Department of Earth Science |Northeastern Illinois University

PRINCIPLES OF HYDROGEOLOGY
ESCI 337
Spring, 2004

Daily Objectives #17 (March 16, 2004)                                             Dr. Sanders

By the end of today's class, you should be able to do the following:

OLD BUSINESS

v  Using Darcy's Law, evaulate and interpret results from the Darcy tube experiment.

v
  Sketch the pathways of the dyes as they moved through the sand tank flow model in our last class, and on your drawing, identify the following components of a flow net: flow lines, boundaries, and water table (a water table is just a particular type of boundary).

NEW BUSINESS

Concepts

v  Describe what a datum is.

v  Describe and sketch a piezometer.  On the sketch, show how it can be used to measure total hydraulic head, elevation head, and pressure head.

v  Describe the interconnection between surface water (lakes, streams) and ground water as shown on a flow net.

v  Explain and list characteristics of each of the following components of flow nets: flow lines, equipotential lines (contour lines), and boundaries.

v  Define the following types of flow system boundaries, and fill in the blanks in the table: 

Type of Boundary
Definition/Example
Relationship to
Flow Lines
Relationship to Equipotential Lines
no-flow (impermeable) boundary


constant head boundary


water table




v  In addition to the rules described by the table above, complete the following rules of drawing flow nets:

  Equipotential lines must be _________________________ to flow lines.

  n  The geometric shape formed by two adjacent flow lines and
                    two adjacent equipotential lines is roughly _______________________
                    or _________________________.

  n 
Changes in the spacing of equipotential lines or flow lines,
                   or changes in the sizes of "squares",
                   should be  ____________________________.


Practice I

z  Draw a flow net in plan view showing flow to a gaining stream through a homogeneous unconfined aquifer.

z  On graph paper, draw a quantitatively accurate flow net in cross section view showing flow to a gaining stream through a homogeneous unconfined aquifer bounded on the bottom by a low-permeability layer.  Label each equipotential line with its value!  (Have a group member check your work.)

z  On your cross section flow net, draw at least a dozen piezometers and show water levels in each.  (Have a group member check your work.)

z  On a separate piece of graph paper, trace the following features of your cross section flow net: ground surface, water level in the stream, piezometers, and water levels in piezometers.   Do not draw the flow lines, equipotential lines, or water table!  Be sure you have provided enough piezometers and water levels so that another person can reproduce your flow net based on the information you give them.  Check with me if you have any doubt.

z  Using someone else's sketch of water levels in piezometers (I will assign this part), draw a quantitatively accurate flow net, including flow lines, equipotential lines, and water table.

Practice II


u  Draw a quantitatively accurate flow net for flow beneath the dam on the handout provided.  Be sure to label equipotential lines with their value.  For simplicity's sake, let's all use the same datum:  the flat bottom of the main portion of the dam.

u  Answer the following questions about the dam flow net:

  o  If the sediments have a hydraulic conductivity of 0.28 m/day, and the dam is 200 m long going back into the page, calculate the flow rate of water under the dam.  (Give your answer in units of cubic meters/day.)

  o  At Point A, what is the total hydraulic head?  Elevation head?  Pressure head?

Department of Earth Science | Northeastern Illinois University

© 2004 Laura L. Sanders.  Last updated March 16, 2004.