Influence of Incomplete Soil Plugs on Bearing Capacities of Bucket Foundations in Clay

Due to the uneven seabed and heaving of soil during pumping,incomplete soil plugs may occur during the installation of bucket foundations,and the impacts on the bearing capacities of bucket foundations need to be evaluated.In this paper,the contact ratio(the ratio of the top diameter of the soil plug to the diameter of the bucket)and the soil plug ratio(the ratio of the soil heave height to the skirt height)are defined to describe the shape and size of the incomplete soil plug.Then,finite element models are established to investigate the bearing capacities of bucket foundations with incomplete soil plugs and the influences of the contact ratios,and the soil plug ratios on the bearing capacities are analyzed.The results show that the vertical bearing capacity of bucket foundations in homogeneous soil continuously improves with the increase of the contact ratio.However,in normally consolidated soil,the vertical bearing capacity barely changes when the contact ratio is smaller than 0.75,while the bearing capacity suddenly increases when the contact ratio increases to 1 due to the change of failure mode.The contact ratio hardly affects the horizontal bearing capacity of bucket foundations.Moreover,the moment bearing capacity improves with the increase of the contact ratio for small aspect ratios,but hardly varies with increasing contact ratio for aspect ratios larger than 0.5.Consequently,the reduction coefficient method is proposed based on this analysis to calculate the bearing capacities of bucket foundations considering the influence of incomplete soil plugs.The comparison results show that the proposed reduction coefficient method can be used to evaluate the influences of incomplete soil plug on the bearing capacities of bucket foundations.

Pile foundation in alternate layered liquefiable and non-liquefiable soil deposits subjected to earthquake loading

Pile foundations are still the preferred foundation system for high-rise structures in earthquake-prone regions.Pile foundations have experienced failures in past earthquakes due to liquefaction.Research on pile foundations in liquefiable soils has primarily focused on the pile foundation behavior in two or three-layered soil profiles.However,in natural occurrence,it may occur in alternative layers of liquefiable and non-liquefiable soil.However,the experimental and/or numerical studies on the layered effect on pile foundations have not been widely addressed in the literature.Most of the design codes across the world do not explicitly mention the effect of sandwiched non-liquefiable soil layers on the pile response.In the present study,the behavior of an end-bearing pile in layered liquefiable and non-liquefiable soil deposit is studied numerically.This study found that the kinematic bending moment is higher and governs the design when the effect of the sandwiched non-liquefied layer is considered in the analysis as opposed to when its effect is ignored.Therefore,ignoring the effect of the sandwiched non-liquefied layer in a liquefiable soil deposit might be a nonconservative design approach.

Experimental and numerical interpretation on composite foundation consisting of soil-cement column within warm and ice-rich frozen soil

Affected by climate warming and anthropogenic disturbances, the thermo-mechanical stability of warm and ice-rich frozen ground along the Qinghai-Tibet engineering corridor(QTEC) is continuously decreased, which may delay the construction of major projects in the future. In this study, based on chemical stabilization of warm and icerich frozen ground, the soil-cement column(SCC) for ground improvement was recommended to reinforce the foundations in warm and ice-rich permafrost regions. To explore the validity of countermeasures mentioned above, both the original foundation and the composite foundation consisting of SCC with soil temperature of -1.0℃ were prepared in the laboratory, and then the plate loading tests were carried out. The laboratory investigations indicated that the bearing capacity of composite foundation consisting of SCC was higher than that of original foundation, and the total deformation of original foundation was greater than that of composite foundation, meaning that overall stability of foundation with warm and ice-rich frozen soil can be improved by SCC installation. Meanwhile, a numerical model considering the interface interaction between frozen soil and SCC was established for interpretating the bearing mechanism of composite foundation. The numerical investigations revealed that the SCC within composite foundation was responsible for the more applied load, and the applied load can be delivered to deeper zone in depth due to the SCC installation, which was favorable for improving the bearing characteristic of composite foundation. The investigations provide the valuable guideline for the choice of engineering supporting techniques to major projects within the QTEC.

