Geosciences Journal
Vol. 14, No. 4, p. 359 369, December 2010
DOI 10.1007/s12303-010-0036-y
The Association of Korean Geoscience Societies and Springer 2010
Grain size dependent rheology on the mobility of debris flows
Sueng Won Jeong* Geologic Environment Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM),
Daejeon, 305-350, Republic of Korea
ABSTRACT: When dealing with natural geo-hazards it is impor-
tant to understand the influence of flow characteristics on the sub-
marine landslides, because the flow characteristics of fine-grained
soils are most likely governed by the rheological properties. It may
further relate to the mobility analysis of debris flow. Geotechnical
and rheological investigation on the clay-rich materials were com-
pared with those of silt-rich materials. For the examined fine-grained
soils, the flow behavior depends on the volumetric concentration
of solid and surface phenomenon, particularly for non-swelling
materials. Assuming that the debris flow materials behave as the
Bingham fluid, a possible relationship between geotechnical and
rheological properties are proposed. From an empirical relation-
ship between yield stress and plastic viscosity, a comparison empha-
sizes the grain size effect on the rheology of geomaterials encountered
in various environments. The larger the particle size involved in
the matrix, the lower the value of viscosity which is in the order of
10 times. Debris flow mobility with respect to rheology concerning
the large particle size is emphasized.
Key words: geo-hazards, submarine landslides, geotechnical and rheo-
logical properties, grain size effect, geomaterials, debris flow mobility
1. INTRODUCTION
Muddy debris flows were often encountered in various
environments: sensitive clay plains, alpine terrains, and sub-
marine landslides (Terzaghi, 1956; Morgenstern, 1967; Tave-
nas et al., 1971; Hampton et al., 1996; Malet et al., 2003).
In particular, the flow of highly concentrated mixtures of
sediment and water is an important geomechanical process
in subaerial and subaqueous environments. The flows with
large volumes of sediments could have a potential of rapid
transportation. The long run-out distances observed for sub-
marine landslides could be related to the variations of rheo-
logical properties of the completely remoulded soils. A
highly concentrated form of sediment transport is treated as
non-Newtonian yield stress fluids. For this, viscoplastic
flow behavior can be encountered in almost all the subaerial
and subaqueous landslides, however the rheological char-
acteristics are still highly complex. The consequences can
be influenced by many factors including the soil type, grain
size distribution, mineralogy, volumetric concentration of
solid, salinity, pH, temperature, and shear rate history (Tor-
rance and Pirnat, 1984; Locat and Demers, 1988; Major and
*Corresponding author: suengwon@hotmail.com
Pierson, 1992; Coussot and Piau, 1994; Perret et al., 1996;
Locat, 1997).
Among influencing factors on the rheological behavior,
many studies were initiated on the volumetric concentration
of solids, the volumetric proportion of sand-clay mixtures
and surface phenomena (for instance, the interaction between
particles and fluid in particle-laden open channel flow). The
effect of salinity on the flow behavior of fine-grained sed-
iments is also significant (e.g., Bentley, 1979; Torrance and
Pirnat, 1984). As many authors pointed out, an increase in
salinity can result in an increase in yield stress and viscos-
ity. Locat (1997) presented that the flow behavior depends
not only on concentration of solid but also on surface phe-
nomena which can be represented by the liquidity index. It
could provide a normalizing parameter of flow properties.
As compared with factors affecting rheological character-
izations, grain size effect is by far the most important factor.
Large data scatter due to increasing grain sizes makes it
more difficult to describe the rheological behavior and to fit
an appropriate rheological model. The present paper aims at
revisiting the relationships proposed by Locat (1997) by
integrating various rheological test results obtained on sam-
ples of different nature in such a way as to be able to con-
sider the role of sediment texture (from clay to sand) on the
rheological behavior of soils.
Firstly, this paper examines the geotechnical and rheo-
logical characteristic of fine-grained soils from a compre-
hensive compilation of rheological data (Jeong, 2006). This
paper then presents the factor affecting the rheological
behaviors, particularly for the effect of grain size. Analysis
has been conducted on the silt-rich materials taken from the
land and marine environments. From this analysis, some
general conclusions are drawn about the influence of grain
sizes on rheological properties, and insight has been obtained
into the preliminary analysis for the development of post-
failure in landslides.
2. FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF GEOMATERIALS
Fluids for which the shear stress is not linearly related to
the rate of shearing strain are designated as non-Newtonian
fluids: for instance, paints, polymer, concentrated solutions
of sugar in water, colloids, clays, milk, blood, liquid cement,
360 Sueng Won Jeong
Fig. 1. Principle flow types. (1) Bingham; (2) Bingham plastic; (3)
shear thinning; (4) Newtonian; (5) shear thickening.
and many other industrial uses of great importance. The
principal types of flow are shown in Figure 1: (1) ideal
Bingham (viscoplastic with a yield stress), (2) Bingham
plastic (shear thinning with yield stress), (3) shear thinning
(pseudoplastic, n < 1), (4) Newtonian, and (5) shear thick-
ening (dilatant, n > 1). In fact, the simplest theoretical
model is well known as the Bingham model. The concept
of ideal Bingham model is convenient in practice, but the
Bingham model cannot be fitted to flow curves in the wide
range of shear rates. In fact, a number of sediments exhibit
diverse rheological behaviors. A more precise way of indi-
cating the behavior is to say that the fluid is pseudoplastic,
implying that it shows a time-independent decrease of vis-
cosity with no yield value (Whorlow, 1980; Tanner, 1985).
A more complex situation, of great interest within the con-
text of this study, is encountered with geomaterials with flow
curves being in agreement with the following equations:
Bingham:
= y + p (1)
Herschel-Bulkley:
n having an identical viscosity as a Newtonian liquid is called
= y + K (2)
Carreau:
o 2 (n 1) 2
---------------- = [ 1 + ( ) ] (3)
o occur in sand-water mixtures. An original discussion of
where is the shear stress (Pa), y is the yield stress (Pa), p
is plastic viscosity (Pas), and is the shear rate (s1). K is
the consistency coefficient (Pas), and n is the flow behavior
index (dimensionless). In Equation (2), if y = 0, Herschel-
Bulkley equation simplifies to Power law equation. For n = 1,
the power law model reduces to a Newtonian fluid model. In
Equation (3), o is the zero-shear rate viscosity (Bird et al.,
1977), h is the infinite-shear rate viscosity, and is the time
constant. There are still many others (see Barnes, 1999).
Fig. 2. Determination of rheological parameters on the Pointe-du-
Fort sample with a liquidity index of 3. Domain (1) = pre-yielding,
Domain (2) = yielding surface, and Domain (3) = post-yielding.
In order to examine the flow type, the behavior can be
graphically portrayed in linear plots of shear stress against
shear rate. Figure 2 gives an example of determination of
rheological properties on the Pointe-du-Fort soils (upper
Saguenay Fjord, Qubec, Canada) with a liquidity index of 3.
When looking carefully at Figure 2, there are three domains:
(1) first branch of flow curve with respect to plastic defor-
mation, having a pseudo-Newtonian viscosity which would
represent the mixture resistance with respect to cohesion
(Locat, 1997); (2) yield surface having an apparent yield
stress against deformation; and (3) flow of a liquid having
an ideal Bingham viscosity. When plotted as the logarithm
of viscosity against the logarithm of shear stress (or shear
rate) shown in Figure 3, the phenomenological character-
ization may be better illustrated. Newtonian fluid has a con-
stant viscosity irrespective of change of shear rate. In the
shear thinning fluids (or known as pseudoplastic) the apparent
viscosity decreases as shear rate linearly increases. The
term apparent viscosity is common when describing the
flow behavior of non-Newtonian fluids. The ratio of the
shear stress to the shear rate for a non-Newtonian liquid
apparent viscosity (sometimes, introduced as effective vis-
cosity). Conversely, in shear thickening fluids (sometimes
also denoted as dilatant) the apparent viscosity is diamet-
rically opposed to shear thinning. Dilatancy is rare and can
dilatant fluids studied for sand-water mixtures was made by
Osborne Reynolds who found that dilatant fluids have an
increase in viscosity as the shear rate increases. However,
this phenomenon cannot cover a wide range of materials,
because all shear thickening are not associated with a vol-
ume increase at a particular strain rate. Over a wide range
of shear rates, it looks that the viscosity of such non-New-
tonian fluids having a yield stress was decreasing asymp-
totically as the applied shear stress (or strain rate) was
 Grain size dependent rheology on the mobility of debris flows
Fig. 3. A sketch of log viscosity versus log shear rate for various flow types and cross models.
increased (Fig. 3b). After a power law in motion, the sheared
material reverts back to Newtonian viscosity, with the vis-
cosity independent of shear rate (see Cross, 1965, 1970;
Bird et al., 1977; Tanner, 1985; Barnes et al., 1989). Thus
non-Newtonian fluids exhibit a Newtonian-through-power-
law-to-Newtonian flow behavior. This type of model is
considerably more difficult to use than the power law but
occasionally if one needs a close fit for numerical works,
they can be useful (Barnes, 1999).
