Quantitative measurement of the scour resistance of natural solid clays

ROBERTP. CHAPUIS
Mon-Ter-Val Inc., 3245 Grande Allke, Boisbriand, P.Q., Canada J7H IE4,and ~ c o l Polytechnique,
e
P.O. Box 6079, Station A, Montrkal, P.Q., Canada H3C 3A7

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Received January 28, 1985

Accepted December 4, 1985
The erosion of clayey soils is a complex phenomenon that includes various types of erosive actions. A tentative classification of
erosion processes is proposed. This paper concentrates on the scour resistance of solid clays. Available prediction methods are
reviewed. Generally they propose relationships between physical or mechanical parameters and the critical hydraulic shear
stress, T,, that defines a boundary between "no erosion" and "erosion". It became apparent that the physicochemical parameters
of both the clay and the eroding water control the erosion process. However, subsequent studies on these parameters have yet to
yield reliable predictions of natural clay erodibility from indirect measurements. An erosion testing program was therefore
performed on three Quebec clays with the improved rotating cylinder technique. In this test, intact or remolfled samples can be
tested, physicochemical parameters can be controlled, and the hydraulic shear stress T and the erosion rate e can be adequately
determined. A relatively complete and accurate graph of versus T , including values for T values lower than critical can be
established. Previous and present research underline the need to exert a strict control of all clay and water parameters, including
that of sample preparation, in order to adequately simulate a field problem.
Key words: erosion, clay, scour resistance, physicochemical properties, rotating cylinder test.
L'Crosion des sols argileux est un phCnombne complexe, incluant divers types d'action de 1'eau.dont on propose une
classification. Le prtsent article traite uniquement des argiles h I'Ctat solide soumises h un courant. Les mCthodes disponibles
pour prCdire leur Crosion proposent des relations entre des parambtres physiques ou mCcaniques et une contrainte de cisaillement
hydraulique critique, T,, h partir de laquelle I'Crosion se dCveloppe. I1 devint manifeste que 1'Crosion dkpend des paramktres
physico-chimiques de I'argile et de l'eau. Les Ctudes ultCrieures de tels parambtres ne fournissent pas de prkdictions fiables de
1'CrodabilitC d'une argile naturelle partir de mesures indirectes. Par consequent, un programme d'essais d'Crosion a CtC effectuC
sur trois argiles du Quebec avec la technique du cylindre rotatif modifit. Cette technique prbsente les avantages suivants: des
Cchantillons intacts ou remaniCs peuvent &tre.testCs,les paramktres physico-chimiques sont contr6lables, la contrainte de
cisaillement hydraulipue T et le taux d'Crosion e sont dCterminCs prCcisCment. On peut ainsi Ctablir un graphique relativement
prCcis et complet de e en fonction de T , y compris pour des valeurs de T infkrieures h T,. D'aprbs les recherches prCcCdentes et
actuelles, il s'avkre impCratif de contr6ler strictement tous les paramktres de I'argile et de l'eau, y compris la mithode de
prkparation des Cchantillons, si I'on veut simuler adkquatement le problbme rkel.
Mots clks: Crosion, argile, rCsistance h I'affouillement, propriCtCs physico-chimiques, essai de cylindre rotatif.
Can. Geotech. 1. 23, 132-141 (1986)

Introduction
The control of erosion of clayey materials in natural rivers
and in excavated irrigation or drainage channels is a rather
complex problem, which has been studied in relation to the bank
stability (Hooke 1979; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1981;
Lefebvre and Morissette 1984); the design of hydraulically
stable channels (Flaxman 1963; Grissinger and Asmussen 1963)
or stable spillways (Kuiti and Yen 1976); the evaluation of
erosion rates (Wolman 1959; Lambermont and Lebon 1978;
Thorne 1981); and the assessment of sedimentation problems
(Hjulstrom 1935, 1939; Sundborg 1956, 1958; Einstein and
Krone 1962; Ariathurai and Krone 1976).
Different erosion processes involving a solid clayey material
are schematically presented in Fig. 1. They may be classified
according to three criteria: duration: occasional (0)or permanent
(P); type: steady (S) or unsteady (U); location: external (E) or
internal (I).
Examples of different erosion processes in clayey materials
are given in Table 1. These processes produce sediments that are
transported, sorted, and deposited. The erosion of such aqueous
unconsolidated clay sediments is an appreciable problem in
itself, especially in esturaries.
The present paper deals only with the quantitative measurements of the scour resistance of three solid clays using the
modified rotating cylinder technique, which simulates an
external erosion process. There have been attempts to use
external (PSE) erosion results for predicting internal (PSI)

