Effect of Angularity on Hydraulic Conductivity of Porous Media

Permeability, which is also known as Hydraulic Conductivity is considered one of the most important parameters in ground water resources and management. It is dependent on several factors such as grain size, particle size distribution, shape factor and porosity of the porous media. Thus, the problem of estimating permeability becomes an arduous task. To investigate the variation of permeability with respect to shape factor (angularity), the present study has been conducted with the fabrication of an experimental set up consisting of permeameter with appurtenances to measure discharge and pore pressure difference. The data reflects that the shape of the particles is mainly responsible for these variations which affect the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer material. The experiments have been conducted in laminar range. All the results have been corrected to a constant porosity of 40% using Kozeny?s equation. On the basis of experimental results a positive correlation between permeability (K), angularity (?) and size of particles (dg) has been developed. The equation developed can be used for the estimation of permeability involving porous media with similar shaped particles with reasonable accuracy. It has been observed that as angularity of the material increases the K value decreases.