Hydraulic erosion characteristics based on transparent soil-rock mixture

The soil-rock mixture is a material with extremely uneven mechanical properties, and the hydraulic erosion process of soil-rock mixture is often complex and difficult to predict. The existing hydraulic erosion tests often have difficulties in the observing changes in the hydraulic erosion process of soil-rock mixtures. While the transparent soil-rock mixture is a kind of similar material which is of sufficient similarity to the real one. Based on the transparent soil-rock mixture, the hydraulic erosion tests are carried out considering the internal factors including rock content, block size and consolidation pressure as well as the external factor of flow capacity. The two-dimensional section analysis and the three-dimensional reconstruction of the test results show that there is an average erosion rate and the critical erosion flow for each sample group. The smaller the average erosion rate and the greater the critical erosion flow, the stronger the erosion resistance of the samples. The erosion resistance of the samples first increases and then decreases with increase of the rock content, first increases and then decreases with increase of the block size, and increases with the consolidation pressure. The pure soil samples will eventually tend to a smooth and gentle "S" bank slope under the scouring of low velocity, while a steep slope will be formed at the front end under the scouring of high velocity, and the soil at the back end will be almost washed away. The soil-rock mixture is usually peeled off in chunks under hydraulic erosion, eventually forming an inverted trapezoidal shore slope with a rough surface.