Model tests on XCC-piled embankment under dynamic train load of high-speed railways

Piled embankments,which offer many advantages,are increasingly popular in construction of high-speed railways in China.Although the performance of piled embankment under static loading is well-known,the behavior under the dynamic train load of a high-speed railway is not yet understood.In light of this,a heavily instrumented piled embankment model was set up,and a model test was carried out,in which a servo-hydraulic actuator outputting M-shaped waves was adopted to simulate the process of a running train.Earth pressure,settlement,strain in the geogrid and pile and excess pore water pressure were measured.The results show that the soil arching height under the dynamic train load of a high-speed railway is shorter than under static loading.The growth trend for accumulated settlement slowed down after long-term vibration although there was still a tendency for it to increase.Accumulated geogrid strain has an increasing tendency after long-term vibration.The closer the embankment edge,the greater the geogrid strain over the subsoil.Strains in the pile were smaller under dynamic train loads,and their distribution was different from that under static loading.At the same elevation,excess pore water pressure under the track slab was greater than that under the embankment shoulder.

Static load test and load transfer mechanism study of squeezed branch and plate pile in collapsible loess foundation

As a special geological phenomenon, the character of collapsible loess foundation is collapsible when penetrated by water. This character leads to the soil losing load bearing capacity largely and may lead to foundation failure. Pile is a popular foundation used in collapsible loess. The squeezed branch and plate pile is a new type of pile developed in recent years and has not be used in a project before. In this paper three squeezed branch and plate piles are tested in collapsible loess after immersion processing. The results may be used for reference in similar construction project, and to provide theoretical references for de- signing of the squeezed branch and plate piles in engineering practice.

Model tests and numerical analyses on horizontal impedance functions of inclined single piles embedded in cohesionless soil

Horizontal impedance functions of inclined single piles are measured experimentally for model soil-pile systems with both the effects of local soil nonlinearity and resonant characteristics.Two practical pile inclinations of 5掳 and 10掳 in addition to a vertical pile embedded in cohesionless soil and subjected to lateral harmonic pile head loadings for a wide range of frequencies are considered.Results obtained with low-to-high amplitude of lateral loadings on model soil-pile systems encased in a laminar shear box show that the local nonlinearities have a profound impact on the horizontal impedance functions of piles.Horizontal impedance functions of inclined piles are found to be smaller than the vertical pile and the values decrease as the angle of pile inclination increases.Distinct values of horizontal impedance functions are obtained for the ＇positive＇ and ＇negative＇ cycles of harmonic loadings,leading to asymmetric force-displacement relationships for the inclined piles.Validation of these experimental results is carried out through three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analyses,and the results from the numerical models are in good agreement with the experimental data.Sensitivity analyses conducted on the numerical models suggest that the consideration of local nonlinearity at the vicinity of the soil-pile interface influence the response of the soil-pile systems.

Dynamic soil arching in piled embankment under train load of high-speed railways

Piled embankments have many advantages that have been applied in high-speed railway construction engineering.However,the load transfer mechanism of piled embankments,such as soil arching and tension membranes,is still unclear,especially under dynamic loads.To investigate the soil arching and tension membrane under dynamic train loads on high-speed railways,a large-scale piled embankment model test with X-shaped piles as vertical reinforcement was performed,in which twenty-eight earth pressure cells were installed in the piled embankment and an M-shaped wave was adopted to simulate the high-speed railway train load.The results show that dynamic soil arching only occurs when two bogies of a carriage pass by and disappears at other times.The dynamic soil arching and membrane effect are the most significant under the concrete base.The arching height,stress concentration ratio and pile-soil load sharing ratio have a minimal value at 25 Hz.The dynamic soil arching degrades severely at 25 Hz,whose height at 25 Hz is only 0.35 times that at 5 Hz.The arching height fluctuates over a narrow range with increasing loading amplitude.The stress concentration ratio and the pile-soil load sharing ratio increase monotonically as the loading amplitude increases.

