Model tests on XCC-piled embankment under dynamic train load of high-speed railways

Piled embankments,which offer many advantages,are increasingly popular in construction of high-speed railways in China.Although the performance of piled embankment under static loading is well-known,the behavior under the dynamic train load of a high-speed railway is not yet understood.In light of this,a heavily instrumented piled embankment model was set up,and a model test was carried out,in which a servo-hydraulic actuator outputting M-shaped waves was adopted to simulate the process of a running train.Earth pressure,settlement,strain in the geogrid and pile and excess pore water pressure were measured.The results show that the soil arching height under the dynamic train load of a high-speed railway is shorter than under static loading.The growth trend for accumulated settlement slowed down after long-term vibration although there was still a tendency for it to increase.Accumulated geogrid strain has an increasing tendency after long-term vibration.The closer the embankment edge,the greater the geogrid strain over the subsoil.Strains in the pile were smaller under dynamic train loads,and their distribution was different from that under static loading.At the same elevation,excess pore water pressure under the track slab was greater than that under the embankment shoulder.

Simulation analysis for O-cell test of pile and the interaction of upper pile and lower pile

In this paper,the soil-pile system of O-cell test of pile is simplified as an axi-symmetric problem.By using aggregation of quadrilateral isoparametric elements to simulate pile and soil,setting Goodman's elements between pile and soils,a method of numerical simulation analysis on O-cell test of pile is presented with the consideration of nonlinear mechanical behavior of soils and pile-soil interface.The method is applied to the analysis of a case of O-cell test of pile.The load-displacement curves and axial force curves of upper pile and lower pile obtained from the O-cell test of pile are fitted,and parameters of the mechanical model of soils and interface are determined.Analysis results validate that the numerical simulation analysis method put forward in this paper is applicable.Furthermore,the interaction and influence of upper pile and lower pile in the O-cell test are also studied with the method.The result shows that if load box is located in a soil layer with fine mechanical behavior,the interaction of upper pile and lower pile in O-cell test can be ignored generally.

Shaking Table Tests on Bridge Foundation Reinforced by Antislide Piles on Slope

Based on the requirement of seismic reinforcement of bridge foundation on slope in the Chengdu-Lanzhou railway project,a shaking table model test of anti-slide pile protecting bridge foundation in landslide section is designed and completed. By applying Wenchuan seismic waves with different acceleration peaks,the stress and deformation characteristics of bridge pile foundation and anti-slide pile are analyzed,and the failure mode is discussed. Results show that the dynamic response of bridge pile and anti-slide pile are affected by the peak value of seismic acceleration of earthquake,with which the stress and deformation of the structure increase. The maximum dynamic earth pressure and the moment of anti-slide piles are located near the sliding surface,while that of bridge piles are located at the top of the pile. Based on the dynamic response of structure,local reinforcement needs to be carried out to meet the requirement of the seismic design. The PGA amplification factor of the surface is greater than the inside,and it decreases with the increase of the input seismic acceleration peak. When the slope failure occurs,the tension cracks are mainly produced in the shallow sliding zone and the coarse particles at the foot of the slope are accumulated.

Uplift Pile Test in Rocks and Its Bearing Capacity

This paper reports in situ tension test and laboratory model test for large diameter, manually digging anchorage piles in the 2nd Luzhou Changjiang Bridge. Tension behavior, uplift bearing capacity and influence of rock characteristics on bearing capacity are discussed. Proposes are presented with respect to issues related to the construction and design of uplift piles.

Model Tests of Pile Defect Detection

The pile, as an important foundation style, is being used in engineering practice. Defects of different types and damages of different degrees easily occur during the process of pile construction. So, dietecting defects of the pile is very important. As so far, there are some difficult problems in pile defect detection. Based on stress wave theory, some of these typical difficult problems were studied through model tests. The analyses of the test results are carried out and some significant results of the low-strain method are obtained, when a pile has a gradually-decreasing crosssection part, the amplitude of the reflective signal originating from the defect is dependent on the decreasing value of the rate of crosssection β. No apparent signal reflected from the necking appeares on the velocity response curve when the value of β is less than about 3. 5 %.

