Abstract
In this study, infrared thermography was used to determine the vegetation coverage ratio (VCR) at a free-frame shotcrete grid beam-protected slope. An infrared thermal imager can detect the changes in surface radiation temperature on naked and vegetation-covered slope areas. Regional temperature analysis was performed through thermography, and the average temperature derived from the captured thermal images was used as the index for the vegetation area; the VCR was also evaluated. This method can be used in engineering practice after construction to reduce the errors in subjective visual judgment and can also serve as an effective and scientific evaluation methodology. A long-distance noncontact detection method for VCR evaluation can increase the engineering applicability of the proposed method after construction.
Highlights
Mountainous roads pose a challenge in maintaining traffic safety during the rainy season and typhoon events
A thermal imager was used to monitor the vegetation coverage ratio (VCR) at a free-frame shotcrete grid beam-protected slope
The infrared thermal imager could detect the changes in surficial infrared temperature at naked and vegetationcovered areas of the slope
Summary
Mountainous roads pose a challenge in maintaining traffic safety during the rainy season and typhoon events. The focus of expressway maintenance in mountainous areas is on engineering management at the upper and lower slopes. Free-frame shotcrete grid beams are commonly used to protect unstable slopes or for recovery from naked landslides near expressways in mountainous areas. Such beams are suitable for areas with varying levels of topographic steepness. Free-frame shotcrete can protect slopes with vegetation against soil erosion caused by rainfall and landscape planting. In such protection systems, drainage engineering includes a catchwater drain for collecting surficial water to a hillside ditch to reduce the regolith erosion rate
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