erosion (Amlanandan and Perry 1983) or, alternately, to use

pinhole test results (usually used for predicting internal erosion)
for predicting external erosion (Lefebvre 1984). However, it is
known that for certain clays, field observations and investigations do not substantiate the clay behaviour observed during
pinhole tests (Dascal et al. 1977). Furthermore, it is thought that
such internal and external erosion processes cannot be realistically compared (Sherard et al. 1977; Acciardi 1984; Kenney
1984), even if they are influenced by many common factors.
The scope of the present paper is limited to an examination of
the scour resistance of solid clays. Emphasis will be placed upon
undisturbed natural clays, with reference to remolded reconsolidated clays, all of them undergoing a PSE or PUE type of
erosion.
The erosion processes are fairly well understood in the case of
granular soils: they mainly depend on particle size and shape,
gradation, relative density, and the type and amount of sediment
present in the eroding fluid (Graf 1971). However, they are not
as well known in the case of clayey soils: they seem to be
controlled by physicochemical factors not usually studied by
civil engineers. Several state-of-the-art reports have considered
this matter (Partheniades 1965; Partheniades and Paaswell
1970; Paaswell 1973; Task Committee of ASCE 1968). They all
conclude that the need to define the fundamental erosion
processes of clays, and to develop criteria and guidelines
applicable to field problems, is great.
This paper first reviews available design methods developed

CHAPUIS

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INTERNAL

CONCRETE S L A B
GRANULAR F I L L

FIG. 1. Different erosion processes involving a clayey material (for Nos. 1-8, see explanations in Table 1).
TABLE1. Examples of erosion processes and classification according
to duration, type, and location
Erosion mode
(OorP,SorU,EorI)
OSE
OSI
OUE

OUI

PSE
PSI
PUE
PUI

No. on
Fig. 1

Example of erosion mode

Occasional steady rain erosion
Occasional scour erosion of a river
above the low-water line
Occasional internal erosion within
the clay foundation of a road
Occasional unsteady rain erosion
Occasional scour erosion in a
river, due to wave action or
transported ice or debris, of a
clayey soil influenced by frost
action
Occasional dynamic erosion of
clay due to traffic, the end result
being a contamination of the
road structural layers
Scour erosion in a regulated canal
Internal erosion within the clayey
core of a dam
Scour erosion of a river under the
low-water line
Internal erosion of a clay due to a
vibrating machine

from various experimental techniques. These methods give

extremely different predictions for the same clay. Most of them
are questionable since they consider only physical or mechanical parameters and ignore the physicochemical factors that
seem to control the erosion processes. However, research in this
field has yet to provide reliable prediction methods.
The purpose of the paper is to present and discuss experimental results obtained with the recently modified rotating cylinder
method (Chapuis and Gatien 1986) for three natural clays. In
short, the rotating cylinder apparatus has been modified to
accept either intact or remolded cohesive soils, with an
improved rotation guidance, a better alignment, a lower internal
friction, and a reduction of the influence of end conditions on the
fluid annular flow (Fig. 2). The procedure to measure the eroded
soil mass has also been altered. As a result, the hydraulic shear
stress and the erosion rate are more accurately determined.

FIG. 2. The erodibility apparatus: (1) rotating outer cylinder; (2)

soil sample; (3) eroding fluid in annular space; (4) guiding shaft for
installation; (5) torque measurement system; (6) head; (7) base; (8)
access for cleaning; (9) gravity drainage.

Classification of previous research

Most of the research on the erodibility of cohesive soils has
been carried out by hydrotechnical and agricultural engineers,
and soil scientists who have oriented it towards their own needs.
Hydraulic engineers are concerned with the hydraulic or
tractive force (shear stress induced on the soil surface by flowing
water) and the design of hydraulically stable channels. They
have defined a critical shear stress 7, above which scour of a
solid clayey material begins. When designing a stable channel,
either a critical tractive stress or the corresponding safe water
velocity (corresponding to the specific hydraulic conditions) is

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134

CAN. GEOTECH. J. VOL. 23, 1986

selected to avoid undesirable erosion. Hydraulic engineers have

proposed relationships between T, and physical or mechanical
properties.
Agricultural engineers are concerned with erosion control in
permanent or temporary imgation channels and with land
erosion from rainfall, in relation to the damage of erosion to
agricultural productivity. Their research takes into account the
influence of soil type, vegetation, and duration of rain or
irrigation.
In general, research by soil scientists is highly specialized and
often limited to regional aspects. They systematically underline
the mineralogical and chemical properties of the soil.
From the available bibliography, it is readily apparent that the
erodibility of cohesive soils is an interdisciplinary problem and
that the properties that control erosion resistance are not fully
understood. The electrochemical bonds between fine particles
of cohesive soils have a major influence on their erosion
resistance. These bonds depend' on many physicochemical
parameters that, in turn, are influenced by the eroding fluid
properties. All these factors contribute to the complexity and the
interdisciplinary character of the problem.
From an engineering point of view, some relationship
between the rate of erosion and the hydraulic shear stress is
required for the design of stable hydraulic works. The first part
of this paper reviews availale design methods that predict a
critical shear stress; erosion rates usually are not estimated.

