Shear properties of thawed natural permafrost by bender elements

Thawed permafrost could cause a serious stability problem for foundations and oil-wells in cold regions. A non-damage testing procedure, employing the Bender Element Method, was used for permafrost samples collected from a continuous frozen core obtained from the North Slope of Alaska, USA. The wave velocity and modulus of thawed permafrost were investigated on various isotropic confining pressure from 0 kPa to 400 kPa per 100 kPa. The received shear wave propagation was recorded, and the elastic wave theory was used to calculate shear modulus. Finally, the shear modulus affected by confining pressure, water content and dry density were analyzed and discussed, and a regression formulation of shear modulus based on the Janbu Model for thawed silty and sandy permafrost were proposed and validation.

Analytical modeling of sandwich beam for piezoelectric bender elements

Piezoelectric bender elements are widely used as electromechanical sensors and actuators, An analytical sandwich beam model for piezoelectric bender elements was developed based on the first-order shear deformation theory （FSDT）, which assumes a single rotation angle for the whole cross-section and a quadratic distribution function for coupled electric potential in piezoelectric layers, and corrects the effect of transverse shear strain on the electric displacement integration. Free vibration analysis of simplysupported bender elements was carried out and the numerical results showed that, solutions of the present model for various thickness-to-length ratios are compared well with the exact two-dimensional solutions, which presents an efficient and accurate model for analyzing dynamic electromechanical responses of bender elements.

Surface-mounted bender elements for measuring horizontal shear wave velocity of soils

The bender element testing features its in-plane directivity, which allows using bender elements to measure the shear wave velocities in a wider range of in-plane configurations besides the standard tip-to-tip alignment. This paper proposed a novel bender element testing technique for measuring the horizontal shear wave velocity of soils, where the bender elements are surface- mounted and the axes of the source and receiver elements are parallel to each other. The preliminary tests performed on model ground of silica sand showed that, by properly determining the travel distance and time of the shear waves, the surface-mounted bender elements can perform as accurately as the conventional "tip-to-tip" configuration. Potentially, the present system provides a promising nondestructive tool for characterizing geomaterials and site conditions both in laboratory and in the fields.

Monitoring lime and cement improvement using spectral induced polarization and bender element techniques

Spectral induced polarization(SIP)and bender element(BE)techniques show a high sensitivity to particle size,particle distribution and content of generated hydration products,which essentially govern the efficiency of ground improvement.In this context,both SIP and BE were integrated on a column setup to monitor the processes of lime and cement stabilization.A 5 mmol/L Na2CO3 solution was injected into the sand-lime mixture to produce CaCO3 precipitation,while deionized water was injected into the sandcement mixture to induce the hydration of cement.The average diameters of the precipitated particles or clusters were calculated from the relaxation time,which was a significant parameter of SIP signals,via the Schwarz equation.Two pairs of BE were used to demonstrate the heterogeneity of the product precipitation,which was probably caused by the location of the inflow and outflow on the SIP-BE column.SIP and BE showed the capability of nondestructively monitoring the spatiotemporal chemical evolution processes,which could be helpful for engineering applications.

Modeling of sensor function for piezoelectric bender elements

An analytical sandwich beam model for piezoelectric bender elements is derived based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), which assumes a single rotation angle for the whole cross-section and a quadratic distribution for coupled electric potential in piezoelectric layers. Shear coefficient is introduced to correct the effect of transverse shear strain on shear force and the electric displacement integration. Static and free vibration analyses of simply-supported bender elements are carried out for the sensor function. The results illustrate the high accuracy of the present model compared with the exact 2D solutions.

Correlation of liquefaction resistance with shear wave velocity based on laboratory study using bender element

Recent studies using field case history data yielded new criteria for evaluating liquefaction potential in saturated granular deposits based on in situ, stress-corrected shear wave velocity. However, the conditions of relatively insufficient case histories and limited site conditions in this approach call for additional data to more reliably define liquefaction resistance as a function of shear wave velocity. In this study, a series of undrained cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on saturated sand with shear wave velocity Vs measured by bender element. By normalizing the data with respect to minimum void ratio, the test results, in-corporated with previously published laboratory data, statistically revealed good correlation of cyclic shear strength with small-strain shear modulus for sandy soils, which is almost irrespective of soil types and confining pressures. The consequently determined cyclic resistance ratio, CRR, was found to be approximately proportional to Vs4. Liquefaction resistance boundary curves were established by applying this relationship and compared to liquefaction criteria derived from seismic field measure-ments. Although in the range of Vs1>200 m/s the presented curves are moderately conservative, they are remarkably consistent with the published field performance criteria on the whole.

