Predicting the coefficient of permeability of soils based on grain size analysis

Abstract

In the current status of soil studies, the accurat e recognition of properties of soil becomes indispensable. The permeability of soil is very important in the field of agricul tural engineering as it is connected with various issues of soil and water conservation. Hydraulic conductivity is also of paramount importance in relation to some geotechnical problems including the determination of seepage losses, settlement computations and stability analysis. The laboratory methods of determination of coefficient of permeability are complicated and consume time. In order to combat these shortcomings two models were selected for predicting the hydraulic conductivity using grain size namely, Kozeny Carman model and Alyamani and Sen model. Kozeny Carman model was based on average particle diameter and porosity of which particle diameter was determined by Kozeny graphical method. Alyamani and Sen model was based on normal plot of grain size distribution which uses intercept and grain size corresponding to particular percentages. The method is comparably less expensive and do not depend on geometry and hydraulic boundaries of aquifer. The results of the study showed that the permeability values predicted using the model was in very close agreement with the laboratory values. Hence this method proves to be a potential predictive tool for determination of hydraulic conductivity.