Report on Properties of Cohesive Soils Related to Erosion

During the past year, an investigation has been underway on the physical and erosive properties of cohesive soils. The physical properties, including tensile strength, of four cohesive soils have been determined. It was found that the tensile strength of the cohesive soils tested lies between the compression strength at 1 per cent strain and the compression strength at 2 per cent strain as determined by an unconfined compression test. Thus, the tensile strength of a cohesive soil is no better as a predictor of erosion characteristics than the unconfined compression strength, and neither is a good predictor of critical shear stress required to start erosion.