Upper bound solution for supporting pressure acting on shallow tunnel based on modified tangential technique

Based on the nonlinear failure criterion and the upper bound theorem, the modified tangential technique method was proposed to derive the expression of supporting pressure acting on shallow tunnel. Instead of the same stress state, different normal stresses on element boundaries were used. In order to investigate the influence of different factors on supporting pressures, the failure mechanism was established. The solution of supporting pressure, with different parameters, was obtained by optimization theory. The corresponding failure mechanism and numerical results were presented. In comparison with the results using the single tangential technique method, it is found that the proposed method is effective, and the good agreement shows that the present solution of supporting pressure is reliable.

Pseudo-static analysis of cantilever retaining walls using upper bound limit analysis approach

Given the extensive utilization of cantilever retaining walls in construction and development projects,their optimal design and analysis with proper attention to seismic loads is a typical engineering problem.This research presents a new algorithm for pseudo-static analysis of retaining walls employing upper bound method.The algorithm can be utilized to design and check the external and internal stability of the wall based on the proposed mechanism.One of the main features of this algorithm is its ability to determine the critical condition of failure wedges,the minimum safety factor and maximum force acting on the wall,as well as the minimum weight of the wall,simultaneously,by effectively using the multi-objective optimization.The results obtained by the proposed failure mechanisms show that,while using the upper bound limit analysis approach,the active force should be maximized concurrent with optimizing the direction of the plane passing through the back of the heel.The present study also applies the proposed algorithm to determine the critical direction of the earthquake acceleration coefficient.The critical direction of earthquake acceleration coefficient is defined as the direction that maximizes the active force exerted on the wall and minimizes the safety factor for wall stability.The results obtained in this study are in good agreement with those of similar studies carried out based on the limit equilibrium method and finite element analysis.The critical failure mechanisms were determined via optimization with genetic algorithm.

Upper bound solutions of stability factor of shallow tunnels in saturated soil based on strength reduction technique

Based on the upper bound theorem of limit analysis,the factor of safety for shallow tunnel in saturated soil is calculated in conjunction with the strength reduction technique.To analyze the influence of the pore pressure on the factor of safety for shallow tunnel,the power of pore pressure is regarded as a power of external force in the energy calculation.Using the rigid multiple-block failure mechanism,the objective function for the factor of safety is constructed and the optimal solutions are derived by employing the sequential quadratic programming.According to the results of optimization calculation,the factor of safety of shallow tunnel for different pore pressure coefficients and variational groundwater tables are obtained.The parameter analysis shows that the pore pressure coefficient and the location of the groundwater table have significant influence on the factor of safety for shallow tunnel.

Upper bound analytical solution for surrounding rock pressure of shallow unsymmetrical loading tunnels

By combining the results of laboratory model tests with relevant flow rules, the failure mode of shallow unsymmetrical loading tunnels and the corresponding velocity field were established. According to the principle of virtual power, the upper bound solution for surrounding rock pressure of shallow unsymmetrical loading tunnel was derived and verified by an example. The results indicate that the calculated results of the derived upper bound method for surrounding rock pressure of shallow unsymmetrical loading tunnels are relatively close to those of the existing "code method" and test results, which means that the proposed method is feasible. The current code method underestimates the unsymmetrical loading feature of surrounding rock pressure of shallow unsymmetrical loading tunnels, so it is unsafe; when the burial depth is less or greater than two times of the tunnel span and the unsymmetrical loading angle is less than 45°, the upper bound method or the average value of the results calculated by the upper bound method and code method respectively, is comparatively reasonable. When the burial depth is greater than two times of the tunnel span and the unsymmetrical loading angle is greater than 45°, the code method is more suitable.

Upper bound analysis of ultimate pullout capacity of shallow 3-D circular plate anchors based on nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion

