Discussion :

The passage of water through porous material is called seepage. A material with continuous voids is called a permeable material. Hence permeability is a property of a porous material which permits passage of fluids through inter connecting conditions. Hence permeability is defined as the rate of flow of water under laminar conditions through a unit cross-sectional area perpendicular to the direction of flow through a porous medium under unit hydraulic gradient and under standard temperature conditions. The principle behind the test is Darcys law for laminar flow. The rate of discharge is proportional to (i x A)

q= kiA

We calculate permeability of the soil by using the following equation :

Where: K = coefficient of permeability at temperature T, cm/sec. L = length of specimen in centimeters t = time for discharge in seconds Q = volume of discharge in cm3 (assume 1 mL = 1 cm3) A = cross-sectional area of h = hydraulic head difference across length L, in cm of water;

During test there should be no volume change in the soil, there should be no compressible air present in the voids of soil i.e. soil should be completely saturated. The flow should be laminar and in a steady state condition. Coefficient of permeability is used to assess drainage characteristics of soil, to predict rate of settlement founded on soil bed.

Conclusion :

The Coefficient of permeability for 5th minutes = 0.1774 cm/s Coefficient of permeability for 6th minutes = 0.2007 cm/s