Abstract
Tree roots play an important role in slope slide prevention. In order to explore the reinforcement mechanism of pine roots in shallow slopes, a series of direct shear tests were carried out using Distinct Element Method (DEM). Firstly, the pine root is simulated with an assembly of bonded particles in which parallel bond model is used. Then, a series of direct shear tests on the soil-pine root composites were conducted to analyze the effects of the normal stress, the distribution and the amount of the pine roots on the shear strength . The DEM results show that the pine roots in the sand can enhance the shear strength significantly; the shear strength of the pine root-soil composites increases with the increasing normal stress, the increasing pine root number and the decreasing root inclination angle.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the China National Natural Science Foundation with Grant number 51579178 and State key Lab of Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering with Grant number 300 SLDRCE14-A-04 for their financial support to this study in this paper.
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Jiang, M.J., Zhu, Y.G., Xi, B.L. (2017). Investigation into the Soil-Root Composites Using Distinct Element Method. In: Li, X., Feng, Y., Mustoe, G. (eds) Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Discrete Element Methods. DEM 2016. Springer Proceedings in Physics, vol 188. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1926-5_112
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1926-5_112
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