Relationship between Soil Erodibility and Soil Properties
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 1
Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to develop equations correlating the erosion resistance of a soil to its common geotechnical properties. A total of 975 erosion tests and approximately 13,600 associated common geotechnical properties were organized in a database called Texas A&M University (TAMU)-Erosion. About 300 of the 975 erosion tests and approximately 4,200 associated common geotechnical property tests were performed at Texas A&M University over the past 20 years. In parallel, an additional 675 erosion tests and approximately 9,400 corresponding common geotechnical properties were collected from the open literature. The erosion tests include mostly the erosion function apparatus test (EFA), jet erosion test (JET), and hole erosion test (HET). The raw data for all tests are embedded in TAMU-Erosion, along with an inquiry operation manual that allows the user to search the database. This database was used along with a standard statistical regression method and a probabilistic representation to develop the best equations correlating the erodibility parameters to the geotechnical properties. The best fit for each equation was quantified using standard goodness of fit indices. The best equations are presented along with probability curves conveying to the user the probability that the predicted value will be overpredicted or underpredicted.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
Most of the work presented was funded by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program under project 24-43 leading to NCHRP Report 915. The NCHRP project officer was Camille Crichton-Sumners. The subsequent work was funded by the Buchanan Chair at Texas A&M University.
References
Amos, C. L., A. Bergamasco, G. Umgiesser, S. Cappucci, D. Cloutier, L. DeNat, M. Flindt, M. Bonardi, and S. Cristante. 2004. “The stability of tidal flats in Venice Lagoon: The results of in-situ measurements using two benthic, annular flumes.” J. Mar. Syst. 51 (1–4): 211–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2004.05.013.
Arulanandan, K., and E. B. Perry. 1983. “Erosion in relation to filter design criteria in earth dams.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div. 109 (5): 682–698. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1983)109:5(682).
Beyer, W. H. 2017. Handbook of tables for probability and statistics. London: CRC Press.
Briaud, J. L. 2008. “Case histories in soil and rock erosion: Woodrow Wilson bridge, Brazos river meander, Normandy cliffs, and New Orleans levees.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 134 (10): 1425–1447. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2008)134:10(1425).
Briaud, J. L. 2013. Geotechnical engineering: Unsaturated and saturated soils. New York: Wiley.
Briaud, J. L., H. C. Chen, K. Kwak, S. Han, and F. Ting. 2001. “Multiflood and multilayer method for scour rate prediction at bridge piers.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 127 (2): 114–125. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2001)127:2(114).
Briaud, J. L., A. V. Govindasamy, and I. Shafii. 2017. “Erosion charts for selected geomaterials.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (10): 04017072. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001771.
Briaud J.-L., I. Shafii, H.-C. Chen, and Z. Medina-Cetina. 2019. Relationship between erodibility and properties of soils. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
Chen, Y. H., and B. A. Anderson. 1987. “Methodology for estimating embankment damage caused by flood overtopping.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1151 (3): 1–15.
Dunn, I. S. 1959. “Tractive resistance of cohesive channels.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 85 (3): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSFEAQ.0000195.
Ghebreiyessus, Y. T., C. J. Gantzer, E. E. Alberts, and R. W. Lentz. 1994. “Soil erosion by concentrated flow: Shear stress and bulk density.” Trans. ASAE 37 (6): 1791–1797. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.28268.
Gibbs, H. J. 1962. A study of erosion and tractive force characteristics in relation to soil mechanics properties. Denver, CO: Office of Assistant Commissioner and Chief Engineer.
Hanson, G. J. 1991. “Development of a jet index to characterize erosion resistance of soils in earthen spillways.” Trans. ASAE General Ed. 34 (5): 2015–2020. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.31831.
Hanson, G. J., K. M. Robinson, and D. M. Temple. 1990. “Pressure and stress distribution due to a submerged impinging jet.” In Hydraulic Engineering—Proc., 1990 National Conf., 525–530. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Hanson, G. J., and A. Simon. 2001. “Erodibility of cohesive streambeds in the loess area of the Midwestern USA.” Hydrol. Process. 15 (1): 23–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.149.
Julian, J. P., and R. Torres. 2006. “Hydraulic erosion of cohesive riverbanks.” Geomorphology 76 (1–2): 193–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.11.003.
Kandiah, A., and K. Arulanandan. 1974. “Hydraulic erosion of cohesive soils.” Transp. Res. Rec. 497: 60–68.
Lyle, W. M., and E. T. Smerdon. 1965. “Relation of compaction and other soil properties to erosion resistance of soils.” Trans. ASAE 8 (3): 419–422. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.40536.
