Improvement of soil stability along rail corridors through native vegetation
conference contribution
posted on 2024-11-16, 04:09authored byMuditha Pallewattha, Buddhima Indraratna, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn
Field studies have revealed the effective utilization of native trees as an economical and environmental friendly method of soil stabilization along railway lines in Australia. Native trees grown along rail corridors are capable of providing mechanical strength to the subgrade soil through the root network and the additional cohesive increment provided by the osmotic suction generated at the hair roots. Moreover matric suction generation due to evapo-transpiration of the tree canopy has significant influence on shear strength of soil underneath the railway lines. Therefore the true effect of vegetation should be evaluated considering the mechanical root reinforcement effect, evapo-transpiration induced matric suction development and in addition the alteration of potential failure conditions in the soil-root system from a saturated to an unsaturated domain. This paper will discuss the requirement of a shear strength model that combines the root reinforcement effect with both osmotic and matric suction components generated in the soil through naturally coupled osmotic evapo-transpiration phenomenon.
Funding
The role of vegetation and associated root suction and reinforcement on the stabilisation of transport corridors and sloping ground
Pallewattha, M., Indraratna, B. & Rujikiatkamjorn, C. (2015). Improvement of soil stability along rail corridors through native vegetation. In Z. Chen, C. Wei, D. Sun & Y. Xu (Eds.), Unsaturated Soil Mechanics - from Theory to Practice: Proceedings of the 6th Asia Pacific Conference on Unsaturated Soils (pp. 835-838). Leiden, The Netherlands: CRC Press/Balkema.
Parent title
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics from Theory to Practice - Proceedings of the 6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Unsaturated Soils