Varved clays, which consist of alternating layers of silt and clay, are common in glaciated regions of North America and Northern Europe. This layering results in several unique engineering properties making varved clays a challenging soil for engineering design. Varved clays have hydraulic conductivity and undrained shear strength anisotropy that far exceeds that of most other soils. The stren...

Moving in an unstructured environment such as soil requires approaches that are constrained by the physics of this complex medium and can ensure energy efficiency and minimize friction while exploring and searching. Among living organisms, plants are the most efficient at soil exploration, and their roots show remarkable abilities that can be exploited in artificial systems. Energy efficiency a...

A two-layer model for 1D vertical unsaturated flow based on the hypothesis of a sharp wetting front is presented. The model further assumes a uniform pore pressure throughout the wetting zone at any given time during the infiltration and redistribution processes. These assumptions allow to reduce the theoretical Richards equation to an ordinary differential equation that can track average soil ...

The root zone physical condition influences root development and function, which affects turfgrass growth, quality and performance. The temporal variability of root zone properties was investigated in a factorial experiment combining sand layering compaction and moisture stress on the performance of Savannahgrass (SG) (Axonopus compressus), Bermudagrass (BG) (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) (cv. T...

the soil bioengineering is an applied science that it is the composition of structural, biological and environment concepts for soil erosion, sediment and flood control. biotechnical engineering techniques rely on biological knowledge to build geotechnical and hydraulic structures and to secure unstable slopes and banks. the largest enhancement in development of new soil bioengineering methods ...