Study on Hydraulic Erosion Characteristics Based on Transparent Soil‐Rock Mixture

ABSTRACT Soil‐rock mixture (SRM) exhibits more complex properties than soil. Existing hydraulic erosion tests make it difficult to accurately observe the erosion process inside SRM. Nonetheless, the utilisation of transparent soil‐rock mixture (TSRM) as simulation mediums offers a heightened ability to faithfully replicate the mechanical characteristics inherent in real SRM. Four factors including rock content, rock size, consolidation pressure and erosion flow rate were considered, in order to investigate the erosion pattern of TSRM. Specifically, with the increase of rock content, the erosion resistance of the test samples was first enhanced and then weakened; with the increase of rock size, the erosion resistance also showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing; whereas, with the increase of consolidation pressure, the erosion resistance of the test samples was gradually enhanced. Under the effect of hydraulic erosion, the pure soil specimen will gradually form a smooth and gentle ‘S’‐shaped slope under the low‐flow erosion; while under the high‐flow erosion, the front end of the specimen will form a steeper slope, and the soil at the back end may be washed away. In contrast, SRM usually undergo block exfoliation by hydraulic erosion, resulting in an inverted trapezoidal slope with a rough surface.