The Bizarre Paths of Groundwater Around Structures
Some unexpected issues for engineers who design subsurface structures...
Worksafe BC video: • Incident Investigation...
Next time you see a dam, retaining wall, caisson, or any other subsurface construction, there’s a good chance that engineers have had to consider how groundwater will affect the stability. Even though you’d never know they’re there, some combination of drains and cutoffs were probably installed to keep the structure (and the people around it) safe and sound.
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Practical Engineering is a KZhead channel about infrastructure and the human-made world around us. It is hosted, written, and produced by Grady Hillhouse. We have new videos posted regularly, so please subscribe for updates. If you enjoyed the video, hit that ‘like’ button, give us a comment, or watch another of our videos!
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Living in the Netherlands, water, and especially groundwater, is a massive part of life around here. It's good to finally learn how we control all that when building anything a meter below sea level.
I imagine ground water is not just an important but a somewhat terrifying matter when a good part of your country is at permanent risk from the ocean, rain, adverse weather, and pretty much all water on top of it.
Same is true in the state of Florida. You take about one meter you will hit water. Plus we have sinkholes. It's similar to building on top of a large brick of Swiss cheese.
@@EnlightenedSavage yeah one thing I noticed when I have visited Florida is just how many wells there are. I figured it must have been easy to hit water because just about every lawn sprinkler has a well.
@@Voltaic_Fire Not really, to be honest. Flood insurance, for example, is just not a thing here. Our water management infrastructure is so omnipresent and so fundamentally integrated into every level of life that we just don't think about it anymore. There's even a level of government which is equal to but distinct from the province level called the watersheds. So 'It's taken care of' is the mindset most of us have.
@@MrBlueBurd0451 I have seen your water management infrastructure, it really is impressive, but I'm a worrier so I do not think I could adopt the same mentality.
It's insane that he managed to explain something in 14mins that took our tutor two 2hr lectures. I can't believe we're paying 9.25k a year for content that's taught far more effectively on KZhead.
You're paying for the paper to say "look I'm qualified" not the tuition nowadays
Companies should change the application process to just a test of the required abilities! Test passed? You're in! Only real advantage i could see is that you managed to pass test and time management while at uni!
@@filippoeich1180 that is not feasible, unless they provide their own training. Theory helps and is a basic requirement but practical understanding will not come easy. You have to be naturally talented toward the subject to circumvent the lack of experience.
"You wouldn't pirate an education, would you?"
I studied chemistry at the local university many years ago. I also found, that I could teach another student in an afternoon, what took other students 2-3 weeks to pick up from lectures and reading a few chapters in a chemistry book. (specifically organic substitution reactions). As I recall, the books used words that didn't really describe the effects of common side groups on the reactions too well. Essentially, the books were written in a way, that meant you had to read them really, really close, more than twice, spending hours on a few pages, trying to figure out what the author is trying to convey.
I'm a geotechnical engineer (the field of engineering that designs dams) and I can say that, while extremely simplified, the presentation of engineering concepts in the video is very accurate.
if you can't simplify something complicated - you don't understand it well enough.
Hi, I need your help. We are going to construct a 10 story building which is designed to sit on a raft. But the raft is also gonna sit on a 3m thick layer of hardcore. But we have big problem with ground water as it overflows even the hardcore we have laid. What could be the permanent solution to curb this ground water? Thanks
Thank god he's great at simplifying things, otherwise he would have about 13 subscribers 🤣
Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ died on a cross for you because He loves you so much. He then rose up from the dead three days later The Ten Commandments are called the moral law, (most of us are lying thieving blasphemous adulterer at heart and deserve hell) you and I broke the law, Jesus paid the fine. That’s what happened on that cross. By believing that Jesus died on the cross and rose up from the dead 3 days later and not just confessing your sin, but also repenting of all sin you have done and putting all your trust in Him in prayer, He will grant you everlasting life as a free Gift
@@dove3853 unsolicited religious comment, that doesn't have anything to do with the topic in discussion. So please refrain from doing this.
I'm an engineer and the concepts that you can efficiently describe in 10 minutes are worth hours of reading a text book. Love your videos!
Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ died on a cross for you because He loves you so much. He then rose up from the dead three days later The Ten Commandments are called the moral law, (most of us are lying thieving blasphemous adulterer at heart and deserve hell) you and I broke the law, Jesus paid the fine. That’s what happened on that cross. By believing that Jesus died on the cross and rose up from the dead 3 days later and not just confessing your sin, but also repenting of all sin you have done and putting all your trust in Him in prayer, He will grant you everlasting life as a free Gift
@@dove3853 yeah ok... in what parallel universe does this have anything to do with the video?
@dove3853 it's not by definition "free" if you have to do something for it.... no worries I don't expect much from the folks that believe in an all powerful magical sky wizard
I've gotta say, Grady. I've noticed an uptick in the frequency of the videos you're posting lately. But no negative change in quality. I just want you to know that the effort you put in to make that happen is not in vain. I appreciate every iota of time and energy that you've put into this channel. It brings me and in excess of 2.68 million people a great deal of joy. It may not seem like much sometimes from your end. But one of your videos can be the difference between a crappy day getting me down, and forgetting why I even felt crappy in the first place. You really do change lives with this stuff. Not to mention how many you've inspired to pursue (civil) engineering.
@@HawkeyePierce1981 You and me both. I grew up and went to school in the 90's. So I didn't really have the internet to benefit me much. Except the odd Lycos page I could find researching a school project. Not at all like the wealth of knowledge available to every lay person today. The only thing that makes me think it WOULDN'T have been good for me, is just how distractible I am and how many distractions exist on the internet. Coupled with the lazy, unmotivated (more than now =P) person I was as a teenager. I know I wouldn't have been interested in watching anything like this back at that age. I probably woulda been the typical kid watching Pewdiepie or Jake Paul or whatever it is kids watch these days. Jeez that makes me feel old to say. But my point is, I wasn't the right person back then to be able to take full (or any) advantage of the educational content on KZhead. I loved medicine, and watched surgeries on a TLC show called The Operation, before TLC became like LifeTime Network for Women 2. And there's a lot of surgery and anatomy videos on here I know I woulda loved. But that's about all I can think of. Man, reality sucks. But I guess that's why people take up drugs lol.
Well said!
A fancy way of saying thanks I appreciate you making the videos more frequently and I understand that it takes a lot of effort.
Pander harder NPC, he might see it someday! 😂
@@HawkeyePierce1981 ?...what about ' asta la vista, baby ? '' '' ......no, i won't BE BAACK !
Grady, I just want you to know that I've been watching your channel for years but I was able to put one of your videos to practical use yesterday. My grandmother (who grew up one of 8 kids on a tobacco farm in Rockingham, NC) had seen both water towers and grain bins all her 88 years but never known what they do/are for, since on her farm they used a well and drying sheds. Out of nowhere she asked me that while we were driving. I was able to mostly explain it to her because of your video on water towers and Destin's video on "Smarter Every Day" about grain bins. When we got to the house, I showed her both videos. I wouldn't have been able to answer her without you guys so I'm thanking you both.
Great video, I'm a senior cad tech of 23 years and have done numerous dam inspection, monitoring and removal projects over the years. I usually get all the drilling and survey data and make detailed plans showing all the data. Your video was very well done sir! Just a month ago our survey crew went out to a dam that we had been monitoring for at least 15 years and was recently dewatered. I was shocked that the crest of the earthen dam sunk by a few inches after dewatering lol.
this definitely explains why, after resolving water management issues at my house, it only took a few months for water to find its way back in to the udrain and thereby to the sump.
@@chrisdawson1776I'm interested in his comment, as are a couple hundred people. It's relevant to the video.
@@chrisdawson1776 what are you talking about? We're talking about engineering not politics. You're attempt to guess someone's nationality and political affiliations based on absolutely nothing further confirms your ignorance for all to see. I'm sure your next post will just be additional proof of foolishness and immaturity.
@@SoulDelSol Don't reply to trolls, mate, that's what they want.
@@SoulDelSol some trolls will say anything to get a response. There's nothing to understand.
@@moonrazk true, thank you!
Just gotta say, I LOVE how the crane in the background slowly builds more and more with each video ❤
Oooo, didn't see that!
