Development of experimental methodology of investigating the relative and interactive effects of physicochemical properties of permeating fluids on incipient motion of granular particles

Particle mobilization is a fundamental aspect in the process of soil erosion and has been known to affect the stability of critical infrastructures such as levees and dams. In the field, fluids permeating through earthen dams or levees may exhibit a range of physicochemical characteristics that may affect the incipient motion of soils. This paper presents an experimental methodology that can be used to evaluate the relative and interactive effects of a fluid’s physicochemical properties on the incipient motion of a granular particle under laminar flow condition. The results obtained from the present research demonstrated the ability of the experimental setup and methodology in studying the effect physicochemical properties (such as viscosity, pH and ionic strength) of fluids on incipient motion of granular particles under laminar flow condition.