Available experimental techniques

The scour resistance of clayey materials has been investigated
with the following experimental techniques as discussed by
Chapuis and Gatien (1986): (1) submerged water jets perpendicular to a clay surface; (2) open flume tests; (3) channel tests;
(4) rotating cylinder tests.
The techniques 1, 2, and 3 have been used to develop
different design methods related to the physical or the mechanical properties of clays. However, they have limited capabilities
in that usually only visible erosion is considered, without any
quantitative measurements whatsoever being taken (Rohan et
al. 1980). Furthermore, as underlined by Berghager and Ladd
(1964), most investigators do to adequately control the geotechnical properties of the clays.
As it became obvious that the erosion processes depend on
physicochemical factors, it was deemed-necessary to devise
new testing methods allowing for a control of these factors. The
rotating cylinder technique was developed initially by Moore
and Masch (1962) and modified by others for just such a
purpose. Its use has been reported by Epsey (1963a), Masch et
al. (1963), who operated it with a mixture of water and
glycerine, and, more recently, by a research team (Arulanandan
et al. 1975, 1980) of the University of California at Davis, that
kindly provided us with the drawings of their apparatus. The
research dealt only with remolded and reconsolidated clayey
samples, the apparatus being unable to accept intact samples.
These studies gave proof of a critical shear stress depending
on the couple "clay - eroding water" and on the influence of
physicochemical parameters. Predictive charts have been developed for certain remolded artificial soils (Alizadeh 1974). No
such data are available for undisturbed natural clays.
The principle of the rotating cylinder test apparatus and the
major changes in technical design and test procedure are
described in a companion paper (Chapuis and Gatien 1986).

Available studies and design methods-physical

parameters
This section excludes recent studies involving physicochemical parameters. These are considered in the next section.
Etchevery (1915) gave a table of critical velocity values
ranging from 76 cm/s for silts and sandy clays to 152 cm/s for
stiff clays. Fortier and Scobey (1926) improved these tables and
recommended critical velocities from 53 to 114cm/s. The
U.S .S .R. Bureau of Methodology of the Hydro-Energo Plan
(1936) published a table of critical velocities for granular and
cohesive soils. Lane (1955) compared previous design methods
in relation to the critical shear stress concept, T,, introduced by
Du Boys (1879). Smerdon and Beasley (1959) proposed
relationships between T, and the plasticity index Ip, the
dispersion ratio DR (Decker and Dunnigan 1977), and the clay
percentage:

when T, (psf) is calculated from the energy grade line, and

[3]

7, =

0.00221~~~~~

when T, is calculated from the measured velocity profile.

Dunn (1959) performed laboratory tests with submerged jets
acting on remolded and reconsolidated clay samples. He
proposed a linear relationship between T, and the undrained
vane shear strength cuvof the clay:
T,

=0.02

tan 8
+ c,; 1000
+0.18tan8

(in psf)

The slope tan 8 was correlated to Ip and U fdefined as the

percentage of soil finer than 0.06 mm:

Thomas and Enger (1961) proposed to relate T, to Ip, the

in-place percent maximum soil density (D%), and the grain size
distribution (M,+,a,+,k+)
of the clayey material:

in which 0 < Ip< 22,65 < 0 % < 100, - 12 < M,+,o,+,k+

< 40,
and 13 < WL < 42. The parameters M,+,,a,+,, and k,+,are derived
according to the method described by Dunn (1959), from the
grain-size curve plotted on a +-probability graph (Fig. 3).
Flaxman (1963) proposed a relationship between T, and the
unconfined compressive strength of the clay. His correlations
were questioned by Grissinger and Asmussen (1963) and Epsey
(1963b), who pointed out the influence of many other physical
and physicochemical factors, including the degree of saturation
of the clay. Rectorik (1964) presented a linear relationship
between T, and cuv.For cuvranging from 1 to 10 kPa, T, varied
from 14 to 96 Pa, a range that is presently felt to be one order of
magnitude higher than recommended design values.
Rohan et al. (1980) have related observations obtained in
tests conducted in a laboratory cnal. Although no erosion rates
were measured, interesting photographs of these clays show
three erosion modes: erosion of the surface layer (due to
remolding when setting the sample), preferential erosion of silt

CHAPUIS

135

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(1977) considered 35 parameters in a weighted linear regression analysis of erodibility of 53 selected clayey soils submitted
to a simulated rainstorm (OUE or OSE erosion type, see Table
1). They found that the erodibility factor (K in the "universal
soil loss equation," Wischmeier and Smith 1965) can significantly be related to granulometric factors, organic carbon,
A1203, and Fe203.

WEIGHT

FIG. 3.

PERCENTAGE SMALLER THAN d(mm)

Granulometric parameters M+,u4, and

k4.

