs. The discharge in a river
or a canal can be measured by employing either direct or indirect methods (Subramanya,
2008). Among the direct methods, Area-Velocity method is the most commonly used
technique. In this method, the measurement consists of measuring the area of cross section of
the river/canal at a selected section called the gauging site and measuring the velocity of flow
through the cross sectional area. The river/canal cross section is divided in to a number of
vertical subsections. The average velocities in these subsections are measured using current
meters. The accuracy of the measurement increases with number of subsections used. In
rivers/channels having shallow depth up to 3 m, the velocity measured 0.6 times the depth of
flow below the water surface represents the average velocity whereas in deep rivers/canals
the average of velocities measured at 0.2 and 0.8 times the depth of flow from the water
surface represents the average velocity, i.e.,
v ave v 0.6 d

v ave

for depth of flow 3 m

v0.2d v0.8d
2

for depth of flow 3 m

(4.1)
(4.2)

Where d is the depth of flow, v0.2 d , v 0.6 d and v 0.8 d are the velocities at depths 0.2d, 0.6d and
0.8d from the water surface respectively.
Current Meter:
Current meters are the most commonly used instruments used to measure velocity at a point
in rivers and open channels. It essentially consists of a rotating element which rotates due to
the reaction of the stream current with an angular velocity proportional to the velocity.
Current meters are commercially available in two types (a) verticalaxis meters and (b)
horizontal-axis meters as shown in Fig. 4.1. Vertical-axis current meter consists of a series of
18

conical cups mounted around a vertical axis. The horizontal-axis current meter consists of a
propeller mounted at the end of horizontal shaft.

To measure the velocity at a point in a river/ canal, the current meter is held against the
current. Due to the stream velocity the propeller or conical cups rotate, the number of
revolutions being proportional to the velocity at that point. A functional relationship is
developed relating the number of revolutions to the stream velocity by calibration. A typical
relationship is of the form
v a Ns b

(4.3)

Where v is the stream velocity, Ns is the number of revolutions per second and a and b are
calibration constants.
Procedure:
1. Open the supply valve. Adjust the discharge and the tail gate to get a suitable depth of
flow in the channel.
2. Wait until the flow becomes uniform.
3. Select a suitable section in the middle portion of the channel
4. Take the pointer gauge reading at the middle of the section to get the depth of flow
5. Divide the cross sectional area into three or four vertical subsections
6. Place the current meter at 0.6d from the water surface at the middle of each subsection
and record the number of revolutions
7. Measure also the pointer gauge reading of the sharp crested weir at the d/s of the
channel to compare the discharge measured by current meter.
8. Repeat the steps 1 to 7 for three or four discharges.
9. Record the pointer gauge reading at the weir crest level.

19

Observations and Computations:

Current meter calibration constants: a =

b=

Table 4.1: Measurement of discharge using current meter

Run No

Pointer gauge reading at water surface, h1 (L)

Pointer gauge reading at bed h2 (L)
Depth of flow, y (h1 h2) (L)
Width of subsection 1 (b1) (L)
Area of subsection 1, A1 (b1 x y)
Current meter revolutions per second Ns1
Flow velocity in subsection 1 ( v1 a N s1 b
) (L/T)
Discharge in subsection 2Q1 ( v1 x A1) (L/T3)
Width of subsection 2 (b2) (L)
Area of subsection 2, A2 (b2 x y)
Current meter revolutions per second Ns2
Flow velocity in subsection 2 ( v 2 a N s 2 b
) (L/T)
Discharge in subsection 2 Q2 ( v2 x A2) (L/T3)
Width of subsection 3 (b3) (L)
Area of subsection 3, A3 (b1 x y)
Current meter revolutions per second Ns3
Flow velocity in subsection 3 ( v3 a N s 3 b
) (L/T)
Discharge in subsection 3 Q3 ( v3 x A3) (L/T3)

Total Discharge Q = Q1 + Q2 + Q3 (L/T3)

Width of broad crested weir, B (L) =
20

Pointer gauge reading at the crest of broad crested weir, yc (L)

Table 4.2: Measurement of discharge using sharp crested weir
Run No

Pointer gauge reading at water surface, yw (L)

