Storm Water Scouring Simulation Analysis on Vegetated Slope

The ecological concept has become more widespread and biotechnical slope protection has been accepted by more people as environmental policies become more stringent. Biotechnical slope protection has become widely used because of its unique features, which include wave resistance, waterproof flow-scour protection, greening and landscaping effects, environmental friendliness, and positive social benefits. Slope surfaces are exposed to and affected by natural conditions, particularly storm-water scouring, which has an obvious impact on slope instability. However, most previous studies have focused on soil reinforcement by plant root systems in non-saturated soil conditions, and soil reinforcement in saturated soil conditions after rainfall has rarely been studied. In this study, we conducted laboratory-based storm-water scouring experiments to assess the erosional effect of storm-water scouring on slopes, reveal the mode and process of failure of natural and vegetated slopes under storm-water scouring, and develop and refine the mechanism and theoretical understanding of soil reinforcement by plants.