Experimental and Numerical Simulation Study on the Shear Strength Characteristics of Magnolia multiflora Root-Soil Composites

The shear strength of the soil refers to the ultimate strength of the soil against shear failure, which is one of the important indicators used to measure slope stability. This paper presents a simulation of direct shear tests on root-soil composites with different root embedding angles under different stress conditions. By comparing and analyzing the simulation results of ABAQUS software and the laboratory test results, the enhancement effect of plant roots on soil shear strength was explored. Conclusions can be drawn as follows: the excellent agreement between numerical models and laboratory shear tests suggested that the developed model can quickly and conveniently predict the shear strength of the root-soil composites. The shear strength was related to the rooting arrangement. For a single root system, when the inclination angle of the root was about 64° to the shear direction, the shear resistance of soil was much improved, while the root reinforcement had less effect when the inclination angle was greater than 90°. In the case of multiple roots, the hybrid rooting method can more effectively improve the shear resistance of the root-soil composite. Therefore, in the practical application of using the root to strengthen the soil, the angle of a single root and arrangement of multiple roots should be comprehensively considered.

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