E – 1605 Scour in Cohesive Soils

Scour in cohesive soils has been a challenge for engineers and designers. Unlike noncohesive soils, practical measurement techniques and well accepted guidance of the scourability of cohesive soils are severely lacking.

This course summarizes a study through which an erosion testing device that simulates open channel flow on a small scale was developed and tested. In addition, a recommended design approach is provided that can be used for estimating scour for a range of cohesive soils.

Pub # FHWA-HRT-15-033, May 2015