Regressive approach for predicting bearing capacity of bored piles from cone penetration test data

In this study, th e least sq u are su p p o rt v ecto r m achine （LSSVM） alg o rith m w as applied to predicting th ebearing capacity o f b ored piles e m b ed d ed in sand an d m ixed soils. Pile g eo m etry an d cone p e n e tra tio nte s t （CPT） resu lts w ere used as in p u t variables for pred ictio n o f pile bearin g capacity. The d ata u se d w erecollected from th e existing litera tu re an d consisted o f 50 case records. The application o f LSSVM w ascarried o u t by dividing th e d ata into th re e se ts： a train in g se t for learning th e pro b lem an d obtain in g arelationship b e tw e e n in p u t variables an d pile bearin g capacity, and testin g an d validation sets forevaluation o f th e predictive an d g en eralization ability o f th e o b tain ed relationship. The predictions o f pilebearing capacity by LSSVM w ere evaluated by com paring w ith ex p erim en tal d ata an d w ith th o se bytrad itio n al CPT-based m eth o d s and th e gene ex pression pro g ram m in g （GEP） m odel. It w as found th a t th eLSSVM perform s w ell w ith coefficient o f d eterm in atio n , m ean, an d sta n d ard dev iatio n equivalent to 0.99,1.03, an d 0.08, respectively, for th e testin g set, an d 1, 1.04, an d 0.11, respectively, for th e v alidation set. Thelow values o f th e calculated m ean squared e rro r an d m ean ab so lu te e rro r indicated th a t th e LSSVM w asaccurate in p redicting th e pile bearing capacity. The results o f com parison also show ed th a t th e p roposedalg o rith m p red icted th e pile bearin g capacity m ore accurately th a n th e trad itio n al m eth o d s including th eGEP m odel.

Shake table test of soil-pile groups-bridge structure interaction in liquefiable ground

This paper describes a shake table test study on the seismic response of low-cap pile groups and a bridge structure in liquefiable ground. The soil profile, contained in a large-scale laminar shear box, consisted of a horizontally saturated sand layer overlaid with a silty clay layer, with the simulated low-cap pile groups embedded. The container was excited in three E1 Centro earthquake events of different levels. Test results indicate that excessive pore pressure （EPP） during slight shaking only slightly accumulated, and the accumulation mainly occurred during strong shaking. The EPP was gradually enhanced as the amplitude and duration of the input acceleration increased. The acceleration response of the sand was remarkably influenced by soil liquefaction. As soil liquefaction occurred, the peak sand displacement gradually lagged behind the input acceleration; meanwhile, the sand displacement exhibited an increasing effect on the bending moment of the pile, and acceleration responses of the pile and the sand layer gradually changed from decreasing to increasing in the vertical direction from the bottom to the top. A jump variation of the bending moment on the pile was observed near the soil interface in all three input earthquake events. It is thought that the shake table tests could provide the groundwork for further seismic performance studies of low-cap pile groups used in bridges located on liquefiable groun.

Field load testing of copper extraction aeration pipes under simulated high heap pile

Recently a research team at Ohio University,USA,conducted a unique full-scale feld load test to simulate the aeration pipe installations at a copper extraction mine operated in Chile.The overliner material taken from the mine was used in recreating the in situ conditions.Electric heaters were utilized to raise the temperature inside each pipe to simulate the essential element of the copper extraction process.The maximum vertical deflection reached by the test pipes was close to 20%,when the simulated heap pile height was 80 m.The plastic pipes and the overliner material were also tested in the laboratory.Based on the results,the maximum heap pile fll depth was recommended for the aeration system.The results indicated that the vertical deflection was the primary performance index for the aeration pipes installed in heap piles at mines.Lastly,the pipe made of polypropylene resin was super.

The Shaking Table Test on the Performance of Cement-mixed Piles in Liquefiable Railway Foundations

Cement-mixed piles,as countermeasure against liquefaction of silt and sand ground,can improve the shear strength and bearing capacity of foundation soil,meaning cement-mixed piles are capable of resisting displacement when an earthquake happens. However,investigations of cement-mixed piles by experimental methods such as the shaking table test is few and far between. It is especially true for the seismic performance of cement-mixed piles in liquefiable railway foundations in high seismic intensity regions. To this end,a cross-section of the Yuxi-Mengzi railway was selected as the prototype and studied by the shaking table test in this study. The results showed that composite foundation of cementmixed piles was not liquefied when the seismic acceleration was lower than 0. 30g. In the process of acceleration increasing from 0. 30g at 2Hz to 0. 60g at 3Hz,the upper middle silt outside slope toe was partly liquefied. The foundation soil under the shoulders and center of subgrade was far from the initial liquefaction criterion during the test. Cementmixed piles can effectively reduce the embankment settlement and differential settlement. It can be concluded that, the design of cement-mixed piles can ensure the seismic performance of the subgrade,and satisfy the seismic design requirements of the YuxiMengzi railway in areas of VIII degrees seismic fortification intensity.

In-Situ Test on Fatigue Characteristics of Top-Mounted Dividable Pile-Board Subgrade for High-Speed Railway

To simulate the fatigue characteristics of the pile-board structure under long-term dynamic load, using the in-situ dynamic testing system DTS-1, the forced vibration loading was repeated one million times at different cross-sections of the pile-board structure for high-speed railway. The dynamic deformation, permanent deformation and dynamic stress of main reinforcements were measured. The test results show that the dynamic responses of the pile-board structure almost did not vary with the forced vibration times under the simulated trainload. After one million times of forced vibration, the permanent deformations of the midspan section of intermediate span and midspan section of side span were 0.7 mm and 0. 6 mm, respectively, and there was no accumulative plastic deformation at the bearing section of intermediate span.