nodules, and also preferential erosion along preexisting cracks

and the contact interfaces of clayey plates.
Ha11 (1982) and Kamphuis and Hall (1983) have presented
well-documented results of flume tests performed on two clays,
the samples being consolidated in a specially designed press to
produce large samples (600 mm long, 150 mm wide, and
lOOmm thick). The duration of each erosion stage at lower
velocities was 8-12 h. When erosion was visible, the velocity
was thereafter kept constant for 24-36 h. For these experiments, only the consolidation pressure (48-350kPa) and the
clay content (addition of very fine silica sand) were varied. It
was found that r , is an increasing function of c, or q,
(unconfined compressive strength), clay content, plasticity
index, and consolidation pressure. Such findings are in general
agreement with those of previous studies. However, as indicated by Kamphuis and Hall (1983), the results of their study
"should technically apply only to the particular clay tested under
conditions similar to those represented in the tests." From a
geotechnical point of view, the preparation of the consolidated
samples may be questioned: each sample was prepared from a
slurry close to its liquid limit and was then consolidated for a
period of 2-4 days, leading to, it is said, 95% consolidation.
When compared with that of a standard oedometer test (24 h for
each load step, in order to reach the end of the primary
consolidation with a sample 13- 19 mm thick), the consolidation period appears to be quite short. In order to be consistent
with the oedometric test, the duration of consolidation of a
lOOmm thick sample should be at least 28 days (1 day X
1 0 0 ~ / 1 9 ~ It
) . seems probable that the samples were only
partially consolidated, as evidenced from their avCr/curatios,
which varied between 6 and 40, whereas, according to Mesri
(1975), they should have been closer to 4.5 for these young
clays. This observation tends to confirm the conclusion of
Berghager and Ladd (1964), namely that most investigators do
not adequately control the geotechnical properties of clays.

Available studies-physicochemical parameters

Altschaeffl (1965) linked the erodibility of clays to the
properties of the eroding water, thereby limiting somewhat the
scope of previous research. Grissinger (1966, 1973) found that
the orientation of the clay particles, the percentage of clayey
minerals, the density of the soil, the water content after
compaction and prior to testing, the age of the sample, and the
water temperature have an effect on erodibility. Rornkens et a/.

Dispersive clays and related piping (internal erosion)

The influence of physicochemical parameters was recognized in early studies on dispersive clays that slake down rapidly
and completely, with the clay fraction going into suspension
even in quiet water (Middleton 1930). Dispersive clays have
been extensively studied by geotechnical engineers (Peny 1975;
Moriwaki and Mitchell 1977; ASTM 1977). However, the
studies have been directed towards the PSI type of internal
erosion occurring within the clay core of dams and, as such, are
not thought to be directly applicable to a PSE external erosion
process, even though both phenomen are influenced by many
common factors. It is usually acknowledged that pore water
cation data may help in identifying dispersive soils (Sherard et
al. 1977), although such data may be misleading (Craft and
Acciardi. 1984).
University of California, Davis
Important research has been carried out at Davis over the past
10 years (Alizadeh 1974; Ariathurai and Arulanandan 1978;
Arulanandan 1966; Arulanandan and Heinzen 1977; Arulanandan et al. 1973, 1975, 1980; Heinzen 1976; Kandiah and
Arulanandan 1974; Sargunam et al. 1973).
Most of the research dealt only with remolded samples of
artificial soil mixtures, tested in the rotating cylinder apparatus
with distilled water as the eroding fluid. Predictive charts have
been developed by Alizadeh (1974) and Heinzen (1976) and
may be found in Arulanandan and Perry (1983). These charts
related T, to the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), the dielectric
dispersion (heo), and the soil pore fluid concentration. The
measured erosion rates were presented according to Fig. 4a.
The charts do not specify that all the artificial mixtures were
consolidated (special oedometric test) at 75 or 100kPa. According to Ariathurai and Arulanandan (1978), "Experiments have
shown that the moisture content (or consolidation pressure) has
little effect on the erodibility characteristics of saturated soils as
long as the consolidation pressure is less than about 2 kg/cm2 or
3 kg/cm2" (200 or 300 kPa). Consequently, it seems, the
influence of consolidation pressure and consolidation mode has
not been investigated in more detail at Davis. However, the
above statement is in contradiction with other results (Dunn
1959; Flaxman 1963;Rektorik 1964; Hall 1982) relating r, to cu
or avcr.
In the case of undisturbed natural clays, research was not as
productive in that it did not yield quantitative prediction
methods for I. and r , values although it was shown (Amlanandan et al. 1980) that the predictive charts for artificial clays
gave r c values generally lower than those measured for
undisturbed soils eroded by distilled water. Since 7, usually
increases as the salt concentration of the eroding water
increases, it was then suggested that the 7, value given by the
charts be used as a "reasonable" estimate of the in-place value of
7, for a natural intact clay subjected to hydraulic shear stress
from river eroding water. Another predictive chart was developed relating the rate of change of erosion rate s to r c (Fig. 4b)
for undisturbed soil, with distilled water as the eroding fluid.

CAN. GEOTECH. .I.

VOL. 23, 1986

136
E

TABLE2. Properties of the tested natural clay samples: mean values

.-C

T;

--

N'

(rn) and standard deviations (u)

critical shear stress

rate of change of

Natural clay No.