Test on Muddy Soil Reinforcement by Negative Pressure and Electro-Osmosis Inside Cover-Bearing-Type Bucket Foundation for Offshore Wind Turbines

Cover-bearing-type bucket foundation for offshore wind turbines has been paid more and more attention due to its low cost and great bearing capacity. In order to ensure the cover-bearing mode, the muddy soil inside the bucket foundation should be reinforced by some soil consolidation methods, such as negative pressure and electro-osmosis. Firstly, tests were conducted to obtain the reasonable current density. Meanwhile, to improve the electro-osmotic speed and effectiveness, other factors such as intermittent power and layout of electrode, were also studied in the tests. Then, the soil reinforcing tests by negative pressure combined with electro-osmosis were performed for the muddy soil consolidation inside the bucket foundation. The results showed that soil reinforcement by negative pressure was quicker and more obvious during the early phase, and electro-osmotic method can affect more range of soil by rational arrangement of electrodes. Compared with negative pressure, the electro-osmotic method was a continuous and relatively slow process of reinforcement, which was complementary to the negative pressure method. The voltage value of electro-osmosis had little effect on the muddy soil reinforcement inside the bucket foundation, and 1.5 A was chosen as the most reasonable current value for scale model testing in the electro-osmotic method.

Experimental Investigation of Wave-Current Loads on a Bridge Shuttle-Shaped Cap–Pile Foundation

To scrutinize the characteristics of wave-current loads on a bridge shuttle-shaped cap–pile foundation,a 1:125 test model was considered in a laboratory flume.The inline,transverse and vertical wave–current forces acting on the shuttle-shaped cap-pile group model were measured considering both random waves and a combination of random waves with a current.The experimental results have shown that the wave-current forces can be well correlated with the wave height,the wavelength,the current velocity,the incident direction and the water level in the marine environment.An increase in the current velocity can lead to a sharp increase in the inline and transverse wave-current forces,while the vertical wave-current force decreases.Moreover,the wave-current forces are particularly strong when a combination of high tide,strong wave and strong current is considered.

Oscillating Spacetime: The Foundation of the Universe

In this article, spacetime is modeled as a quantum mechanical sonic medium consisting of Planck length oscillations at Planck frequency. Planck length-time oscillations give spacetime its physical constants of c, G and ħ. Oscillating spacetime is proposed to be the single universal field that generates and unifies everything in the universe. The 17 fields of quantum field theory are modeled as lower frequency resonances of oscillating spacetime. A model of an electron is proposed to be a rotating soliton wave in this medium. An electron appears to have wave-particle duality even though it is fundamentally a quantized wave. This soliton wave can momentarily be smaller than a proton in a high energy collision or can have a relatively large volume of an atom’s orbital wave function. Finding an electron causes it to undergo a superluminal collapse to a smaller wave size. This gives an electron its particle-like properties when detected. The proposed wave-based electron model is tested and shown to have an electron’s approximate energy, de Broglie wave properties and undetectable volume. Most important, this electron model is shown to also generate an electron’s electrostatic and gravitational forces. The gravitational properties are derived from the nonlinearity of this medium. When an electron’s gravitational and electrostatic forces are modeled as distortions of soliton waves, the equations become very simple, and a clear connection emerges between these forces. For example, the gravitational force between two Planck masses equals the electrostatic force between two Planck charges. Both force magnitudes equal ħc/r2.

Evaluation and Driving Force Analysis of Cultivated Land Quality in Black Soil Region of Northeast China

Cultivated land is an important natural resource to ensure food,ecological and economic security.The cultivated land quality evaluation(CQE)is greatly significant for protecting and managing cultivated land.In this study,320 counties in the black soil region of Northeast China(BSRNC)represent the research units used to construct the CQE system measuring the soil properties(SP),cultivated land productivity(CLP),ecological environment(EE)and social economy(SE).The total of 19 factors were selected to calculate the integrated fertility index(IFI)and divided into grades.Simultaneously,we used the coupling coordination degree model to comprehensively analyze the spatial pattern of the cultivated land quality(CLQ)in the BSRNC,and use the structural equation model(SEM)to analyze the driving mechanism.The results show the following:1)The CLQ of 262 counties in the BSRNC is in a state of coupling and coordination,and the coupling and coordination degree presents a spatial distribution pattern of‘high in the southwest and northeast,low in the northwest and southeast’.The coordinated development degree of 271 counties is between 0.4 and 0.6,which is in a transitional state between coordination and disorder.2)The CLQ in the BSRNC is generally good,with an average grade of 3.High-quality cultivated land accounts for 58.45%of all counties,middle-and upper-quality cultivated land accounts for 27.05%,and poor-quality cultivated land accounts for 14.49%.3)The SEM analysis shows that the SP,CLP,EE,and SE all influence the CLQ.Among them,the SP has the largest driving force on the CLQ,while the SE has the smallest driving force on it.The results confirm that the main factors affecting the evaluation results are crop productivity level,normalized difference vegetation index,ratio vegetation index,difference vegetation index,and organic carbon content.When implementing protection measures in counties with a low CLQ,considering a balanced coordination of multiple systems and reasonably controlling the quality degradation are important.This study provides the current situation and driving factors of the CLQ in the BSRNC and will play an important role in black soil governance and utilization.

