Influence of Bio-Mediated Slope Cover on Stability of Soil Slopes During Rainfall

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4. Influence of Bio-Mediated Slope Cover on Stability of Soil Slopes During Rainfall

Slope failures during rainfall has become one of the major geotechnical challenges across the world. The infiltration of rainwater into the soil slopes reduces the negative pore water pressure and leads to the slope instability during rainfall. Traditional methods such as vegetative covers and use of capillary barriers for enhancing soil stability often involve expensive and environmentally invasive techniques. Thus, there is need to explore sustainable solutions. In the recent years, application of microbially induced calcium precipitation (MICP) in geotechnical areas is being widely explored. In the present study, the suitability of adopting MICP treated soil as slope covers is examined. In the current study, the influence of MICP on unsaturated soil properties are evaluated by carrying out laboratory experiments. Followed by numerical analysis on soil slopes covered with bio-mediated slope covers were conducted. From the study it is seen that the increased air entry value and decreased permeability of treated bio-mediated slope cover restricts the flow of rainwater into the soil slope. Thereby aids maintaining the suction in the soil slope. Further, it is also observed that the increased cementation effect due to microbial activity aids in higher factor of safety of soil slopes. The study highlights the potential application of bio-mediated soil as slope cover to maintain soil suction and stability during rainfall.

2025 International Conference on Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (ICBBG2025)

General session: Bio-mediated methods for hazard mitigation