Non-limit passive soil pressure on rigid retaining walls

This paper aims to reveal the depth distribution law of non-limit passive soil pressure on rigid retaining wall that rotates about the top of the wall(rotation around the top(RT) model). Based on Coulomb theory, the disturbance degree theory, as well as the spring-element model, by setting the rotation angle of the wall as the disturbance parameter, we establish both a depth distribution function for sand and a nonlinear depth distribution calculation method for the non-limit passive soil pressure on a rigid retaining wall under the RT model, which is then compared with experiment. The results suggest that under the RT model: the non-limit soil pressure has a nonlinear distribution; the backfill disturbance degree and the lateral soil pressure increase with an increase in the wall rotation angle; and, the points where the resultant lateral soil pressure acts on the retaining wall are less than 2/3 of the height of the wall. The soil pressure predicted by the theoretical calculation put forward in this paper are quite similar to those obtained by the model experiment, which verifies the theoretical value, and the engineering guidance provided by the calculations are of significance.

Soil pressure and pore pressure for seismic design of tunnels revisited: considering water-saturated, poroelastic half-space

This paper describes a systematic study on the fundamental features of seismic soil pressure on underground tunnels, in terms of its magnitude and distribution, and further identifi es the dominant factors that signifi cantly infl uence the seismic soil pressure. A tunnel embedded in water-saturated poroelastic half-space is considered, with a large variety of model and excitation parameters. The primary features of both the total soil pressure and the pore pressure are investigated. Taking a circular tunnel as an example, the results are presented using a fi nite element-indirect boundary element(FE-IBE) method, which can account for dynamic soil-tunnel interaction and solid frame-pore water coupling. The effects of tunnel stiffness, tunnel buried depth and input motions on the seismic soil pressure and pore pressure are also examined. It is shown that the most crucial factors that dominate the magnitude and distribution of the soil pressure are the tunnel stiffness and dynamic soil-tunnel interaction. Moreover, the solid frame-pore water coupling has a prominent infl uence on the magnitude of the pore pressure. The fi ndings are benefi cial to obtain insight into the seismic soil pressure on underground tunnels, thus facilitating more accurate estimation of the seismic soil pressure.

Evaluation of Inner Soil Pressure Acting on Opened Bottom Cylindrical Structure

An opened bottom cylinder is a large-diameter cylinder placed on a rubber base or embedded in a soil foundation. The settlement of such a cylinder differs greatly from that of a closed bottom cylinder and so does the distribution of inner soil pressure over the opened bottom cylindrical structure. Through investigation of the settlement and the inner soil pressure on the opened bottom cylinder by model experiments, the interactions among the filler inside the cylinder, subsoil and cylinder are analyzed. The adjusting mechanism of friction resistance between the inner filler and the wall of the cylinder during overturning of the cylinder is discussed. Based on the experimental study, a method for calculating the inner soil pressure on the cylindrical structure under axisymmetric loading or non- axisymmetric (with lateral) loading is proposed in this paper. Meanwhile, the effective anti-overturning ratio of the opened bottom cylinder is derived.

Soil Pressure Mini-sensor Made of Monocrystalline Silicon and the Measurement of Its Sensitivity Coefficient

A calibration test was done in order to measure its sensitivity coefficient by an improved soil test device.The experimental result shows that the soil pressure min-sensor made of the monocrystalline silicon（SPMMS）is proved to be good linear,high precision and less that can fetch precise data in low pressure range even near by O point,which guarantees the reliability of the soil pressure test in geotechnical engineering.

Time-dependent surrounding soil pressure and mechanical response of tunnel lining induced by surrounding soil viscosity

A numerical simulation method of shield tunnel excavation is developed to capture the time-dependent deformation behaviour of surrounding soil. The simulation method consists of four parts:(i) an elastic-plastic-viscous constitutive model that can not only reasonably describe the viscous deformation behaviour of soil, but also appropriately calculate the plastic deformation under typical stress paths of excavation;(ii) simulation of main factors related to shield tunnel excavation, including the shield machine, face pressure, lining, grout behavior, and contacts between multiple media;(iii) a simulation procedure for excavation to reflect the process of shield tunnel excavation and achieve reasonable stress and strain fields at the end of the construction stage;(iv) a creep process that is used to investigate the long-term mechanical behaviours of the surrounding soil and tunnel lining. Taking the CK570H tunnel project in Taipei as the background, a numerical simulation is conducted by adopting the developed simulation method. Based on the simulation results, the radial and circumferential stresses acting on the lining, which are induced by the surrounding soil viscosity, are analysed. The rule of the mechanical response of lining, including its deformation, bending moment, and axial force, with time is revealed. On this basis, the long-term safety of the lining is evaluated.

