Abstract
It has been proved that Bermuda grass root is an effective material to improve the mechanical properties of soil, but the effect of the dry–wet cycles should be considered when this material is applied to the reservoir slopes. In this study, specimens with different root content were subjected to dry–wet cycles, then the unconfined compressive test was carried out to study the effect of dry–wet cyclic numbers and root content on the strength of the root-soil composites. Through the unconsolidated undrained triaxial compression test, the effect of the dry–wet cyclic numbers and root content on the shear strength parameters of the root-soil composites was investigated. The results illustrated that the mechanical properties of the root-soil composites decreased with the increase of dry–wet cyclic numbers, but increased with the increase of root content. After the root content exceeded an optimum value, the unconfined compressive strength and shear strength parameters of the root-soil composites decreased significantly. The optimum root content for achieving the maximum shear strength and unconfined compressive strength was 0.15% and 0.20%, respectively. The results in this study could provide guidance and reference for the design and construction of hydropower stations.
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Funding
The support is provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (grant No.52078194, No.51808203) and Innovation Demonstration Base of Ecological Environment Geotechnical and Ecological Restoration of Rivers and Lakes. The authors would like to express their appreciation to this financial assistance.
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The author contributed as follows: Q.: Editing, funding acquisition, and methodology; N.Z.: Theoretical derivation, experiment design, and writing original draft; H.L.: Project administration; Z.: Executing experiments and taking sample; W.T.: Polishing the manuscript.
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Ma, Q., Wu, N., Xiao, H. et al. Effect of Bermuda grass root on mechanical properties of soil under dry–wet cycles. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 7083–7097 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02369-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02369-1