Dimensionality reduction and prediction of soil consolidation coefficient using random forest coupling with Relief algorithm

The consolidation coefficient of soil(C_(v))is a crucial parameter used for the design of structures leaned on soft soi.In general,the C_(v) is determined experimentally in the laboratory.However,the experimental tests are time-consuming as well as expensive.Therefore,researchers tried several ways to determine C_(v) via other simple soil parameters.In this study,we developed a hybrid model of Random Forest coupling with a Relief algorithm(RF-RL)to predict the C_(v) of soil.To conduct this study,a database of soil parameters collected from a case study region in Vietnam was used for modeling.The performance of the proposed models was assessed via statistical indicators,namely Coefficient of determination(R^(2)),Root Mean Squared Error(RMSE),and Mean Absolute Error(MAE).The proposal models were constructed with four sets of soil variables,including 6,7,8,and 13 inputs.The results revealed that all models performed well with a high performance(R^(2)>0.980).Although the RF-RL model with 13 variables has the highest prediction accuracy(R^(2)=0.9869),the difference compared with other models was negligible(i.e.,R^(2)=0.9824,0.9850,0.9825 for the cases with 6,7,8 inputs,respectively).Thus,it can be concluded that the hybrid model of RF-RL can be employed to predict C_(v) based on the basic soil parameters.

A New Model for Soil Consolidation Based on Microstructure

This paper introduces a new means to predict consolidation deformation of soil from its microstructure.Based on a kind of pore-size distribution density function,a fractal model for soil consolidation is established.Through this model,the relation between macroscopic deformation and microcosmic pore property of soil is founded.In order to justify this proposed model for soil consolidation,consolidation experiments of soft clay are performed.Afterward,the microstructure of soft clay unconsolidated and consolidated under every pressure is studied by a scanning electron microscope (SEM).The results show that the proposed model for soil consolidation is valid in predicting consolidation deformation.

GIS-based Effect Assessment of Soil Erosion Before and After Gully Land Consolidation: A Case Study of Wangjiagou Project Region, Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau is one typical area of serious soil erosion in the world. China has implemented ′Grain for Green′(GFG) project to restore the eco-environment of the Loess Plateau since 1999. With the GFG project subsidy approaching the end, it is concerned that farmers of fewer subsidies may reclaim land again. Thus, ′Gully Land Consolidation Project′(GLCP) was initiated in 2010. The core of the GLCP was to create more land suitable for farming in gullies so as to reduce land reclamation on the slopes which are ecological vulnerable areas. This paper aims to assess the effect of the GLCP on soil erosion problems by studying Wangjiagou project region located in the central part of Anzi valley in the middle of the Loess Plateau, mainly using the revised universal soil loss equation(RUSLE) based on GIS. The findings show that the GLCP can help to reduce soil shipment by 9.87% and it creates more terraces and river-nearby land suitable for farming which account for 27.41% of the whole study area. Thus, it is feasible to implement the GLCP in places below gradient 15°, though the GLCP also intensifies soil erosion in certain places such as field ridge, village land, floodplain, natural grassland, and shrub land. In short, the GLCP develops new generation dam land and balances the short-term and long-term interests to ease the conflicts between economic development and environmental protection. Furthermore, the GLCP and the GFG could also be combined preferably. On the one hand, the GFG improves the ecological environment, which could offer certain safety to the GLCP, on the other hand, the GLCP creates more farmland favorable for farming in gullies instead of land reclamation on the slopes, which could indirectly protect the GFG project.

Analysis of nonlinear settlement for an unsaturated soil under stage continuous loading

A new approach was proposed to describe settlement behavior of an unsaturated soil with subgrade filling for high-speed railway. Firstly, based on Terzaghi consolidation theory, equations considering the variation coefficient of consolidation with void ratio and saturation for consolidation of an unsaturated soil under stage continuous loading were derived, and according to analytical solutions of equations, a formula for settlement computation under stage continuous loading was obtained. Then, combined with the width-to-height ratio of subgrade to compute ground reaction, and by means of in-situ plate loading curves, a correctional approach was presented for the analysis of nonlinear settlement of foundation. Also, the comparison between calculated and measured loadsettlement behavior for an unsaturated soil in Qingdao-Ji'nan high-speed railway was given to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach. It can be noted that the presented solution can be used to predict the settlement of an unsaturated soil foundation under stage continuous loading in engineering design.