Research on Deformation and Force of Bridge Pile Foundation on High and Steep Slope in Mountainous Area

With the rapid development of my country’s economy, the demand for infrastructure construction is also increasing. However, in most areas of China, the terrains are mountainous and hilly. Some projects have to be built on steep slopes. Choosing viaducts or half-bridges on high-steep slopes is not only conducive to the protection of the surrounding environment, but also conducive to the stability of the slope. Bridges usually choose the form of pile foundation-high pier bridge. This paper uses numerical simulation to study and analyze the bridge pile foundation of the slope section. Relying on actual engineering, use the finite element software ABAQUS6.14 to establish a three-dimensional finite element model to study the bearing mechanism and mechanical characteristics of the pile foundation under vertical load, horizontal load and inclined load, discuss the influence of the nature of the soil around the pile and the stiffness of the pile body on the deformation and internal force of the bridge pile foundation in the slope section. The analysis results show that the horizontal load has a great influence on the horizontal displacement of the pile, but has a small influence on the vertical displacement, and the vertical load is just the opposite. Inclined load has obvious “p-Δ” effect. The increase in soil elastic modulus and pile stiffness will reduce the displacement of the pile foundation, but after reaching a certain range, the displacement of the pile foundation will tend to be stable. Therefore, in actual engineering, if the displacement of the pile foundation fails to meet the requirements, the hardness of the soil and the stiffness of the pile can be appropriately increased, but not blindly.

VIBRATIONS OF STEPPED ONE-WAY THIN RECTANGULAR PLATES SUBJECTED TO IN-PLANE TENSILE/ COMPRESSIVE FORCE IN Y-DIRECTION ON WINKLER'S FOUNDATION

Differential equations of free/forced vibrations of n_step one_way thin rectangular plates subjected to in_plane tensile/compressive force in y_direction on Winkler's foundation are established by using singular functions, their general solutions solved for, expression of vibration mode function and frequency equation on usual supports derived with W operator. Influence functions for various cases deduced here may also be used to solve problems of static buckling or stability for beams and plates in relevant circumstances.

SOUND RADIATION FROM PLATES ON ELASTIC FOUNDATION UNDER ACTION OF MOVING LINE FORCES

An analysis is made of the problem of sound radiation from infinite one-dimensional plateson elastic foundation, when the plates are subjected to the action of harmonic line forces movingat subsonic speeds (M 【 1). The expressions of nondimensional sound power are formulated andthe asymptotic forms of sound power in the low frequency regions are derived. The radiatedsound power is shown as a function of the stiffness of elastic foundation, in terms of stiffness fac-torψ, the moving speed of line force, in terms of Math number M, and the frequency, in termsof wavenumber ratio γ . The effects of the parameter ψ in conjunction with the parameters Mand γ on the radiated sound power level and the phenomenon of coincidence radiation are alsoinvestigated in detail.

Determination of undrained shear strength using piezocone penetration test in clayey soil for bridge foundation

In order to obtain the reasonable undrained shear strength Su for geotechnical analyses of bridge foundations in Yangtze River floodplain clayey soils, a site-specific study is conducted using the imported piezocone penetration test （CPTu） with dissipation phases at the Fourth Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge construction sites. Taking the values of Su from laboratory tests as references, several existing Su-predicted methods based on CPTu are compared and evaluated. To verify the presented cone factor Nk, additional test sites are selected and examined. The results show that the values of cone factors such as Nkt, Nke, and Nau, depend on the shear test mode and disturbance. Generally, the values of Nke show more scattering than those of Nkt and N△u. For the stratified and layered sediments of the Yangtze River floodplain, it is recommended using the net cone resistance qT to estimate Su and the preliminary cone factor values Nkt are from 7 to 16, with an average of 11. It is also confirmed that the CPTu test, as a new technique in site characterization, can present reasonable parameters for bridge foundations.