01

'P,

LL

-30

<e

25.4
1.o

53.0
3.0

18.0
1.3

rn
u
rn
u

26.6
1.2
15.4
0.5

44.4
0.7
22.2
0.7

28.0
1.7
17.6
1.O

Plasticity index I p (%)

rn
u

11.2
1.4

22.2
0.7

10.4
1.O

Clay content (2 pm)

rn
s

36.7
1.1

65.6
1.3

24.3
3.7

Silt content (74 pm)

rn
u

48.7
1.5

27.6
2.1

56.4
4.0

Sand content

rn
u
rn
u

12.0
0.7
2.6
0.9

6.8
1.2
0.0
0.0

13.6
2.5

Water content W (%)

< 30

ossurned null

51
V)

Liquid limit W L (%)

Cc

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Property

HYDRAULIC

SHEAR

STRESS C(Pa)

5
.-E 3 0 0

S = 30.00 - 17.09 C c + 4.02:C

01

0 . 4 3 :C

03 2 0 0
W

Plastic limit W p (%)

(3

z
a

I
U

loo

NES OF EXPERIMENTAL VALUES

(ARTIFICIAL SOILS )

Ia 25
K
0

Gravel content
Preconsolidation (@a)

0 0.3

CRITICAL SHEAR

165-210

140

5.7
2.9
180-195

STRESS c c ( m l

FIG.4. (a) Typical results of erosion rate versus the hydraulic shear
stress, with the former apparatus (remolded samples only). ( b )
Simplified experimental graph of s versus 7, after Awlanandan and
Peny (1984).

This
been
by
and
pen^ chart has
et a"
P
~
~
mended it be applied to estimate s in the case of a natural intact
clay eroded by river water, the argument being that such an
estimate
represent an upper bound since
decreases as the salt concentration of the eroding water
increases'
the
Army Corps of
(1981) proposed that the erosion rate Z U N , ~ w
for saturated
undisturbed soil with river water as the eroding fluid be estimated from %M.DW and TC.RM.DWI respectively the rate of
change of erosion rate and the critical tractive shear stress for a
saturated remolded soil with distilled water as the eroding fluid.

'"'

rn

to +30 g/(m2 min). Moreover, mechanical improvements of

for a better determination of by a
the apparatus
reduction of the internal rolling friction of the apparatus. In the
Davis studies, this internal friction was never accounted for.
Consequently, the accuracy of the Davis related results seems
questionable. Furthermore, the graph of s versus T (see Fig. 4 b
simplified from Arulanandan and Perry 1984) may be interpreted as an indication that there is no single-valued relationship
~
~ s may ~take on any
Y
between
and~T: when ~is lower ~than 0.3 Pa,
value or, inversely, for lower than 25 g/(N. min), may be
multivalued.
To summ,ize,
physicochemical studies seem to yield interesting but limited results owing to the large number of
parameters involved, which are difficultly controlled all at once.

Description of tested clays and testing program

of clays and river water
Quebec and had a
The three tested clays came from
samples were recovered with
common geological
the large-diameter sampler of the University of Sherbrooke
[91 ~ U N , R W= 1.~SRM,DW(T
- ~~.~Tc,RM,Dw),
T > 8 8 . 8 ~ ~ , (Lefebvre
~ ~ , ~and
~ Poulin 1979). The mean properties of these clays
are
given
in
Table 2.
the units being Z in g/(cm2.min), T in dyn/cm2, and s in
The local river water was used for these tests; it is very pure,
g/(dyn. min) (SI conversion: I dyn/cm2 = 0.1 Pa).
with a low total salt content (Table 3). The results of the
The Davis research On intact
'lays
both
physicochemical analyses of the clays (Table 4) are in general
flume tests (intact clay and distilled or relatively pure water) and
agreement with those gathered by Locat (1982) about different
tests
river water), the
clays of eastern Canada. The value of SAR (sodium adsorption
being
to
'lay
The
ratio) has not been directly determined. However, according to
require further comment.
the results of Locat (1982), the value of SAR for Quebec clays
and Gatien
have
the
may be evaluated by the relation J, .2 Na < SAR < 2.6Na in
rotating cylinder apparatus to accept either remolded or intact
which Na is expressed in meq/lOOg. Consequently, the tested
'lay
The procedure to measure the eroded mass has
natural clays have very low SAR values, in the range of
been improved: in the Davis studies, "negative" erosion rates
0.5-1.8, as compared with the minimum value of 5 available in
were frequently obtained, down to -60 g/(m2.min) (Fig. 4 a )
the
for
mixes (Alizadeh 1974),
Presently, measured values of 2 are always positive and within
Testing program
the range 0-5 g/(m2.min) for shear stress values lower than
The program included tests on undisturbed natural clays NO.
critical; previously, i was assumed null when in the range -30

137

CHAPUIS

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TABLE3. Chemical composition of

the river water

TABLE5. F'redicted and measured critical shear stress for three natural
clays from northern Quebec, Canada

Conductivity
pH
Ca
Mg
CaC03
A1
Fe
Mn
Na
K
C1
SiOz

Reference
Etcheveny (1915)
Fortier and Scobey (1962)
U.S.S.R. Bureau (1936)
Limit values
Smerdon-Beasley (1959)
(0) IP
( b )DR

so4

N total
N org.
N inorg.
C org .
C inorg.
Dissolved solids

2.4 m g / ~
50.0 mg/L

TABLE
4. Physicochemical analyses of the pore water of the clays
Natural clay No.
Analysis

Cationexchangecapacity (meq/100 g)
Exchangeable Na (meq/ 100 g)
Estimated

10.9
0.46
14.3

15.3
0.69
20.0

9.7
0.47
12.7

NOTE: The dielectric dispersion A, has been estimated according to the

correlation published by Amlanandan and Peny (1983).