Investigation on the properties of compacted silty clay subjected to electro-osmosis using bender element

The moisture content of subgrade soil in seasonally frozen regions is often higher than its optimum value,leading to a decline in mechanical properties and a reduction in subgrade bearing capacity.Electro-osmosis has shown promise as a technology for controlling subgrade moisture,but significant heterogeneity has also been observed in treated soil.This study investigates the impact of electro-osmosis on soil stiffness through a series of bender element tests of compacted clay.The effects of dry density and supply voltage on the performance of electroosmosis treatment and the layered structure and anisotropy of the soil were analyzed.The results show that electro-osmosis treatment increased the shear wave velocity of the soil by 140% compared to untreated saturated soil and by 70% compared to soil with optimum water content.It has also been found that layered compaction of soil resulted in a layered structure,with electro-osmosis having a more prominent impact on soil near the cathode,resulting in a more pronounced layered structure.Besides,electro-osmosis was found to enhance soil anisotropy,particularly near the anode.Increasing the dry density and voltage levels can help improve soil uniformity.These findings provide insights into the potential use of electro-osmosis in improving soil stiffness,which could benefit various engineering applications.

Bender Elements在测试土样剪切波速中的应用

本文以作者在香港理工大学土木与结构工程系设计制作的一套BenderElements为例，介绍了BenderElements的原理、发展历史、应用范围、使用方法和注意事项等。BenderElements是由压电陶瓷材料制成的，在拉伸、压缩作用下，会产生正、负电荷，反过来，给它施加正、负电荷后，它又可产生弯曲振动，正是利用它的这一特性，将其作成接收和发射装置，来测试土样的剪切波速Vs。BenderElements在安装使用时，防水和静电屏蔽十分关键。Vs可在场地地震反应、液化判别、动力基础设计、检测地基改良效果等方面获得应用。震相识别的原则是接收信号的第一个峰值为到时。

PIMNT单晶弯曲圆盘换能器设计

新型弛豫铁电单晶材料铌铟酸铅-铌镁酸铅-钛酸铅晶体(Pb(In_(1/2)Nb_(1/2))O_(3)-Pb(Mg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3))O_(3)-PbTiO_(3),PIMNT)的压电系数是陶瓷材料的6倍以上,应变量高出压电陶瓷10倍以上,具有较高的机电耦合系数,压电性能优于传统PZT材料。文章将单晶材料应用于带空气腔的弯曲圆盘换能器中,利用ANSYS仿真软件优化换能器结构,确定换能器尺寸,设计制作PIMNT压电单晶换能器和PZT4压电陶瓷换能器,并进行了水池实验。换能器实测结果与仿真结果保持一致,单晶换能器的谐振频率为2.85 kHz,最大发送电压响应为136.3 dB。结果表明,相比于同尺寸的陶瓷换能器,将PIMNT压电单晶应用于弯曲圆盘换能器可降低谐振频率,提高发送电压响应,提升换能器的工作性能,为进一步改善单晶换能器综合性能提供参考。

Assessment of liquefaction potential based on shear wave velocity:Strain energy approach

Liquefaction assessment based on strain energy is significantly superior to conventional stress-based methods.The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the correlation between shear wave velocity and strain energy capacity of silty sands.The dissipated energy until liquefaction occurs was calculated by analyzing the results of three series of comprehensive cyclic direct simple shear and triaxial tests on Ottawa F65,Nevada,and Firoozkuh sands with varying silt content by weight and relative densities.Additionally,the shear wave velocity of each series was obtained using bender element or resonant column tests.Consequently,for the first time,a liquefaction triggering criterion,relating to effective overburden normalized liquefaction capacity energy(WL=s’c)to effective overburden stresscorrected shear wave velocity(eVs1)has been introduced.The accuracy of the proposed criteria was evaluated using in situ data.The results confirm the ability of shear wave velocity as a distinguishing parameter for separating liquefied and non-liquefied soils when it is calculated against liquefaction capacity energy(WL=s’c).However,the proposed WL=s’c-Vs1 curve,similar to previously proposed cyclic resistance ratio(CRR)-Vs1 relationships,should be used conservatively for fields vulnerable to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading.