Head over the wier, H = (yw yc) (L)
Coefficient

of

C d 0.611 0,075

Discharge Q

discharge

H
B

2
C d B 2 g H 3 / 2 (L3/T)
3

21

Chapter 5
Determination of Hydraulic Conductivity with
Constant Head Permeameter
Aim:
To determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity of a soil using constant head permeameter.
Apparatus:
Constant head permeameter, stop watch, scale
Theory:
The fundamental law which is used to describe flow of water in soils is Darcys law
(Raghunath, ). Darcy conducted several experiments on water flow through pipes filled with
soil. Water was allowed to enter at one end and pass through a circular pipe of cross section
A filled with sand and pair of manometers. The water was collected at the other end. The
water was allowed until such time as all the pores were filled with water and the inflow rate
Q is equal to the outflow rate. He conducted several experiments by changing the diameter of
the pipe, the length of the pipe and the hydraulic head difference h . He observed that the
discharge Q was directly proportional to the area of the pipe A, and the hydraulic head
difference h and inversely proportional to the length of the pipe L, i.e.,
Q

Ah
L

or

Q h

A
L

or V

h
L

(5.1)
Where V is the Darcy velocity. Introducing a constant of proportionality K, Eqn. (1.6) can be
written as
V Ki

(5.2)
Where K is called the hydraulic conductivity and i

h
is the hydraulic gradient. Eqn.
L

(5.2) is popularly known as Darcys Law. Darcys law is valid when inertial forces are less

22

dominant as compared to viscous forces. In general, the law is considered as valid when the
Reynolds number (defined as Vd / where, d is the average diameter of the soil grains and

is the kinematic viscosity of water) is less than unity. Beyond Darcys range (i.e.,

Reynolds number greater than unity) the mean velocity is given by

V k in

(5.3)

Where is n an exponent greater than unity.

If velocity and hydraulic gradient are measured in Darcys range ( i.e., Reynolds number less
than unity) and plotted on a log-log graph paper, the resulting plot will be a straight line
inclined at an angle of 450 (i.e., slope equal to unity). Beyond Darcys range, the resulting
straight line will have a steeper slope.
Constant Head Permeameter:
Fig. 5.1 shows the constant head permemaeter commonly used in laboratoeis for
determination of

hydraulic conductivity.

(approximate size 100m

It consists of a square or circular column

100mm or 150mm dia.) made of Perspex sheet. The column is

about 1.5 m long and is filled with sand grains of uniform size ( about 2 mm diameter).
Pressure taps are provided on one side of the column. These pressure taps are connected to
piezometer tubes. The supply pipe is connected to the lower end of the column. Outlet pipe is
connected to the upper end of the column. Precautionary measures are taken to prevent the
migration of sand grains along with the flowing water.
Procedure:
1.

Check that there is no air bubble in the piezometer tubes.

2.

Note the distances of various pressure taps from a reference point.

3.

Open the supply valve and let the flow become steady.

4.

Take down the piezometer readings.

5.

Measure the discharge using collecting tank and stop watch.

6.

Vary the discharge and repeat steps (4) and (5) to collect more sets of
observations.

23

Fig. 5.1: Constant Head Permeameter Apparatus

24

Observation and Computations:

Kinematic viscosity, (L2/T) =

Average grain diameter, d (L) =

Cross sectional area of permeameter, A (L2) =

Table 5.1: determination of Hydraulic Conductivity
Run
No.

Vol. of
water
collected

Time
Taken for
Collection

Velocity
V

Piezometer Readings
(L)

S
t A

Hydraulic Hydraulic
gradient conductivity
i

S (L )

t (T)

(L/T)

(L/T)
Distance of
piezometers
from datum

25

1. Plot the piezometer readings (on y-axis) v/s distance of the corresponding pressure tap
from the selected reference datum for each of the runs taken. Fit-in a straight line for
each of these runs and find the slope of each of these lines. These are the mean values
of hydraulic gradient i h f IL for different runs. Enter these values of i in the
corresponding column of the observation and computations table. Also calculate the
velocity V for all these runs.
2. Plot V v/s i ( with i on x-axis) on a log-log graph paper. Fit-in a straight line having a
unit slope to data points for relatively low velocity. For higher velocity data points,
fit-in another straight line and measure its slope.
3. Determine the value of n in Eqn. (5.3) from V v/s i line for higher velocity data points.

26