The
Kozeny-Carman equation is one of the most widely accepted and used
derivations of permeability as a function of the characteristics
of the medium. This equation was originally proposed by Kozeny
(1927) and was then modified by Carman (1937, 1956) to become the
Kozeny-Carman equation. In essence, this equation will estimate
the permeability of media based on a grain size distribution. This
equation is given by:
Input
Groundwater temperature
estimate:
oC
n (porosity):
Click
here for information on porosity values
d10 (from a geotechnical plot;
% passing):
m
Click here
for information on d10 and particle sizes
Hydraulic
Conductivity:
m/s
Example:
A soil matrix has a
porosity of 0.30 and a d10 value of 0.1 mm. The
groundwater is 10oC. Determine the hydraulic
conductivity.
The resulting hydraulic
conductivity should be 0.000034 m/s.
What would be a common
error in this example?
- forgetting to convert
the d10 value from mm to m. The input should be
0.0001 m.
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