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CE 6411

Lecture 3
Various confined & unconfined problems

Prof. Dr. Aysha Akter

[Link]

3.1 Validity of Darcy’s Law

Recall Darcy’s law
Q/A = V = -Ki
This indicates a linear relationship between V and the
hydraulic gradient, i. Such a relationship holds whenever
the flow is laminar, i.e. at low Reynolds Number, Re,
where Re is given by

where ρ is the density of water, μ is the dynamic viscosity

of water, V is the Darcy velocity, and d is the effective
particle size of aquifer material.

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3.1 Validity of Darcy’s Law (cont’d)

In porous media, the flow is laminar whenever Re ≤ 4. This
condition is always satisfied for most groundwater
movement problems. Indeed, except in regions of very high
hydraulic gradient such as in the immediate vicinity of
pumped wells, the Re is <1.

Sketch of range of validity of Darcy’s law

3.2 Laboratory Determination of

hydraulic conductivity K
The laboratory determination of K is normally carried out using
a permeameter, a set up in which flow is maintained
through a small sample of material obtained in the field
while measurements of flow rate and head loss are
recorded.
The permeameter may be of the falling head type or the
constant head type. The distinguishing feature between
the two is
(A) the hydraulic head is actually allowed to fall;
(B) both the flow and the falling head must be observed
during the experiment whereas the head is kept constant
in which case only the flow rate is measured.

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3.2 Laboratory Determination of

hydraulic conductivity K (cont’d)

Set-up for (a) constant head and (b) falling head permeameters.
In constant head, the head is maintained through a constant supply of water.

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3.2 Laboratory Determination of

hydraulic conductivity K (cont’d)
CONSTANT HEAD
• It is mostly used for analysing consolidated materials with
characteristically low K values. A sample of the material,
usually obtained by drilling in the field, is placed in the
equipment and water is allowed to flow.
• It is important that the correct orientation of the sample
is achieved when placing it in the equipment so as to
ensure that the correct property is being measured. This is
because most aquifer materials are anisotropic, i.e. their
properties at a given point vary depending on the direction
x, y or z.
• Consequently, when placing the material, it should be
rotated such that the desired direction is the one in direct
contact with the direction of flow.

3.2 Laboratory Determination of

hydraulic conductivity K (cont’d)
•Water is then collected and the
volume collected after a given
time interval is measured to
determine the flow rate;
•The experiment can be
repeated 3-4 times and the
average flow rate can be
determined;

Analysis of the measurement is

then carried out to determine
the K
(a) constant head set-up

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3.2 Laboratory Determination of

hydraulic conductivity K (cont’d)

Let the volume of water collected in time t be W, then Q = W/t

Using A =πR2 (where R is the radius of the sample) in eq

Example 3.1
A constant head permeameter has a cross-sectional area of
175 cm2 and is used to measure the K of a field sample
40 cm long. If the permeameter discharges 100 ml in
320 seconds under a head difference of 60 cm, what is
the K (m/day)?

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3.2 Laboratory Determination of

hydraulic conductivity K (cont’d)
The falling head is suitable for
analyzing high K samples, e.g.
loose sand.
• Water is introduced through
the small vertical tube and the
change in the head h is
monitored over time.
• Analysis of the resulting data
is slightly much more
complicated than for the
constant head type.

Set-up for (b) falling head permeameters

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3.2 Laboratory Determination of

hydraulic conductivity K (cont’d)

Darcy’s Law for the soil sample of radius R is

Re-arranging and integrating both sides gives

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Example 3.2
A 20 cm long field sample of silty, fine sand with a diameter
of 10 cm was tested using a falling head permeameter. The
falling-head tube has a diameter of 3 cm and the initial
head is 8 cm. Over a period of 8 hours, the head in the
tube had declined to 1 cm. What is the K for the sample
(m/day)?

