TITLE:
On the Kenney-Lau Approach to Internal Stability Evaluation of Soils
AUTHORS:
Hans Rönnqvist, Peter Viklander
KEYWORDS:
Internal Stability, Internal Erosion, Granular Soils, Filters, Kenney-Lau Method
JOURNAL NAME:
Geomaterials,
Vol.4 No.4,
September
18,
2014
ABSTRACT: A commonly used approach to evaluating the potential for internal instability in soils is that of Kenney and Lau. This method involves a shape analysis of the grain size curve over a length of the soil’s finer part. A soil that is internally unstable has a particle size distribution with a finer fraction less than the coarser fraction; therefore, the coarser fraction makes up the primary fabric of the material. Thus, the fine-grained particles are loose (non-structural) in between fixed (structural) coarser grains, and these loose fine particles are permitted to migrate through the constrictions of the fabric of the coarser fraction. This paper discusses the evolution of the Kenney-Lau method and its boundary relations, and furthermore, a discussion on adaptations of the method, which touches on field experience and engineering practice, is given.