Optimum thickness decision of biopolymer treated soil for slope protection on the soil slope

Recently the need and social demand for environment-friendly construction is increasing. Problems for existing chemical treatments have been pointed out through changes in the public perception from a performance-oriented construction paradigm to a development in harmony with nature construction paradigm. To date, chemical stabilization processes using cement are mainly used for reinforcement and protection of most slopes. Slope vegetation methods, which highlight environmental aspects, have been used lately, but they are vulnerable to initial instability and have problems with vegetation cover due to the loss of seed. As an alternative for slope protection, several attempts on the applicability and experimental studies using eco-friendly materials have been performed. Previous studies used biopolymer show that biopolymers are excellent in strength improvement and soil erosion resistance. In this study, In order to determine the site applicability of biopolymer treated soil, studies on the physical and mechanical properties and numerical analysis considering the gradient and slope height were studied. The numerical analysis was performed to confirm the stability of the biopolymer treated slope, according to the coating thickness of the surface layer substituted by the biopolymer. The numerical analysis showed that biopolymer treatment on the slope surface is effective for strengthening of the slope and it was confirmed that the treatment resulted in a high stability of the slope.