Application of bi-directional static loading test to deep foundations

Bi-directional static loading test adopting load cells is widely used around the world at present, with increase in diameter and length of deep foundations. In this paper, a new simple conversion method to predict the equivalent pile head load-settlement curve considering elastic shortening of deep foundation was put forward according to the load transfer mechanism. The proposed conversion method was applied to root caisson foundation in a bridge and to large diameter pipe piles in a sea wind power plant. Some new load cells, test procedure, and construction technology were adopted based on the applications to different deep foundations, which could enlarge the application scopes of bi-directional loading test. A new type of bi-directional loading test for pipe pile was conducted, in which the load cell was installed and loaded after the pipe pile with special connector has been set up. Unlike the conventional bi-directional loading test, the load cell can be reused and shows an evident economic benefit.

Numerical modeling of centrifuge cyclic lateral pile load experiments

To gain insight into the inelastic behavior of piles, the response of a vertical pile embedded in dry sand and subjected to cyclic lateral loading was studied experimentally in centrifuge tests conducted in Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees. Three types of cyclic loading were applied, two asymmetric and one symmetric with respect to the unloaded pile. An approximately square-root variation of soil stiffness with depth was obtained from indirect in-flight density measurements, laboratory tests on reconstituted samples, and well-established empirical correlations. The tests were simulated using a cyclic nonlinear Winkler spring model, which describes the full range of inelastic phenomena, including separation and re-attachment of the pile from and to the soil. The model consists of three mathematical expressions capable of reproducing a wide variety of monotonic and cyclic experimentalp-y curves. The physical meaning of key model parameters is graphically explained and related to soil behavior. Comparisons with the centrifuge test results demonstrate the general validity of the model and its ability to capture several features of pile-soil interaction, including： soil plastification at an early stage of loading, ＂pinching＂ behavior due to the formation of a relaxation zone around the upper part of the pile, and stiffness and strength changes due to cyclic loading. A comparison of the p-y curves derived from the test results and the proposed model, as well as those from the classical curves of Reese et al. （1974） for sand, is also presented.

Influence of pile spacing on seismic response of piled raft in soft clay: centrifuge modeling

In order to study the infl uence of pile spacing on the seismic response of piled raft in soft clay, a series of shaking table tests were conducted by using a geotechnical centrifuge. The dynamic behavior of acceleration, displacement and internal forces was examined. The test results indicate that the seismic acceleration responses of models are generally greater than the surrounding soil surface in the period ranges of 2–10 seconds. Foundation instant settlements for 4×4 and 3×3 piled raft (with pile spacing equal to 4 and 6 times pile diameter) are somewhat close to each other at the end of the earthquake, but reconsolidation settlements are greater for 3×3 piled raft. The seismic acceleration of superstructure, the uneven settlement of the foundation and the maximum bending moment of pile are relatively lower for 3×3 piled raft. Successive earthquakes lead to the softening behavior of soft clay, which causes a reduction of the pile bearing capacity and thus loads are transferred from the pile group to the raft. For the case of a 3×3 piled raft, there is relatively smaller change of the load sharing ratio of the pile group and raft after the earthquake and the distribution of maximum bending moments at the pile head is more uniform.

Behavior of Pile Group with Elevated Cap Subjected to Cyclic Lateral Loads

The pile group with elevated cap is widely used as foundation of offshore structures such as turbines, power transmission towers and bridge piers, and understanding its behavior under cyclic lateral loads induced by waves, tide water and winds, is of great importance to designing. A large-scale model test on 3×3 pile group with elevated cap subjected to cyclic lateral loads was performed in saturated silts. The preparation and implementation of the test is presented. Steel pipes with the outer diameter of 114 mm, thickness of 4.5 mm, and length of 6 m were employed as model piles. The pile group was cyclic loaded in a multi-stage sequence with the lateral displacement controlled. In addition, a single pile test was also conducted at the same site for comparison. The displacement of the pile cap, the internal forces of individual piles, and the horizontal stiffness of the pile group are presented and discussed in detail. The results indicate that the lateral cyclic loads have a greater impact on pile group than that on a single pile, and give rise to the significant plastic strain in the soil around piles. The lateral loads carried by each row of piles within the group would be redistributed with loading cycles. The lateral stiffness of the pile group decreases gradually with cycles and broadly presents three different degradation patterns in the test. Significant axial forces were measured out in some piles within the group, owing to the strong restraint provided by the cap, and finally lead to a large settlement of the pile group. These findings can be referred for foundation designing of offshore structures.

