Susceptibility to erodibility of residual soils based on correlations of physical-mechanical geotechnical properties

Abstract

This study evaluated the erodibility potential of samples of residual soils representing the horizons of a road cutting profile in the municipality of Viçosa, State of Minas Gerais. The erodibility was evaluated considering the results of tests of physical characterization, geotechnical characterization by MCT methodology and direct shear strength. The approach for evaluation of erodibility by means of criteria based on the physical characterization of the samples and the parameters of shear strength, when considered separately, was not enough to determine the susceptibility to erodibility of the analyzed samples. However, the numerical limits proposed in the literature regarding the values of plasticity index and percentage passing the #200 sieve are applicable for the determination of the erodibility potential of the samples analyzed. The evaluation of erodibility, based on the classification according to the MCT methodology, was suitable for the soil samples analyzed, since the results of this classification confirmed the pedological conditions observed in the field, in which lateritic soils are more resistant to erodibility, compared to non-lateritic soils. Thus, the present study confirms the importance of the geotechnical classification according to the MCT methodology for determination of the susceptibility to erodibility of residual soils in tropical regions.