1 and 2, and tests on triaxially consolidated samples on clays

No. 1 and 3. The sample preparation method is described by
Chapuis and Gatien (1986). It was impossible to cut intact
samples in clay No. 3 because of its high sand and gravel
content. Remolded samples were prepared and reconsolidated
in a triaxial cell. As there is a small change in water content
during saturation and consolidation, distilled water was employed in the drainage system of the triaxial cell in order to
minimize the physicochemical changes of the pore water. This
point is important for simulating field conditions.
The testing program was as follows: clay No. 2: undisturbed
samples only, since compaction was not considered easy to
perform (natural liquidity index IL= 1.4); clay No. 3: remolded
and triaxially reconsolidated samples, at two consolidation
pressures (145 and 250 kPa), to study the influence of a,,' on
erodibility; clay No. 1: undisturbed and remolded samples
reconsolidated at 145 kPa, to study the influence of the
preparation method and to compare clays No. 1 and 3.
Prediction of design methods for tested natural clays
Available design methods have been used to predict the
critical shear stress 7, of the three natural clays.
The dispersion ratios (DR)
of these clays were determined by
coupled hydrometer analyses. The parameters M + , u+, and k+
were calculated from the statistically determined mean grain
size distributions. For [5] (Dunn 1959), two possible values of
c,, have been considered: a first c,, was taken as 47.9kPa
(1000 psf) while a second c,, was taken as 0 kPa to reflect the
possibility of completely remolded clay. For [8], a relative
density of 65% was adopted.

Dunn (1959)
(a) c,, = 1000 (Ip)
( b ) c,, = 1000 (Uf)
0 (Ip)
(c) c,, =
( 6 ) c,, =
0 (Uf)
Thomas and Enger (1961)
D% = 65
For comparison: results of
experiments with local
water

Clay
No. 1

Clay
No. 2

Clay
No. 3

3.35
1.77
6.23
9.82
1.24
0.62
66.85
65.42
11.01
10.79
1.76

2.47

1.63

4.2i

8.7i

8.Or

6.0rf

5. lr'

NOTES:i = intact, r = sample triaxially reconsolidated at 250kPa, r' =

sample triaxially reconsolidated at 145kPa. It was impossible to cut intact
samples of clay No. 3 that contained 19% of sand and gravel.
The results shown in Table 5 indicate that two methods
predict very high values of 7, when compared with others.
However, all the remaining predictions are widely spread. From
such a dispersion, it may be concluded that the available design
methods consider only a few parameters affecting the erosion
processes of solid clayey soils. Their suitability have been
questioned for many reasons: (1) they have been established
with widely varying types of equipment; (2) they have used
arbitrary criterions for failure (7,) conditions; (3) generally, they
have not controlled well the geotechnical engineering properties
of the clays; (4) they have neglected the large number of
physicochemical parameters that seem to play an important role
in the erosion processes, notable exceptions being some studies
made by soil scientists (Bruce-Okine and La1 1975; Rornkens et
al. 1977; Wallis and Stevan 1961). However, recent research
has provided neither limit velocities of water nor critical shear
stresses, which would be predicted from physicochemical
analyses.
For comparison, the results obtained with the modified
rotating technique are given at the end of Table 5. It is reminded
that this technique gives a complete curve of 7 versus d
(Chapuis and Gatien 1986).
Based on the present state of knowledge, it is deemed
necessary to perform experimental studies to predict erodibility.
However, problems in transforming the test results into general
design criteria are still essentially unsolved. Furthermore,
laboratory methods that allow for the soil conditions (remolded
or intact samples) and the water conditions (physical chemistry)
to be controlled as well as quantitative measurements of erosion
rate versus shear stress to be measured need to be developed.
Experimental results
Injluence of preparation mode
Comparative tests with clay No. 1 have revealed that the
preparation method has a marked influence on both the critical

138

CAN. GEOTECH. J. VOL. 23, 1986

r
40

C L A Y NO. 3
TRIAXIALLY
SAMPLES

CONSOLIDATED

35 1 4 5 kPa
2 5 0 kPa

--

33

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For personal use only.

'Q20

a IS-

10

HYDRAULIC

SHEAR

15

STRESS

20

C (Pa)

FIG.5. Influence of preparation method for clay No. 1 for intact

clay samples and triaxially prepared samples.

