Reliability assessment for serviceability limit states of stiffened deep cement mixing column-supported embankments

The reliability and deterministic analyses of wood-cored stiffened deep cement mixing and deep cement mixing column-supported embankments(referred to as WSCSE and DCSE,respectively)considering serviceability limit state requirements are presented in this paper.Random field theory was used to simulate the spatial variability of soil
cement mixing(SCM)material in which the adaptive Kriging Monte Carlo simulation was adopted to estimate the failure probability of a column
supported embankment(CSE)system.A new method for stochastically generating random values of unconfined compressive strength(qu)and the ratio(Ru)between the undrained elastic modulus and qu of SCM material based on statistical correlation data is proposed.Reliability performance of CSEs concerning changes in the mean(μ),coefficient of variation(CoV),and vertical spatial correlation length(θv)of qu and Ru are presented and discussed.The obtained results indicate that WSCSE can provide a significantly higher reliability level and can tolerate more SCM material spatial variability than DCSE.Some performance of DCSE and WSCSE,which can be considered satisfactory in a deterministic framework,cannot guarantee an acceptable reliability level from a probabilistic viewpoint.This highlights the importance and necessity of employing reliability analyses for the design of CSEs.Moreover,consideration of only μ and CoV of qu seems to be sufficient for reliability analysis of WSCSE while for DCSE,uncertainties regarding the Ru(i.e.both μ and CoV)and θv of qu cannot be ignored.

Engineering behaviour of in situ cored deep cement mixed marine deposits subjected to undrained and drained shearing

The deep cement mixing(DCM)is used to improve the capacity and reduce the settlement of the soft ground by forming cemented clay columns.The investigation on the mechanical behaviour of the DCM samples is limited to either laboratory-prepared samples or in-situ samples under unconfined compression.In this study,a series of drained and undrained triaxial shearing tests was performed on the in-situ cored DCM samples with high cement content to assess their mechanical behaviours.It is found that the drainage condition affects significantly the stiffness,peak and residual strengths of the DCM samples,which is mainly due to the state of excess pore water pressure at different strain levels,i.e.being positive before the peak deviatoric stress and negative after the peak deviatoric stress,in the undrained tests.The slope of the failure envelope changes obviously with the confining pressures,being steeper at lower stress levels and flatter at higher stress levels.The strength parameters,effective cohesion and friction angle obtained from lower stress levels(c′0 andφ′0)are 400 kPa and 58°,respectively,which are deemed to be true for design in most DCM applications where the in-situ stress levels are normally at lower values of 50-200 kPa.Additionally,the computed tomography(CT)scanning system was adopted to visualize the internal structures of DCM samples.It is found that the clay pockets existing inside the DCM samples due to uneven mixing affect markedly their stress-strain behaviour,which is one of the main reasons for the high variability of the DCM samples.

Field testing of stiffened deep cement mixing piles under lateral cyclic loading

Construction of seaside and underground wall bracing often uses stiffened deep cement mixed columns （SDCM）. This research investigates methods used to improve the level of bearing capacity of these SDCM when subjected to cyclic lateral loading via various types of stiffer cores. Eight piles, two deep cement mixed piles and six stiffened deep cement mixing piles with three different types of cores, H shape cross section prestressed concrete, steel pipe, and H-beam steel, were embedded though soft clay into medium-hard clay on site in Thailand. Cyclic horizontal loading was gradually applied until pile failure and the hysteresis loops of lateral load vs. lateral deformation were recorded. The lateral carrying capacities of the SDCM piles with an H-beam steel core increased by 3-4 times that of the DCM piles. This field research clearly shows that using H-beam steel as a stiffer core for SDCM piles is the best method to improve its lateral carrying capacity, ductility and energy dissipation capacity.