Pile-up现象对材料本构关系反演计算的影响

针对商用纳米压痕测试中忽略凸起(Pile-up)现象的问题,开展了Pile-up现象对材料力学参数和本构反演计算结果影响的研究。推导能量法理论,选取5种不同材料进行了纳米压痕测试,利用商用Oliver-Pharr(O-P)法和能量法分别进行硬度和弹性模量计算,并比较测试误差率。推导极限分析法理论并进行反演计算,得到考虑材料Pile-up现象的应力应变曲线,并根据计算结果对纳米压痕过程进行仿真。结果表明:当纳米压痕测试中压痕残余深度与压入深度比值大于0.7时,Pile-up现象对商用O-P法测试影响明显,弹性模量和硬度值误差率达到20%以上;对发生塑性变形较大材料进行本构关系反演计算时,理论计算值和数值模拟结果均证明了Pile-up现象对应力应变曲线计算有一定的影响。研究结果可为纳米压痕测试本构关系的反演计算方法提供参考。

Response of single piles and pipelines in liquefaction-induced lateral spreads using controlled blasting

Two full-scale experiments using controlled blasting were conducted in the Port of Tokachi on Hokkaido Island, Japan,to assess the behavior of piles and pipelines subjected to lateral spreading.Test specimens were extensively instrumented with strain gauges to measure the distribution of moment during lateral spreading.This allowed us to compute the loading condition,as well as to conduct damage and performance assessments on the piles and pipelines.This paper presents the test results and discussions on the response of single piles and pipelines observed from the full-scale experiments.Based on the test results,it can be concluded that using controlled blasting successfully liquefied the soil,and subsequently induced lateral spreading.The movements of the single pile,as well as the transverse pipelines,were approximately the same as the free field soil movement.Observed moment distribution of the single pile indicated that global translation of the liquefied soil layer provided insignificant force to the pile.In addition,the degree of fixity at the pile tip significantly affected the moment along the pile as well as the pile head displacement.The pile with a higher degree of fixity at the pile tip had smaller pile head displacement but larger maximum moment.

Estimation of Axial Pile Bearing Capacity According to Shear Strength Parameters of Soil

At pesent, it is very popular to estimate pile bearing capacity by use of empirical formula and physical indexes of soil provided in the design codes for civil construction in China. This paper attempts to apply mechanical indexes of soil and semi-empirical formulas, which are based on soil mechanical theories and were summarized and presented by Meyerhof in 1976, to calculate the axial pile bearing capacity. Loading test results of 24 single piles in Tianjin area have been collected and compared with the proposed calulation approach.

Research on pile performance and state-of-the-art practice in cold regions

A pile foundation is commonly adopted in geotechnical engineering to support structures, and its application has been extended to cold-regions engineering. In past decades, a host of scholars investigated pile behaviors and proposed design guidelines for seasonally frozen ground or permafrost. This paper reviews the research with respect to pile performance and engineering practice in cold regions, organized as follows:(1) creep tests and bearing capacity,(2) frost-jacking hazards,(3) laterally loaded piles,(4) dynamic responses,(5) refreezing due to concrete-hydration heat, and(6) improved countermeasures and design methods. We first summarize previous research and recent progress; then, predict the development trend of pile foundations in cold regions and recommend further research.

Shaking Table Test Study on Dynamic Characteristics of Bridge Foundation Reinforcement on Slopes

With the fast development of bridge construction in mountainous and seismic areas,it is necessary to conduct related research. Based on the design of a shaking table model test,here are the following test results: the filtering effect exists in soil and is affected by the dynamic constraint conditions,the amplitude is strengthened around the natural frequency and weakened in other frequency bands in the Fourier spectrum. Since the acceleration scaling effect occurred on a sloped surface,the acceleration response decreases from the outside to the inside in soil. The dynamic response is relatively strong near the slip surface in bedrock due to the reflection of seismic waves. The failure mode of landslide is decided by the slope angle and slipping mass distribution, and the test shows the front row stabilizing piles should keep a proper distance from bridge foundation so that seismic resistance can be guaranteed for the bridge foundation.

