Scour and erosion resistance in cohesive soils

这项拟议的工作包括一些研究粘性土壤中侵蚀的研究。粘性土是那些含有粘土的，在自然界中普遍存在的土壤。对侵蚀的研究很重要，因为它可以在许多方面影响人们。如果桥墩周围的水流侵蚀了它们赖以生存的土壤，桥梁可能会倒塌。大坝、涵洞和堰可能会因建筑物下游河床的侵蚀而不稳定。河岸的侵蚀可能会造成财产损失。为了预测侵蚀并试图减轻其负面影响，工程师们必须能够评估特定土壤在什么条件下会受到侵蚀以及侵蚀程度有多大。对于粘性土，目前还没有可靠的方法来进行这些评估。

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.