IV. ANALYSIS: INFORMATION NEEDED FOR ANALYSIS
IV-12
PERMEABILITY (Continued)
• Particle arrangement or structure. This includes stratification, flocculated structure in
clays, high porosity silts and fine sands, and collapsible soils such as loess.
• Gradation of particle sizes. A poorly graded (uniform) sand or gravel is much more
pervious than well-graded sand or gravel with the same average (D50) size. The amount
and type of fines (material smaller than the No. 200 sieve) strongly affects the
permeability of a granular soil. A relatively small percentage of fines can render sands
and well-graded gravels effectively impervious.
There are a wide variety of methods to determine permeability that can be broadly classified as
empirical methods, laboratory methods, and field methods. The following sections briefly
discuss how to determine the permeability for your particular problem.
Empirical Methods
Indirect methods are often used for preliminary analysis and, if tied to site or local data, may
result in quite accurate estimates. Indirect methods usually are based on a correlation between
permeability and grain size. A typical example is the Hazen equation, which was originally
derived for clean, uniform size filter sands:
k = 100(D10)2
where k is in centimeters per second, and D10 is the sieve size opening in centimeters which 10
percent of the sand sample will pass. Another example is an equation developed by the NRCS
for estimating the permeability of relatively clean sands and gravels. It is as follows:
k = 992(D15)2
where k is in feet per day and D15 is the sieve size in millimeters, which 15 percent of the
sample will pass.
USING OBSERVATIONS
Use the observations and data obtained as suggested in Unit III to evaluate a seepage problem
and, if necessary, to select an appropriate remedial action. Or, use the observed data as input
for analyses using the various methods previously discussed. Always evaluate problems and
solutions for the full range of potential parameters.
In many cases, a seepage problem is relatively simple and evaluating observed data is sufficient
to resolve and remedy the problem. An example would be the uplift pressure under a gravity
dam. If the uplift pressure, as measured by piezometers, is increasing with time at the same
reservoir elevation while measured drain flow is decreasing, it is evident that the efficiency of
the foundation drains is deteriorating and they should be cleaned or redrilled. Another example
might be seepage problems observed during the initial filling of a reservoir formed by an
embankment dam with relief wells spaced at 100-foot centers along the downstream toe in a