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COHESION OF SOIL PARTICLES AND THE INTRINSIC
RESISTANCE OF SIMPLE SOIL SYSTEMS T O WIND

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EROSION

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IAN J. SMALLEY
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Lee&)

Summary
In a simple dry soil system in which erosion is taking place by virtue of the
impact of saltating sand grains, the intrinsic variables affecting soil resistance can
be investigatedwith the aid of a mathematicalmodel. The soil erodibility depends
on the cohesiveness of the soil which is indicated by the tensile strength. This is
directly proportional to the packing density of the system, to the co-ordination
number of the particles, and to the inter-particle bond strength. Tensile strength
is inversely proportional to the cube of the particle diameter. In a cohesive
material any decrease in the particle size produces a great increase in the tensile

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strength and hence the mechanical stability is improved, but because the particles
are lighter they are easily eroded once they are disturbed.

Introduction
THEmost important factors involved in soil erosion by wind action can
be ex ressed in a functional equation (Chepil and Woodruff, 1963,
P
P- 294 : =f ( I , K , L,v), c, (1)
where the soil loss E is a function of the soil erodibility I , the local wind
erosion climatic factor C, the soil surface rou hness K , the equivalent
B
width of field L,and the equivalent quantity o vegetative cover V . The

z
factor I , soil erodibility, de ends largely on the mechanical stability of
\
the soil. The mechanical sta ility has been defined by Chepil and Wood-
ruff (1963,p. 251) as the resistance of a dry soil to breakdown by a
mechanical agent, such as tillage, force of wind, or abrasion from wind-
blown materials. Mechanical stability depends lar ely on inter-particle
cohesion in the soil system. Erosion by wind in f fne soils is caused by
the impacts of sand-sized grains which are progressing b saltation.
These strike the soil surface and cause a certain amount o disruption
caused depends
?
impact volume; in
force present in that
of the saltating sand

wind erosion process.

Sand Grain Impact
The ath through the air of a saltating sand grain is determined b the
P
mass o the grain m, and the average velocity v, of the low-leve air- Y
Journal of Soil Science. Vol. 21. No. 1. 1970
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SIMPLE SOIL SYSTEMS: RESISTANCE TO WIND EROSION 155

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stream which is propelling it. The two variables also determine the
impact energy :
et = f(% WW). (2)
There is no need to include a term for impact angle in the equation (2)
since the two variables mi and ww will control the flight path and hence
the impact angle.
The energy e, is largely dissi ated on contact in the disintegration of
a small volume of surface soil $ The energy is used in overcoming the
inter-particle tensile forces and then hurling the soil particles up into
the air:
e, = eb+eh. (3)
The division of the im act energy between the disruptive art e6 and the
dispersive part eh is Jetted P
by the size of the soil partic e and thus in
a dry soil system the size of the soil particle has a profound effect on the
roperties of the system, especially when the particle diameter decreases
gelow a certain critical value and the cohesive forces in the s stem are of
the same order of magnitude as the weight of the particles. i t this point
the transition from cohesionless to cohesive material begins to occur.
When the cohesive forces are completely dominant the material is self-
supporting in a tensile test and has a high tensile strength. However,
even before this self-supportin sta e is reached, the soil material has
E W
a definable tensile strength. T e e ect of the variation in particle size
on the properties of an ideal simple d soil has been demonstrated by
a simple experiment (Smalley, 1964). The ideal soil used was composed
sole9 of quartz particles and each sample was, as far as could be ensured
by slmple sieving, of uniform particle size. Each sample, in fact, re re-
sented the size range between adjacent sieves in the British Stan ard
sieve range.
B
The samples were allowed to flow through a suitable orifice and the
flow rate was plotted against particle size. Two main sets of forces
interact in the system, the inter-particle cohesive forces and the weight
of the particles, and the result can be seen in Fig. I. A 3-mm diameter
orifice was used which allowed a certain ran e of particle sizes to flow
%
through; the upper bound was established y the particles being too
large to pass through the opening and the lower bound represents the
point at which the cohesive forces redominate in the system and the
E
flow ceases. In between these two ounds there was a maximum flow
rate. The experiment is analogous to an eroding soil s stem. The same
g
two sets of forces are involved and the maximum erodi ility occurs when
particles are small enou h to be disturbed and lifted but not so small that
%
cohesive forces can sta ilize the system. This effect was observed by
Zingg and Chepil (1950)in their study of the size distribution of soil
particles found in newly formed drifts. A mode particle size of 200-
300 pm was observed. The wind effects a compromise between the two
contending sets of forces in the eroding system.
The relative importance of the two sets of forces can be expressed by
a bond-weight ratio R, where
R = fclfa (4)
156
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in which f, represents the cohesive forces and f , represents the gravita-
tional forces acting on the particles due to their weight. If R is much
greater than I then the soil system is completely cohesive, if R is much
less than I then the cohesive forces are negligible, and if R is equal to I
the forces balance; the relevant size ranges are indicated on Fig. I . zy
70 -