Mostafa, T. S., J. Imran, M. H. Chaudhry, and I. B. Kahn. 2008. “Erosion resistance of cohesive soils.” J. Hydraul. Res. 46 (6): 777–787. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2008.9521922.
Neill, C. R. 1967. “Mean-velocity criterion for scour of coarse uniform bed-material.” In Vol. 3 of Proc., 12th Congress of the Int. Association of Hydraulics Research, 46–54. Delft, Netherlands: International Association for Hydraulic Research.
Osouli, A., M. Karimpour, and P. Safarian Bahri. 2017. “Erosion characteristics of silty to clayey soils using EFA and lab-scaled levee-floodwall tests.” Geotech. Test. J. 40 (3): 396–410. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20160152.
Osouli, A., and P. Safarian Bahri. 2018. “Erosion rate prediction model for levee-floodwall overtopping applications in fine-grained soils.” Geotech. Geol. Eng. 36 (5): 2823–2838. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-018-0505-z.
Refaeilzadeh, P., L. Tang, and H. Liu. 2016. “Cross-validation.” In Encyclopedia of database systems, edited by L. Liu and M. Özsu. New York: Springer.
Safarian Bahri, P., A. Osouli, D. Molohon, and F. Lagunas. 2016a. “Induced shear stress measurement in overtopped floodwalls.” In ICSE 2016 (8th Int. Conf. on Scour and Erosion), 681–694. Oxford, UK: HR Wallingford. https://eprints.hrwallingford.com/1136/.
Safarian Bahri, P., A. Osouli, and E. Stendback. 2016b. “Prediction of scour in overtopped floodwalls using JET and EFA.” In ICSE 2016 (8th Int. Conf. on Scour and Erosion), Oxford, UK: HR Wallingford. https://eprints.hrwallingford.com/1137/.
Sargunan, A. 1977. “Concept of critical shear stress in relation to characterization of dispersive clays.” In Proc., Symp. 79th Annual Meeting: Dispersive Clays, Related Piping, and Erosion in Geotechnical Projects, edited by J. L. Sherard and R. S. Decker, 390–397. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Shafii, I., J. L. Briaud, H. C. Chen, and A. Shidlovskaya. 2016. “Relationship between soil erodibility and engineering properties.” In ICSE 2016 (8th Int. Conf. on Scour and Erosion). Oxford, UK: HR Wallingford. https://eprints.hrwallingford.com/1144/.
Shafii, I., Z. Zhang, and J. L. Briaud. 2018. “Measurement of hydrodynamic forces on gravel particles in the erosion function apparatus.” In Scourand errosion IX, 519–524. London: Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429020940-70.
Shaikh, A., J. F. Ruff, and S. R. Abt. 1988. “Erosion rate of compacted NA-montmorillonite soils.” J. Geotech. Eng. 114 (3): 296–305. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1988)114:3(296).
Singh, H. V., and A. M. Thompson. 2016. “Effect of antecedent soil moisture content on soil critical shear stress in agricultural watersheds.” Geoderma 262 (Jan): 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.08.011.
Smerdon, E. T., and R. P. Beasley. 1961. “Critical tractive forces in cohesive soils.” J. Agric. Eng. 42 (1): 26–29.
Straub, T. D., T. M. Over, and M. M. Domanski. 2013. Ultimate pier and contraction scour prediction in cohesive soils at selected bridges in Illinois. Urbana, IL: Illinois Center for Transportation.
Thoman, R. W., and S. L. Niezgoda. 2008. “Determining erodibility, critical shear stress, and allowable discharge estimates for cohesive channels: Case study in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 134 (12): 1677–1687. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2008)134:12(1677).
Vanoni, V. A. 1975. Sedimentation engineering practice. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Wynn, T. M., S. Mostaghimi, and E. A. Alphin. 2004. “The effects of vegetation on stream bank erosion.” In Proc., 2004 ASAE Annual Meeting, 1. St. Joseph, MI: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.16423.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 1 • January 2023
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 23, 2021
Accepted: Jul 8, 2022
Published online: Nov 7, 2022
Published in print: Jan 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Apr 7, 2023
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Mostafa Ebrahimi, Abdolreza Osouli, Heather Z. Shoup, Hamed Malakoutikhah, Roohollah Farzalizadeh, Comparison of Shear Stress in Erosion Function Apparatus and Portable Scouring Testing Device, IFCEE 2024, 10.1061/9780784485408.006, (51-60), (2024).
- Mostafa Ebrahimi, Abdolreza Osouli, Heather Z. Shoup, Hamed Malakoutikhah, Roohollah Farzalizadeh, Comparison of Shear Stress in Erosion Function Apparatus and Portable Scouring Testing Device, Geo-Congress 2024, 10.1061/9780784485316.056, (539-548), (2024).