I live in a town that apparently used to be a swamp or marshland on top of being in a geological bowl, so we flood almost every storm. it never occurred to me how difficult it would be for a civil engineer in this area. I love your channel cause it helps me notice these things
A year or so ago I started working on the administrative side of a firm that does a lot of design and construction involving wells, lift stations, and so on, so these videos have suddenly become much more relevant to my daily life as I encounter the terminology on a regular basis! Thanks for building acrylic models in your basement.
i have very very little formal education but you make these explanation videos so well that i always come out of them with a decent understanding of whatever the topic was when i previously had no understanding of it. a testament to the quality of your work. keep it up!
Can you sum it up for me?
I know, right. I also like Technology Connections content for the same reason. If you know of any other channels that explain things this well, please let me know. I hope you have a great week!
@@sagarshrestha5800 can you give me 100k USD? if not then no.
@@wabash1581 honestly i dont know of anything thats as easily understood and universally applicable as this channel. but i will check out what you recommended
@@saturationstation1446 would you like to take 100k USD written money 💰, 😈
I love this channel, thanks for educating us on KZhead university.
That is a good name for channels like Grady’s. I hope you don’t mind if I steal this.
Common knowledge is not methodological practise.
i would like KZhead university app to happen
I was introduced to this concept during flood defense. Turns out it's too expensive to shore up a river with miles of concrete so you have to rely on good solid earth... And when the water level rises too far, any water seeping through is a threat that can only be contained by, not blocking the exit hole, but building a cylinder of sandbags around the exit that allows the water level to rise to the level of the river on the other side, equalizing pressure and stopping flow. It's all so counterintuitive for laypeople!
Yawn 🥱 who asked?
@@wooshbait36 I Asked.
@@wooshbait36 I asked.
@@jacobbachman4014 yawn
One of the challenges of a great educator is to simplify concepts and tame complexity while keeping it scientific. You excel at this and manage to make me understand and be fascinated and value all engineering work.
I've never been more glad to live somewhere where there is only 6 inches of soil before you hit rock. It always amazes me to see people digging really deep holes with nothing more than a shovel. If I do anything more than scraping the surface I have to break out the pickaxe or power tools.
haha, we say the same thing here in coastal BC. But there are river valleys, etc where the soil is deeper. I remember trying to dig holes for various things growing up and always hitting massive boulders or at least 100+lb rocks within the first 12".
I live on an ancient lakebed, it's basically several hundred feet of gravel. So diggings frustrating unless you have big equipment. It handles water well though. In spring you can literally see the surrounding hills draining themselves of water after the ground thaws by the trail conditions. The driest areas will be on top first and then spread down.
we have places like that here too. no foundation needed for the houses just to level it. but digging a cellar underground its a nightmare. opposite to that where i live i bet the only rock i find is what we put in there. we have like 50cm of soil which is cultivated in some way, then brown clay for a meter and after that grey clay till the end of the world :D
We've got a huge gravel layer under the first meters of soil. No amount of rain has ever been able to flood the land here, except some underpass that will clear itself within a few hours at worst
...and here I am with our house sitting on the side of a sand hill. Our neighbours to the back have their ground floor at the same level as our 2nd floor, our gardens are separated by a 3.5 metre high and 130+ year old sandstone wall. When our neighbour to the right excavated for a small kids' pool near the back of his garden, a section of that wall collapsed...
🥑 Give HelloFresh a try and see if you like it as much as we do here: bit.ly/30Tr2CE! 📖 Did you know I wrote a book?! It comes out in November. You can preorder now for early access and other cool stuff: practical.engineering/book 🐦 I posted a little behind-the-scenes discussion about this video on Twitter: twitter.com/HillhouseGrady
Do you know any water engineers in jalisco, Mexico?
what if I use Practical99 instead, can I get more free meal? 🤔 jk thanks for informative video!
Hey I was wondering if there were any good resources to learn more about groundwater and storm water flow topics that you would recommend
I just wanted to say you are such a blessed man to have a beautiful family. Your children are going to be so excited growing up in a house full of engineering and science. Really love your videos and the simplistic way you explain the science.
Hey, why use permanent marker on your demos? Get dry erase and you can draw all you like 🤷♂️
I love that acrylic sand water flow demonstration! There are so many little experiment you could do with it. Groundwater is super interesting and I am always trying find ways to tie in fresh water with my classes--now I have another rad application! Thanks!