-60
._
C
E
L
m
a
E
-
?.!m
01
I
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50-
-

E
-3 4 0 -
U

30-@

20L
Czyx
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R<< 1

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50 500
Particle diameter (log scale:p)

FIG.I. Variation of flow rate with particle size of an ideal soil material flowing
through a 3-mm diameter orifice. Data from Smalley (1964).

We are concerned with systems where R is relatively large so that in

equation 3 the term eb is more important than eh since much more of the
impact energy will be used in separating the small cohesive soil particles
than in ejecting them into the air stream. The cohesive forces tending
to stabilize the soil system b giving it a relatively high tensile strength
P
would appear to be a critica soil factor controlling erosion.

Tensile Strength
Soil erosion by wind action tends to take place in dry soils in which
the inter-particle contacts are simple and there is no water to provide
extra attraction. The cohesive forces in a dry system tend to be concen-
trated at the contact points (Salisbury et al., 1964); the exact nature of
the cohesive force is still in doubt but it a pears to be a low-order
chemical bond of the van der Waals type. f i e r e is a very weak bond
between particle and particle at the contact point and the actual strength
B of this bond will be independent of particle size in the soils we are
considering. If the soil is made more corn lex by the introduction of an
R
appreciable proportion of clay particles t e particle interactions them-
selves become more complex; there is a fundamental difference in the
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SIMPLE SOIL SYSTEMS: RESISTANCE TO WIND EROSION
nature of the contact between silt-sized quartz particles, such as that
found in loess, and that between clay articles (Weyl and Ormsby, 1960,
s R
p. 2 8). T o derive an equation for t e tensile strength we consider an
idea soil composed of spherical particles of e ual diameter D arranged
157

P
in a completely random packing with simp e silt-type inter-particle
contacts.

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A volume failure miterion is required since failure (represented by dis-

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ruption of a small portion of the soil surface) in the eroding soil s stem
takes place in the impact volume V, as the sand grain strikes.
following method the e uation showing the dependence of the tensile
9
strength of the ideal so1 on certain intrinsic variables is derived with
the

respect to a section of thickness t , perpendicular to the stress direction,

in which the failure takes place by the breaking of the inter-particle bonds.

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The whole soil system has a volume V ,and the failure zone has thickness
t and volume E. The failure occurring in the volume E represents the
real failure of the soil surface occurring in volume q:
v, = q.
The tensile stress u acts on the whole system tendin to pull it apart,
B
the failure occurs when the inter-particle bonds in the ailure section are