RESEARCH ON SOIL PRESSURE IN NINE CABINS OF OPENED BOTTOM ELLIPTICAL BARREL STRUCTURE USING PENETRATION OF NEGATIVE PRESSURE METHOD

An investigation is made on the soil pressure in a nine cabin opened bottom elliptical barrel structure. The calculation models using the penetration of negative pressure method have been developed. The first calculation model is is for the construction stage involving three zones, namely, passive, transitional, and active established for the soil pressure in cabins. The other calculation model is based on the use stage, with the two （passive and active） zones for the soil pressure in cabins. The height of zones and the theoretical analytical solutions of inner soil pressure are derived. The analytical formulas of the models are proved using the finite element method and experimental data, and the formulas are analyzed in the inner soil pressure in the same condition. The calculation models can be used for other multi-position structural design or construction.

Effects of sample dimensions and shapes on measuring soil-water characteristic curves using pressure plate

It is well known that soilewater characteristic curve （SWCC） plays an important role in unsaturated soil mechanics, but the measurement of SWCC is inconvenient. In laboratory it requires days of testing time. For fine-grained clays, it may last for a couple of months using pressure plate tests. In this study, the effects of sample dimensions and shapes on the balance time of measuring SWCCs using pressure plate tests and the shape of SWCCs are investigated. It can be found that the sample dimensions and shapes have apparent influence on the balance time. The testing durations for circular samples with smaller diameters and annular samples with larger contact area are significantly shortened. However, there is little effect of sample dimensions and shapes on the shape of SWCCs. Its mechanism is explored and discussed in details through analysing the principle of pressure plate tests and microstructure of the sample. Based on the above findings, it is found that the circular samples with smaller dimensions can accelerate the testing duration of SWCC using the pressure plate.

Water and salt movement in different soil textures under various negative irrigating pressures

supported by the National High-Tech R＆D Program of China （2013AA102901）

砂土中长径比对三筒基础水平承载特性的影响

The tripod foundation(TF)is a prevalent foundation configuration in contemporary engineering practices.In comparison to a single pile,TF comprised interconnected individual piles,resulting in enhanced bearing capacity and stability.A physical model test was conducted within a sandy soil foundation,systematically varying the length-to-diameter ratio of the TF.The investigation aimed to comprehend the impact of altering the height of the central bucket on the historical horizontal bearing capacity of the foundation in saturated sand.Additionally,the study scrutinized the historical consequences of soil pressure and pore water pressure surrounding the bucket throughout the loading process.The historical findings revealed a significant enhancement in the horizontal bearing capacity of the TF under undrained conditions.When subjected to a historical horizontal loading angle of 0°for a single pile,the multi-bucket foundation exhibited superior historical bearing capacity compared to a single-pile foundation experiencing a historical loading angle of 180°under pulling conditions.With each historical increment in bucket height from 150 mm to 350 mm in 100 mm intervals,the historical horizontal bearing capacity of the TF exhibited an approximately 75%increase relative to the 150 mm bucket height,indicating a proportional relationship.Importantly,the historical internal pore water pressure within the bucket foundation remained unaffected by drainage conditions during loading.Conversely,undrained conditions led to a historical elevation in pore water pressure at the lower side of the pressure bucket.Consequently,in practical engineering applications,the optimization of the historical bearing efficacy of the TF necessitated the historical closure of the valve atop the foundation to sustain internal negative pressure within the bucket.This historical measure served to augment the historical horizontal bearing capacity.Simultaneously,historical external loads,such as wind,waves,and currents,were directed towards any individual bucket within the TF for optimal historical performance.

