6.
FLOW NETS
6.1 Introduction
Let us consider a state of plane seepage as for example in the dam shown in Figure 1.
Phreatic line
Unsaturated
Soil Drainage
blanket
z Flow of water
Fig. 1 Flow through a dam
For an isotropic material the head satisfies Laplace's equations, thus analysis involves the solution
of:
2 2
h h
2
0
x z2
subject to certain boundary conditions.
6.2 Representation of Solution
At every, point (x,z) where there is flow there will be a value of head h(x,z). In order to represent
these values we draw contours of equal head as shown on Figure 2.
Flow line (FL)
Equipotential (EP)
Fig.2 Flow lines and equipotentials
6.1
These lines are called equipotentials. On an equipotential (EP). by definition:
h( x, z ) constant (1a)
it thus follows
h h
dx dz 0 (1b)
x z
and hence the slope of an equipotential is given by
dz h/ x
(1c)
dx EP h/ z
It is also useful in visualising the flow in a soil to plot the flow lines (FL), these are lines that are
tangential to the flow at a given point and are illustrated in Figure 2.
It can be seen from Fig. (2) that the flow lines and equipotentials are orthogonal. To show this
notice that on a flow line the tangent at any point is parallel to the flow at that point so that:
dx: dz vx: vz (2a)
it follows immediately that:
dx vx
dz FL vz
now from Darcy' s law
h
vx k
x (2b)
h
vz k
z
thus
dx h/ x
dz FL h/ z
and so
dx dx
1 (3)
dz FL dz EP
and thus the flow lines and equipotentials are orthogonal in an isotropic material.
6.2
6.3 Some Geometric Properties of Flow Nets
Consider a pair of flow lines, clearly the flow through this flow tube must be constant and so as the
tube narrows the velocity must increase. Suppose now we have a pair of flow lines as shown in
Figure 3.
h+ h Y
h
Z FL
h+2 h
T
EP
t X Q
y
xX FL
z
Q
Fig. 3 Equipotentials intersecting a pair of Flow Lines
Suppose that the flow per unit width (in the y direction) is, Q, then the velocity v in the tube is
given by
Q
v (4a)
yx
Also let us assume that the potential drop between any adjacent pair of equipotentials is h then it
follows from Darcy’s law:
h
v k (4b)
zt
It thus follows that:
Q yx
(4c)
k h zt
using an identical argument to that used in developing equation(4c) it can be shown that:
Q YX
(4d)
k h ZT
6.3
and hence that:
yx YX
(5)
zt ZT
Thus each of the elemental rectangles bounded by the given pair of flow lines and a pair of
equipotentials (having an equal head drop) have the same length to breadth ratio.
Next consider a pair of equipotentials cut by flow tubes each carrying the same flow Q, as shown
in Fig. (4)
Q B
Q C EP( h )
FL D
d A
b
a EP ( h + h)
c
Fig. 4 Flow lines intersecting a pair of Equipotentials
Then we see that if it is assumed that each of the tubes is of unit width (in the y direction) then the
velocity in the tube is:
Q
v (6a)
cd
and using Darcy's law:
h
v k (6b)
ab
It thus follows that:
Q ab
(6c)
k h cd
It can be similarly shown that:
Q AB
(6d)
k h CD
Hence again a pair of flow tubes carrying equal flows will intersect a given pair of equipotentials in
elemental rectangles which have the same length to breadth ratio.
6.4
In drawing flow nets by hand it is usual to draw them so that each flow tube carries the same flow
and so that the head drop between adjacent equipotentials is equal. In such cases all elemental
rectangles will be similar. It is usually most convenient to draw the net so that these rectangles are
'square' (it is possible to draw an inscribed circle). This is illustrated in Fig.(5).
Fig. 5 Inscribing circles in a Flow Net
Fig. 5 Inscribing Circles in a Flow Net
To calculate quantities of interest, that is the flow and pore pressures, a flow net must be drawn.
The flow net must consist of two families of orthogonal lines that ideally define a square mesh, and
that also satisfy the boundary conditions. The three most common boundary conditions are
discussed below.
6.4 Common boundary conditions
6.4.1 Submerged soil boundary - Equipotential
Consider the submerged soil boundary shown in Figure 6
Water
H-z
H
Datum
Fig. 6 Equipotential boundary
The head at the indicated position is calculated as follows:
6.5
uw
h z
w
now
uw w (H z) (7)
so
(H z) w
h z H
w
That is, the head is constant for any value of z, which is by definition an equipotential.
Alternatively, this could have been determined by considering imaginary standpipes placed at the
soil boundary, as for every point the water level in the standpipe would be the same as the water
level. The upstream face of the dam shown in Figures 1 and 2 is an example of this situation.
6.4.2 Flow Line
At a boundary between permeable and impermeable material the velocity normal to the boundary
must be zero since otherwise there would be water flowing into or out of the impermeable material,
this is illustrated in Figure 7.
Permeable Soil
vn=0
Flow Line
vt
Impermeable Material
Fig. 7 Flow line boundary
The phreatic surface shown in Figures 2 and 8 is also a flow line marking the boundary of the flow
net. A phreatic surface is also a line of constant (zero) pore pressure as discussed below.
