Novel Root System in Centrifuge

What is it about?

Development and verification of novel root system that enables suction to be induced and controlled at high-g. This new root system consists of a high air-entry value (AEV) porous filter, cellulose acetate, which has scaled mechanical properties, including tensile strength, elastic modulus, and axial rigidity, similar to living roots.

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Why is it important?

The major advantage of the newly-developed root system is to provide a robust centrifuge tool that can consider both mechanical and hydrological effects of plant roots when studying failure mechanisms of vegetated slope at correct stress. The new root system can also be potentially used to investigate the performance of other geotechnical problems such as evapotranspirative landfill cover.