TY - JOUR
T1 - Stability of unsaturated soil slopes covered with Melastoma malabathricum in Singapore
AU - Satyanaga, Alfrendo
AU - Rahardjo, Harianto
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by research funding from the Housing and Development Board, Singapore. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mr Severin Pabst, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore during the experiments and data collection.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 ICE Publishing: All rights reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - Past studies have shown that slopes covered with vegetation are less susceptible to rainfall-induced slope failures. This research was focused on the unsaturated properties of soil consisting of mangrove roots and their effects on the stability of an old alluvium soil slope during rainfall. Melastoma malabathricum was selected in this study since this mangrove is best suited for tropical climatic conditions. The results of laboratory tests indicated that the air-entry value and shear strength of soil with roots of M. malabathricum were higher than those of the soil without roots. The saturated permeability of the soil with roots was lower than that of the soil without roots. Numerical analyses indicated that the slope without M. malabathricum experienced significant decreases in the factor of safety during rainfall than the slope covered with M. malabathricum. M. malabathricum can thus be used as a vegetative cover for minimising rainwater infiltration in slope layers with a slope angle up to 35°.
AB - Past studies have shown that slopes covered with vegetation are less susceptible to rainfall-induced slope failures. This research was focused on the unsaturated properties of soil consisting of mangrove roots and their effects on the stability of an old alluvium soil slope during rainfall. Melastoma malabathricum was selected in this study since this mangrove is best suited for tropical climatic conditions. The results of laboratory tests indicated that the air-entry value and shear strength of soil with roots of M. malabathricum were higher than those of the soil without roots. The saturated permeability of the soil with roots was lower than that of the soil without roots. Numerical analyses indicated that the slope without M. malabathricum experienced significant decreases in the factor of safety during rainfall than the slope covered with M. malabathricum. M. malabathricum can thus be used as a vegetative cover for minimising rainwater infiltration in slope layers with a slope angle up to 35°.
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U2 - 10.1680/jgeen.18.00215
DO - 10.1680/jgeen.18.00215
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075106497
VL - 172
SP - 530
EP - 540
JO - Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Geotechnical Engineering
JF - Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Geotechnical Engineering
SN - 1353-2618
IS - 6
ER -