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Title: PROCEDURE TO ESTIMATE SOIL ERODIBILITY FOR WATER MANAGEMENT PURPOSES

Author
item Hanson, Gregory
item Cook, Kevin

Submitted to: American Society of Agricultural Engineers Meetings Papers
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: Hanson, G.J., Cook, K.R. 1999. Procedure to estimate soil erodibility for water management purposes. ASAE Paper No. 992133. Proc. Mini-Conf. Advance in Water Quality Modeling, Toronto, Canada. p. 51-56.

Interpretive Summary: The erosion resistance of earthen materials impacts the performance of bridges, culverts, earthen spillways, road embankments, levees, and earthen dams. Erosion resistance of earthen materials also impacts river morphology and the restoration and management of a river system. Measurement of the erosion resistance of earthen materials is therefore vital in designing structures and restoring and managing river systems. A submerged jet testing device has been developed for characterizing soil erodibility in the laboratory and in the field. This article describes modifications that have been made to the apparatus and methodology to allow engineers to determine the erosion parameters for predicting erosion resistance. The test is simple, quick, and relatively inexpensive to perform. The test is repeatable and gives consistent results. The coefficients obtained from the test can be used in current equations to predict erosion.

Technical Abstract: The erosion resistance of earthen materials impacts the performance of bridges, culverts, earthen spillways, road embankments, levees, and earthen dams. Erosion resistance of earthen materials also impacts river morphology and the restoration and management of river systems. Measurement of the erosion resistance of earthen materials is therefore vital in designing structures and restoring and managing river systems. A submerged jet testing device has been developed for characterizing soil erodibility in the laboratory and in the field. This article describes modifications that have been made to the apparatus and methodology to allow engineers to determine the excess stress parameters, erodibility coefficient, effective stress, and critical stress for the erosion rate equation. With the apparatus described in this article the applied effective stress can be varied from 2 to 200 Pa. An example is given of a series of laboratory jet tests conducted to determine optimum placement conditions and field placement and in-situ jet testing of the same soil. The example verifies the utility of the jet test to determine erosion resistance of an earthen material. The test is simple, quick, and relatively inexpensive to perform. The test is repeatable and gives consistent results.