The viscosity depends not only on the shear rate but also
with time when constant shearing is applied (Mewis, 1979;
Barnes, 1997). Non-linear time-dependent fluids can be
subdivided into two types: i.e., thixotropic and negative
thixotropic fluids. In general, a reversible time-dependent
decrease of viscosity is termed thixotropy, and a reversible
time-dependent increase of viscosity is called negative thix-
otropy. It should be noted that thixotropy is considered as a
phenomenon capable of inducing soil structural changes,
generating a sensitivity which increases with time. This is
one of the reasons why the thixotropic behavior of natural
materials is of great importance. However, the effect of
thixotropy is beyond the scope of this study.
3. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Rheological investigations were carried out on the selected
materials: St-Alban clays, Baie des Ha!Ha!, La Valette
soils, and iron ore tailings. The main geotechnical param-
eters are summarized in Table 1. These soil samples are
known as a low activity clay and silt-rich soil (Jeong et al.,
Table 1. Geotechnical parameters of selected soils
Soils wL (%) wp (%)
Baie des Ha!Ha! 35.9 20.3
St-Alban 36.1 18.7
La Valettea 39 23
Iron ore tailingsa 22.6 17.6
a
average value. wL = liquid limit; wp = plastic limit; Ip = plasticity index; S.S = specific area (m2/g); S = salinity (g/L); CF = clay fraction (%).
361
2009). In this study, we assumed that all soil samples are
low activity (or non-swelling) materials, without examining
their swelling capacity. As for the basic geotechnical tests,
samples were tested according to ASTM and BNQ (Bureau
de normalisation du Qubec) standards. The St-Alban clays
are postglacial Champlain Sea marine clays, located about
100 km west of Qubec City, Canada (Locat, 1997; Trem-
blay et al., 2002). It was known that the region of Basses-
Terre du St-Laurent was inundated by the Champlain Sea,
about 12,000 years ago, before the glacial retreat and
removal of the ice overburden. It is known that these soils
are composed of particles that vary in size: fine sand (10%),
silt (52%), and clay (38%) collected from intact soil sample.
The Baie des Ha!Ha! samples were taken from the upper
Saguenay Fjord, Qubec, located in Canada on the north
coast of the Saint-Lawrence Estuary. The Saguenay Fjord is
a long (90 km) and narrow (1 to 6 km) glacially excavated
valley that lies in an ancient graben in the Precambrian
Canadian Shield (St-Onge et al., 2004). The Saguenay Fjord
has been marked by several natural disasters over the last
few centuries: the 1663 and 1988 earthquakes, the 1971
Saint-Jean-Vianney landslides and the 1996 catastrophic
flood, which swept more than 15 106 m3 of sediment into
the Saguenay Fjord (Lapointe et al., 1998). The thickness of
deposited layers is ranging from few centimetres to several
meters. In particular, it is now well known that the major
epicentre of 1663 earthquake was located in the vicinity of
the Baie des Ha!Ha! that have revealed, from multibeam
bathymetry and seismic reflection surveys, the presence of
a fault-like deformation possibly linked to terrestrial frac-
Ip (%) S.S S (g/L) CF (%)
15.6 20.3 21.5 35
17.4 52.5 0.3 46
16.5 27 30
4.9 22
362 Sueng Won Jeong
tures (Locat et al., 2003). The Baie des Ha!Ha! samples are
composed of clayey silts: clay (25%), silt (55%), and fine
sand (<10%), having mostly quartz and feldspars, and some
traces of organic matter, pyrite and mica.
In the Barcelonnette basin (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence,
France), La Valette landslide occurred at the northwest part
of Barcelonnette city, on the right side of Ubaye river. The
materials tested were taken from debris at the tip of La Val-
ette landslide. According to Colas and Locat (1992), La
Valette landslide and sporadic debris flows are approxi-
mately up to 9 million of m3. Due to snow melting and heavy
rainfalls, landslides and subsequent debris flows could be
initiated overlying stratified black marl called Terres Noires.
La Valette soils are characterized by their high percentage
of gravel (37%), sand (32%) and silt (20%), but relatively
small percentage of clays (11%). Viscometric tests were done
on the samples passing 0.075 mm sieve. Thus, the samples
are considered fine-grained; they are relatively inactive and
inorganic materials with medium plasticity (i.e., IP = 17%).
They are composed mostly of quartz and calcite, and traces
of feldspars. The principal clay minerals are chlorite and
illite, with possibility of low concentration of inter-stratified
minerals. According to Malet et al. (2002), there is no swelling
clay in these formations. Iron ore tailings essentially contain
silt-sized particles with a very small amount of clay. The
materials were taken from Wabush Lake, Newfoundland,
Canada. This work was initially related to the application of
rheology to solve the tailings disposal problems. They are
composed of fine sand (40%), silt (50%), and clay (10%). For
fine-grained soil (less than 0.075 mm), the samples were
sedimented and stored in jug under water during 24 hours
without any chemical modification. Then, samples were air-
dried. They are composed about 80% of silts and 20% of
clays, but at least lesser sands.