Reliability of design approaches for axially loaded offshore piles and its consequences with respect to the North Sea

In the near future, several offshore wind farms are planned to be built in the North Sea. Therefore, jacket and tripod constructions with mainly axially loaded piles are suitable as support structures. The current design of axial bearing resistance of these piles leads to deviant results regarding the pile resistance when different design methods are adopted. Hence, a strong deviation regarding the required pile length must be addressed. The reliability of a design method can be evaluated based on a model error which describes the quality of the considered design method by comparing measured and predicted pile bearing resistances. However, only few pile load tests are reported with regard to the boundary conditions in the North Sea. This paper presents 6 large-scale axial pile load tests which were incorporated within a new model error approach for the current design methods used for the axial bearing resistance,namely API Main Text method and cone penetration test(CPT)-based design methods, such as simplified ICP-05, offshore UWA-05, Fugro-05 and NGI-05 methods. Based on these new model errors, a reliabilitybased study towards the safety was conducted by performing a Monte-Carlo simulation. In addition,consequences regarding the deterministic pile design in terms of quality factors were evaluated. It is shown that the current global safety factor(GSF) prescribed and the partial safety factors are only valid for the API Main Text and the offshore UWA-05 design methods; whereas for the simplified ICP-05,Fugro-05 and NGI-05 design methods, an increase in the required embedded pile length and thus in the GSF up to 2.69, 2.95 and 3.27, respectively, should be considered to satisfy the desired safety level according to DIN EN 1990 of b ? 3.8. Further, quality factors for each design method on the basis of all reliability-based design results were derived. Hence, evaluation of each design method regarding the reliability of the pile capacity prediction is possible.

Axial bearing behavior of super-long piles in deep soft clay over stiff layers

In order to find out the bearing behavior of super-long piles located in deep soft clay over stiff layers around Dongting Lake, China, a test pile was first designed with the field loading test finished afterward. Based on the measured test results, load transfer mechanism and bearing behavior of the pile shaft were discussed in detail. Then, by introducing a bi-linear model for shaft friction and the tri-linear model for pile tip resistance, respectively, the governing differential equation of pile soil system was set up by the load transfer method with the analytical solutions derived as well, taking into account the effect by stratified feature and various bearing conditions of subsoil, material nonlinearity, and the sediment under pile tip. Furthermore, formulas to determine the axial capacity of super-long piles by the pile top settlement were advised and applied to analyze the test pile. Good agreement between the predicted load settlement variations and the measured data is obtained to verify the validity of the present method. The results also show that, the axial bearing capacity of super-long piles should be controlled by the allowable pile top settlement, and buckling stability of the pile shaft should be paid attention as well.

Cyclic Lateral Responses of Monopiles Considering the Influence of Pile−Soil Relative Stiffness in Sand

The existing studies have primarily focused on the effect of cyclic load characteristics(namely,cyclic load ratio and amplitude ratio)on cyclic lateral response of monopiles in sand,with little attention paid to the effect of pile−soil relative stiffness(K_(R)).This paper presents a series of 1-g cyclic tests aimed at improving understanding of the cyclic lateral responses of monopiles under different pile−soil systems.These systems are arranged by two model piles with different stiffness,including four different slenderness ratios(pile embedded length,L,normalized by diameter,D)under medium dense sand.The K_(R)-values are calculated by a previously proposed method considering the real soil stress level.The test results show that the lateral accumulation displacement increases significantly with the increment of the K_(R)-value,while the cyclic secant stiffness performs inversely.The maximum pile bending moment increases with the cycle number for the rigid pile−soil system,but shows a decreasing trend in the flexible system.For an uppermost concern,an empirical model is proposed to predict the accumulated displacement of arbitrary pile−soil systems by combining the results from this study with those from previous experimental investigations.The validity of the proposed model is demonstrated by 1-g and centrifuge tests.