Based on the nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion and the associated flow rules,the three-dimensional(3-D)axisymmetric failure mechanism of shallow horizontal circular plate anchors that are subjected to the ultimate pullout capacity(UPC)is determined.A derivative function of the projection function for projecting the 3-D axisymmetric failure surface on plane is deduced using the variation theory.By using difference principle,the primitive function of failure surface satisfying boundary condition and numerical solution to its corresponding ultimate pullout capacity function are obtained.The influences of nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb parameters on UPC and failure mechanism are studied.The result shows that UPC decreases with dimensionless parameter m and uniaxial tensile strength increases but increases when depth and radius of plate anchor,surface overload,initial cohesion,geomaterial density and friction angle increase.The failure surface is similar to a symmetrical spatial funnel,and its shape is mainly determined by dimensionless parameter m;the surface damage range expands with the increase of radius and depth of the plate anchor as well as initial cohesion but decreases with the increase of dimensionless parameter m and uniaxial tensile strength as well as geomaterial density.As the dimensionless parameter m=2.0,the numerical solution of UPC based on the difference principle is proved to be feasible and effective through the comparison with the exact solution.In addition,the comparison between solutions of UPC computed by variation method and those computed by upper bound method indicate that variation method outperforms upper bound method.

Three-dimensional upper bound limit analysis of underground cavities using nonlinear Baker failure criterion

A generalized nonlinear Baker failure criterion is employed with the upper bound limit analysis to study the surrounding rock stability of underground cavities. A three-dimensional(3D) failure mode is established by extending the two-dimensional(2D) failure mode, which offers an upper bound expression of the surrounding rock pressure. This method is validated with a series of examples before the influence of four parameters of scale parameter, curvature parameter, shift parameter and lateral pressure coefficient, on the surrounding rock pressure is analyzed. According to these results, failure ranges of the underground cavities are determined. The following conclusions are reached:(1) the proposed approach is more accurate to predict surrounding rock pressure than the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion;(2) the surrounding rock with large scale parameter, curvature parameter, shift parameter, and lateral pressure coefficient can lead to a more stable underground cavity;(3) the failure range in 3D mode can be predicted according to the upper bound solutions.

A new failure mechanism for deep cavity and upper bound solution of supporting pressure

The investigation of supporting pressure is of great significance to the design of underground structures.Based on the kinematical approach of limit analysis,an improved failure mechanism is proposed,and the supporting pressure is investigated for deep buried cavity.Three failure mechanisms are first introduced according to the existing failure mechanisms of geotechnical structures of limit analysis.A comparison with respect to the optimal failure mechanisms and the upper bound solutions provided among these three mechanisms are then conducted in an attempt to obtain the improved failure mechanism.The results provided by the improved failure mechanism are in good agreement with those by the existing method,the numerical solution and field monitoring,which demonstrates that the proposed failure mechanism is effective for the upper bound analysis of supporting pressure.

Upper bound analysis for hybrid sheet metals extrusion process through curved dies

The extrusion process of hybrid sheet metals through arbitrarily curved dies was analyzed by the method of upper bound. The material under deformation was divided into two deformation regions, bimetal and mono-metal regions, and the flow of the material in each region was assumed as plane strain state. The internal, shearing and frictional power terms were derived and they were used in the upper bound model. The extrusion forces for two types of die shapes, an optimum wedge shaped die and an optimum streamlined die shape for a hybrid sheet composed of copper as sleeve and aluminum as core were determined. The corresponding results for those two die shapes were also determined by using the finite element code, ABAQUS, and compared with the upper bound results. These comparisons show a good agreement.

Upper bound solution for active thrust of nonhomogeneous cohesive soil considering effects of intermediate principal stress

Considering the variation of cohesion along the depth,the upper bound solution of active earth pressure for a rough inclined wall with sloped backfill is formulated based on a log-spiral failure mechanism.For a more accurate prediction,the influence of intermediate principal stress is taken into consideration using the unified strength theory.Converting the search for the active pressure to an optimization problem,the most critical failure surface can be located by a natural selection-based gravitational search algorithm(GSA).The proposed method is validated compared with existing methods for noncohesive and cohesive cases and proved to be more accordance with the limit equilibrium solution.The influences of the variation of soil cohesion and intermediate principal stress on active earth pressure coefficient are then fully studied.It can be concluded that both the variations of soil cohesion and intermediate principal stress have a significant influence on the active earth pressure coefficient.

Face stability analysis of circular tunnels in layered rock masses using the upper bound theorem

An analysis of tunnel face stability generally assumes a single homogeneous rock mass.However,most rock tunnel projects are excavated in stratified rock masses.This paper presents a two-dimensional(2D)analytical model for estimating the face stability of a rock tunnel in the presence of rock mass stratification.The model uses the kinematical limit analysis approach combined with the block calculation technique.A virtual support force is applied to the tunnel face,and then solved using an optimization method based on the upper limit theorem of limit analysis and the nonlinear Hoek-Brown yield criterion.Several design charts are provided to analyze the effects of rock layer thickness on tunnel face stability,tunnel diameter,the arrangement sequence of weak and strong rock layers,and the variation in rock layer parameters at different positions.The results indicate that the thickness of the rock layer,tunnel diameter,and arrangement sequence of weak and strong rock layers significantly affect the tunnel face stability.Variations in the parameters of the lower layer of the tunnel face have a greater effect on tunnel stability than those of the upper layer.