FIG. 6. Influence of consolidation pressure for triaxially prepared

samples of clay No. 3.

shear stress and the erosion rates at lower stresses. As shown in

Fig. 5, the critical shear stress was higher for triaxially prepared
samples than for cut samples (6.0 as compared with 5.0Pa).
Furthermore, erosion rates for given values of T lower than T,
are higher for cut samples than for triaxially prepared samples.
As a matter of fact, the cut samples were characterized by pit
marks of the surface due to small clay aggregate loss whereas
the remolded samples presented a more uniform erosion of
small particles.
As mentioned by Chapuis and Gatien (1986), the torque
required to hold the clay sample stationary in the erosion
apparatus may vary during a stage at constant speed (rpm).
Consequently, it may be concluded that the hydraulic shear
stress acting on the clay surface depends on its roughness, in
contradiction with Schlichting's equation (1960) as presented
by Arulanandan et al. (1975), and that this roughness is variable
throughout a test since it depends on the erosive modelling
action. For shear stresses lower than the critical value it was
observed that, at a constant number of revolutions per minute,
the registered value of T (which is a mean value calculated from
the torque) increased when small aggregates,were detached, and
then decreased as the locally eroded zones smoothed and
healed. On the contrary, when the mean she& stress was higher
than the critical value, the small aggregate loss seemed to act at a
higher rate than the smoothing and healing process.
In the case of clay No. 1, the tests indicated that the triaxially
prepared samples had a smoother surface than the cut samples,
the minimum registered value of the hydraulic shear stress being
systematically lower at a given speed. When considering these
results it is worth emphasizing that the cutting of a sample with a
thin-wall tube is not recommended (the surface of such samples
are scaled), and that the same surface problem would probably
occur with oedometric samples.
In conclusion, the preparation method is very important and

TABLE6. Registered critical shear stresses in the considered testing

program
Test series
Clay
No.

Preparation
mode

1
1
2
3
3

Intact
Triaxially consolidated, 145 kPa
Intact
Triaxially consolidated, 145 kPa
Triaxially consolidated, 250 kPa

Critical shear stresses

Mean Std. dev. Minimum
m
u
min.

4.2
6.0
8.7
5.1
8.0

1.4
2.6
2.7
0.9
2.5

2.5
2.9
4.8
3.9
4.2

has a marked influence on the erodibility test results. Consequently it is imperative that a detailed analysis of field problems
be performed in order to adequately simulate them in a
laboratory test; otherwise the results may be misleading.
Injuence of consolidation pressure
Comparative tests on clay No. 3 have indicated that the
critical shear stress increases with the consolidation pressure for
remolded triaxially prepared samples. This result confirms
similar findings of Dunn (1959), Flaxman (1963), and Rektorik
(1964). As shown in Fig. 6, when the consolidation pressure
increased from 145 to 250 kPa, the critical shear stress increased
from 4.5 to 8.0 Pa. Furthermore, it appeared that for T < T,, the
erosion rates decreased when the consolidation pressure increased. The influence of consolidation had not been investigated with the Davis apparatus (Ariathurai and Arulanandan
1978).
Registered critical shear stresses and erosion rates
In order to get a good evaluation of the erodibility of a clayey
material for specified physicochemical conditions of eroding

CHAPUIS

ROSION

PSE

MODE

EROSION

MODE

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FIG.7. Erosion processes in a riverbed: PSE and OSE types with

importance of microfissuration and microdefects influencing local
hydraulic shear stress and physicochemical actions.

water, 6-10 samples were usually tested. After all of the test
results were gathered, it was possible to determine statistically
the mean critical shear stresses and erosion rates as exemplified
in Figs. 5 and 6. For the considered testing program, the results
are "
given in Table 6.
The variation of T, values registered for a given clay and a
given eroding fluid probably reflects local inhomogeneities
within clay, such as slight differences in grain size distribution,
microcracking patterns, or mechanical imperfections.
Discussion and conclusions
The erosion of cohesive materials by water is a complex
engineering problem that includes various types of erosive
actions. As such, it is quite important to define which process is
involved. Consequently, a tentative classification of erosion
processes has been proposed for solid clays.
The scour resistance of natural clays-a problem related to
the design of hydraulically stable channels with cohesive
boundaries-was examined. The problem was initially approached in an empirical way. Several methods have been
developed to define a critical shear stress T,, acting at the
soil-water interface, above which scour of a clayey material
begins. All these methods tried to relate T, to physical or
mechanical parameters and they were questioned as it became
apparent that the electrochemical bonds between fine particles
of clayey soils have a major influence on their erosion
resistance. These bonds depend on many soil and pore water
properties, and they are strongly influenced by the physicochemical nature of the eroding water. The most interesting
studies of the physicochemical actions have been performed on
artificial clays in order ot differentiate how factors like soil pore
fluid cation concentration, dielectric dispersion, and sodium
adsorption ratio influence the critical shear stress. However, the
physicochemical methods seem to yield limited results owing
to the large number of factors affecting erodibility and the
difficulty involved in controlling all of them such that, presently,
neither T, values nor limit velocities can be derived from
indirect physicochemical measurements. Thus experimental
studies specifying eroding water quality and flow conditions are
deemed necessary to predict the erodibility of a given clay.
An erosion testing program was performed on three natural
clays with the modified rotating cylinder technique (Chapuis
and Gatien 1986). This technique now allows 'for intact or
remolded samples to be tested, physicochemical parameters to
be controlled, and the hydraulic shear stresses and the erosion
rates to be adequately determined. These improvements are
thought to be of great importance, considering the number of
factors influencing erodibility.
New significant results concerning the scour resistance of
clays may be summarized as follows. It is now possible to

