Relationship between water pressure and inflow rate in underwater tunnels and buried pipes

The design of tunnels and groundwater collection and filtration systems requires evaluation of water pressure on the structures and/or leakage (inflow rate) into the structures. However, a great deal of uncertainty remains concerning the control of pore-water pressure and inflow rate in underwater tunnels, because there are various factors that influence the hydraulic interaction between the structure and the groundwater. In this paper the relationship between pore-water pressure (p) and inflow rate (Q) is investigated using a theoretical method for laminar and turbulent flow. The p–Q relationship is validated by performing simple experimental studies.