TERRE project: interplay between unsaturated soil mechanics and low-carbon geotechnical engineering

Tarantino, Alessandro; Mountassir, Gráinne El; Wheeler, Simon J.; Gallipoli, Domenico; Russo, Giacomo; Augarde, Charles E.; Urciuoli, Gianfranco; Pirone, Marianna; Stokes, Alexia; Kuilen, J. W. van de; Gard, Wolfgang; Fourcaud, Thierry; Romero, E.; Priegue, Angel; Smith, Colin C.; Larrey-Lassalle, Pyrène; Becker, Patrick; Ferrari, Alessio; Dainese, Roberta; Salifu, Emmanuel; Beber, Raniero; Scarfone, Riccardo; Cuccurullo, Alessia; Coudert, Elodie; Dias, Ana Sofia; Mmuguda-Viswanath, Sravan; Rossi, Lorenzo; Kamath, Abhijith; Fraccica, Alessandro; Karagianni, Pavlina; Castejon, Javier Gonzalez; Ouakka, Slimane; Zannin, Jacopo; Speranza, Gianluca

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202019501002

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Unsaturated soil mechanics is receiving rising interest from the academic community and the geotechnical construction industry. Some of the appeal derives from the potential use of unsaturated soil mechanics as a tool to reduce the carbon footprint of various civil engineering applications [1][2][3][4][5]. For instance, Speranza et al [6] suggested that the increase in strength resulting from the suction s may be conveniently adopted to reduce the overdesign of the retaining structures in temporary works, leading to a reduction in emissions and materials used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Numerical Model to Study the Response of Piles under Lateral Loading in Unsaturated Soils

et al. 2021

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The interaction between a laterally loaded pile and the surrounding soil is typically limited to the shallower soil layer. Often, this zone is above the water table and therefore the interaction takes place under unsaturated conditions. The available evidence is scarce but suggests that unsaturated conditions play a major role on the pile’s response. The actual mechanisms governing the soil–pile interaction under unsaturated soil conditions are not understood entirely, and this paper provides a useful insight on this topic. The analysis is carried out with a fully coupled three-dimensional numerical model, the soil behaviour is simulated with a Modified Cam Clay Model extended to unsaturated conditions. The model accounts for the increase in stiffness and strength of unsaturated soils as well as the volumetric collapse upon wetting. The constitutive model is calibrated on the laboratory data and validated against centrifuge data with satisfying agreement. The results highlight the substantial differences in the soil reaction against the pile depending on different water saturation profiles. The study also shows that the influence of unsaturated conditions on the pile response increases as the pile’s flexibility increases. Comparing the findings with currently available design methods such as the p–y curves, it is found that these do not adequately describe the unsaturated soil reaction against the pile, which opens the door for new research in the field. The proposed numerical model is a promising tool to further investigate the mechanisms underlying the soil–pile interaction under unsaturated soils.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Numerical Model to Study the Response of Piles under Lateral Loading in Unsaturated Soils

et al. 2021

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“…Slipping surfaces/zones in earth slopes tends to develop below the rooting zone, and failure is often triggered by infiltrating rainwater raising the porewater pressure, thereby reducing the effective stresses and degrading the geomechanical properties. Use of deep-rooted vegetation to remove porewater and increase the matric suction, with effects extending below the rooting zone, is fairly well established [137] and was discussed earlier in the paper. Alternatively, infiltration may be minimised via hydrophobic fungal-hyphal networks [138], or rhizosphere-promoted lateral flow [139].…”

Section: Fungal Mycelial Networkmentioning

confidence: 96%

Recent Advances in Nature-Inspired Solutions for Ground Engineering (NiSE)

Assadi-Langroudi

O’Kelly

Barreto

et al. 2021

Int. J. of Geosynth. and Ground Eng.

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The ground is a natural grand system; it is composed of myriad constituents that aggregate to form several geologic and biogenic systems. These systems operate independently and interplay harmoniously via important networked structures over multiple spatial and temporal scales. This paper presents arguments and derivations couched by the authors, to first give a better understanding of these intertwined networked structures, and then to give an insight of why and how these can be imitated to develop a new generation of nature-symbiotic ground engineering techniques. The paper draws on numerous recent advances made by the authors, and others, in imitating forms (e.g. synthetic fibres that imitate plant roots), materials (e.g. living composite materials, or living soil that imitate fungi and microbes), generative processes (e.g. managed decomposition of construction rubble to mimic weathering of aragonites to calcites), and functions (e.g. recreating the self-healing, selfproducing, and self-forming capacity of natural systems). Advances are reported in three categories of Materials, Models, and Methods (3Ms). A novel value-based appraisal tool is also presented, providing a means to vet the effectiveness of 3Ms as standalone units or in combinations.

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Castanea sativaMill. plantations as a low-carbon landslide hazard mitigation measure

et al. 2020

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In the last twenty years, several rainfall-induced landslides occurred in areas surrounding Mount Vesuvius (Campania, Italy). Landslides usually involve the shallow pyroclastic soil layers (2-3 m thick) covering the steep slopes of the Lattari Mountains. The cultivation of trees for fruit production on the pyroclastic cover is a common practice by local farmers. Woody vegetation contributes to slope stability through the mechanical reinforcement of soil by roots. We investigated the use of Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) trees as a low-carbon landslide mitigation measure to be applied in large areas where conventional geotechnical engineering solutions would be costly and extremely invasive, in order to respond to the demand in energy and environmental geotechnics for eco-friendly approaches. The root distribution of C. sativa in terms of root volume ratio was determined from soil cores. The mechanical reinforcement of soil by tree roots was quantified based on root-soil interaction models. Slope stability was analysed by means of limit equilibrium analyses performed on an infinite slope. The safety factor calculated for a cultivated slope was higher than for a fallow slope due to the mechanical reinforcement provided by roots. Therefore, the cultivation of C. sativa is a useful mitigation measure against shallow landslides.

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TERRE project: interplay between unsaturated soil mechanics and low-carbon geotechnical engineering

Cited by 3 publications

References 20 publications

A Numerical Model to Study the Response of Piles under Lateral Loading in Unsaturated Soils

A Numerical Model to Study the Response of Piles under Lateral Loading in Unsaturated Soils

Recent Advances in Nature-Inspired Solutions for Ground Engineering (NiSE)

Castanea sativaMill. plantations as a low-carbon landslide hazard mitigation measure

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