36. Groundwater Hydrology
Groundwater hydrology explores subsurface water, focusing on its movement, storage, and extraction. Key concepts include permeability, storage coefficient, transmissibility, and well hydraulics, which are crucial for understanding and analyzing groundwater systems for engineering applications. The chapter explains the mechanisms of water flow through porous media and offers insights into hydraulic testing methods to evaluate aquifer properties.
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What we have learnt
- Groundwater is stored in porous materials and its movement is influenced by factors like permeability, grain size, and void ratio.
- Transmissibility and storage coefficient are critical parameters for understanding aquifer capacity and behavior under varying hydraulic heads.
- Darcy's Law describes the principles of groundwater flow, while well hydraulics focuses on water extraction techniques and methods for evaluating aquifer performance.
Key Concepts
- -- Permeability
- The ability of porous material to allow fluids to pass through, influenced by grain size, void ratio, and saturation.
- -- Storage Coefficient
- The volume of water released or taken into storage per unit area of an aquifer per unit change in hydraulic head.
- -- Transmissibility
- The rate at which groundwater flows through a unit width of aquifer, relating permeability and saturated thickness.
- -- Darcy’s Law
- An equation that quantifies groundwater flow through porous media based on hydraulic gradient, permeability, and discharge area.
- -- Well Hydraulics
- The study of the flow of water toward wells, essential for assessing groundwater availability and designing pumping schemes.
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