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Title: INVESTIGATING SOIL STRENGTH AND STRESS-STRAIN INDICES TO CHARACTERIZE ERODIBILITY (CHANGE TITLE AND ADD ACCEPT. DATE)

Author
item Hanson, Gregory

Submitted to: Transactions of the ASAE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Predicting erosion resistance of a soil prior to a flow event is important to certain engineering problems such as irrigation channels, levees, highways, railways, spillways, construction sites, etc. Strength indices and stress-strain characteristics were investigated as potential indicators of erodibility for two soils compacted to different densities at various moisture contents. The soil strength and the stress-strain results were compared to previously reported erodibility measurements of these two soils. The results indicated that soil strength measurements by themselves are poor indicators of soil erodibility. The measured stress-strain characteristics however, were observed to have potential as an indicator of the erosion resistance of a soil and should be investigated further.

Technical Abstract: Defining the factors that influence the erosion resistance of a soil and developing methods that aid in quantification is important to many aspects of engineering, conservation, and pollution control. In this study initial soil strength indices and stress-strain characteristics were investigated as potential indicators of characterizing the resistance of a given soil to oerosion. Tests were conducted on two unsaturated soils over a range of 8 t 22% water content and densities from 1.0 to 1.9 g/cm3. The cone index, pocket penetrometer, and unconfined compressive strength were the measured strength indices. The measured stress-strain characteristics were the unconfined compressive strain at failure, the area under the stress-strain curve up to failure, and the stress-strain modulus between no load and failure. The soil strength and stress-strain results were compared to previously reported erodibility measurements of these two soils. The results indicated that the initial soil strength alone is not a good indicator of the soil's resistance to erosion. The measured stress-strain characteristics, however, were observed to have potential as an indicator of the erosion resistance of a soil.