6.4.3 Line of Constant Pore Pressure
Sometimes a portion of saturated soil is in contact with air and so the pore pressure of the water just
beneath that surface is atmospheric. The phreatic surface shown in Figure 8 below is an example of
such a condition. We can show from the expression for head in terms of pore pressure that
equipotentials intersecting a line of constant pore pressure do so at equal vertical intervals as
follows:
6.6
uw
h z
w
thus
uw
h z
w (8)
now uw 0
and so
h z
Fig. 8 Constant pore pressure boundary
6.5 Procedure for Drawing Flow Nets
1. Mark all boundary conditions
2. Draw a coarse net which is consistent with the boundary conditions
and which has orthogonal equipotential and flow lines. ( It is usually
easier to visualise the pattern of flow so start by drawing the flow lines).
3. Modify the mesh so that it meets the conditions outlined above and so
that the rectangles between adjacent flow lines and equipotentials are
square.
4. Refine the flow net by repeating step 3.
6.7
6.6 Calculation of Quantities of Interest from Flow Nets
6.6.1 Calculation of Increment of Head
In most problems we know the head difference (H) between inlet and outlet and thus:
H
h (9)
Number of potential drops.
15 m
h = 15m h=0
5m
P
h = 3m
h = 12m h = 9m h = 6m
Fig. 9 Value of Head on Equipotentials
For example let us assume that the depth of water retained by the dam is 15 m, and that downstream
of the dam the water table is level with the ground surface. For this case it can be seen that the total
head drop is 15 m. Inspection of Fig. 2 or Fig. 9 shows that the are 5 potential drops and hence the
head drop between each pair of potentials is h = 15/5 = 3 m.
6.6.2 Calculation of flow
The flow net has been drawn so that the elemental rectangles are approximately square thus
referring to Fig (3) and equation(4) it can be seen that between each pair of flow tubes the flow is:
Q k h (10a)
It should be noted in the development of this formula it was assumed that each flow tube was of
unit width and so equation (10a) gives the flow per unit width (into the page).
Suppose that the permeability of the underlying soil is k=10-5 m/sec (typical of a fine sand or silt)
then the flow between each pair of flow tubes is:
5
Q 10 3 m 3 /sec/(mwidth) (10b)
there are 5 flow tubes and so the total flow per unit width of dam is:
5
Q 5 10 3 m 3 /sec/(mwidth) (10c)
and if the dam is 25m wide the total flow under the dam:
6.8
5
Q 25 5 10 3 m 3 /sec (10d)
The flow per unit width can alternatively be calculated from the formula
Nf
Q kH (10e)
Nh
In equation 10e Nf is the number of flowtubes (The number of flowlines), and Nh is the number of
equipotential drops (The number of equipotential lines).
Note that there are occasions where this formula (10e) cannot simply be applied, but equation (10a)
will always be applicable for individual flow tubes. It is often necessary to determine h from
consideration of a single flow tube. If a square flow net has been constructed that value of h will
apply to all flow tubes.
6.6.3 Calculation of Pore Pressure
The pore pressure at any point can be found using the expression
uw
h z (11a)
w
Now referring to Fig. 9 suppose that we wish to calculate the pore pressure at the point P. Taking
the datum to be at the base of the dam it can be seen that z = - 5m and so:
uw [12 ( 5)] w 17 w (11b)
6.9
Example – Calculating pore pressures
The figure below shows a long vessel, 20 metres wide, stranded on a sand bank. It is proposed to
pump water into a well point, 10 metres down, under the centre of the vessel to assist in towing the
vessel off. The water depth is 1 metre.
The sand has a permeability of 3 10-4 m/sec. Assuming that a head of 50 m can be applied at the
well point calculate:
1. The pore pressure distribution across the base of the vessel
2. The total upthrust due to this increase in pore pressure
3. The rate at which water must be pumped into the well point.
Stranded Vessel
Water Supply
Soft Sea Bottom
Reaction Pile
Well Point
Figure 10 Schematic diagram of vessel on sandbank
Figure 11 Flow net for situation in Figure10
Step 1: Choose a convenient datum. In this example the sea floor has been chosen
Then relative to this datum the head at the well point, H1 = 40 m
And the head at the sea floor, H2 = 1 m.
The increment of head, h = 39/9 = 4.333 m
6.10
Figure 12 Enlarged view of flownet in the vicinity of the base of the vessel
Step 2: Calculate the head at points along the base of the vessel. For convenience these are chosen
to be where the EPs meet the vessel (B to E) and at the vessel centerline (A). Hence
calculate the pore water pressures.
A B C D E
Head (1) H1 – 4.5 h H1 –5 h H1 – 6 h H1 – 7 h H1 – 8 h
Head (2) H2 + 4.5 h H2 + 4 h H2 + 3 h H2 + 2 h H2 + h
Head (1 and 20.5 18.33 14.0 9.67 5.3
2) (m)
Pressure 201.1 179.8 137.3 94.9 52.3
(kPa)
w(h – z)
Step 3: Measure the lengths off the flow net (Note that diagram must be drawn to scale) and hence
calculate force from pressure distribution. For simplicity assume linear variation in pressure
between points. Then the TOTAL UPTHRUST (per unit length of the vessel) is
201.1 179.8 179.8 137.3 137.3 94.9 94.9 52.3
2 5 2.5 1.8 0.7
2 2 2 2
= 3218 kN/m
Without pumping Upthrust = 20 1 9.81 = 196 kN/m
Upthrust due to Pumping = 3218 – 196 = 3022 kN/m
Nf 14
Flow required, Q kH = 3 10 4
39 1.8 10 2
m3/m/sec
Nh 9
6.11
