ERDC’s biopolymer research group conducts overtopping field study

U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
Published Jan. 17, 2025
ERDC researchers conduct an overtopping field study of an experimental embankments to evaluate the field performance and application scalability of an extracellular polymeric substance biopolymer.

ERDC researchers conduct an overtopping field study of an experimental embankments to evaluate the field performance and application scalability of an extracellular polymeric substance biopolymer.

ERDC researchers conduct an overtopping field study of an experimental embankments to evaluate the field performance and application scalability of an extracellular polymeric substance biopolymer.

ERDC researchers conduct an overtopping field study of an experimental embankments to evaluate the field performance and application scalability of an extracellular polymeric substance biopolymer.

VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is going “over the top” to solve challenges with innovative experiments. Recently, ERDC’s biopolymer research group conducted an overtopping field study of one of their experimental embankments.

An earthen embankment was constructed for this experiment using locally sourced Vicksburg soil, which is derived from lose deposits. The test embankment was constructed to evaluate its performance and compare between biopolymer-treated and untreated sections during an overtopping event.

“We're doing a large-scale overtopping experiment where we're essentially running water over a levee for a set duration and flow,” said Benjamin Breland, research geologist at ERDC’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory.

The purpose of the overtopping field study was to evaluate the field performance and application scalability of an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) biopolymer. Biopolymer is a naturally occurring hydrogel known as an exopolysaccharide that is produced by microorganisms. It happens naturally in the soil and has a symbiotic relationship with plants’ roots. It also interacts with the soil and bonds to the soil particles.

“We're hoping that we can look at how the biopolymer is contributing to decrease overtopping erosion or helping erosion resistance from overtopping,” said Breland. “Another thing that we're trying to get out of it is also quantifying breach behavior.”

This research will provide valuable understanding of the field scalability of biopolymer treatment of soils, as well as post treatment effectiveness against overtopping erosion. Additionally, observations will be made on vegetation responses and biopolymer performance under high moisture conditions as a means of estimating EPS treatment effectiveness under submerged conditions such as a flood event.

“Essentially, we've got the data we need to say, ‘okay, the biopolymer treated section did perform better in this case.’ And through that, it's going to give you a longer time before a potential breach. Therefore, giving more people time to evacuate and decrease the consequences of a breach if it does occur,” said Breland.

The researchers involved with overtopping field study were pleased with results from this experiment.

“I think we'll be able to define and quantify the erosion resistance improvements that you might expect using biopolymers on embankment soils,” said Breland.