Brilliant idea using the model to demonstrate each problem, so visually clear and making it way easier to understand!
Hi Grady - Is it possible for you to do a video on the effects of over-pumping ground water for potable municipal water supplies? We live in Florida where the soil is sandy and population has been growing fast. Intuitively - I believe the result has been that the local water table around these “well-fields” gets lowered to a point where organic s in the soil are exposed to oxygen. The organics decompose leading to subsidence, often in residential areas where foundations are not built strong enough to resist pressures. Added to this were development practices where organic fill or “scrapings” were used to level certain areas to create more usable lots. With 5 feet of clean inorganic sand placed on top. I’m speaking from personal experience here documented with subsurface samples and ground penetrating radar studies. The part I am not familiar with has to do with the effect (for potentially miles around) of a lowering of the local water table. Not to mention saltwater intrusion when drilling near the ocean where most of Florida’s population lives. Mostly I’m interested in the more general hydrological engineering considerations as a result of “over pumping” the aquifer. Water is very expensive in Florida for these reasons. Most communities use reclaimed water to lower the pumping demand.
I can definitely add it to my list of ideas for future videos. Subsidence is a widespread consequence of groundwater withdrawals, and some places even have subsidence districts that regulate pumping (e.g. Houston). But the mechanism you described of organic decomp of topsoil isn't one I'm familiar with.
@@PracticalEngineeringChannel I remember from my intro hydrology course the picture of the telephone pole in California that subsided something like 20 ft
Subsidence is caused by the over-pumping of aquifers leading to the pore structures in the soil collapsing. I haven't heard of organic decomposition causing subsidence but if you could link some resources I'd be interested in reading about it. Usually, organic soil has oxygen available for decomposition unless it's a wetland or used to be a wetland and the organic material is deep enough for oxygen not to penetrate.
@@PracticalEngineeringChannel Subsidence due to lowering the water table is an interesting topic for sure. In the area around Gouda in the Netherlands (yes, the same name as the cheese) the groundwater level is extremely high. The soil consists of peat and has a very high organic content. If the water table is lowered, the ground will be exposed to air, and hence the organic matter will rot away almost completely. The desired effect of lowering the water table is completely overturned. The need to pump out water from canals becomes even more important.
If you want an over-the-top case study for Subsidence, check Mexico City. The whole city was originally built on top of a lake, and has (or used to have) a huge sinking rate.
2:40 "I have a whole video on piping that you can check out after this one" Yeah i bet you do.
I remember this one, they never did recover that worker's boots. RIP WorkBoots
This video really help demonstrate what was happening in one of my natural filtration systems I’ve used on koi ponds in the past. The deco gravel was being eroded in short period of time and now I see just how fast that water was moving through the gravel.
The demonstration really shows how surprisingly well water follows Darcy's law. Having a degree in mathematics I've seen my share of the Laplace operator :-). However, obviously the model will break down for fast flow rates and when the soil starts moving. When a evaluating a construction design, are there some well-established limits for the model validity? How slow should be flow be to trust that the soil stays in place?
Very generally, if soil is moving below a structure, you have bigger problems than the groundwater model :) Soil is confined and unable to move with groundwater except at the surface, so a big part of geotechnical design of subsurface structures involves making sure all seepage exit points are filtered. See also, "exit gradient."
Im not sure if you will see this, but I am a hydrogeologist and use Darcy's Law everyday, as well as some of the modelling softwares shown in the video. The assumption in almost all saturated zone flow modelling is that the rock/soil matrix acts as a static environment inwhich the flows are modelled (ie; no soil seepage). To answer your question about model validity, maximum flow speeds are limited only by your starting paramteres, and of course in theory you could create a physically impossible model using darcys law. However (and this is key), the starting model parameters are almost always sourced from geotechnical and geological studies of the site in question, and are 'sanity checked' against the known hydrogeological setting using a 'base case' model. We dont just use the math when assessing flow speed either, other tools can be used to further validate the model.
