Evaluation of erosion resistance capacity on compacted weathered granite soil using non-destructive tests

This paper deals with the evaluation of the erodibility of compacted weathered granite soil through non-destructive tests. A rotating erosion cylinder test (RECT) was employed to evaluate the erosion resistance capacity of weathered granite soil with various relative densities and pre-consolidation pressures. In addition, non-destructive tests, i.e., electrical resistivity and bender element tests, were conducted to investigate a correlation between erosion resistance characteristic and non-destructive property. The results indicated that the critical shear stress increased with an increase in relative density and pre-consolidation pressure, and the threshold shear stress increased with an increase in relative density, while its increase was independent of an increase in pre-consolidation pressure. Thus, the relative density of weathered granite soil has a more significant effect on erosion resistance than its pre-consolidation pressure. The electrical resistivity and shear wave velocity increased with increases in relative density and pre-consolidation pressure, and these results had a good correlation with the porosity of weathered granite soils. The empirical equations for estimating the critical shear stress and the threshold shear stress of weathered granite soils, based on the relationship between the values of erosion resistance capacity normalized by those of non-destructive tests and porosity, were proposed. It is expected that the proposed correlation might be useful in determining the erosion resistance capacity of compacted weathered granite soil by using non-destructive tests.