循环振动对饱和粉土初始动剪模量的影响

初始动剪模量是土体多种结构性因素的综合反映,除固结压力和孔隙比(密度)这两个主要因素外,还受循环振动影响。以往对该因素的研究偏重于干砂,且预振时施加的剪应变幅多低于10-3;对于饱和土体,尤其是对经受过较大振幅振动后土体初始动剪模量的研究十分有限。本文利用安装弯曲元的动三轴仪,在等向固结条件下对不同相对密度的饱和粉土进行不排水循环三轴试验,同时监测试样的剪切波速,获得循环动力加载过程中土的初始动剪模量。为保证试验结果的可靠性,同时进行了共振柱试验,比较确定弯曲元接收信号的到达点;评估了不同孔压发展程度下试验暂停时间对测试结果的影响。结果表明:在一定次数大振幅循环荷载作用下观察到初始动剪模量有别于相同应力下固结后得到的模量值,出现附加衰减或增长,正是循环荷载作用下土微观结构变化的外部宏观表现。这种附加变化由土颗粒接触行为决定,受到试样初始条件和振动幅值等多种因素的影响,表现出不同的变化模式。

基于弯曲元技术的含水合物松散沉积物声学特性研究

含水合物松散沉积物的声学特性对海上天然气水合物地球物理勘探和资源评价具有重要意义.研制了适用于高压条件下含水合物沉积物声学特性探测的纵横波一体化新型弯曲元换能器,提出利用频谱分析(FFT)和小波分析(WT)相结合的方法获取纵横波速度,并进行了多个轮次的水合物声学特性模拟实验研究.结果表明,新型弯曲元技术可以灵敏探测松散沉积物中水合物的生成和分解,随着水合物饱和度(Sh)的增大,纵横波速度呈规律性增长:当Sh<25%时,纵横波速度增长较快,水合物可能胶结沉积物颗粒生成;25%～60%之间,声速增长较为缓慢,水合物可能与沉积物颗粒呈接触关系;在Sh>60%时声速随着水合物饱和度增加又快速增长,表明水合物可能重新胶结沉积物颗粒生成.

砂土小应变动力特性弯曲–伸缩元联合测试试验研究

近年来弯曲元在小应变动力特性测试中得到了广泛应用,但对弯曲–伸缩元的联合测试研究较少,国内对弯曲–伸缩元联合测试的研究几近空白。采用弯曲–伸缩元对福建砂进行了剪切波和压缩波联合测试,通过更宽区段激发频率和不同分析方法对剪切波速和压缩波速的确定进行了系统分析,得到了可靠的剪切波和压缩波传播时间确定方法。采用10~20 k Hz峰值法和互相关法可较方便准确地确定剪切波传播时间;压缩波初始到达较易判断,激发频率对压缩波速影响较小。利用弯曲–伸缩元联合测试得到剪切模量G_0和侧限模量M_0,试验结果表明围压和孔隙比对G_0的影响程度均较对M_0的影响程度大。通过剪切波速和压缩波速可计算得到泊松比,随密实度和围压的增大泊松比均以线性规律减小。为弯曲–伸缩元的进一步应用提供了有效的方法。

压电陶瓷弯曲元法测试土样弹性剪切模量

在动三轴仪基础上开发研制了压电陶瓷弯曲元相结合的测试系统。利用该系统测试了钱塘江粉土的弹性剪切模量 ,并与共振柱试验结果相对比 ,两者非常相近。本文还用 Hardin和 Richart经验公式对钱塘江粉砂土的试验结果拟合 ,也取得了很好的结果 ,从而证明了该系统的可靠性。压电陶瓷弯曲元是一种很有发展前途和应用前景的试验手段 ,值得在理论和实验中进一步研究。