Bearing Capacity Assessment of Collapsible Soils Improved by Deep Soil Mixing Using Finite Element Method

Problematic soils usually cause considerable problems to engineering projects. As an example, soil structure collapse caused by moisture increment or rising underground water level results in huge settlements. This type of problematic soil, named collapsible soil, can cause dramatic problems and should be amended where exists. Today, the use of different techniques for soil reinforcement and soil improvement is widely used to treat soil properties. One of these methods is Deep Soil Mixing (DSM) method. This method becomes more important in the cases of studying and examining collapsible soils. In this research, the settlement of amended collapsible soils, applying deep soil mixing method, is examined. The experiments show that soil amendment using this method, well prevents the settlement of collapsible soils giving rise to bearing capacity.

Soil-cement mixture properties and design considerations for reinforced excavation

soil-cement is a mixture produced by grouting or mixing cement with soils. This paper reviews and discusses the general classifications of grouting techniques and the suitability of their applications.The mechanical properties of soil-cement mixture and the influence of sodium silicate added are discussed. Design considerations for deep soil mixed wall(DSMW) for excavation support and vault arch for tunnelling stabilisation are presented. Parameters for the numerical analysis of soil-cement mixture are evaluated and recommended.

Reliability-based settlement analysis of embankments over soft soils reinforced with T-shaped deep cement mixing piles

This paper presents a reliability-based settlement analysis of T-shaped deep cement mixing(TDM)pile-supported embankments over soft soils.The uncertainties of the mechanical properties of the in-situ soil,pile,and embankment,and the effect of the pile shape are considered simultaneously.The analyses are performed using Monte Carlo Simulations in combination with an adaptive Kriging(using adaptive sampling algorithm).Individual and system failure probabilities,in terms of the differential and maximum settlements(serviceability limit state(SLS)requirements),are considered.The reliability results for the embankments supported by TDM piles,with various shapes,are compared and discussed together with the results for conventional deep cement mixing pile-supported embankments with equivalent pile volumes.The influences of the inherent variabilities in the material properties(mean and coefficient of variation values)on the reliability of the piled embankments,are also investigated.This study shows that large TDM piles,particularly those with a shape factor of greater than 3,can enhance the reliability of the embankment in terms of SLS requirements,and even avoid unacceptable reliability levels caused by variability in the material properties.

Simulation of Excess Pore Water Pressure During Deep Soil Mixing Columns Installing

Most of current studies of deep soil mixing (DSM) methods are focused on the soil strength improvement and soil treatment effectiveness. But the DSM installation leads to excess pore water pressure and soil disturbance, which will bring great harm to adjacent structures, such as shell tunnels and historic buildings. The procedure of excess pore water pressure buildup while large number DSM columns are installed is complicated. In order to find methods to predict and simulate the excess pore water pressure during DSM column installation, the complicated dissipation and buildup of excess pore water pressure through in-situ test are studied in this paper. In-situ test was conducted in soft clay near the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The pore water pressure was investigated by an automatic monitoring system. Test results indicate that the excess pore water pressure induced by one DSM column installation is composed of the compaction pressure and the reversing pressure. The empirical equations of excess pore water pressure dissipation and buildup were built by mathematical fitting methods. A compound method is proposed to simulate the excess pore water pressure due to DSM installation. Using this method to predict the excess pore water pressure in the situ test, results show a well agreement between the prediction and the measurements.

Effects of deep soil mixing on existing shield tunnels in soft soil ground

To mitigate the impact of adjacent construction on existing shield tunnels,deep soil mixing(DSM)has been widely used to reinforce the soft soil ground around shield tunnels.However,the construction of DSM may cause the movement of existing shield tunnels under soft soil and sensitive ground conditions,and reasonable installation parameters will reduce the impact of DSM construction on the existing shield tunnels.Based on the field tests of DSM installation parameters and a program of field measurements of existing shield tunnels during the DSM construction in Suzhou,the reasonable installation parameters of DSM were selected,and the movement of soil behind the soil mixing walls(SMWs)during multirow DSM installation was investigated.The movement of the shield tunnels caused by DSM construction were discussed in detail.The field test results showed that the DSM columns installed at a higher speed and a lower water-cement ratio enlarged the movement of the surrounding soil.The DSM should be installed at a lower speed and a higher watercement ratio to reduce the movement of the shield tunnels.The field measurement results showed that the displacement of the tunnel lining was primarily caused by the construction of DSM zones beside the shield tunnels,which led to vertical compression and horizontal expansion of the tunnel lining.The construction of DSM immediately above the shield tunnels caused uplift to the tunnels.In addition,the deformed shapes of the two shield tunnels were asymmetric,and the displacement of the spring lining was larger than that of the crown.By taking the reasonable installation parameters of DSM and under the protection of the SMWs,the deformation of the shield tunnels caused by the construction of DSM was effectively controlled,and the maximum displacement was within the control value of the shield tunnels in this study.