Numerical analysis of crack generation within embankment built on expansive soil foundation

In order to analyze the initial cracking behavior of highway embankment in the regions of expansive soil, the changes in peaks of tensile stress and their location on top of the embankment for a typical highway embankment section were simulated by ABAQUS. The simulation results indicate that the matric suction was a concave distribution on top of the expansive soil foundation and that it induced differential deformation of foundation and embankment. The peaks of tensile stress on top of the embankment are not located at a fixed site, but gradually move towards the shoulder following the evaporation duration. When the evaporation intensity is larger, the peak of tensile stress on top of embankment increases at a faster rate following the evaporation duration,and its location is closer to the shoulder. The thicker expansive soil layer helps the peaks of tensile stress to reach the critical tensile stress quickly, but the embankment cannot crack when the expansive soil layer is no more than 1.5m after 30d soil surface evaporation; the higher the embankment, the smaller the peak of tensile stress occurring on top of the highway embankment, and its location will be further away from the shoulder. Therefore, a higher embankment constructed on a thinner expansive soil layer can reduce the crack generation within the highway embankment.

Deep Penetration of Spudcan Foundation into Double Layered Soils

The spudcan foundation has been widely used in offshore engineering for jack-up rigs. However, “punch through' failure often occurs where a stronger soil layer overlays a softer soil layer. In this study, spudcan penetration into double layered soils is investigated numerically. The soil profile is set up as a stronger soil layer overlaying a softer soil layer, with the soil strength ratio (bottom soil strength / top soil strength) varied from 0.1 to 1.0 (1 means uniform soil). The bearing behaviour is discussed and the bearing capacity factors are given for various cases involving different layer thicknesses and different strength ratios of the two clay layers. The development of the plastic zones and the effect of soil self-weight on the bearing capacity are also discussed. From this study, it is found that, when a spudcan is distant from the soil layer boundary, the spudcan can be analysed with single soil layer data. However, when a spudcan becomes closer to the soil boundary layer, the influence of the lower soft soil layer is significant, and the bearing capacity of the spudcan decreases. The critical distance is an indication of the occurrence of “punch through' failure. The critical distance between the spudcan and the layer boundary is larger for a rough spudcan than the one for a smooth one, and the critical distance decreases with increasing soil strength ratio. The depth of cavity formed during initial spudcan penetration depends on the top layer soil strength, soil strength ratio and unit soil self-weight, and the cavity affects the spudcan bearing behaviour as well.

Study of vibrating foundations considering soil-pile-structure interaction for practical applications

An investigation of soil-pile-structure interaction is carried out, based on a large reciprocating compressor installed on an elevated concrete foundation （table top structure）. A practical method is described for the dynamic analysis, and compared with a 3D finite element （FE） model. Two commercial software packages are used for dynamic analysis considering the soilpile-structure interaction （SPSI）. Stiffness and damping of the pile foundation are generated from a computer program, and then input into the FE model. To examine the SPSI thoroughly, three cases for the soil, piles and superstructure are considered and compared. In the first case, the interaction is fully taken into account, that is, both the superstructure and soil-pile system are flexible. In the second case, the superstructure is flexible but fixed to a rigid base, with no deformation in the base （no SSI）. In the third case, the dynamic soil-pile interaction is taken into account, but the table top structure is assumed to be rigid. From the comparison beteen the results of these three cases some conclusions are made, which could be helpful for engineering practice.

Optimization of constitutive parameters of foundation soils k-means clustering analysis

The goal of this study was to optimize the constitutive parameters of foundation soils using a k-means algorithm with clustering analysis. A database was collected from unconfined compression tests, Proctor tests and grain distribution tests of soils taken from three different types of foundation pits： raft foundations, partial raft foundations and strip foundations. k-means algorithm with clustering analysis was applied to determine the most appropriate foundation type given the un- confined compression strengths and other parameters of the different soils.

Horizontal Normal Force on Buried Rigid Pipelines in Fluctuant Liquefied Silty Soil

The submarine pipelines that are buried in the Yellow River subaqueous delta can be subject to fluctuant local-liquefied soil caused by storm wave action, possibly causing pipeline damage. An experimental investigation was carried out in a wave flume to study the horizontal normal force on buried rigid pipelines in fluctuant liquefied soil. In this experiment, the soil bed was made of silt from the Yellow River Delta, whereas a steel pipe served as pipeline. Under the experimental conditions, the normal force range on the pipeline in fluctuant liquefied soil was several times higher than that in stable soil, specifically on the side of the pipeline exposed to the wave direction. The resultant force of the horizontal normal forces on the buried pipeline grew by about one order of magnitude after soil liquefaction.

