ABSTRACT

Soil and water bio-engineering structures use live plants and parts of plants as a building material. One of the main features of these structures, and strategies in general, is the stabilization role transfer between the inert material used for achieving the initial necessary rigidity and stability and the evolving living material that contributes towards stability later on in the design life of the structure. This dynamic nature of the bioengineering structures can be reflected in terms of both the soil shear strength improvement and the structural deterioration processes of the biodegradable material used (e.g. timber elements) in the construction of the structure. A realistic and optimized structural design of these works must make allowance for these processes. An adapted design methodology addressing the preceding particularities is presented in this study, supported by a practical, real-life case study illustrating the proposed design methodology. In a novel approach, in this study, the mechanical behavior of rooted soil is simulated as composite material where plant root and soil have their mechanical properties synchronized in terms of stresses and strains. Additionally, the information collected during the monitoring stage of the bioengineering structure was used as a feedback and input into the calibration and enhancement of the modeled performance of the bioengineering work throughout its service life. Based on this, and given the semi-empirical nature of this type of works, we propose intrinsic adaptive management strategies that can be applied to the whole range of soil and water bio-engineering structures.