Effect of coir geotextile and geocell on ephemeral gully erosion in the Mollisol region of Northeast China

The unique geomorphological features and farming methods in the Mollisol region of Northeast China increase water catchment flow and aggravate the erosion of ephemeral gully(EG).Vegetation suffers from rain erosion and damage during the growth stage,which brings serious problems to the restoration of grass in the early stage.Therefore,effects of coir geotextile and geocell on EG erosion under four confluence intensities were researched in this study.Results of the simulated water discharge erosion test showed that when the confluence strength was less than 30 L/min,geocell and coir geotextile had a good effect on controlling EG erosion,and sediment yield of geocell and coir geotextile was reduced by 25.95%–37.82%and 73.73%–88.96%,respectively.However,when confluence intensity increased to 40 L/min,protective effect of coir geotextile decreased,and sediment yield rate increased sharply by 189.03%.When confluence intensity increased to 50 L/min,the protective effect of coir geotextile was lost.On the other hand,geocell showed that the greater the flow rate,the better the protective effect.In addition,with the increase in confluence intensity,erosion pattern of coir geotextile developed from sheet erosion to intermittent fall and then to completion of main rill,and the protective effect was gradually weakened.In contrast,the protective effect of EG under geocell was gradually enhanced from the continuous rill to the intermittent rill and finally to the intermittent fall.This study shows that coir geotextile and geocell can prevent EG erosion,and the effect of geocell is better than that of coir geotextile on the surface of EG.

Sediment yield and erosion–deposition distribution characteristics in ephemeral gullies in black soil areas under geocell protection

Investigating the effect of geocells on the erosion and deposition distribution of ephemeral gullies in the black soil area of Northeast China can provide a scientific basis for the allocation of soil and water conservation measures in ephemeral gullies.In this study,an artificial simulated confluence test and stereoscopic photogrammetry were used to analyze the distribution characteristics of erosion and deposition in ephemeral gullies protected by geocells and the effect of different confluence flows on the erosion process of ephemeral gullies.Results showed that when the confluence flow was larger,the effect of geocell was more evident,and the protection against ephemeral gully erosion was stronger.When the confluence flow rates were 0.6,1.8,2.4,and 3.0 m^(3)/h,ephemeral gully erosion decreased by 37.84%,26.09%,21.40%,and 35.45%.When the confluence flow rates were 2.4 and 3.0 m^(3)/h,the average sediment yield rate of the ephemeral gully was close to 2.14 kg/(m^(2)•min),and the protective effect of ephemeral gully erosion was enhanced.When the flow rate was higher,the surface fracture of the ephemeral gully was more serious.With an increase in confluence flow rate,the ratio of erosion to deposition increased gradually,the erosion area of ephemeral gullies was expanded,and erosion depth changed minimally.In conclusion,geocell measures changed erosion patterns by altering the rill erosion/deposition ratio,converting erosion from rill erosion to sheet erosion.

Residual settlement calculation of geocell cushion over gravel piles

The calculation of residual settlement of bidirectional reinforced composite foundation, which is composed of geocell cushion over gravel piles, was studied. The geocell cushion was modeled as a thin flexible plate with large deflection. Based on the Kirchhoff hypothesis, the governing differential equations and boundary conditions of the deformation of geocell cushion under working load were founded using von Karman method and solved by Galerkin method. On theses bases, the gravel piles and inter-pile soils were assumed as Winkler ground with variable spring stiffness so as to execute the approximate calculation of the residual settlement of the bidirectional reinforced composite foundation. The calculation method was verified by two laboratory experiments concerning settlement of embankments. One experiment was with just geocell cushion installed to treat the soft clay under embankments; another one was with both geocell cushion and gravel piles installed. The results show that the calculated settlement curve and the maximum settlement are closed to the observed ones.

Three-dimensional numerical modeling of single geocellreinforced sand

This paper summarizes the development of a three-dimensional numerical model for analyzing single geocell-reinforced soil.In this model,the infill soil was modeled using the Duncan-Chang model,which can simulate non-linearity and stress-dependency of soil.Geocell was modeled using linearly elastic plate elements,which can carry both bending and membrane stresses.A linear interface stress-strain relationship with a MohrCoulomb yield criterion was adopted to model the interface friction between the geocell wall and the soil.By modeling the geocell and the soil separately,the interaction between the soil and the geocell can be accurately simulated.To verify this model,a plate load test was conducted in the laboratory,in which a 12-cmthick sand layer reinforced by a single geocell was subjected to a vertical load from a circular steel plate.The load-displacement curves and the horizontal tensile strain of the geocell were recorded during the test.A numerical model was created according to the setup of the load test.The numerical results compared reasonably well with the test data.