A rotational coaxial cylinder viscometer is often used to
measure the viscosity in a variety of research activities and
developments in laboratories. This is possible due to a rel-
atively low cost device, easily automated of simple opera-
tion, and not labor intensive, like many other rheometers.
The rheological analysis of the sediments was carried out
using a Rotovisco RV-12 coaxial cylinder viscometer (Searle
type). The shear rate can be imposed by the rotational speed
varying from about 0.5 to 1200 s1. In order to avoid the dif-
ficulty of measurements, sand-sized particles (>0.075 mm)
from soil samples are removed for viscometric tests. To do
so, soil samples are sieved using #200 sieve, if necessary.
The rheological tests are then conducted on the fine-grained
soils with clay fraction having 2235% (Table 1). Firstly,
the samples were thoroughly mixed to ensure complete
homogenization to achieve desirable soil condition. Then,
the samples were then left to rest for at least 30 to 60 min-
utes to allow hydration of the soil particles. The procedure
is described in detail by Locat and Demers (1988). Three
types of tests were generally performed: (1) steady-state, (2)
dynamic response, and (3) hysteresis. However, the primary
intent of this work is to examine the steady state and dynamic
response under controlled torques.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Geotechnical and Rheological Properties of Fine-
grained Soils
Natural clayey soils have characteristics of a pseudoplas-
tic fluid (denoted as shear thinning fluid), with a decrease in
viscosity as shear rate increases, whereas some soils are
close to a Bingham-like fluid. In general, the latter is most
likely to transform with increasing water content (Locat,
1997). This phenomenon can be easily expressed in terms
of the relationship between viscosity and shear rate, which
is good tool to analyze an unclear flow behavior. Figure 4
presents the flow curves in a linear (shear stress, shear
rate, ) and logarithmic (viscosity, shear rate, ) plot
for the examined soils. Based on the data compiled from
Jeong (2006), rheological parameters obtained from Bing-
ham and Herschel-Bulkley models are summarized in Table
2. For the St-Alban clays (Figs. 4a and b), test results
revealed that the soil sample exhibited a pseudoplastic flow
characteristic, regardless of change in liquidity index and
salinity. Similar test results are observed for La Valette soils
and numerous clayey soils (Jeong, 2006). It appears that the
limited flow curve in La Valette soils can be traced due to
low percentage of water content less than 100%. It is of
interest to note that, for the Baie des Ha!Ha! even fine-
grained soils used, a pseudo-yielding phenomenon is
observed at low shear rates. Barnes (1999) explained this
observation as being generally deduced from the slip effects
in rheometer, especially for very low shear rates say, a
production of pseudo-Newtonian plateau. For iron ore tail-
ings, soil samples exhibited the transitional behavior from a
pseudoplastic to a Bingham-like in the range of water con-
tent of 2645%. Similar results were presented by Major
and Pierson (1992). The evidence is indisputable when the
liquidity index was increased. Figure 5 shows the flow
behavior of St-Alban clays for a given condition: liquidity
index, IL = 1.97; salinity, S = 1.0 g/L; yield stress, y = 152
Pa, and viscosity, p = 0.1 Pas. These values are chosen
arbitrarily. The purpose of Figure 5 is to examine the flow
behavior as a function of viscosity control at the same phys-
icochemical condition (i.e., same liquidity index and salin-
ity). The St-Alban clay exhibits distinct pseudoplastic, but a
significant change in flow behavior is observed when plas-
tic viscosity is progressively increased from 0.1 to 5.0 Pas:
i.e., from pseudoplastic to ideal Bingham. The experimental
results revealed that these materials exhibit entirely pseudo-
plastic behavior and have values of n between 0.1 and 0.5
(Jeong et al., 2009). However, for other very soft muddy
materials, the plastic viscosity varies between 0.01 to 1 Pas
 Grain size dependent rheology on the mobility of debris flows
(Jeong et al., 2010).
There is still little controversy on the flow behaviors of
non-Newtonian yield stress fluids. Figure 6 gives an exam-
ple of dilatant behavior, i.e., the reaching maximum of yield
stress at very low shear rates (less than 10 s1), but the mix-
tures exhibit primarily pseudoplastic behavior under a wide
variety of shear rates. The shear stress is declined markedly
after the maximum value. As shown in Figure 6a, there are
two types of yield stress: dynamic and static yield stress
(Cheng, 1986). Comparing with other natural clayey soils,
the flow behavior of Baie des Ha!Ha! (upper Saguenay
Fjord, Qubec, Canada) is a good example to identify flow
characteristics. Figure 6b is hysteresis curve of Baie des
363
Fig. 4. Flow curves of examined soils:
shear stress versus shear rate (a, c, e,
and g) and viscosity versus shear rate
(b, d, f, and h). Data from Jeong
(2006).