There is a new oil change place being built near my house. They used a large network of dewatering pipes to lower the water level so they could excavate and pour the "basement" area where the mechanics work under the car (no lifts, cars drive in at ground level). I wasn't sure what the situation was until this video explained it perfectly.
Hopefully your educational productions are seen far and wide. This featured explanation brings to light some of the hidden risks most people never see or even conceive during their daily lives because engineers have done the hard work - Thank you
0:49 “I’m Grady and this is practical engineer.” THE INTRO CHANGED
I love your KZhead series! Wish it was around when I was a in High School. I think your videos would of really motivated me into exploring a very interesting career. I think your channel is not only interesting, but an excellent educating tool.
Fantastic timing! I'm a CAD tech and currently working on a big hydrogeo study on an LNG project. Puts alot of context to the figures I help draft up when it comes to all things groundwater related.
Do you use blender for cad ?
@@wertiaaudit5746 nope. I work with autocad, civil3d and arcgis for the GIS stuff
@@mc116 the Greeks or Romans would be so jealous of our software.
I like the content (the stabilized soil vid was particularly useful when I built a retaining wall) but I stuck around for the family time. We have two and I'm getting to manage their schooling! It's awesome to see the moments of epiphany as we go. I'll be praying for an easy delivery for y'all's Thing Two.
So great you featured this incident in BC, it was a great shock to everybody here.
Ive been in construction building things since 1979. Started building pools but after a few years I became an electrician. Did that for 30 something years and now I work in the aerospace industry. With all the stuff I built we never really knew the why's of a lot of it. We just built what the prints said. It nice to learn some of those why's and you do a great job of teaching it. Thank you.
Thank you for these videos. As a Civil/Structural engineer who is struggling to find continued passion in these fields, your videos are an occasional boost to my mental health.
Years ago in school I did a CFD analysis of fluid passing through a porous membrane and it ended up just like your physical model! Real neat! I miss that type of feeling.
Great video, narration, and presentation. I have been involved with very deep excavations close to buildings that have almost inevitably had to be done by hand, ie: shovel and breaker, so I have a 1st hand appreciation of what you're describing. Greetings from Melbourne, Australia.
Loving the easy to understand civil engineering explanations, I recently got given a job centered around civil engineering, but I have no experience with it, and these video's are a great leg up for the training to come
It would be interesting to go over another BC civil engineering disaster and recovery; The failure of the Coquihalla Highway during flooding in 2021, which washed out huge sections of the British Columbia Coquihalla highway, destroying the entire roadway and the fixtures it was built upon. The recovery and rebuild operation was massive, and was very expensive.
Because of this channel, I have been recommended and have subscribed to both WorksafeBC and USCSB channels. It is interesting to see how small mistakes and oversights result in big disasters (and loss of life, too often) and how the industries learn from the events to (hopefully) make the future safer.
Your groundwater videos are seriously top notch. I never considered the implications of groundwater before and you make it so easy to understand. Along with your visual aides it's amazing governments/institutions aren't trying to buy these videos to teach their civil engineers!
Living in a very Karst topography dominated river valley area, i have been able to locate underground streams thanks to knowledge i picked up via videos like this. My livestock would like to thank you for their (virtually)never ending fresh flowing water supply. The chickens have been loving the mud bugs (crawfish) living in along them as well.
The LRT (underground rail line) construction in Ottawa, Ontario had caused a massive sinkhole on a very busy downtown street that swallowed a van that was never recovered.
Since I discovered this channel a couple of years ago, my respect to civil engineers has grown a lot! Thanks!
Thanks for the explanation! Groundwater is truly a thing, that not many people think about. I've seen some funky things due to groundwater recently, so this visualization helped a lot in clearing out my misinterpretations
You come up with some of the best, most clear demonstrations for the concepts that you are explaining. Excellent presentation!
Thanks for all the great content Grady. I work in building construction, and because of my exposure to some of the engineering content you cover I can say you do a great job explaining these concepts in layman terms. It was interesting to hear you talk about the sink hole in BC. That's where I live and remember this event right around the time we were digging a 90' deep hole for a tower in downtown Vancouver and the hazard alert from WorkSafeBC was circulating...