Combined influence of nonlinearity and dilation on slope stability evaluated by upper-bound limit analysis

The combined influence of nonlinearity and dilation on slope stability was evaluated using the upper-bound limit analysis theorem.The mechanism of slope collapse was analyzed by dividing it into arbitrary discrete soil blocks with the nonlinear Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion and nonassociated flow rule.The multipoint tangent(multi-tangent) technique was used to analyze the slope stability by linearizing the nonlinear failure criterion.A general expression for the slope safety factor was derived based on the virtual work principle and the strength reduction technique,and the global slope safety factor can be obtained by the optimization method of nonlinear sequential quadratic programming.The results show better agreement with previous research result when the nonlinear failure criterion reduces to a linear failure criterion or the non-associated flow rule reduces to an associated flow rule,which demonstrates the rationality of the presented method.Slope safety factors calculated by the multi-tangent inclined-slices technique were smaller than those obtained by the traditional single-tangent inclined-slices technique.The results show that the multi-tangent inclined-slices technique is a safe and effective method of slope stability limit analysis.The combined effect of nonlinearity and dilation on slope stability was analyzed,and the parameter analysis indicates that nonlinearity and dilation have significant influence on the result of slope stability analysis.

Upper bound for the time derivative of entropy for a stochastic dynamical system with double singularities driven by non-Gaussian noise

A stochastic dynamical system with double singularities driven by non-Gaussian noise is investigated. The Fokker Plank equation of the system is obtained through the path-integral approach and the method of transformation. Based on the definition of Shannon＇s information entropy and the Schwartz inequality principle, the upper bound for the time derivative of entropy is calculated both in the absence and in the presence of non-equilibrium constraint. The present calculations can be used to interpret the effects of the system dissipative parameter, the system singularity strength parameter, the noise correlation time and the noise deviation parameter on the upper bound.

Upper bound seismic rotational stability analysis of gravity retaining walls considering embedment depth

Stability analysis of gravity retaining wall was currently based on the assumption that the wall had no embedment depth. The effect of earth berm was usually neglected. The present work highlighted the importance of embedment depth when assessing the seismic stability of gravity retaining walls with the pattern of pure rotation. In the framework of upper bound theorem of limit analysis, pseudo-static method was applied into two groups of parallel rigid soil slices methods in order to account for the effect of embedment depth on evaluating the critical acceleration of wall-soil system. The present analytical solution is identical to the results obtained from using limit equilibrium method, and the two methods are based on different theory backgrounds. Parameter analysis indicates that the critical acceleration increases slowly when the ratio of the embedment depth to the total height of the wall is from 0 to 0.15 and increases drastically when the ratio exceeds 0.15.

Prediction of central bursting defects in rod extrusion process with upper bound analysis method

The prediction of central bursting defects in the rod extrusion process through conical dies using the upper bound analysisis investigated. A kinematically admissible velocity field, including the radial and angular velocity components, is proposed. A newcriterion is presented to predict the occurrence of the central bursting defects. Parameter bobt, which represents the risk probability ofcracking, is proposed. It is calculated using the shape of the boundary at the entrance by minimizing the total power dissipationduring the extrusion process. When bobt is equal to or greater than bcr, central bursting occurs. Furthermore, the quantitativerelationships between central bursting defects and process parameters （semi die angle, reduction in area and frictional factor） arestudied. The results show that the central bursting defects are affected primarily by the reduction in area and the friction factor. Thepresented criterion is verified by comparing with the FEM simulation data and the results of the published paper.