Ha!Ha! samples. For the materials whose solid concentra-
tion in a sediment-water system is relatively high, indeed, it
is difficult to determine the rheological parameters and tend
to underestimate the value of yield strength (Phillips and
Davies, 1991; Jeong, 2006). It may provide a clue to gain
insight into a pseudo-yielding phenomenon as indicated in
Figure 4d. Technically, it may be due to the fact that the
tests were completely too early to well define the flow in
the plastic domain. This is seen regardless of type of grain
size (e.g., Coussot et al., 1998). The points to be emphasi-
zed here are grain-size dependent rheology of materials.
The influence of clay minerals on the rheological behavior
is beyond the scope of this study. Physically, it may be due
364 Sueng Won Jeong

Table 2. Rheological parameters obtained from the fine-grained soils (data from Jeong, 2006)
model Bingham Herschel-Bulkley
Soil sample
IL S (g/L) y-B (Pa) h (mPa.s) r2 y-HB (Pa) K n r2
2.2 1.0 96.8 75.6 0.827 87.9 2.77 0.416 0.955
2.6 1.0 48.7 41.8 0.803 0.98 0.500 0.968
3.0 1.0 27.3 23.7 0.990 25.7 0.10 0.810 0.999
St-Alban
3.0 2.0 39.5 29.6 0.970 36.1 0.50 0.560 0.976
Clays
3.0 4.0 49.6 31.0 0.910 41.7 1.90 0.380 0.987
3.0 10.0 59.7 32.0 0.900 51.1 2.90 0.320 0.979
3.0 29.2 67.3 32.3 0.700 47.4 10.70 0.170 0.958
wL = 35.9%; wp = 20.3%
Baie des 2.2 21.5 201.7 123.8 0.259 39.1 148.33 0.038 0.590
Ha !Ha ! 2.6 21.5 101.8 51.4 0.362 34.9 55.94 0.063 0.727
(Saguenay 3.1 21.5 71.9 40.2 0.520 24.6 39.33 0.100 0.728
Fjord) 3.5 21.5 39.3 28.2 0.694 14.6 17.28 0.138 0.726
4.2 21.5 19.6 22.8 0.928 15.5 1.95 0.330 0.937
wL = 41.0%; wp = 25.0%
w = 60% 403.9 649.8 0.661 129.0 111.46 0.248 0.992
66 341.9 547.8 0.650 111.5 87.45 0.265 0.970
70 215.1 337.8 0.659 74.5 58.97 0.242 0.995
La Valette 80 125.8 185.2 0.707 52.8 26.59 0.274 0.992
92 75.6 36.6 0.820 35.4 7.11 0.347 0.995
94 82.4 76.8 0.827 49.1 6.74 0.381 0.997
99 71.9 37.2 0.847 36.9 5.41 0.377 0.996
101 47.5 24.9 0.871 26.4 2.73 0.411 0.997
wL = 22.3%; wp = 18.5%
2.1 89.5 1129.3 0.987 8.3 3.66 0.838 0.986
2.2 87.6 1095.2 0.988 29.3 2.01 0.925 0.993
2.3 70.9 1190.3 0.989 30.0 3.78 0.814 0.996
2.5 56.0 471.8 0.977 7.9 3.66 0.698 1.000
2.8 56.9 521.1 0.980 8.2 2.60 0.780 1.000
wL = 22.9%; wp = 16.7%
iron ore
1.1 63.1 1044.5 0.977 11.4 3.82 0.816 0.994
tailings
1.3 89.6 407.2 0.948 18.4 3.91 0.702 0.995
1.4 67.8 310.7 0.939 13.2 5.34 0.592 0.993
1.6 10.6 72.0 0.997 8.1 0.39 0.746 0.987
1.9 9.5 47.2 0.997 7.4 0.58 0.608 0.977
2.0 7.6 37.1 0.997 5.8 0.41 0.626 0.979
2.2 4.8 31.0 0.999 6.4 0.08 0.864 0.999
3.0 1.9 25.8 0.999 2.3 0.08 0.864 0.999
IL = liquidity index; Ip = plasticity index; S = salinity (g/L); K = consistency coefficient; n = flow behavior index; r2 = coefficient of deter-
mination; w = water content; wL = liquid limit; wp = plastic limit; y-B (Pa) = Bingham yield stress; y-HB (Pa) = Herschel-Bulkley yield stress;
h (mPas) = plastic viscosity.

