Probabilistic characterization of cyclic shear modulus reduction for normally to moderately over-consolidated clays

Evaluation of the cyclic shear modulus of soils is a crucial but challenging task for many geotechnical earthquake engineering and soil dynamic issues. Improper determination of this property unnecessarily drives up design and maintenance costs or even leads to the construction of unsafe structures. Due to the complexities involved in the direct measurement, empirical curves for estimating the cyclic shear modulus have been commonly adopted in practice for simplicity and economical considerations. However, a systematic and robust approach for formulating a reliable model and empirical curve for cyclic shear modulus prediction for clayey soils is still lacking. In this study, the Bayesian model class selection approach is utilized to identify the most significant soil parameters affecting the normalized cyclic shear modulus and a reliable predictive model for normally to moderately over-consolidated clays is proposed. Results show that the predictability and reliability of the proposed model out performs the well-known empirical models. Finally, a new design chart is established for practical usage.

Burial depth interval of the shale brittle–ductile transition zone and its implications in shale gas exploration and production

Brittleness and ductility of shale are closely related to shale gas exploration and production. How to predict brittleness and ductility of shale is one of the key issues in the study of shale gas preservation and hydraulic fracturing treatments. The magnitude of shale brittleness was often determined by brittle mineral content(for example, quartz and feldspars) in shale gas exploration.However, the shale brittleness is also controlled by burial depth. Shale brittle/ductile properties such as brittle, semibrittle and ductile can mutually transform with burial depth variation. We established a work flow of determining the burial depth interval of brittle–ductile transition zone for a given shale. Two boundaries were employed to divide the burial depth interval of shale brittle/ductile properties. One is the bottom boundary of the brittle zone(BZ), and the other is the top boundary of the ductile zone(DZ). The brittle–ductile transition zone(BDTZ) is between them.The bottom boundary of BZ was determined by the overconsolidation ratio(OCR) threshold value combined with pre-consolidation stress which the shale experienced over geological time. The top boundary of DZ was determined based on the critical confining pressure of brittle–ductile transition. The OCR threshold value and the critical confining pressure were obtained from uniaxial strain andtriaxial compression tests. The BZ, DZ and BDTZ of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi shale in some representative shale gas exploration wells in eastern Sichuan and western Hubei areas were determined according to the above work flow. The results show that the BZ varies with the maximum burial depth and the DZ varies with the density of the overlying rocks except for the critical confining pressure.Moreover, the BDTZ determined by the above work flow is probably the best burial depth interval for marine shale gas exploration and production in Southern China. Shale located in the BDTZ is semi-brittle and is not prone to be severely naturally fractured but likely to respond well to hydraulic fracturing. The depth interval of BDTZ determined by our work flow could be a valuable parameter of shale gas estimation in geology and engineering.

Influential factors of loess liquefaction and pore pressure development

The liquefaction of loess under dynamic loading is studied experimentally with a dynamic triaxial test system. The effects of over-consolidation ratio (OCR), saturation degree and the frequency of dynamic loading upon loess liquefaction are investigated. The development of pore pressure within loess samples is also discussed. Based on the experimental results, the empirical relationship between pore pressure ratio and loading cycle number ratio is established for normal consolidated saturated loess.

Loading-unloading judgement for advanced plastic UH model

The unified hardening(UH)model proposed by Yao et al.(Geotechnique 2009)is the constitutive model which can consider the influence of the complex stress path and stress history on the deformation and strength of clays reasonably.Firstly,the loading-unloading criterion of material model is defined as the change law of the intersection of current yield surface and the p axis,which makes the loading-unloading in the process of hardening and softening can be unified considered in UH model.Then,the Newton-Raphson method is adopted to attain the nonlinear problems solution in the finite element method of UH model,and the semi-implicit return mapping method is adopted to update stress.The application of the UH model in the finite element is realized.And then,the analyses of triaxial test are performed using the unit prediction and finite element method.The results of the unit prediction method are compared with the experimental results to illustrate the rationality of the UH model.Comparing the results with the unit prediction method and the finite element method,the correctness of the finite element program of the UH model is iUusttated.Further,Ae three-dimensional firdte element andysis of embankment on soft soil is performed by the program.The comparison between the results calculated by the UH model and the modified Cam-clay(MCC)model and the experimental data shows that the UH model is rational in analyzing the actual embankment engineering on soft soil.

How to model the contractive behavior of soil in a heating test

In this paper,the thermodynamic behavior of soil was observed in well-known heating tests via a simulation,which included THMcoupled finite element analysis as the boundary value problem(BVP).The primary purpose of the paper was to identify the necessity to model a phenomenon called‘the volumetric contraction of soft clay due to heating’by introducing some extra parameters in the thermoelastoplastic model in which the THM analyses were conducted.Based on the simulation,it was determined that the heating test is only a BVP,and the phenomenon is simply an average behavior of the BVP,not an inherent property of soil.Based on the universal rule that any material will expand when heated,it is not necessary to introduce an extra parameter into a properly organized thermo-elastoplastic model to describe the phenomenon.The results may provide a useful insight for researchers who are interested in modeling the thermodynamic behavior of soils.