砂土剪切模量测定的弯曲元、共振柱和循环扭剪试验

利用弯曲元、共振柱和循环扭剪试验联合测定了不同围压和密实度条件下干砂的小应变剪切模量,研究了弯曲元试验中输出信号的特性和各种信号分析方法确定剪切波传播时间的可靠性,并对比了不同试验的结果。研究结果表明,在共振柱试验时,需要考虑系统刚度对试验结果的影响,特别当试样刚度较大时。弯曲元输出信号中最先到达的是近场效应,其初始极化方向跟剪切波相反。近场效应随着输入频率的增加有一定程度的减小,但不会消失。实际试验中建议输入频率不断增加,直至输出信号比较稳定。值得注意的是,剪切初达波的振幅可能远小于后续振动,因此容易造成初达波的误判。时域初达波法能比较可靠准确地确定剪切波的传播时间,波峰法、交互相关法和交互功率法结果均随输入频率有较大波动,不能可靠地确定剪切波的传播时间。对比试验表明,弯曲元、共振柱和循环扭剪试验确定小应变剪切模量对细砂和粗砂均吻合良好,初步表明砂土粒径对不同试验方法结果的一致性没有影响。

控制试样初始剪切模量的动三轴液化试验

研制了压电陶瓷弯曲元—动三轴试验系统 ,解决了三轴仪内饱和试样的剪切波速测量问题 ,并阐述了其原理。在此基础上 ,通过先期振动控制重塑试样的初始剪切模量 ,并通过不排水应变控制循环三轴试验研究了钱塘江饱和粉土和粉砂的液化性质。

干砂饱和砂小应变剪切模量共振柱弯曲元对比试验研究

通过对2种洁净的干砂与饱和砂进行弯曲元与共振柱对比试验研究，得出了可靠的弯曲元剪切波传播时间确定方法，并对饱和砂土弯曲元与共振柱试验结果的偏差进行解释。不同频率激发信号对弯曲元剪切波速传播时间的研究证实，剪切波速随激发频率的增大而增大，采用激发频率为10kHz的初达波法与共振柱试验得到的结果具有较好的一致性。饱和砂土弯曲元与共振柱试验剪切波速结果相差6％～10％，可通过饱和砂土中剪切波速的弥散性对其进行解释。大部分洁净砂在弯曲元试验中激发频率一般大于特征频率，均需考虑剪切波速的弥散性。而对于天然砂土或粉土一般具有较高的特征频率，其弯曲元试验中一般不考虑剪切波速的弥散性。为洁净砂和天然砂土饱和土样的弯曲元测试提供有效方法。

弯曲元试验高精度测试土样剪切波速方法

在HX-100型多功能三轴仪上开发了压电陶瓷弯曲元剪切波速测试系统,研究了高精度测试不同种类和刚度土样剪切波速的方法以及剪切波速弥散性问题,并将弯曲元测试结果与DrnevichLong-Tor型共振柱试验结果进行了对比。研究结果表明,对不同种类和刚度的土样,通过选用合适的激发波形和频率就可以消除接收波形的近场效应和过冲现象,高精度地确定土样剪切波速和极小应变剪切模量;在所使用的激发频率范围内,剪切波速不具弥散性。

高聚物注浆材料动力特性试验研究

首次将压电陶瓷弯曲元测试技术引入到高聚物注浆材料小应变动剪切模量测试中,制定了高聚物注浆材料弯曲元动剪切模量G_(max)的试验方案并制作了试验模具,确定了弯曲元设备对高聚物注浆材料的激发脉冲频率;探讨了高聚物注浆材料密度和弯曲元激发脉冲频率对G_(max)的影响,对比分析了高聚物注浆材料的动、静弹性模量,并讨论了高聚物注浆材料动剪切模量与土石料动剪切模量的相关性.试验得出的高聚物注浆材料动力学特性可为其动力反应分析和工程应用提供理论依据与参考.

循环应力历史对饱和软黏土小应变剪切模量的影响

饱和软黏土的小应变剪切模量Gmax是其基本力学参数。在进行饱和软黏土的有效应力动力分析时,往往认为小应变剪切模量Gmax只随着有效应力的降低而衰减,而不受动荷载应力历史的影响,因此基本采用静力状态下得到的小应变剪切模量代替相同有效应力时动力状态下的小应变剪切模量。但是,对于饱和软黏土,目前并没有足够多的试验数据证明这一假设。基于这一考虑,通过GDS动三轴及弯曲元测试系统,研究了循环应力历史对饱和软黏土小应变剪切模量的影响,试验结果表明循环应力历史对Gmax的影响较大,采用静力状态下得到的Gmax代替动力状态下的Gmax并不可取。同时,发现可以使用小应变剪切模量的突变来表征饱和软黏土的结构破坏。