to the fact that a relatively low yield stress and a high plas-
tic viscosity could be related to a low bounding strength of
flocs. Similar behaviors were also observed for the flow
curves on the Louiseville clay and Trois-Rivires silt mix-
tures (Jeong, 2006) that show dilatant flow behaviors at low
shear rates when the silt percentage is over 80%, even
though the scatter is significant. It is believed that the mate-
rials tested could be slipped or underwent a packing/struc-
ture change as the rate of shearing (rpm) increases from
zero (Phillips and Davies, 1991). This behavior was also
found for fresh concrete mixtures with change of concrete
volumes (Ukraincik, 1980), where the yield point has a
higher torque value, due to the structural changes, than that
at higher rotation rate. The structural modification with high
solid content mixtures was discussed by Major and Pierson
(1992) who pointed out that grain interlocking and collision
 Grain size dependent rheology on the mobility of debris flows
Fig. 5. Flow behaviors depending on plastic viscosity, showing
ideal Bingham and pseudoplastic flow behaviors (given condition
of St-Alban clay: IL = 1.97, Salinity = 1.0 g/L, y = 152 Pa, and p
= 0.1 Pa.s).
can cause changes in packing density, particle distribution,
grain orientation, and formation and destruction of grain
clusters.
Locat and Demers (1988) presented the link between
geotechnical and rheological behavior of natural soft clays
within the limited range of measurable shear rates (e.g., typ-
ically from 102 to 103 s1). The viscometric results are gen-
erally presented in a semi-logarithm or loglog diagram of
rheological and geotechnical parameters with regard to
liquidity index. Assuming that the flow behaves as a Bing-
ham fluid, there is the relationship between plastic viscosity
(p, in mPas) and yield stress (y, in Pa) measured at var-
ious liquidity indices. Empirical relationships with test
results obtained from Baie des Ha!Ha! samples (Fig. 7) are
Fig. 6. Relationship between shear stress and shear rate. (a) Schematic view of flow curves with dynamic and static yield stress; (b) dila-
tant plastic behavior of Baie des Ha!Ha! samples at low shear rates.
365
shown for: (a) the apparent yield stress and plastic viscosity,
(b) liquidity index and plastic viscosity, and (c) liquidity
index and apparent yield stress. These relationships are
much better for a sensitive soil particularly for inorganic
natural clayey soils. For sensitive clays, the plastic viscosity
only represents about 1/1000th of the total shearing resis-
tance of the mixture (Locat, 1997). For fine-grained soils,
Locat (1997) and Jeong (2006) examined that the yield
stress and viscosity with increasing liquidity index are pre-
sented within a boundary zone in Figures 7a and b. Salinity
can affect the yield stress measurements as shown in Figure
7c. For examples, two curves were plotted by Locat (1997)
for 0 g/L and 30 g/L salinity. These findings can be used for
a preliminary numerical analysis for describing run-out dis-
tance (Kvalstad et al., 2005; Locat et al., 2004).
4.2. Grain-size Dependent Rheology in Debris Flow
Materials
OBrien and Julien (1988) demonstrated that both yield
stress and viscosity increase exponentially with concentra-
tion of solid. The fines-laden debris flows play an important
rule on the mobility when they are in excess of 10 to 25%
(Coussot et al., 1998; Parsons et al., 2001; Syvitski and
Hutton, 2003; Rematre et al., 2005), yielding a fluid-like
behavior. The grain size distribution and the soil plasticity
of the mixtures are key factors which influence the differ-
entiated response of mixtures to mass movement (Malet et
al., 2003). In fact, natural debris flows can be characterized
by various grain sizes. Most reported rheological properties
of debris-flow materials have been restricted to the fine
slurries that form the interstitial fluid in a granular debris
flow (OBrien and Julien, 1988; Coussot et al., 1998). Major
and Pierson (1992) have presented that yield strength and
plastic viscosity of fine-grained mixtures exhibit an order-
366 Sueng Won Jeong
Fig. 7. Geotechnical and rheological properties of Bais des Ha!Ha!
samples. (a) yield stress and plastic viscosity; (b) liquidity index
and plastic viscosity; (c) liquidity index and yield stress.
of-magnitude variation when sediment concentration changes
as little as 2 to 4%. Thus, the rheological characteristics of
debris flows may be influenced by the presence of coarse
particles. The rheology on the transition from fine-grained
to coarse-grained soils is of paramount importance, even in
the case that a small amount of coarse particles in slurry
flows does not greatly influence the fluid properties (Chen
Fig. 8. Relationship between yield stress and plastic viscosity. La
Valette and iron ore tailings. Data from Jeong et al. (2010).
and Lee, 2002).
