Soft computing approach for prediction of surface settlement induced by earth pressure balance shield tunneling

Estimating surface settlement induced by excavation construction is an indispensable task in tunneling,particularly for earth pressure balance(EPB)shield machines.In this study,predictive models for assessing surface settlement caused by EPB tunneling were established based on extreme gradient boosting(XGBoost),artificial neural network,support vector machine,and multivariate adaptive regression spline.Datasets from three tunnel construction projects in Singapore were used,with main input parameters of cover depth,advance rate,earth pressure,mean standard penetration test(SPT)value above crown level,mean tunnel SPT value,mean moisture content,mean soil elastic modulus,and grout pressure.The performances of these soft computing models were evaluated by comparing predicted deformation with measured values.Results demonstrate the acceptable accuracy of the model in predicting ground settlement,while XGBoost demonstrates a slightly higher accuracy.In addition,the ensemble method of XGBoost is more computationally efficient and can be used as a reliable alternative in solving multivariate nonlinear geo-engineering problems.

Dielectric relaxation of interfacial polarizable molecules in chitosan ice-hydrogel materials

The functionalities of hydrogel-based smart materials are highly related to the electrostatic interactions and molecular polarization associated with the polymer networks and encapsulated water droplets,and therefore the dielectric responses of the polarizable molecules in the polymer,water,and polymer-water interfaces are particularly attractive,where the properties of polymer-water interfacial molecules remain elusive.Different from extensive dielectric relaxation spectroscopy studies on polymer hydrogel solutions,in this work we investigate the dielectric response of chitosan hydrogels below the water solidifying point(ice-hydrogels)so that the contribution of chitosan-water interfacial molecules can be isolated.It is revealed that the chitosan-water interfacial polarizable molecules have slow dielectric relaxation but large polarization compared with the chitosan chains and water molecules,and the dielectric relaxations beyond~10^(4)Hz are substantially weak.The thermal activation energy of the dielectric relaxation for these interfacial polarizable molecules can be as large as 0.93 eV,i.e.89.73 kJ/mol.The present work provides a platform for characterizing the polymer-water electrostatic interactions and interfacial polarizable molecules,informative to understand the microstructure-property relationships of chitosan-based hydrogel materials.