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3.3 Permeameter determinations -Caution

• It is important to stress here that permeameter measurements are
based on a small disturbed sample and hence may not be truly
representative of the actual hydraulic properties in-situ within the
aquifer.
• Additionally, the hydraulic properties in an aquifer often vary from
one location to another (i.e. heterogeneity) and even at a point, they
vary from one direction to another (anisotropy).
• The single determination of the K using the permeameter does not in
anyway capture such complexities in the hydraulic properties of the
aquifer. Caution must therefore be exercised in the use and
interpretation of laboratory measurements of the K.
• A much better approach will be to determine the K in situ. This
however, laboratory measurements of the K have a role to play in
groundwater management in that they give a preliminary indication of
the ability of the aquifer to transmit the stored water.
• Furthermore, in mathematical modeling of aquifer systems, such
laboratory estimates offer a useful, informed guide on the initial value
of the K to use.

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3.4 Field Determination of K -

Pumping Tests Analysis
• The permeability K can be determined in the field by boring
a well in the aquifer and then pumping water out of the
aquifer at a constant rate Q.
• As the well is pumped, a circular depression in the water
table (or piezometric surface) will occur, thus creating the
hydraulic gradient for moving the water towards the well.
• The depressed water table is known as the Cone of
Depression, & the fall in water level, Z, is known as the
drawdown. If any two observation wells are then dug at
known distances from the pumped well, their drawdowns
can be measured and used to determine the hydraulic
characteristics such as K, T and the storage coefficient.

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3.4 Field Determination of K -

Pumping Tests Analysis (Cont’d)
• For the analysis, confined and unconfined aquifers are
treated differently. Similarly, the experiment can be carried
out at a steady state or a transient state, and the analysis of
the results of the test is different for each case.

• Steady state analysis is the easier of the two and will be

considered first.

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3.5 Steady State Pumping Test

Analysis
The basic assumptions (Dupuit, 1863) for a steady state pumping test
analysis are:
1. Pumping is at steady state, i.e. further fall in the piezometric
or WT is so small that for all practical purposes it can be ignored.
For an unconfined aquifer, a steady state situation can be achieved by
pumping for several days or even months, depending on the
nature of the aquifer. This is because an unconfined aquifer is in
contact with the environment and it is being naturally recharged
by rainfall or underlying un-pumped aquifers.
However, in reality, a confined aquifer does not have such recharge
avenues and so in a strict sense, it might be impossible to attain a
steady state condition during pumping in a confined aquifer
unless of course such an aquifer is overlain by an aquitard
through which vertical leakage into the confined aquifer occurs
(Kruseman & Ridder, 1990);

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3.5 Steady State Pumping Test

Analysis (Cont’d)
2. The aquifer is of infinite radial extent,

3. The pumped well fully penetrates the aquifer,

4. The water table is initially horizontal prior to pumping,

5. The drawdown is small compared to the aquifer thickness.

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(a) Unconfined Aquifer

Let the original, un-depressed
height of the water table
above the impermeable
base = h0
Let the drawdown at a radial
distance r = Z (the
formation head loss)
Define h = h0 – Z
Then using Darcy’s Law, the
flow through the sides of a
circular cylinder of radius r
becomes

Pumping of an unconfined aquifer

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(a) Unconfined Aquifer (Cont’d)

Let observation wells be at distances r1 &
r2 respectively from the pumped well.
height of depression cone at r1= h1
height of depression cone at r2= h2

Integrating both sides of equation with

respect to r from r1 to r2; and h from
h1 to h2 gives
Pumping of an unconfined aquifer

Equation can be simplified slightly as follows.

First, we know that

if Z1 and Z2 are small compared to h0, then

Q =?
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(a) Unconfined Aquifer (Cont’d)

But transmissivity T = Kb,

where b = depth of the aquifer, which
for the unconfined aquifer is h0.
Hence the equation becomes
Pumping of an unconfined aquifer

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(a) Unconfined Aquifer (Cont’d)

Note the approximation sign used in equation, which is to
emphasis the fact that in a strict sense, T is not defined for an
unconfined aquifer because its thickness b is not constant but
varies with time.
The value h0 used as the thickness in the above formulation is
the thickness before the onset of pumping; once pumping
commences, the saturated thickness of the aquifer is no longer
unique but varies from one part of the aquifer to another as
shown in Figure. The implication of this is that in analysing
unconfined aquifers, the correct equation to use is equation

The above analysis was first proposed by Dupuit

(1863) and later modified by Thiem (1906).
Hence the equation is often called the Thiem equation.