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broken and the system divides into two parts (Fig. 2 ) . Particle separates
from particle, the actual disruption of the cohesive contacts occurring
solely within the stipulated failure zone. The average number (P)of
articles contributing to, i.e. having a portion of their surface within, the
failure zone is given by
p = Pv,/G, (6)
where V, is the mean crossed volume of one particle and p is the
fractional packing densi . The failure zone can be considered as a sub-
7
system within the comp ete soil system; the fractional packing density,
i.e. the relative proportion of soil particles and voids, is the same but,
because it is convenient for calculation, the thickness t of the failure zone
is small. This means that no com lete soil particles a pear in the failure
P P P
zone, only portions of particles. %h' e largest ossib e contribution is a
disc of diameter D, the smallest is a very sma 1 sphere ca ;the volume
of the mean contribution is called the mean crossed vo ume and it is
calculated with respect to the particles contributing to the failure zone
sub-system. If t is very small it can be assumed that
V, = A p t , (7)
where A, is the mean crossed area for the particles in the failure zone
sub-system. If the cross-sectional area of the whole system (and the
sub-system) is A,, then
P = pA,t/A,t. (8)
The mean intrusion of articles of the sub-system into the failure zone
is illustrated in Fig. 3. %his shows the average particle with the stipu-
lated failure zone cutting it and forming a disc of thickness t and radius Y.
The disc effectively divides the perpendicular diameter into lengths x
 I. J. SMALLEY

t zy
Tensile stress
direction
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0 Particles hideal soil.system

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Particles contributing to the failure zone sub-system

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FIG.2. Failure zone in an ideal soil system subjected to a simple tensile stress.

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and (D-x). The edge of the disc makes anIangle 8 with the perpendicu-
lar diameter at the centre of the particle.

A, = I
0
D

.rr[x(D-x)] dx (9)

= wDa/6.
Substitution in equation 8 gives
P = 6pA,/nDa.
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SIMPLE SOIL SYSTEMS: RESISTANCE TO WIND EROSION 159

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Having determined the number of particles intruding into the failure

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zone, it is necessary to calculate the number of inter-particle contacts in
this volume of the system. The bonds at these inter-particle contacts
are broken when failure occurs. First W,the mean area of the particle
surface in the failure section, must be determined:
W =?rDt. (11)

particle

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FIG.3. Ideal soil particle showing position of mean contribution
to the failure zone and mean bond direction (making an angle 0
with the tensile direction).

z
The value F which represents the average number of bonds (i.e. inter-
particle contacts) of any one particle in the failure zone is given by
F = kW/nDa
= kt/D,

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( 1 4
where k is the coordination number. This gives an indication of the
closeness of the packin of the particles in the soil system; in the ideal
%
material each particle as k nearest neighbours. The average number
(N> of bonds in the fracture section is grven by
N = PF/z (13)

I
As Fisher 1926)pointed out, one bond connects two particles. The
direction o the bonds is normal to the particle surfaces; the average
bond strength is B and the bonds act at an angle
- 8 to the tensile direction
(see Fig. 3 r
sin 8 = w/D,
but Y = D/46 (from eq. g),
160 zyxwvutsr zyxw
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I. J. SMALLEY

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The tensile component is B cos 54" 42'; the sum of these components
provides the tensile strength due to the total number of inter-particle

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contacts in the failure zone
u = NB cos e/A,
= 3Bpkt cos e/nD3
= 0.55 Bpkt/D3. (1s)
Thus the tensile strength and cohesion in a soil system, and therefore its
resistance to wind erosion, are directly related to the fractional packing
density, coordination number, and inter-particle bond strength, and
inversely proportional to the cube of the particle diameter.
Discussion
Chepil (1955) found that the modulus of rupture, a measure of the
cohesive strength of dry briquettes, varied inversely with the diameter
of the soil particles, suggesting that

The soil particles were consolidated into blocks by wetting and drying
and the modulus of rupture was determined by the method of Richards
19 3). Chepil did not find a simple relationship between particle size
LJ cohesive strength b this em irical method. The clay articles
T B R
possessed the greatest va ue of mo ulus of rupture, and very ne sand
virtually none. This would be expected because of the fundamental
difference in the nature of the particle contacts with these two materials.
while relevant for high clay soils, do not apply to
tensile strengths. Since the materials discussed in
self-supporting s ecimens, the Richards test
to them. The widely di!i ering diametral dependence
indicated by equations (IS) and (16) is not si
a Punt*
If the bondin force B between individua articles de ends on the
P
surface area of t e particles then the relationsfip of tensi e strength to
particle size will be affected. If B is directly proportional to Da then a