Bearing behavior and failure mechanism of squeezed branch piles

The current practice for the design of squeezed branch piles is mainly based on the calculated bearing capacity of circular piles. Insufficient considerations of the load-transfer mechanism, branch effect and failure mechanism, as well as overreliance on pile load tests, have led to conservative designs and limited application. This study performs full-scale field load tests on instrumented squeezed branch piles and shows that the shaft force curves have obvious drop steps at the branch position, indicating that the branches can effectively share the pile top load. The effects of branch position, spacing, number and diameter on the pile bearing capacity are analyzed numerically. The numerical results indicate that the squeezed branch piles have two types of failure mechanisms, i.e. individual branch failure mechanism and cylindrical failure mechanism. Further research should focus on the development of the calculation method to determine the bearing capacities of squeezed branch piles considering these two failure mechanisms.

Effects of topography on dynamic responses of single piles under vertical cyclic loading

This paper describes model tests of single piles subjected to vertical cyclic compressive loading for three kinds of topography: sloping ground, level ground, and inclined bedrock. Comprehensive dynamic responses involving cyclic effects and vibration behaviours are studied under various load combinations of dynamic amplitude, mean load,frequency and number of cycles. Test results show that permanent settlement can generally be predicted with a quadratic function or power function of cycles.Sloping ground topography produces more pronounced settlement than level ground under the same load condition. For vibration behaviour,displacement amplitude is weakly affected by the number of cycles, while load amplitude significantly influences dynamic responses. Test results also reveal that increasing load amplitude intensifies nonlinearity and topography effects. The strain distribution in a pile and soil stress at the pile tip are displayed to investigate the vibration mechanism accounting for sloping ground effects. Furthermore, the dynamic characteristics among three kinds of topography in the elastic stage are studied using a three-dimensional finite method. Numerical results are validated by comparing with experimental results for base inclination topography. An inclined soil profile boundary causes non-axisymmetric resultant deformation, though a small difference in vertical displacement is observed.

The Shielding Effect of Multi-Pile Structures on Ice Force

The shielding effect of the front pile-row on the ice force acting on the back pile-row is studied by ice force model tests. In the tests, the front pile-row is designed to model jacket legs and the back pile-row to model the water resisting pipe-phalanx within the jacket. The shielding factor for ice force corresponding to different conditions are given in this paper. The research indicates that there are many factors, including the longitudinal and lateral spacing between the front and back pile-row, ice attacking angle and the ratio of pile diameter to ice thickness, that influence the shielding effect on ice force.

Analysis and design of axially loaded piles in rock

Despite significant advancements in in situ test techniques,construction practices,understanding of rock joint and rock mass behaviours,and numerical analysis methods,the design of bored concrete cast-insitu piles in rock is still largely based on the assessment of bearing capacity.However,for many of the rock conditions encountered,the bearing capacity of piles is a nebulous concept and a figment of the designer’s imagination.Even if it can be reasonably quantified,it has little,if any,significance to the performance of a pile in rock.The load carrying capacity of even low strength rock(in most situations)is far in excess of the strength of the structure(for example,a building column)transmitting the load.Unsatisfactory performance of a pile in rock is usually a displacement issue and is a function of rock mass stiffness rather than rock mass strength.In addition,poor pile performance is much more likely to result from poor construction practices than excessive displacement of the rock mass.Exceptions occur for footings that are undermined,or where unfavourable structure in the rock allows movement towards a free surface to occur.Standards,codes of practices,reference books and other sources of design information should focus foundation design in rock on displacement rather than strength performance.Ground investigations should measure rock mass stiffness and defect properties,as well as intact rock strength.This paper summarises the fundamental concepts relating to performance of piles in rock and provides a basis for displacement focused design of piles in rock.It also presents comments relating to how piles are modelled in widely used commercial finite element software for soil-structure interaction analysis,within the context of the back-analysis of a pile load test,and proposes recommendations for pile analysis and design.

Behavior of raft on settlement reducing piles:Experimental model study

An experimental program is conducted on model piled rafts in sand soil.The experimental program is aimed to investigate the behavior of raft on settlement reducing piles.The testing program includes tests on models of single pile,unpiled rafts and rafts on 1,4,9,or 16 piles.The model piles beneath the rafts are closed ended displacement piles installed by driving.Three lengths of piles are used in the experiments to represent slenderness ratio,L/D,of 20,30 and 50,respectively.The dimensions of the model rafts are 30 cm×30 cm with different thickness of 0.5 cm,1.0 cm or 1.5 cm.The raft-soil stiffness ratios of the model rafts ranging from 0.39 to 10.56 cover flexible to very stiff rafts.The improvement in the ultimate bearing capacity is represented by the load improvement ratio,LIR,and the reductions in average settlement and differential settlement are represented by the settlement ratio,SR,and the differential settlement ratio,DSR,respectively.The effects of the number of settlement reducing piles,raft relative stiffness,and the slenderness ratio of piles on the load improvement ratio,settlement ratio and differential settlement ratio are presented and discussed.The results of the tests show the effectiveness of using piles as settlement reduction measure with the rafts.As the number of settlement reducing piles increases,the load improvement ratio increases and the differential settlement ratio decreases.