Great video. As an 'amateur civil engineer' I'm always interested in your work. The demonstrations are great as well. Seeing the dye making turns to get under cutoffs and flowing towards drains really brings the concepts to life. Hope your family is doing well, is your new addition a boy or girl? Best of luck to you all.
The physical models explain these complicated subjects so well! Great video!
My name is christo and I live in fear of groundwater.
You probably have rabies
My parents have an ingroumd pool and at the deepest point (10ft diving pit) the pool has a hydrostatic valve that lets water into the pool from the ground for basically the same reason, if the hydrostatic pressure is more than the weight of the pool it i could litterally float on the water and break a lot of things. When it is full this isn't a problem but it does need to be drained every couple of years to paint it or do other maintenance and when its empty its a much bigger concern. (One year the valve failed and we lost 3ft of water overnight)
That pressure issue is why decommissioning an in-ground pool requires a breaking of the concrete tub, and not just filling it in and capping with sod. I've seen a few videos where people bought a house and the pool was not disclosed in the sale, only to have it rise up out of the ground during the next wet spring season.
One of the buildings in Cologne near the Rhine river is has a two-level underground car park underneath. During extreme high water of the Rhein river, the garage is automatically flooded to prevent the building from swimming. Same principle as the pool. There's even a rowboat in the garage for the (rare) cases when this happens.
@@MonkeyJedi99 it must not have been filled in and compacted. soil is heavier than water but loose gravel may not be.
Absolutely love your videos!! It's funny you posted this today cause it was just yesterday that I had attempted to explain to my dad what was going on with the pool at our local park. Thank you so much for all your science vids, they're absolutely fascinating! Keep up the great work & GL with the soon to be newest family member, hope everything goes smooth!!
A very similar incident happened in Alaska in 2010. A crew was working on a water well for a prison construction project I was working on when one of them was swallowed by a sinkhole right next to the well casing. He, unfortunately, did not make it being buried under 15 feet of soil.
man, i really love your experiments. I’m new to the channel as I am trying to broaden my skillset from computer to general engineering. I want to replicate your experiments at home - I think it’s probably a great way to learn not only theory but practice.
Your videos are pretty wonderful. I don't watch too many channels like this, but your videos are so clear and well explained I really enjoy them. I feel like you reveal my interest in things I didn't know I would find interesting.
Have you seen the Physics Girl video about this sinkhole that is gradually moving and almost destroying roads and railways? Fascinating stuff
AQ
Hey Grady, I was having a bit of withdrawal from seeing the awesome clear plastic models that you build. Thanks for making me feel better and rectifying my withdrawal situation!
As a geotechnical PM, I love your videos. My company will be drilling into a 100 foot earthen dam to address seepage issues. I look forward to seeing what solution we can come up with!
Went to tech school in HS for civil amd mechanical drafting. Went to college for mechanical engineering. Became a cop right after graduating college. This channel allows me to scratch the engineering itch I get. Thanks for the great videos.
"What is it that's not exactly water and ain't exactly earth"? In chorus: "QUICKSAND". - Blazing Saddles
It's okay, I think I got my foot on the rail.
I build tailings dams and I absolutely love your videos. My friends and family have a better grasp of what I do because of them. Cheers.
I just love these demonstrations of yours. Should we have something like this on our Technology lessons in secondary school, it might have had attracted far more people to engineering topics. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and utilizing your skills in this amazing way.
Some of the caves here in the Tennessee, Albama, and Georgia region (TAG) have such whacky paths it hurts my brain trying to think of the eons it took to erode out the way they did and seeing how the water flows currently.
Thanks again for a great video! Your series about groundwater have really helped me understand subsurface dynamics.
Engineering is an amazing field that has so many possibilities! You're inspiring and I can't wait to see what you achieve next!
Your series on groundwater has been truly fascinating. Thanks.
"Brawndo...It's got what plants crave."
It's got electrolytes
You pack a lot into a short video. Very well organized, informative and memorable!
I don't know what we'd do without all of those dam engineers.
I have seen that exact work safety video and thought it was cool you included it! Have you seen a similar video titled Delta P? It details the force of pressure from one water source to another and how this can be dangerous. It is an interesting watch and definitely worth checking out! Love your content!!!
Can you make a video detailing underwater construction techniques for things like the Golden Gate Bridge?