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Example 3.3
A well 0.5 m diameter penetrates an unconfined aquifer until
it reaches the impervious base which is 33 m below the
water surface at rest. After a long period of pumping at a
rate of 80 m3/hr, the drawdown in observation wells at
radial distances 18 m and 45 m from the pumped well
were found to be 1.8 m and 1.1 m respectively.
Determine

(a) K,
(b) the approximate T,
(c) the approximate drawdown in the pumped well and
(d) the radius of influence of the pumping well.

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Example 3.3 (cont’d)

(c) To determine the drawdown in the pumping well, we will need to consider
the pumping well as an observation well. Let the head in the pumping well be
denoted by hw measured at radius of well rw = 0.25 m (at the edge of the
pumping well). Assume the second observation well to be that at radial
distance r = 18 m. Then,

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Example 3.3 (cont’d)

Hence hw = 27.7 m and the corresponding drawdown zw
= h0– hw = 33 – 27.7 = 5.3 m.
(d) The radius influence is the radial distance from the pumped well at
which the pumping does not cause any drawdown in the water table. Let
the radius of influence be r0, then it implies that h at this distance is h0,
i.e. zero drawdown. To determine r0, we need to set this location as an
observation well location. By choosing the first observation well to be
that located at r = 45 m from the pumping well and re-arranging
equation ,

if r1 = 45 m, h1 = 31.9m, h0 = 33 m, Q = 1920 m3/day

Then r0 = 198 m.

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(b) Confined Aquifer

Although it was remarked previously that a steady

state condition is theoretically impossible in a
confined aquifer, it will be assumed here that if
pumping continues for a considerable period, the
change in the piezometric surface, particularly at
great radial distances from the pumping well, will
be so small that it can be ignored.

This enables us to apply Dupuit assumptions in

analysing pumping test data for a confined aquifer.

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(b) Confined Aquifer (Cont’d)

Let the original, un-depressed
height of the piezometric surface
above the impermeable base = h0
Let the drawdown at a radial
distance r = Z
Define h = h0– Z
Aquifer thickness = b (a constant;
unlike the thickness of an
unconfined aquifer which varies
during pumping).
Then using Darcy’s Law the flow
through a circular cylinder of
radius r becomes
Pumping of confined aquifer of saturated thickness b

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(b) Confined Aquifer (Cont’d)

Let the observation wells be at
distances r1 and r2 respectively
from the pumped well.

height of depression zone at r1= h1

height of depression zone at r2= h2

Integrating both sides with respect

to r and h

Pumping of confined aquifer of saturated thickness b

if we replace T = Kb

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(b) Confined Aquifer (Cont’d)

NOTE: the exact equality sign in the case of confined
aquifer when compared with the approximation in equation
for the unconfined aquifer.

is the confined aquifer form of the Thiem equation. If only

measurements of the drawdown are available, then the
equation can be expressed in terms of the drawdown as

where Z1 and Z2 are respectively the drawdown at radial distances r1 and r2

from the pumped well.

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The saturated hydraulic conductivity or

permeability K of different soil types

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Example 3.4

A pumping well fully penetrates a 25 m thick confined

aquifer. After a long period of pumping at a constant rate
of 0.05 m3/s, the drawdown at radial distances 50 m and
150 m from the pumping well were observed to be 3 m
and 1.2 m respectively. Determine the hydraulic
conductivity (m/day).and the transmissivity (m2/day).

Using the information in Table 1, suggest the type of

material that is likely to predominate in the aquifer.

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Example 3.4 (Cont’d)

Since the drawdown measurements are available, it is

probably more convenient to use equation

Noting that Q = 0.05 m3/s, r1 = 50m, r2 = 150 m, Z1 = 3 m

and Z2 = 1.2m
T = 420 m2/day

The corresponding hydraulic conductivity, K = T/b = 16.8 m/day. This

would correspond to formation material of between fine and coarse sand
i.e. probably clean, medium sand.

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Assignment #2
The previous example on the application of the
Thiem equation to unconfined aquifer problem
involved determining the drawdown in the
pumped well. This is a common problem and to
solve it in the example, it was assumed that the
pumped well was an observation well. The
pertinent question to ask is this: is it possible to
use the pumped well as one of the observation
wells, thus removing the need to dig two
observation wells?
Online Submission Deadline:
2025

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