Estimation of Heights of Soil Plug Inside Bucket Foundations During Suction Penetration by Deformable Discrete Element Modeling

The soil plug phenomenon involving the rising of the surface soil inside the bucket chamber under the suction pressure and seepage forces was simulated and calculated by deformable discrete element method (DDEM) models. The seepage forces, the effective gravity of soil, the friction on the chamber wall and the suction inside the chamber are considered as the main external forces of DDEM specimen. Three typical types of soil (silty clay, silt and sand) in the Bohai Sea are set as the main environmental conditions in the formation process of soil plug. It is found that the heights of soil plug simulated by DDEM models are 161.85 mm in silty clay, 125.22 mm in silt and 167.56 mm in sand, which are close to model test results and higher than those estimated by discrete element method (DEM). DDEM is an effective method to estimate and predict the heights of soil plug before suction penetration of bucket foundations on site.

Driving force of soil microbial community structure in a burned area of Daxing'anling,China

Fires are an important factor impacting forest ecosystems of Daxing'anling and have a significant effect on soil microbial community structure.In this study,highthroughput sequencing for 16 S rDNA and ITS rDNA were applied to analyze the changing characteristics and driving factors of bacterial and fungal community structures in burned areas with different fire severity.PICRUSt2 software was used to predict the functional characteristics of burned areas with different fire severity.The purpose was to unveil the responsive relationships among the structure and function of bacterial and fungal communities,fire severity,and post-disturbance restoration times.After high severity fires,the destruction of surface vegetation and loss of soil nutrients reduced the diversity and abundance of soil bacteria and fungi.The soil bacteria community structure,which was dominated by Acidobacteria,Proteobacteria,and Actinobacteria,changed to be dominated by Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi.As well,soil fungal community changed from domination by Helotiales,Eurotiales and Russulales to domination by Archaeorhizomycetales and Helotiales.Over time,soil bacterial community was gradually restored to prefire levels 30 years after the fire.Soil fungal community changed and failed to restore to pre-fire levels after 30 years.After low/intermediate severity fires,environmental factors were relatively unchanged so that soil bacteria diversity and abundance increased,optimizing community composition.The diversity and abundance of soil fungi decreased and the community structure changed slightly.Over time,both bacterial and fungal communities were gradually restored to pre-fire levels 30 years after the fire.After fire disturbance,with increasing severity,soil carbon fixation,lignin degradation,mineralization of organic nitrogen and hydrolysis of organic phosphorus are enhanced.Denitrification is weakened.Therefore,forest fires have certain positive effects on carbon,nitrogen and phosphorus cycles where soil bacteria and fungi are involved.

Calculation of Hydro-Dynamic Stability of the Soil Inside Bucket in the Process of Bucket Foundation Penetration

The offshore platform with bucket foundations is a;new type of offshore platform that distinguishes from traditional template platforms by replacing driven piles with bucket foundations. The suction penentration of bucket foundation is a complicated hydro-dynamic process. The key of this process is the seepage field caused by the difference of pressure applied on purpose inside and outside the bucket. The appearance and developement of seepage field has a decisive influence on the suction penetration process. In this study, the finite element analysis method is applied to the dynamic simulation of the seepage field of suction penetration of bucket foundation. A criterion is suggested to distinguish the hydro-dynamic stability of the soil inside the bucket according to the critical hydraulic gradient method. The reliability of the model and its applicability to engineering practice have been proved through comparison between the results of model test and finite element calculation.

Experimental and Theoretical Study on the Self-Weight Penetration Velocity of Suction Anchor Foundations in Sand

The application of the wellhead suction anchor in the second production test of natural gas hydrates(NGHs)in the South China Sea(SCS)was met with success.This design incorporates a central conductor guide pipe,which distinguishes it from traditional suction foundations.However,this addition resulted in a relatively high penetration resistance and a shallower penetration depth at the self-weight penetration stage.To mitigate this issue,the current study proposes an optimized design where the end of the suction foundation is sharpened.The installation characteristics of the traditional suction foundation and new suction foundation during self-weight penetration into sand are studied through laboratory tests and theoretical analysis.The flat and sharpened bottom shapes are considered in the traditional and new suction models.The effects of the initial penetration velocity on the initial penetration depth and soil plug and impact cavity characteristics are systematically studied.The results show that the self-weight penetration depth of the foundation with a sharpened bottom is 44.5%deeper than that of the foundation with a flat bottom.There are cavities around the foundation at the self-weight penetration stage,and the penetration depth is overestimated by 15%-30%.Finally,a model for predicting the penetration depth of the new suction foundation is proposed.