桩基静载过程中OFDR温度补偿试验研究

桩基静载试验是一种准确、可靠的桩基承载力测试试验,通过静载试验中桩身变形的测试,有利于分析桩基变形和承载特性.在桩基静载试验过程中,采用光频域反射(OFDR)技术开展桩基变形测试,考虑到温度的影响,对OFDR技术测得应变结果进行了温度补偿.结果显示:在本次试验中,用于温度补偿的温度传感光纤应变值随着桩顶上部加载出现了较大的变化,其原因是光纤传感器与钢筋笼之间绑扎过于紧密.对比进行温度补偿和不进行温度补偿的桩身应变数据,发现不做温度补偿造成的影响不能忽略,因此应变传感光纤测试结果必须进行温度补偿.研究结果可为桩基变形高精度监测提供科学参考.

Evaluation of ultimate bearing capacity of Y-shaped vibro-pile

Based on Mindlin stress solution, a numerical computational method was proposed to calculate the stresses in the ground induced by side friction and the resistance of Y-shaped vibro-pile. The improved Terzaghi's and ЪерезанцевВГ's methods for ultimate bearing capacity evaluation were proposed by considering the stress strength induced by friction resistance at pile head level of Y-pile. A new method to calculate the ultimate bearing capacity of Y-pile was also proposed based on the assumptions of soil failure mode at the tip of Y-pile and the use of Mohr-Coulomb soil yield criterion and Vesic compressive correction coefficient with the induced stresses in the ground. Based on the comparisons with the field static load test results, it is found that the improved Terzaghi's method gives higher ultimate capacity, while the other two methods shows good agreement with the field results.

Experimental study on DX pile performance in frozen soils under lateral loading

Experiments about working mechanism and mechanical characteristics of the DX model pile foundation under lateral dynamic and static loading were conducted by using a model system of the dynamic frozen soil-pile interaction. The horizontal displacement-force relationship of the pile head and bending moment distribution along the body in frozen soils of different temperatures were discussed. According to test results, both the horizontal disp!acement-force relationship of the DX pile head and bending moment distribution of the DX pile body are smaller than that of equal-diameter piles under same lateral loads. The piles with different plate positions show different displacements and bending moments. This phenomenon is mainly related to the soil temperature and bearing plates locations. Thus, dynamic response analysis of the pile foundation should be taken into account.

Experiments of Multi-element Composite Foundation with Steel Pipe Pile and Gravel Pile

A set of serf-developed apparatus for foundation physical model were utilized to conduct model tests of the multi-element composite foundation with a steel pipe pile and several gravel piles. Some load-bearing characteristics of the multi-element Composite foundation, including the curves of foundation settlement, stresses of piles, pile-soil stress ratio, and load-sharing ratio of piles and soil, were obtained to study its working performances in silty sand soil. The experimental results revealed that the multi-element composite foundation with steel pipe pile and gravel pile contributed more than the gravel pile composite foundation in improving the bearing capacity of the silty fine sand.

Numerical analysis of bearing behaviors of single batter piles under horizontal loads in various directions

The horizontal bearing behavior of a single batter pile(SBP)is vital to its application in practical engineering;however,the horizontal responses of SBPs change with the directions of horizontal loads,and this phenomenon is rarely investigated.Therefore,the directional differences in the horizontal bearing behaviors of SBPs are investigated in this study.Four model tests are conducted to preliminarily examine the effects of the skew angle of horizontal loads on the horizontal bearing capacities and distributions of the bending moments of the SBPs.Subsequently,the differences in the responses of the SBPs under horizontal loads in various directions at full scale are analyzed comprehensively via finite-element(FE)analysis.The effects of the skew angle on SBP-soil interaction are discussed.Moreover,an empirical design method is proposed based on the FE analysis results to predict the bearing ratios of SBPs in medium-dense and dense sand while considering the effects of the skew angle,batter angle,and pile diameter.The method is confirmed to be effective,as confirmed by the close agreement between the predicting results with the model test(reported in this study)and centrifuge model test results(reported in the literature).

