IV. ANALYSIS: ANALYTICAL METHODS
IV-18
GRAPHICAL FLOWNET CONSTRUCTION (Continued)
M.E. Harr, Seepage, Drainage, and Flownets by H.R. Cedergren, and Seepage Analysis and
Control for Dams by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which are cited in Appendix B, give
detailed instructions and many examples of drawing flownets in Groundwater And Seepage.
Note that flownets can be drawn for both confined and unconfined flow problems, for
conditions of anisotropic permeability, for transient flow, and for composite sections such as
stratified foundations and zoned embankments.
Because a flownet is a graphical representation of seepage conditions under given geometry
and boundary conditions, it explains how pressures are distributed and where flow is directed.
Coupled with knowledge of the hydraulic head imposed, and the permeability of the porous
media, the flownet can supply important information about stability and flow quantity. Specific
seepage quantities, exit gradients, seepage forces, and uplift pressures can be determined. As
an example and referring to Figure IV-7(A), the quantity of flow is:
q = Kh Nf = Kh 4 = Kh
Nd 8 2
Note that Figure IV-7(B) gives the same solution.
GRAPHICAL CONSTRUCTION OF PHREATIC SURFACE
A procedure is available for graphically constructing a phreatic surface through an embankment
cross-section, termed the Casagrande procedure. Seepage Through Dams, by A. Casagrande
(see Appendix B) shows the procedure and illustrates its use. Predicting the location of the
phreatic surface through an embankment may help assess probable seepage locations