Vetiver Grass Performance on a Distressed Highway Slope of High-Plastic Clay under Excessive Rainfall

Mohammad, Shuman Nur; Nobahar, Masoud; Sadik, Khan Mohammad; Alzeghoul, Omer Emad; Kini, Chia Henry

doi:10.1061/9780784484067.028

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The combined effect of the dense and expansive root network resembles the behavior of soil nails commonly employed in civil engineering projects[35]. The root system substantially enhances the soil's shear strength with increased slope stability by up to 30%[36].Studies were carried out on analysis concerning the stability of slopes with and without roots. An investigation of the effect that root suction has on the tensile strength of vetiver roots was carried out[9].…”

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Impact of Vetiver Plantation on Unsaturated Soil Behavior and Stability of Highway Slope

Rahman,

Chakraborty,

Khan

et al. 2024

Geosciences

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Due to cyclic wetting and drying, the hydro-mechanical behavior of unsaturated soil is impacted significantly. In order to assess the soil strength parameters, knowing the unsaturated behavior is important. Soil moisture content is an important parameter that can define the shear strength of the soil. Most of the highway slopes of Mississippi are built on highly expansive clay. During summer, the evaporation of moisture in the soil leads to shrinkage and the formation of desiccation cracks, while during rainfall, the soil swells due to the infiltration of water. In addition to this, the rainwater gets trapped in these cracks and creates perched conditions, leading to the increased moisture content and reduced shear strength of slope soil. The increased precipitation due to climate change is causing failure conditions on many highway slopes of Mississippi. Vetiver, a perennial grass, can be a transformative solution to reduce the highway slope failure challenges of highly plastic clay. The grass has deep and fibrous roots, which provide additional shear strength to the soil. The root can uptake a significant amount of water from the soil, keeping the moisture balance of the slope. The objective of the current study is to assess the changes in moisture contents of a highway slope in Mississippi after the Vetiver plantation. Monitoring equipment, such as rain gauges and moisture sensors, were installed to monitor the rainfall of the area and the moisture content of the soil. The data showed that the moisture content conditions were improved with the aging of the grass. The light detection and ranging (LiDAR) analysis was performed to validate the field data obtained from different sensors, and it was found that there was no significant slope movement after the Vetiver plantation. The study proves the performance of the Vetiver grass in improving the unsaturated soil behavior and stability of highway slopes built on highly expansive clay.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%