串珠状溶洞数量影响灌注桩顶部水平受拉特性试验研究

采用室内模型试验,对比研究串珠状溶洞数量对灌注桩顶部水平受拉特性的影响,为岩溶强发育区嵌岩桩的水平承载力设计提供试验依据.结果表明:1)桩顶水平荷载相同时,上部土层段桩身水平位移、桩身弯矩(峰值)、桩侧土抗力随溶洞数量的增多而增大,单桩水平承载力随溶洞数量增多而明显减弱.2)上部土层段桩身水平位移随桩顶水平荷载增大而增大,桩顶水平位移最大,嵌岩段很小甚至为0;弯矩M-深度z曲线整体呈抛物线形,桩身弯矩在土岩界面和上层溶洞与底板界面呈现2个峰值,弯矩的变化仅仅影响到上层溶洞及其底板,第2层溶洞及其以下的弯矩几乎为0,土岩界面弯矩最大、截面最危险;土抗力p-深度z曲线呈“凸肚”形.3)溶洞数量增加,位置越高,p-y曲线越容易收敛,可以采用p/pub=α(y/y50)β拟合土层段的桩身p-y曲线.溶洞数量对α与β值变化幅度的影响较小,α与β值变化幅度体现p-y曲线随深度变化的敏感度,两者敏感度随溶洞数量增多而增大.4)工程桩刺穿串珠状溶洞时,为了提高单桩水平抗拉能力,建议采用注浆法改善上部岩土性质,加大土岩界面处桩身配筋率,并将桩身嵌入上层溶洞底板一定深度,防止基桩在土岩界面处发生弯曲破坏.

桩顶荷载及温度循环对黄土地基中能量桩承载性状影响研究

为对比分析未经过温度循环的普通桩与能量桩竖向承载变形性状,开展黄土地基中能量桩温度循环试验。模型桩为现浇钢筋混凝土灌注桩,黄土为人工配制重塑黄土。研究结果表明:温度循环弱化黄土地基中能量桩桩身侧阻、增强能量桩桩底端阻,温度循环过程中桩顶工作荷载越大,桩侧阻的弱化作用及桩端阻的增强作用越大,这导致能量桩的竖向抗压承载力比普通桩有明显的提高。另外,根据模型试验结果,通过数据拟合建立桩土界面摩阻力-桩土相对位移及桩端土反力-桩端沉降双曲线函数模型,并确定模型参数,其函数计算结果与试验结果对比表明本文模型能合理反映温度循环及桩顶工作荷载大小对桩基承载力的影响。研究结果可为黄土地区能量桩的安全设计提供一定参考。

水平受荷桩“p-y+M-θ”分析方法

中国近海海上风电机组开发建设中,大直径单桩基础形式使用占比超70%。现行p-y曲线设计方法主要适用于小直径柔性桩,对大直径单桩侧向及桩底受荷描述能力不足,导致其严重低估刚柔性桩和刚性桩(分别常用于中国和欧洲的近海风电工程)的变形和承载能力,过于保守的设计给海上风电降本带来挑战。为此建立了能以统一的方式预测柔性、刚柔性和刚性单桩水平单调受荷响应的“p-y+M-θ”模型,并将该模型推广到循环荷载下单桩的响应分析。通过与相关试验结果比对发现,“p-y+M-θ”模型能较为准确地预测桩基水平加载响应。力图为水平受荷单桩工程设计提供简洁而可行的响应分析方法。

超高桥塔的气弹模型风洞试验及其等效静力风荷载

为研究超高桥塔的气弹模型风洞试验方法及其等效静力风荷载,根据某实际工程中的超高桥塔建立了有限元模型,进行了动力特性计算,进而设计了相应的气弹模型,并开展了风洞试验。在此基础上,开展了超高桥塔风致振动的非线性时程计算,并基于阵风荷载因子法,对比了以位移、内力和应力为单一目标的超高桥塔的等效静力风荷载。结果表明:斜风作用下的桥塔风致振动比较显著,其影响随着风速的增大而愈加明显;当风向角为75°~90°时,超高桥塔将在风速为35~50 m·s^(-1)的区间发生顺桥向的侧弯涡振,但幅值较小;基于应力的阵风荷载因子比基于位移或内力的阵风荷载因子更加稳定,这使得基于应力的等效静力风荷载要优于基于位移或内力的等效静力风荷载,比较适合于超高桥塔。