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relationship like equation (16) could be expected but, if the inter-particle
bond is concentrated at the oint of contact, then B will be independent
K
of D and a relationship in t e form of equation (IS) will be expected.
Since soil systems which suffer from wind erosion tend to be very dry
(see, for example, Yaalon and Ganor, 1966, p. 29) the likelihood is that

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equation ( I 5 ) will be favoured. Obvious1 any factor which increases B
K.
will protect the soil; so will any factor w ich increases k, the coordina-
tion number. If there are more inter-particle contacts within the soil
system there are more inter-particle forces to resist erosion; but con-
versely erosion is encouraged by the lightness of the particles. If there
I'
were no saltating sand grains (or other agents to disturb the surface the
very fine soils would be stable; unfortunate y once they are disturbed
they are extremely erodible. The most effectively eroded soils have been
loess soils (small particles, R > I , low k) and the theoretical approach
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SIMPLE SOIL SYSTEMS: RESISTANCE T O WIND EROSION 161
to intrinsic erodibility factors presented in this paper was designed with
these in mind. Some other low k soils tend to suffer very badly from
wind erosion. This can be seen in the Fenlands of eastern England
(Astbury, 1958, p. 58 where the eat soil, a low k system with light
1 !
particles, is consistent y disturbed y wind erosion.
It can be argued that there is no such thin as a simple soil and it is
K
certain1 true that most soils are very comp ex. However, soils liable
cy

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to win erosion tend to be relatively simple; the eroded soil certainly
represents a simple system, i.e. single particles suspended in air. The
soil-erosion action considered in this paper is the conversion of the soil
into this sus ended state from a weakly aggregated state. The stable soil
t
is disrupted y the impact of a saltating sand grain which causes a certain
number of inter-particle bonds to be broken. The intrinsic resistance of
the soil to erosion depends on these inter-particle forces.
Acknowledgements
I thank Mr. J. G. Cabrera of the Department of Civil En ineering,
University of Leeds, for his comments on the early drafts of t IS paper,
and Mr. D. G. Ingram of the same department for drawing the figures.
i-
REFERENCES
ASTBURY, A. K. 1958.The Black Fens. Golden Head Press, Cambridge.

zyxwvut
CHEPIL,W. S. 1955. Factors that influence clod structure and erodibility of soil by
wind; IV, sand, silt and clay. Soil Sci. 80, 155-62.
-and WOODRUFF,N. P. 1963. The physics of wind erosion and its control. Adv.
Agron. 15,211-302.
FISHER,R. A. 1926. On the capillary forces in an ideal soil; correction of formulae
given by W. €3. Haines. J. agric. Sci. 16,492-505.
RICHARDS. L.A. 1 9 5 1 . Modulus of rupture as an index of crusting of soil. Soil sci.
SOC. Amer. P&X 17,321-3.
SALISBURY, J. W.,GLASER,P. E., STEIN, B. A., ~ ~ ~ V O ~ EB.G1964. U T Adhesive
,
behaviour of silicate vowders in ultrahigh vacuum. J. geophys. Res. 69,235-42.
SMALLEY, I. J. 1964. Flow-stick transitionh powders. -Nature (Lond.), 201, 173-4.
WEYL, W. A., and ORMSBY, W. C. 1960. Atomistic approach to the rheology of sand-
water and of clav-water mixtures .:in Rheolow. Vol. --3, ed. F. R. Eirich, Academic
Press, New Yo&. pp. 249-7.
YAALON, D. H., and GANOR, E. 1966.The climatic factor of wind erodibility and dust
blowing in Israel. Israel J. Earth Sci. 15, 27-32.
ZINGG,A. W., and CHEPIL,W. S. 1950. Aerodynamics of wind erosion. Agric. Eng.
31, 279-82, 284.

(Received 13 March 1969)

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