Geosynthetics are increasingly used in geotechnical works in association with vegetation, whose function has been typically considered as an improvement for the works themselves, especially due to the mechanical and hydraulic effects the root system provides. Within this context, the paper presents an experimental study performed to evaluate the long-term performance of geosynthetics, specifically drainage geocomposites, exposed to the influence of roots. Two species of plant were selected for their fast-growing and pervasive roots, Vetiver and Bamboo, and planted in a thin layer of growing medium, which buried the geosynthetic specimens. After a period of plant growth, the specimens affected by roots (‘rooted specimens’) were exhumed, and submitted to tensile and drainage capacity laboratory tests, to determine their mechanical and hydraulic behaviour. The laboratory test results were compared with those obtained on virgin specimens of drainage geocomposite, under undisturbed conditions (‘reference specimens’). The results show a decrease in drainage capacity for rooted specimens, more pronounced in the case of the highest density of roots into the drainage core. Concerning the tensile behaviour, no significant variations emerged in rooted specimens, although a slight increase in tensile strength, together with a modest decrease in elongation at maximum load, could be observed.

中文翻译：

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根系对排水土工复合材料水力学性能的影响

土工合成材料越来越多地用于与植被相关的岩土工程中，其功能通常被认为是对工程本身的改进，特别是由于根系提供的机械和水力效应。在此背景下，本文提出了一项实验研究，旨在评估土工合成材料（特别是排水土工复合材料）在根部影响下的长期性能。香根草和竹子这两种植物因其生长快且根部广泛而被选择，并种植在一层薄薄的生长介质中，该介质埋藏了土工合成材料标本。经过一段时间的植物生长后，将受根影响的标本（“有根标本”）挖出，并进行拉伸和排水能力实验室测试，以确定其机械和水力行为。将实验室测试结果与在未受干扰的条件下从排水土工复合材料的原始样本（“参考样本”）获得的结果进行比较。结果显示，有根样本的排水能力下降，在进入排水核心的根密度最高的情况下更为明显。关于拉伸行为，虽然可以观察到拉伸强度略有增加，并且最大负载下的伸长率略有下降，但生根样本中没有出现显着变化。