Comparing rheological properties between iron ore tail-
ings and La Valette soils (Fig. 8), the difference indeed is
large. La Valette soils were taken from debris flow mate-
rials in the French Alps. The flow behavior belongs to the
category of pseudoplastic because La Valette samples have
a high silt and clay content (from 25 to 40%). The flow
behaviors of La Valette soils are very similar to those of
natural softy clays in that the relationship of yield stress
versus plastic viscosity with respect to liquidity index is in
good agreement with the expected relationship. The iron
ore tailings were taken from Wabush Lake, Newfoundland,
Canada. They are mainly composed of silt-sized materials
with small sand-size particles (more than 75%). This may
cause the difficulty of determination of Atterberg limits or
its inherent soil problem. Except for the y p relationship,
the rheological properties cannot be compared with those
obtained from other soils (Jeong et al., 2010). From the
dynamic responses, at the same liquidity index, the values
of yield stress and plastic viscosity are much higher than the
expected such as Baie des Ha!Ha! and St-Alban soils. In
parallel with the empirical relationship for soft clayey mate-
rials (Locat, 1997), Figure 8 shows that the relationship
between the yield stress (y) and plastic viscosity (p) can
extend the possible range of low plastic soils. The possible
transition may be linked to the boundary line from typical
clay-rich soils to silt/sand-rich soils. Arrows indicate the
direction of increase in the size of soil particles. As pre-
liminarily examined by Jeong et al. (2007), the plastic vis-
cosity against shearing resistance relationship could provide
much higher value than for clayey soils. For the iron ore
tailings that are mostly composed of silt-sized particles, the
plastic viscosity could represent about 1/100th of the total
shearing resistance of the mixture, whereas the flow behav-
ior of St-Alban, Baie des Ha!Ha!, and La Valette soils is
 Grain size dependent rheology on the mobility of debris flows
very close to that of natural softy clays (Jeong et al., 2010).
To clarify the nature of the transition between viscous and
granular flow, a series of similar laboratory experiments
should be preformed, so that little change of clay fraction or
proportion of silt and sand particles can strongly modify the
flow behavior. In general, with increase in clay and sand
content, debris flow rheology tends to be more Bingham-
like behavior. Coarse-grained soils have a little yield value,
but closer to a linear viscous flow for shear stresses exceed-
ing the yield stress. Fine-grained soils, on the other hand,
have a distinct pseudoplastic characteristic.
4.3. Mobility of Landslide/Debris Flow Related to Soil
Rheology
It is now well known that submarine landslides are much
more mobile and tend to involve larger volumes than sub-
aerial landslides. Remarkable examples of submarine land-
slides are the Storegga slides (Mienert, 2004), the Canary
slides (Canals et al., 2004), the 1929 Grand Banks slides
(Locat and Lee, 2002) and the Mississippi Fan, the Gulf of
Mexico (Locat et al., 1996) which have a large runout dis-
tance in excess of 500 km. The possible mechanism can be
explained by means of the flow transformation in subma-
rine landslides (Jeong, 2006). After the onset of failure, the
soil could experience a large deformation with ambient
water, and thus the characteristics of sediments are most
likely governed by the rheological properties of the remoul-
ded soil.
To estimate the flow behavior of a field debris flow, the
rheological parameters used in the compatible model must
be similar to real field conditions. To evaluate the runout
characteristics of the moving mass, a preliminary analysis
should be carried out for rheological properties (Huang and
Garcia, 1999; Imran et al., 2001; Locat et al., 2004; Mohrig
et al., 1999). Assuming that a debris flow behaves as a
Bingham-like fluid, apparent yield stress and plastic viscos-
ity could influence the runout distance and front velocity of
moving mass. The evolution of the front velocity strongly
depends on the dynamic viscosity of the debris material
(Imran et al., 2001). On the other hand, high yield strengths
can produce relatively short run-out distances (Elverhi et
al., 1997). As proposed by Johnson and Rodine (1984), and
assuming that the debris flow rheology can be approxi-
mated by Bingham fluid, the average flow depth, at which
the flow stops, would correspond to the average thickness
in the depositional zone (Hf). Critical thickness can be
derived from the following equation:
ya = Hf sin (4) slope angle (and/or liquidity index). From Hf = 1 m and IL
where ya is apparent yield stress determined from the Bing-
ham or bilinear model, ' is buoyant unit weight of the
debris flow mixture (typically about 15 kN/m3) and is
367
Fig. 9. Relationship between flow thickness and slope angle (deg.).
