Flow net - Soil mechanics

Flow net is a graphical representation of the family of stream lines and their corresponding equipotentioal lines within a flow region.

Basically there are two set of lines in a flow net,
1). Flow lines (stream lines) - Path of water particles
2). Equipotential lines - along the line head is constant

In a homogeneous flow domain, it can be shown that the flow lines and equipotentioal line are perpendicular (in every intercept).


There are two rules in a flow net,
1. The equipotential lines and flow lines intersect at right (90) angle.
2. The flow element should be approximate squires.

Please check below important calculations to find,
1). Head difference between adjacent equipotential lines,
2). To calculate total flow,
3). To find head at any point inside the flow net.