An equation of soil detachment by flow

The work deals with the development of phenomenological law of soil mass transport by surface water flow. Well-known in mechanics as the pi-theorem, the equation of mass conservation of a mix on the phase boundary (water-soil) and assumption about similarity of field of particle concentrations in a flow to the field of velocities were assigned as the basis of development. A new equation of soil loss was obtained. The arguments of this equation are: shear stress of flow, average flow velocity and scouring velocity. Empirical coefficients were found on the basis of the laboratory experimental research of relation between the removal intensity of some pre-mountain soils of the southeastern slope of Large Caucasus and the velocity of flow. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.