Assessing the Potential of Internal Erosion and Suffusion of Granular Soils

Abstract

This study presents a new empirical criterion for assessing the potential of internal erosion and suffusion of granular soils. This method considers the bimodal structure of a soil having a primary coarse fabric and loose finer particles based on the porosities influenced by the particle size distribution and the degree of compaction. By comparing the representative particle size of a loose finer fraction with the controlling constriction size of a primary coarse fabric, a distinct boundary between internally stable and unstable soils with respect to internal erosion may be found.