Effect of the root system of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) on shear strength of finegrained soil.

Abstract

We conducted an experiment to clarify the effect of the root system of Poa pratensis L. on the shear strength of finegrained soil. The experiment was conducted through X-ray CT scan and constant pressure direct shear tests. The results confirmed that the specimen with the developed root system tended to increase the shear strength under large shear displacement. Furthermore, we confirmed that a decrease in shear strength due to the freeze-thaw history is small. In addition, we found that X-ray CT scan is an effective method for understanding the effect of the root system.