slope angle in degree. For a salinity of 30 g/L (see equation
in Fig. 7), the coupling relation is given by:
3.1
( 12.1 IL )
Hf = -------------------------
-. (5)
sin
As incorporating with Johnson and Rodine (1984) expres-
sion and empirical rheological relationships, debris flow
mobility using a simple runout model can be linked to a
parametric analysis with soil plasticity. Figure 9 shows the
influence of critical flow thickness on slope angle in the
range of liquidity index from 2 to 4. One can evaluate the
range of the yield strength for the observed field thick-
ness, even for very low slope angle, which may be as low
as 1 degree, encountered in submarine landslides. Ulti-
mately, flow transformation related to strength parameter
and the preliminary rheological analysis can help to
examine the debris flow mobility in response to rheolog-
ical properties.
In describing the physics of debris flows by means of
flume experiments and mathematical modeling, fines are
incorporated as the flows run through a matrix. As a result,
the flow becomes fines-laden (silt-clay contents in excess of
25%) and exhibits fluid-like behavior (e.g., non-slip condi-
tion) while the front remains granular. All of these flows
were assumed to be laminar (Iverson, 1997). Assessments
of natural debris flows typically estimate shear rate ( ) by
dividing the front velocity by the flow depth (Phillips and
Davies, 1991; Iverson, 1997; Parsons et al., 2001). Typical
velocities for mud-flow are not greater than 10 m/s, which
would correspond to a mean shear rate of 10 s1 even
though it is only a few meters thick. As can be seen in Fig-
ure 9, the flow thickness (Hf) decreases with increasing
= 2.5, slope angle () gives 1.2. This value is in the range
between the angle of continental slope, which can be as low
as 1 (dashed line), and the average angle of continental slope
(3 dashed line), but mostly likely insufficient to cause a
368 Sueng Won Jeong
complete deformation to fluidize it. Possible influence of
thixotropy on mudflow behavior with a wide range of solid
concentration and salinity is discussed by Perret et al. (1996).
A deceleration or acceleration of the mass in landslide
motion should have a minor effect on the flow behavior in
a fast-moving landslide, when the thixotropic strengthening
develops very rapidly. On the contrary, in the subaerial mud
flows with a low salinity, the flow behavior could be very
sensitive to the shear rate history.
5. CONCLUSIONS
An experimental study has been carried out to examine
the flow behavior of selected soils. The controversy arisen
from the grain size effect on the rheology of geo-materials
encountered in coastal and marine environments was empha-
sized. Some conclusions are as follows:
(1) One of the primary questions in developing a flow
model is the selection of an appropriate constitutive expres-
sion that describes the relationship between shear stress and
shear rate, and the determination of rheological parameters.
Many constitutive models are still lacking to rigorously rep-
resent field and laboratory data. The most appropriate
model and empirical relationship should be defined.
(2) For the selected fine-grained soils, the flow behavior
is strongly influenced by volumetric concentration of solid
and surface phenomenon. Low activity clays, such as nat-
ural soft clays, have characteristics of a pseudoplastic (shear
thinning) fluid, with a decrease in viscosity with increasing
shear rate. The change of flow behavior from the pseudo-
plastic to the Bingham-like is easily observed for low vol-
umetric concentration of solid.
(3) Change in grain size can produce the transitions
between rheological regimes. It is worth noting that, for the
natural clays, the ratio of the yield stress (y) to the plastic
viscosity (p) is about 1 to 1000. Comparing the rheological
behavior between iron ore tailings and La Valette soils (both
are considered fine-grained) when assuming that materials
have the characteristics of ideal Bingham fluid, the differ-
ence is large. For the iron ore tailings, the plastic viscosity
could represent about 1/100th of the total shearing resis-
tance of the mixture, whereas the flow behavior of La Val-
ette soils is very close to that of natural softy clays. For the
mobility analysis of a debris flow, preliminary study can be
easily used by engineer to provide a first useful estimate of
rheological parameters.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Research work was funded by Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council Canada, via the Conti-
nental Slope Stability (COSTA)-Canada project. The research described
in this paper was carried out at the LERN (Laboratorie dEtudes sur
les Risques Naturels), Laval University, Qubec, Canada. The author
would like to thank Jacques Locat and Serge Leroueil, Laval Univer-
sity, Qubec, Canada for initiating the project, making these data avail-
able and for analysis. I would like to thank Joshua Theule for briefly
reviewing this manuscript. This work was partially supported by the
International Research & Development Program of the National
Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Edu-
cation, Science and Technology (MEST) of Korea (Grant number:
2010-00741, FY2010).
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Manuscript received January 18, 2010
Manuscript accepted November 23, 2010