Coefficient of earth pressure at rest for normal,consolidated soils

In this study consecutive consolidated isotropically drained triaxial tests for the coefficient of earth pressure at rest(K_0) were carried out to investigate its rules of evolution as well as its strength characteristics for normal,consolidated saturated silt under high pressure.The tests results indicate that:1) for normal,consolidated saturated silt,K_0 values increase as the consolidation stress increases at high pressure levels,while the nonlinear characteristics of K_0 are inconspicuous compared to cohesive soils;2) the Jaky and Roscoe equations,used to calculate K_0,are only suitable for certain soils,but cannot represent these values for normal, consolidated saturated silt due to the variation in bilinear strength at high pressure;and 3) there are close relations between the nonlinear characteristics of K_0 and the void ratio,measured in the tests.Both share the same functional form while under pressure. Based on our experimental results,we developed an empirical linear model to interpret the rules of nonlinear variation for the coefficient of earth pressure at rest.

Dragload and Downdrag Performances of Inclined Pile Group Embedded in Consolidating Soil

The performance of inclined pile group embedded in consolidating soil under surcharge load was investigated by experiment in comparison with vertical pile group and single pile under the same conditions; dragload, downdrag, and layered soil settlement were measured. A three-dimensional numerical model was built via FLAC3D software, and verified by the experimental results. Influence factors, such as consolidation time, pile spacing, and pile tilt angle were analyzed. The results show that dragload of inclined pile group increases with the increase of consolidation time and pile spacing or the decrease of pile tilt angle. Downdrag of inclined pile group increases with the increase of consolidation time, pile spacing and pile tilt angle.

Test on Muddy Soil Reinforcement by Negative Pressure and Electro-Osmosis Inside Cover-Bearing-Type Bucket Foundation for Offshore Wind Turbines

Cover-bearing-type bucket foundation for offshore wind turbines has been paid more and more attention due to its low cost and great bearing capacity. In order to ensure the cover-bearing mode, the muddy soil inside the bucket foundation should be reinforced by some soil consolidation methods, such as negative pressure and electro-osmosis. Firstly, tests were conducted to obtain the reasonable current density. Meanwhile, to improve the electro-osmotic speed and effectiveness, other factors such as intermittent power and layout of electrode, were also studied in the tests. Then, the soil reinforcing tests by negative pressure combined with electro-osmosis were performed for the muddy soil consolidation inside the bucket foundation. The results showed that soil reinforcement by negative pressure was quicker and more obvious during the early phase, and electro-osmotic method can affect more range of soil by rational arrangement of electrodes. Compared with negative pressure, the electro-osmotic method was a continuous and relatively slow process of reinforcement, which was complementary to the negative pressure method. The voltage value of electro-osmosis had little effect on the muddy soil reinforcement inside the bucket foundation, and 1.5 A was chosen as the most reasonable current value for scale model testing in the electro-osmotic method.

Coefficient of consolidation by end of arc method

One of the most important issues in geotechnical engineering is excess pore pressure caused by clay soil loading and consolidation. Regarding uncertainties and complexities, this issue has long been the subject of attention of many researchers. In this work, a one-dimensional consolidation apparatus was equipped in a way that pore water pressure and settlement could be continuously read and recorded during consolidation process under static loading. The end of primary consolidation was obtained using water pressure changes helping to present a new method for determining the end of primary consolidation and consolidation coefficient. This method was then compared with two classical theory methods of lg t and t. Using Terzaghi's theory, the way of pore pressure dissipation for lg t, t and the new method was found and compared with experimental results. It is concluded that the new method has better results.

Research on replacement depth of black cotton soil based on cracking behavior of embankment

In order to analyze the influence of replacement depth of black cotton soil(BCS)foundation on the initial cracking depth of a highway embankment,the laboratory tests were performed to construct the constitutive relationship between state variables and stress variables of BCS,and the coupled consolidation theory for unsaturated soils was employed to simulate the change in the major principal stress of the subgrade soils caused by water loss shrinkage of BCS with the help of Abaqus 6.11 codes.The simulation results indicate that the water losing shrinkage of BCS causes tensile stress within the subgrade,which leads to embankment cracking.The crack depth decreases with the increase in the BCS replacement depth and the embankment height,and increases with the increase in the burial depth of BCS.In the distribution area of deep BCS,the key values of foundation replacement depth for controlling the crack depth of the embankment with the height of 1 to 4 m are 1.2 and 1.5 m.In the low filling section,when the buried depth of BCS is 2,3 and 4 m,the key values of the foundation replacement depth to control the crack depth of the embankment are 0.8 and 1.2 m.In order to control the embankment cracking induced by the water losing shrinkage of BCS,a reasonable replacement depth of the foundation should be selected while slope protection is carried out well.

