Effects of blown sand and soil properties on the abrasion rate of compacted soil

Abstract

Abrasion caused by blown sand is an important process for compacted soils in grasslands. The abrasion rate is affected by a combination of the blown sand intensity and the properties of the underlying soil, but there is a paucity of relevant studies of the simultaneous effects of these factors, especially quantitative ones. Our wind tunnel simulation experiments showed that the abrasion rate of compacted soil increased rapidly with increasing transport rate of the abrasive particles and with increasing soil texture index (δ = (sand% + silt%)/[clay% + organic matter% + CaCO3%]), and decreased significantly with increasing soil compaction. Accordingly, we developed an abrasion rate prediction model that accounted for the transport rate of windblown particles (abraders) and the physicochemical properties of the compacted soil. The effects of abrader properties (grain size and basic density), abrader availability, and a limited upwind supply of the abraders on the abrasion rate of compacted soils were also addressed. We developed a comprehensive abrasion-rate equation that accounted for both particle size and the basic density of the abraders.

Keywords

• Compacted soil
• Abrasion rate
• Wind tunnel experiments