Concrete lozenges impact on the slope erodibility

Latifa Elbouanani,Khadija Baba,Latifa Ouadif,Abdelaziz Lahmili,Lahcen Bahi,A Diouri,J Aride,M Saadi,A Boukhari,A Nounah,N Khachani,L Bahi,L Ait Brahim

doi:10.1051/matecconf/201814902073

Abstract

Water erosion is a natural phenomenon, the severity of which is related to several parameters depending on the raindrop impact, the characteristics of the soil and the level of human intervention. The risk of water erosion occurs in both drainage basins and road and rail slopes. Indeed, this phenomenon can be aggravated causing major gullies and landslides. The PK 94 of the Taourirte-Nador railway line, located in the oriental region of Morocco, whose slopes are formed by silt-clay formations experiencing intense erosion. The Moroccan experience for the slopes protection of water erosion knows the use of several methods in particular; concrete arcades and methods based on biological engineering. The objective is to contribute to this subject by proposing the use of concrete lozenges technique. It have the advantage of reducing both the area at risk of erosion and especially the length of slope which is an important factor in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation RUSLE used to quantify the quantities of soil eroded.

Highlights

The concrete lozenges are inclined concrete drainage channels in the form of lozenges limiting the formation of deep runoff paths increasingly eroding the slope (Figure4)
In the sense of the RUSLE, this method directly and mainly influences two factors: length and steepness factor (LS) and P in addition to area exposed to erosion
In discussing the concrete lozenges impact on the slope erodibility, we will apply it to the PK 94 slope of the Taourirte-Nador railway line located in the North-West of Morocco in the oriental Rif

Summary

Introduction

Climate change (a too hot summer and a too rainy winter) and the construction of more and more road, highway and railway networks influenced the slope stability and their resistance to the rainfall and runoff aggressiveness; which gave rise to water erosion.Water erosion is a natural phenomenon, which is defined as the total process of detachment, transport and deposition of solid particles from the soil surface due to rainfall, runoff or both.The Rif in general and the Prerif in particular are zones characterized by the predominance of friable lithological formations such as marls, marl-limestone and schist [1].The drainage basins of the eastern Rif, less watered, show a much accelerated soil erosion linked to the regime of limited rains in time and space, but which are most often violent and stormy [2]. Climate change (a too hot summer and a too rainy winter) and the construction of more and more road, highway and railway networks influenced the slope stability and their resistance to the rainfall and runoff aggressiveness; which gave rise to water erosion. Water erosion is a natural phenomenon, which is defined as the total process of detachment, transport and deposition of solid particles from the soil surface due to rainfall, runoff or both. The drainage basins of the eastern Rif, less watered, show a much accelerated soil erosion linked to the regime of limited rains in time and space, but which are most often violent and stormy [2]. The slopes surrounding the Taourirte-Nador railway line, more precisely PK 94, due to their location in the oriental Rif, are subject to intense erosion, which necessitates periodic maintenance, generating significant costs.

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Conclusion