Reclamation Information Sharing Environment (RISE)

The title of this test was Cracked Embankment Erosion Test (CEET) 4. This test took place from June 21 to 23, 2016. The material used was Bonny Silt and had a Plasticity Index (PI) of 6, classified as a silty clay (CL-ML), had 89% passing the No. 200 sieve, the maximum unit weight was 98.5 pounds per cubic feet, and a moisture content of 19%, 2% above optimum. The embankment was constructed using a pneumatic tamper to 93% compaction at optimum with approximately 1-inch lifts over a three-week period. The average void ratio was 0.71 and the average degree of saturation was 71.5. The embankment was 10 feet long (upstream to downstream), 1.5 feet wide, and 3 feet tall. The embankment was built using a stair step construction. The steps were removed prior to the test. Stains visible in the cross section of the embankment on the plexiglass were due to soil being in contact with steel. The surface was not scarified prior to testing. The test crack was a 3/8-inch continuous crack both vertically and horizontally. Final photogrammetry revealed 2,354 cubic inches of soil removed in total during the test. Speed tests were conducted throughout the experiment. This video file contains an audio description.