Experimental study on geosynthetic-reinforced sand fill over marine clay with or without deep cement mixed soil columns under different loadings

Geosynthetics and deep cement mixed(DCM)soil columns have been widely used to improve soft soil grounds in many countries and regions.This paper presents an experimental study on a geosynthetic-reinforced sand fill over marine clay with or without DCM columns under different loadings.Two tests were conducted on the sand fill reinforced with fixed-end and free-end geosynthetics over marine clay under three-stage local loading to investigate the effects of the boundary conditions of geosynthetic reinforcement on reducing settlements.It is observed that the fixed-end geosynthetic sheet is more effective in reducing settlements than the free-end condition under identical local loading.Another test was conducted on the fixed-end geosynthetic-reinforced sand fill over the marine clay improved by DCM columns under single-stage uniform loading.The vertical stresses on the marine clay and on the DCM columns,as well as the tensile strains of the geosynthetic sheet in the overlying sand fill,were measured.The results revealed that the stress concentration ratio increases with an increase in consolidation settlements,and the maximum tensile strain of the geosynthetic sheet occurs near the edge rather than at the center of the top surface of the DCM columns.

Protection of cement-soil reinforced regions for adjacent running tunnels during pit excavation

In pit excavation,cement is introduced into ground by deep mixing method to form an improved soil raft below final formation level to diminish deflection of retaining wall and effect on surrounding structure.Owning to complicated site conditions and improper workmanship,there are always some regions left untreated in the embedded improved soil raft.In this work,Several schemes of cement-soil mixed piles arrangement are modeled in order to discuss the effect of different cement-soil reinforced regions on protection for adjacent running tunnels.Finite element results show that:when lateral regions above tunnels are not enhanced by cement-soil mixed piles,effect of enlarging vertical enhanced regions around tunnels on diminishing lateral displacement of tunnel is really small;enhancing the lateral regions next to retaining wall is more effective in reducing the deflection of tunnel and retaining wall;uplifting of tunnel under the middle pit mainly depends on lateral reinforced regions and lateral displacements of retaining wall;as cement-soil mixed piles near retaining wall in east pit are removed during east pit excavation,effect of cement-soil mixed piles in east pit on reducing the final wall deflection can be neglected;upward shaft resistances are exerted along left side of diaphragm wall during excavation,which helps to reduce the wall deflection;positive effect of single-head cement-soil mixed piles in east pit is to decreasing the uplifting of soil inside east pit.Double-head cement-soil mixed piles arranged in"T"shape decrease the effect of east pit excavation on tunnels under middle pit apparently.

Transportation infrastructure settlement and heave distress:challenges and solutions

Transportation agencies spend millions of dollars annually to repair civil transportation infrastructure including pavements,earth structures and approach slabs distressed by soft compressible soils and expansive soils.Several research studies performed at the University of Texas at Arlington(UTA) focused on stabilizing these problematic soils so that they will provide better and more stable support to the transportation infrastructure.This paper focuses on a summary of two major distresses and mechanisms,and remedial measures for addressing these distress problems.A combined lime-cement stabilization method is fully evaluated in providing better support of pavement infrastructure,and these results are described here.Another major transportation infrastructure problem involving bridge approach slabs requires different treatment methods,and these results are briefly described.As a part of the recently completed research study assessments,both shallow and deep soil treatment methods for stabilizing soils are fully evaluated for their effectiveness in arresting the distress posed to the pavements and bridge approach slabs.These results along with a few future research needs are presented in this paper.