UPPER-BOUND APPROACH ANALYSIS OF DRIVING POWER OF WHEEL FOR CASTEX

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Upper-bound limit analysis based on the natural element method

The natural element method （NEM） is a newly- developed numerical method based on Voronoi diagram and Delaunay triangulation of scattered points, which adopts natural neighbour interpolation to construct trial functions in the framework of Galerkin method. Owing to its distinctive advantages, the NEM is used widely in many problems of computational mechanics. Utilizing the NEM, this paper deals with numerical limit analysis of structures made up of perfectly rigid-plastic material. According to kinematic the- orem of plastic limit analysis, a mathematical programming natural element formulation is established for determining the upper bound multiplier of plane problems, and a direct iteration algorithm is proposed accordingly to solve it. In this algorithm, the plastic incompressibility condition is handled by two different treatments, and the nonlinearity and nons- moothness of the goal function are overcome by distinguishing the rigid zones from the plastic zones at each iteration. The procedure implementation of iterative process is quite simple and effective because each iteration is equivalent to solving an associated elastic problem. The obtained limit load multiplier is proved to monotonically converge to the upper bound of true solution. Several benchmark examples are investigated to validate the significant performance of the NEM in the application field of limit analysis.

Upper Bound Solutions for Uplift Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Suction Caisson Foundation

Suction caisson foundation derives most of their uplift resistance from passive suction developed during the pullout movement. It was observed that the passive suction generated in soil at the bottom of the caisson and the failure mode of suction caisson foundation subjecting pullout loading behaves as a reverse compression failure mechanism.The upper bound theorems have been proved to be a powerful method to find the critical failure mechanism and critical load associated with foundations, buried caissons and other geotechnical structures. However, limited attempts have been reported to estimate the uplift bearing capacity of the suction caisson foundation using the upper bound solution. In this paper, both reverse failure mechanisms from Prandtl and Hill were adopted as the failure mechanisms for the computation of the uplift bearing capacity of the suction caisson. New equations were proposed based on both failure mechanisms to estimate the pullout capacity of the suction caisson. The proposed equations were verified by the test results and experimental data from published literature. And the two solutions agree reasonably well with the other test results. It can be proved that both failure mechanisms are reasonably and more consistent with the actual force condition.

Effect of die inlet geometry on extrusion of clover sections through curved dies:Upper bound analysis and experimental verification

The effect of die inlet and transition geometry on the extrusion loads and ~aaterial flow for extrusion of clover sections were investigated and presented both theoretically and experimentally. For this purpose, four different die geometries including straight tapered and cosine transition profile and each of them having round and clover inlet geometries were chosen. In the experimental study, commercially pure lead was used because of its hot forming characteristic at room temperature. A newly kinematical admissible velocity field to analyze different profiles of extrusion dies of clover section from round bars was proposed by upper bound analysis. It is clear that the extrusion loads obtained from the theoretical analysis for various die inlet-die transition geometry combinations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Axis deviations of the parts which define the dimensional quality of the products were also investigated.

Upper Bound Solution of the Resisting Moment Bearing Capacity of A Composite Bucket Shallow Foundation of An Offshore Wind Turbine in Sand

Bearing the large moment that is generated by the wind load that acts on the upper structure of offshore wind turbines is an important feature of their foundations that is different from other offshore structures.A composite bucket shallow foundation(CBSF)has been proposed by Tianjin University to address the soft geological conditions in the offshore regions of China for wind turbines.The CBSF is a new type of foundation and is effective against large moments.The soil deformation test of a CBSF and the numerical simulation study under the same working conditions are carried out to determine the failure mechanism of a CBSF under moment loading.The resisting soil compression rateηm is defined as a new empirical parameter that indicates the ability of the soil inside the bucket to resist moment loading.The upper limit of the resisting moment bearing capacity of the bucket foundation is derived through the upper bound theorem of classical plasticity theory based on the failure mechanism.The calculation method is validated by tests of bucket models with different height-diameter ratios in sand under moment loading.

Determination of processing power and optimum billet radius of modified backward extrusion by upper bound approach

A recently developed backward extrusion method entitled “modified backward extrusion” was presented using an upper bound analysis. For this purpose deformation area was divided into four distinct zones and a kinematically admissible velocity field for each of them was suggested. Total dissipated power was calculated for the deformation zones and the extrusion power wascomputed. The correlations of important geometrical parameters with extrusion force and dissipated powers were shown. Finding the initial billet size, a challenging area in the modified backward extrusion method, was discussed and the optimum billet radius was obtained, considering the minimum relative extrusion pressure. Finite element analyses were conducted and the results werecompared with the upper bound analysis. Finally, experiments were executed on commercially pure aluminium and a good agreement between upper bound and finite element analyses with experimental values was observed.