Study of elastic-plastic damage model of cement consolidated soil with high organic content

On the basis of elastic-plastic damage model of cement consolidated soil,the authors took organic contents into reasonable damage variable evolution equation in order to seek relation between the organic contents and parameters in the equation,and established the elastic-plastic damage model of cement consolidated soil considering organic contents.The results show that the parameters change correspondingly with difference of the organic contents.The higher the organic contents are,the less the valves of the parameters such as elastic modulus(E),material parameters(K,n) and damage evolution parameter(ε) become,but the larger strain damage threshold value(εd) of the sample is.Meanwhile,the calculation results obtained from established model are compared with the test data in the condition of common indoors test,which is testified with reliability.

Analysis on effective stress formula and consolidation of gassy muddy clay

In order to found an applicable equation of consolidation for gassy muddy clay, an effective stress formula of gas-charged nearly-saturated soils was introduced. And then, a consolidation equation was derived. Subsequently, supposing soils were under tangential loading, the expressions of pore water pressure were presented. The analytic solution of pore water pressure was attempted to be validated by the measured values in a real embankment. The parameters in the expressions of pore water pressure were gotten by the method of trial. The result shows that the consolidation model is rational and the analytic solution of pore water pressure is correct. The following conclusions can be made: 1) the influence of bubbles on the compressibility of pore fluid should be considered; 2) the effective stress would be influenced by bubbles, and the consolidation would depend on the compressibility of soil skeleton: the softer the soils are, the more distinct the influence of bubbles is; for normal clay, the influence of bubbles on the effective stress may be commonly neglected.

One-dimensional non-Darcy flow in a semi-infinite porous media:a multiphase implicit Stefan problem with phases divided by hydraulic gradients

One-dimensional non-Darcy flow in a semi-infinite porous media is investigated. We indicate that the non-Darcy relation which is usually determined from experimental results can always be described by a piecewise linear function, and the problem can be equivalently transformed to a multiphase implicit Stefan problem. The novel feature of this Stefan problem is that the phases of the porous media are divided by hydraulic gradients, not the excess pore water pressures. Using the similarity transformation technique, an exact solution for the situation that the external load increases in proportion to the square root of time is developed. The study on the existence and uniqueness of the solution leads to the requirement of a group of inequalities. A similar Stefan problem considering constant surface seepage velocity is also investigated, and the solution, which we indicate to be uniquely existent under all conditions, is established. Meanwhile, the relation between our Stefan problem and the traditional multiphase Stefan problem is demonstrated. In the end, computational examples of the solution are presented and discussed. The solution provides a useful benchmark for verifying the accuracy of general approximate algorithms of Stefan problems, and it is also attractive in the context of inverse problem analysis.

Evaluation of Foundation Settlement under Various Added Loads in Different Locations of Iraq Using Finite Element

Settlement is an important criterion in the design of the foundations. It is classifying into immediate (or elastic) settlement and consolidated settlement (primary and secondary). The factors that affect the shallow foundation settlement are the applied loads, soil stiffness, and geometric shape of foundation. Calculations of settlement depend on the parameters of soil which can be obtained from field and laboratory tests. Field and laboratory tests were conducted for twenty three sites in three different regions in Iraq (Mosul, Baghdad, and Basrah). In this research, field and laboratory tests results adopted for two sites from each region depended on the maximum and minimum bearing capacity values. Settlement for each site was calculated using numerical (mathematical) calculations and PLAXIS software under different added loads. The results of settlements beneath the foundation were competing for the sites with maximum value of bearing capacity in Mosul;Baghdad and Basrah. Also, the comparison conducted for sites of minimum bearing capacity value and the results showed different settlement values of each site. The change of settlement values under different loads was linearly in the six sites using numerical (mathematical) calculations. While, the settlement values obtained from PLAXIS software for sites with maximum bearing capacity value showed that Mosul site had the highest value due to the type of soil layers and the difference models of soil used in the software. Basrah site had a settlement value higher than Baghdad site due to the soil layers of sand type only. PLAXIS results for sites with minimum bearing capacity showed that for Basrah site the soil went to failure. While, the settlement values for Mosul and Baghdad sites were close to each other due to have nearly same soil layers. Therefore, high rise buildings could not be used in some sites. Also, soil in some locations and under some added loads needed to be improved before the implementation of any constructions.