139

establish a relatively complete and accurate graph of i. versus T,

including erosion rates d for shear stress values lower than
critical. Comparative tests have indicated that the preparation
method of the clay sample (intact or reconsolidated) has a
marked influence on both T, and d . This may be related to the
level of surface disturbance and to a subsequent smoothing and
healing process that was evidenced during testing. In the case of
triaxially consolidated samples (simulating field compacted
clays), comparative tests have shown that the consolidation
pressure also influences both T, and t.. This may be related, for
example, to an increase of total cation content in the pore water
of the clay when the consolidation pressure is increased.
As a preliminary conclusion, the previous and present results
underline the need to strictly control all clay and water
parameters, including that of the preparation method, in order to
adequately simulate a field problem.
In relation to the adequacy of laboratory studies to simulate
field problems, the results of the present study indicate that two
matters in particular should be given more attention. The first
concerns the influence of time. This factor has received little
attention, laboratory results being only of a short-term nature.
For example, the duration of an erosion stage with the rotating
cylinder test was only 2min in the case of the Davis studies
(Arulanandan et al. 1980), increased to 10 or 30 min by Chapuis
and Gatien (1986). In the case of flume tests, the duration of an
erosion stage was only 2.5 min for the tests reported by
Arulanandan et al. (1980), whereas it varied between 12 and
36 h for the tests reported by Hall (1982). From the relatively
longer testing procedures, it seems that time has little influence
on erosion results. However, it is known from field observations
that the resistance to erosion of artificial channels may increase
considerably with time, that in the same clayey soil deeper
channels exhibit higher scour resistance, and that shallower
channels have higher sediment transport capacity. The fact is
that laboratory tests do not adequately duplicate long-term
erosion problems. Rather, they mainly focus on the initiation of
erosion. Once initiated, erosion will be influenced further by the
importance of sediment sorting and armouring and by the effect
of sediment motion on surface roughness. Erosion locally
modifies the surface roughness, thereby increasing locally the
"contact shear stress" or the water mechanical action and,
hence, the erosion rate. Consequently, long-term field predictions must consider not only the initial conditions (soil and water
parameters, local shear stress according to the hydraulic
conditions in curves, straights, etc.), but also the rate of
production of sediments, their grading, motion, sorting, and
armouring.
The second question concerns the use of the hydraulic shear
stress or tractive force T. It was shown in the present laboratory
study that T depends on the surface roughness, which in turn is
influenced by the erosion process. Consequently, a problem
arises when the transfer to field conditions is considered.
According to hydraulics engineering, the shear stress is calculated at each point from the energy grade line and the geometric
conditions. Such a computation is based on the assumption that
all energy is dissipated in shearing at the soil-water interface,
neglecting dissipation in local turbulences and boundary layers.
Such an approximation seems questionable in the case of
erosion studies since it makes abstraction of the surface
roughness and assigns a fixed value ~(t,x,y,z)= ~(x,y,z)at a
given point of the clayey surface. In laboratory studies,
researchers try to establish a steady uniform flow. Experiments
are designed to prevent secondary flows and to blot out wave

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140

CAN. GEOTECH. 1. VOL. 23, 1986

actions, both of which are significant field factors. In spite of

such precautions, the results presented herein indicate that once
a clay aggregate detaches, there is an increase of the local shear
stress due to surface irregularity. Thereafter, the locally eroded
zone will either smooth and heal or deteriorate. Consequently,
the erosion process is related to local shear stress values that, in
turn, depend on local surface irregularities variable in time. Such
a dependence is masked by the use of calculated theoretical
mean values higher than those acting in reality on the clayey
boundary. For river PSE and OSE erosion processes (Fig. 7),
the influence of high local values of the hydraulic shear stress is
obvious. Between the low- and high-water lines, the clay is
microcracked by frost action and desiccation. During a high
water level period, there acts simultaneously a higher local
shear stress along a surface irregularity and a faster physicochemical process through small cracks by which, for example,
the cation exchange is enhanced relative to a more impervious
clay mass. As a result, even if the clay is mineralogically the
same under and above the low-water line, its erosion behaviour
once the water rises will not be the same for calculated identical
mean hydraulic shear stresses. Such a phenomenon may be
clearly visualised along natural rivers.
As a final conclusion, the modified laboratory method
presented herein, while improving our knowledge of erosion
processes, raises new questions. Traditionally, geotechnical
engineers have not been involved in erosion studies of clayey
materials. Thus, the present research work may be considered as
an important step in the right direction. It was performed in
close cooperation with specialists and consultants in hydraulics
engineering, and it makes clear the advantages of an interdisciplinary research team for such a complex problem.

Acknowledgments
This study was carried out by Mon-Ter-Val Inc. for the
SociCtC d'Energie d e la Baie James. Appreciation is expressed
to S.E.B.J. for their permission to use data and publish this
paper. The continued support and interest of Mr. J . Jacques
Park, Head of the Geology and Soil Mechanics Department of
S.E.B. J., and his valuable comments are gratefully acknoledged. The author is also indebted to Professor Claude Marche
of the Hydraulics Division of ~ c o l ePolytechnique for his
comments on the manuscript.
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