Calculation of Scale of Fluctuation and Variance Reduction Function

The scale of fluctuation is one of the vital parameters for the application of random field theory to the reliability analysis of geotechnical engineering. In the present study, the fluctuation function method and weighted curve fitting method were presented to make the calculation more simple and accurate. The vertical scales of fluctuation of typical layers of Tianjin Port were calculated based on a number of engineering geotechnical investigation data, which can be guidance to other projects in this area. Meanwhile, the influences of sample interval and type of soil index on the scale of fluctuation were analyzed, according to which, the principle of determining the scale of fluctuation when the sample interval changes was defined. It can be obtained that the scale of fluctuation is the basic attribute reflecting spatial variability of soil, therefore, the scales of fluctuation calculated according to different soil indexes should be basically the same. The non-correlation distance method was improved, and the principle of determining the variance reduction function was also discussed.

Optimal placement of two soil soundings for rectangular footings

This study uses a recently proposed algorithm for consideration of soil sounding locations in the bearing capacity estimations of spatially variable soil for rectangular footings.The objective of the study is to assess the possibility of indicating general guidelines for optimal soil sounding locations in the case of two soundings and rectangular footings.The possibility of proposing such general guidelines would be extremely valuable from the engineering practice point of view.Moreover,it would be promising for future studies concerning more complex foundation arrangements.For this reason,numerous scenarios are analyzed for a variety of vertical and horizontal fluctuation scales and a variety of rectangular foundation lengths.For generality of the results,two correlation structures are considered,i.e.the Gaussian and the Markovian ones.The optimal sounding location results are discussed.The observations indicate that,for a specified vertical fluctuation scale,all optimal borehole locations in dimensionless coordinates form a curve.This phenomenon can be utilized in practical applications.The potential applications of the obtained results and the directions for future studies in this area are also discussed.

Quantitative assessment of the spatio-temporal correlations of seismic events induced by longwall coal mining

Rock failure process as a natural response to mining activities is associated with seismic events, which can pose a potential hazard to mine operators, equipment and infrastructures. Mining-induced seismicity has been found to be internally correlated in both time and space domains as a result of rock fracturing during progressive mining activities. Understanding the spatio-temporal(ST) correlation of mininginduced seismic events is an essential step to use seismic data for further analysis, such as rockburst prediction and caving assessment. However, there are no established methods to perform this critical task. Input parameters used for the prediction of seismic hazards, such as the time window of past data and effective prediction distance, are determined based on site-specific experience without statistical or physical reasons to support. Therefore, the accuracy of current seismic prediction methods is largely constrained, which can only be addressed by quantitively assessing the ST correlations of mininginduced seismicity. In this research, the ST correlation of seismic event energy collected from a study mine is quantitatively analysed using various statistical methods, including autocorrelation function(ACF), semivariogram and Moran’s I analysis. In addition, based on the integrated ST correlation assessment, seismic events are further classified into seven clusters, so as to assess the correlations within individual clusters. The correlation of seismic events is found to be quantitatively assessable, and their correlations may vary throughout the mineral extraction process.

Random failure mechanism method for assessment of working platform bearing capacity with a linear trend in undrained shear strength

A bearing capacity evaluation for the surface strip foundation on a working platform modelled on a twolayered substrate is considered in the study.The upper layer is assumed as man-made and wellcontrolled and thus non-variable.The lower layer modelling natural cohesive soil is subjected to spatial variability of undrained shear strength.The random failure mechanism method(RFMM)is used to evaluate the bearing capacity.This approach employs a kinematic assessment of the critical load and incorporates the averaging of three-dimensional(3 D)random field along dissipation surfaces that result from the failure mechanism geometry.A novel version of the approach considering an additional linear trend of undrained shear strength in the spatially variable layer is proposed.The high efficiency of the RFMM algorithm is preserved.The influences of foundation length,trend slope in the spatially variable layer,fluctuation scales,and thickness of the homogenous sand layer on the resulting bearing capacity evaluations are analysed.Moreover,for selected cases,verification of the RFMM based assessment obtained using random finite difference method(RFDM)based on 3 D analysis is provided.Two types of analyses are performed using RFDM based on associated and non-associated flow rules.For associated flow rule which corresponds to RFMM,the RFMM is conservative and efficient and thus it seems preferable.However,if RFDM employs non-associated flow rule(much lower dilation angle for sand layer),the efficient RFMM is no longer conservative.For this situation,a combined approach that improves the efficiency of the numerical method is suggested.

Application of Random Process in Soil Profile Modeling

When using the random process in soil profile modeling, the stationary and ergodicity of the soil properties in the profile must be tested. This paper describes a procedure for stationary and ergodicity testing. Numerical examples were given for demonstration. A log-cosine function is suggested to simulate the correlation function, which has been proved to be good for soil profile modeling.