Effectiveness of water for dust control on Las Vegas Valley soils

In this thesis, five simple and rapid methods were developed to investigate the effectiveness of water in controlling dust emitted from different soil surfaces undergoing either wind erosion or construction activity. Poof, Scrape and Small Wind Tunnel tests determine the variation in dust emissions from dry, abraded and wetted surfaces with respect to elapse time. Poof and Scrape tests were able to distinguish among different soil groups classified based on their Particulate Emission Potential (PEP) and surface conditions. The Pie pan tests found one PEP group to have weaker crusts than the others. Simplified and standard infiltration tests gave comparable results and showed significant rate differences among the Hydrologic soil groups. Rapid volumetric moisture measurements combined with bulk density measurements gave results comparable to the ASTM Standard method