Scour and erosion resistance in cohesive soils

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The proposed work consists of a number of studies that investigate erosion in cohesive soils.  Cohesive soils are those that contain clay and are prevalent in nature.  Study of erosion is important because it can affect people in many ways.  Bridges can fail if water flows around bridge piers erode away the soil on which they are founded.  Dams, culverts, and weirs can be destabilized by erosion of riverbeds downstream of the structures.  Erosion of riverbanks can result in loss of property.  To predict erosion and attempt to mitigate its negative impacts, engineers must be able to assess under what conditions a particular soil will erode and by how much.  For cohesive soils, there are currently no reliable methods to make these assessments.The proposed work will focus on improving field methods of measuring erosion resistance of cohesive soils.  It will also be used to develop a better understanding of the forms of erosion in these soils.  A first study will be used to quantify the variability in erosion that might be expected if flow and soil conditions are constant between erosion tests.  A second study will look at improving models for predicting how quickly the soil will erode by including the effects of pressure fluctuations on the soil surface.  A third study will investigate how the form of erosion changes with varied clay content in the soil.  Finally, experiments will be undertaken to evaluate how groundwater seeping through a soil effects the form of erosion and how quickly it erodes.The results of these studies should allow engineers to better design and maintain critical infrastructure such as bridges and dams.  This will ultimately improve the protection of the public from failure of these structures, which has both social and economic benefits.