He already sort of did! Just not specific to the Golden Gate Bridge. kzhead.info/sun/iLZ8YZZtrqKDhmw/bejne.html
I have one like that made a few years ago
@@PracticalEngineeringChannel Thanks
This video is the perfect example of: you don’t know your interested until it’s presented to you.
I install well points and airlift wells for an open pit phosphate mine and this video really helps others around me understand why I install them.
You should do a video on the Three Gorges. There was a bit of hype last year about how it was about to collapse.
i remember watching that video when it first came out, its cool to see that again, especially explained with your models
"The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli."
Never seen your videos before and know nothing about engineering. But I am a public speaking and presentation coach, and you are a FANTASTIC communicator. Thoroughly impressed.
This is the first of your videos I've come across and I really enjoyed it. I'm a big London Underground nerd so it's really got me thinking, especially having just travelled on the newly-opened Elizabeth Line. Great stuff, thanks!
This makes me wonder if when dams are removed, do they actually remove all these hidden supplemental structures? You usually see the dramatic demolition of some dams to restore salmon runs or just because it's reservoir has silted up but never any detail about cutoff walls or drains.
Yes! and will they be discovered eons from now, future archeologists trying to decipher what these strange hoo-mons were up to?
Wahahaha
Good topic, this can be an issue for any structure that extends below ground. One that comes to mind is an empty pool being pushed out of the ground after a heavy rain.
Great example.
It boggled my mind when I finally understood that everything has the potential to float it just depends on the factors around it. Once I understood that, so much more of the world in general made sense. :)
Interesting presentation. Your plexiglas model was very similar to my first science fair project in 1967 where I used it to demonstrate aquifer properties around a well. My Dad a professor for many years at UT Austin in CE helped of course., I went on to leverage the Science Fair activities and was on the faculty at A&M for a couple of decades. Thanks for all of your efforts. David Gloyna
Im a Hydrogeologist / Groundwater Engineer, thank you for such a cool visual display of familiar ideas, was a treat. You also explained the basics of the field perfectly, thanks mate.
Im an astronaut
@@RONPEE-STINGER Go to school and get good at somthing and then maybe you wont feel the need to be a snarky prick on the internet Mr Astronaut
2:34 "I have a whole video on piping that you can check out after this one" what do you mean by that my boi
Been a Land Improvement contractor in the Midwest for 25 years. Installed millions of ft of tile and many ponds. He is spot on with his models and how to keep a dam stable. I have a poor man’s engineering degree with lots of seat time. He does a great job on all his videos.
I'm a dam engineer.. Your videos was a simple but effective to explain what we usually done in our dam projects. Great work..! 👍🏻👷
Hearing Grady say "I have a whole video about piping" made my eyes dart back to the screen real quick
Been a fan of your sight for a while, love your simple, clear explanations. You are a wizard at models.
I encountered this last night. Spring drainage pipe in my back yard met a root and so I dug it out to replace the damaged piece and cut back the roots. Except the pipe wasn't located where the water was bubbling up through the ground. 3" down below the grass is clay. The pipe was 2 feet to the right of where I saw the water coming up through the yard. The clay acted as an aquifer, keeping the water below ground until the water found a crack in the clay and released some pressure. Mind you, this is 20' past where my spring exits at ground level and enters a drain that runs under the back yard. What a hassle.
This explainer is so informative, a dummy like me can understand it enough to explain it to others (to some degree). As a flooring installer I intend to reference this video to homeowners having a tough time understanding that attaching flooring to concrete is not as simple as just spreading some glue and collecting a paycheck. Thank you sir, you are a wonderful tracher.
Thank you so much for explaining in very simple terms so many fascinating engineering challenges I’m an all around construction guy with so many questions on how things are built Please continue your awesome videos
I love seeing your growing family! I hope everything is going well. In the weeks before my daughter was born (3 years after my son), I couldn't imagine any possible way that my heart could get any bigger. I mean, as you're aware, the first kid ushers you across the Rubicon, a different ontological universe compared to The Pre Kid Times. But could it happen again!? Yes. It does. And a logical person such as yourself will appreciate how *illogically* this all happens. :) My kids are 10 and 7 now, somehow, and I've long since given up on understanding how the journey works. Enjoy as necessary/possible, and clean up later. (Also, I'm not thinking about the imminent teenagers we'll have around here in a couple years. [fingers in ears... LALALALALA!!!!]) Best of luck in the coming weeks and months!