Shaking table test for reinforcement of soil slope with multiple sliding surfaces by reinforced double-row anti-slide piles

Despite the continuous advancements of engineering construction in high-intensity areas,many engineering landslides are still manufactured with huge thrust force,and double-row piles are effective to control such large landslides.In this study,large shaking table test were performed to test and obtain multi-attribute seismic data such as feature image,acceleration,and dynamic soil pressure.Through the feature image processing analysis,the deformation characteristics for the slope reinforced by double-row piles were revealed.By analyzing the acceleration and the dynamic soil pressure time domain,the spatial dynamic response characteristics were revealed.Using Fast Fourier Transform and half-power bandwidth,the damping ratio of acceleration and dynamic soil pressure was obtained.Following that,the Seism Signal was used to calculate the spectral displacement of the accelerations to obtain the regional differences of spectral displacement.The results showed that the overall deformation mechanism of the slope originates from tension failure in the soil mass.The platform at the back of the slope was caused by seismic subsidence,and the peak acceleration ratio was positively correlated with the relative pile heights.The dynamic soil pressure of the front row piles showed an inverted"K"-shaped distribution,but that of the back row piles showed an"S"-shaped distribution.The predominant frequency of acceleration was 2.16 Hz,and the main frequency band was 0.7-6.87 Hz;for dynamic soil pressure,the two parameters became 1.15 Hz and 0.5-6.59 Hz,respectively.In conclusion,dynamic soil pressure was more sensitive to dampening effects than acceleration.Besides,compared to acceleration,dynamic soil pressure exhibited larger loss factors and lower resonance peaks.Finally,back row pile heads were highly sensitive to spectral displacement compared to front row pile heads.These findings may be of reference value for future seismic designs of double-row piles.

Mechanism of Geogrid Reinforced Soil at Bridge Approach

Using Geogrid-Reinforced Soil （GRS） we studied the working mechanism and design method of GRS at bridge approach with high backfill by field experiment. In a highway section where the height of backfill is 13.5 meters, geogrids were used at two bridge approaches to address the bumping problems. Some soil pressure cells were used to measure the normal and lateral soil pressure at different locations in the roadbed. The experimental results indicate that geogrids in geogrid-reinforced soil （GRS） could produce an uplift force, the closer the location to the abutment, the larger the uplift force, and the reduction of measured soil pressures compared with theoretical values was the largest at the bottom of roadbed, less at the top than at the bottom, and the least in the mid-height of roadbed than at the bottom. These findings are different from those of the traditional greogrid-reinforced subgrade design method,

Evalution of Application of p-y Curve Method in Offshore Engineering Foundation

Based on the Mohr-Coulomb failure principle and Rankine's theory, the laterally loaded pile ultimate resistance formulas of sand and soft clay proposed by Reese and Matlock respectively are discussed in this paper. The authors put forward the modified ultimate resistance formulas on the basis of which the ultimate resistance formula is developed for horizontally loaded pile in multi-layer soil in consideration of the effect of the overburden soil pressure on the calculation of soil layer. It is significant to the correct application of the ultimate resistance formulas in API and ZCS Rules into offshore engineering.

A discrete element model for simulating saturated granular soil

A numerical model is developed to simulate saturated granular soil, based on the discrete element method. Soil particles are represented by Lagrangian discrete elements, and pore fluid, by appropriate discrete elements which represent alternately Lagrangian mass of water and Eulerian volume of space. Macroscale behavior of the model is verified by simulating undrained biaxial compression tests. Micro-scale behavior is compared to previous literature through pore pressure pattern visualization during shear tests. It is demonstrated that dynamic pore pressure patterns are generated by superposed stress waves. These pore-pressure patterns travel much faster than average drainage rate of the pore fluid and may initiate soil fabric change, ultimately leading to liquefaction in loose sands. Thus, this work demonstrates a tool to roughly link dvnamic stress wave patterns to initiation of liQuefaction nhenomena.

Particle shape consideration in numerical simulation of assemblies of irregularly shaped particles

The mechanical behavior of granular materials depends much on the shape of the constituent particles. Therefore appropriate modeling of particle, or grain, shape is quite important. This study employed the method of direct modeling of grain shape （Matsushima ＆ Saomto, 2002）, in which, the real shape of a grain is modeled by combining arbitrary number of overlapping circular elements which are connected to each other in a rigid way. Then, accordingly, a discrete-element program is used to simulate the assembly of grains. In order to measure the effects of grain shape on mechanical properties of assembly of grains, three types of grains-high angular grains, medium angular grains and round grains are considered where several biaxial tests are conducted on assemblies with different grain types, The results show that the angularity of grains greatly affects the behavior of granular soil.