After a couple of years of watching your videos, I now walk around wondering how buildings, dams and bridges manage to stay up at all! In the early days of civil engineering, rather than some designs being unlucky, it feels more like the majority were just lucky!
Once one starts to watch disaster breakdown videos, this kind of perspective becomes even more intense! 😅 Even in best of circumstances there can be unanticipated factors leading to surprise results - but then add in cost-cutting, political shenanigans, and the occasional natural disaster or shonky contractor... 😬
I wonder how ancient succesful builders did the job...
They strictly regulated themselves in secret societies and closely guarded their recipes for building materials so idiots couldn’t get involved, basically.
The lack of aqueducts in modern society shows the general degradation of build quality over time. Dams are actually horrible for the environment and this is sort of a useless science because someday they will all be made illegal for destroying fish migrations.
Lots and lots of Trial and Error
What you're saying about uplift is something I seen here in the Netherlands with demolition work as well. We've removed massive concrete basements which were in ground water as well. We'd be pumping water all the time or the whole site would flood. The craziest thing is that most people think the piles under structures like that are to keep it from sinking, but about 70% of those piles were there to actually keep everything from floating up due to the massive ground water uplift pressure
Is sewage-lift designed intentionally to swap flows betwixt water table?
I’m taking my FG test soon and tbh this helped me understand some of the hydro geology material better! Thanks Grady!
Only Grady can make dams and water so interesting. This channel is a godsend! 😃👍
13:16 pouring a sauce in a pattern without knowing the precise viscosity must be done by trial and error. That is to say, the first little bit is uneven because the person pouring is learning the change in container angle needed to achieve a somewhat consistent flowrate. Also explains why the end of the pattern is "pretty good"
greetings from Melbourne AUS, great video, as a fellow engineer im appears to know few expert dam engineer in victoria and i have heard far too many people say dam-wall, its just a dam like you said 👍. On a smaller civil project we often used to installed precast concrete pit/wall to mitigate the groundwater issues, we also monitors the seepage points on dams and measure the ground movement with piezo, some older dam also have tradional pendulm to measure the movement. some area has historical ground water level and some large project would normally have sump pit and pump installed. thanks again for the video
Your videos and the way in which you explain the principles is golden. One question... I would like to build the test fixture and make all the accessories in your video. In the interest of time, would you happen to have instructions and a BOM to share? Thanks in advance!
"I have a whole video on piping you can check out after this one." Well, quite the flirt today, aren't we? 😂
"I piped your moms basement"
As a geotechnical engineer, thanks for explaining part of what we do! Actually, I would love to see an entire video describing the wide variety of scenarios, mathematical models, and methods we use to keep buildings straight and roads functional. No one knows what we do!!
@@Anthony-yz3vj why spend an extra $5k up front when you can spend a ton of engineering time and concrete later
@@zbou23 ....? you must be referring to leaning/sinking Millenium tower, in San Fran. What a fiasco.....686,000 pounds, of leaning cement.
@@petersack5074 there isn't a plumb building in america ;)
Your channel is literally one of my all-time favourite youtube channels. Your videos are so good and interesting to watch.
Very educational Video. I confess I had a wrong idea of what ground water is, I assumed it to be like a literal Lake underwater. Thanks for the visual representation helping things clear up!
Man I wish there was a good game that roughly simulated having to manage water. I've got Timberborn which is great fun but isn't particularly in-depth with the water management
👍🏼 Pretty nerdy and the market for it might be rather small, but I sure love this idea for a game! 👍🏼😎✌🏼
@@gus473 I think it would depend how in-depth it goes. Timberborn and Sinking Simulator show that people like water simulation. I'm thinking some sort of simplified dam building game where all the basic concepts are there with the advanced ones being an optional setting.
@@hotmailcompany52 Wishing you all the best with it! 🍻😎✌🏼
@@gus473 Sadly, I am not much of a video game developer :P maybe if I get good at GPU based simulations :D
There is a minecraft mod
we love practical engineering uploads!!