Influence of sand content on the flow characteristics of soft soil under cyclic and high-frequency vibration

The flow characteristics of foundation soils subjected to train loads can present engineering hazards in highspeed railways.In order to verify the feasibility of blending coarse sand in modifying soft subsoil,undrained pulling sphere tests were carried out and the train loads were simulated through localized and cyclic vibration at various frequencies.Laboratory testing results indicate that the fl ow characteristics of soft soil can be signifi cantly enhanced by high-frequency vibration;meanwhile the continuous increase in fl ow characteristics caused by cyclic vibration may be an important reason for the long-term settlement of soft subsoil.The infl uence of sand content on fl ow characteristics is also studied in detail,and it is shown that the addition of coarse sand can weaken the fl ow characteristics of soft soil induced by sudden vibration at lower than 50 Hz.Under the condition of cyclic vibration,the growth of the fl ow characteristics of sand-clay mixtures is mainly caused by the fi rst-time vibration in the cycle,and the increase in sand content can make the fl ow characteristics present a faster convergent tendency.

Property estimation of free-field sand in 1-g shaking table tests

Experimental data taken from free-field soil in 1-g shaking table tests are valuable for seismic studies on soil-structure interaction.But the available data from medium-to large-scale shaking table tests were not abundant enough to cover a large variety of types and conditions of the soil.In the study,1-g shaking table tests of a 3-m-height sand column were conducted to provide seismic experimental data about sand.The sand was directly collected in-situ,with the largest grain diameter being 2 cm and containing a water content of 6.3%.Properties of the sand were estimated under the influence of white noise plus pulse and earthquake motions,including the settlement,the dynamic properties of the sand column,and the three soil layers′shear modulus degradation relationships.The estimated properties were then indirectly verified by means of finite element analysis.Results show that the estimated parameters were effective and could be used in numerical modeling to reproduce approximate seismic responses of the sand column.

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.

Research on the different content of weathered sand influence on expansive characteristic of a highway expansive soil in Yichang

This paper aims at widespread presence of expansive soil which can be obtained in the project from Xiaoxita to Yaqueling first-class highway rebuilding engineering in Yichang City of Hubei Province and weathered sand which can be made full use locally,many experiments have been made. Compaction experiments and expansibility index indoor experiments of undisturbed expansive soil and expansive soil mixed with sand ranging from 10 % to 50 % have been made. Through the test mixing undisturbed expansive soil with different content of weathered sand,it can change the expansive soil water characteristics and compaction characteristics. It can influence the expansibility of the expansive soil index and significantly inhibit the expansibility of the expansive soil and reach the standard of roadbed filler.

Experimental research on the mixed sand ratio and initial dry density of weathered sand improved expansive soil free load swelling rate

In this paper, through the indoor free load swelling rate test, expansive soil in a section of a first- class highway reconstruction project in Yichang City was studied. It emphatically analyzed the interrelations among free load swelling rate, non-load time, the proportion of mixed sand and initial dry density. Experimen- tal studies have shown that： Free load swelling deformation is mainly divided into three stages of rapid expan- sion, slow expansion and final stability; when the initial dry density is constant, free load swelling rate of the weathered sand modified soil will reduce rapidly before they slow down with the increase of sand proportion, and weathered sand modified soil free load swelling rate is not sensitive to the large amount of sand mixed; in the same mixed sand ratio, weathered sand modified soil free load swelling rate increases rapidly with the in- crease of initial dry density, there is a good linear correlation between them. To take appropriate control of the initial dry density during the expansive soil subgrade construction helps to reduce its swelling deformation and ensures the stability of the embankment.

Centrifuge model tests of the formation mechanism of coarse sand debris flow

Using the self-developed visualization test apparatus, centrifuge model tests at 20 g were carried out to research the macro and microscopic formation mechanism of coarse sand debris flows. The formation mode and soil-water interaction mechanism of the debris flows were analyzed from both macroscopic and microscopic points of view respectively using high digital imaging equipment and micro-structure analysis software Geodip. The test results indicate that the forming process of debris flow mainly consists of three stages, namely the infiltration and softening stage, the overall slide stage, and debris flow stage. The essence of simulated coarse sand slope forming debris flow is that local fluidization cause slope to wholly slide. The movement of small particles forms a transient stagnant layer with increasing saturation, causing soil shear strength lost and local fluidization. When the driving force of the saturated soil exceeds the resisting force, debris flow happens on the coarse sand slope immediately.

Feasibility study of tar sands conditioning for earth pressure balance tunnelling

This paper presents the results of laboratory test on the feasibility of soil conditioning for earth pressurebalance （EPB） excavation in a tar sand, which is a natural material never studied in this respect. Thelaboratory test performed is based on a procedure and methods used in previous studies with differenttypes of soils, but for this special complex material, additional tests are also conducted to verify particularproperties of the tar sands, such as the tilt test and vane shear test usually used in cohesive materials, anda direct shear test. The laboratory test proves that the test procedure is applicable also to this type of soiland the conditioned material can be considered suitable for EPB excavations, although it is necessary touse a certain percentage of fine elements （filler） to create a material suitable to be mixed with foam. Thetest results show that the conditioned material fulfils the required standard for an EPB application.

Horizontal trap-door investigation on face failure zone of shield tunneling in sands

A novel horizontal trap-door test system was devised in this study to analyze the face stability of shield tunnels in sands.The test system can be used to investigate both the longitudinal and cross sections of the face failure simultaneously at one single apparatus and was employed to perform face stability tests on small-scaled tunnel models at single gravity.The lateral support pressures and failure zones were studied with varying sand materials and earth covers.The results demonstrate that the tunnel face moves back,the lateral active earth pressure on the tunnel face decreases rapidly to a residual value,and the lateral pressure distribution can be categorized into three stages during the failure process:1)initial state;2)pressure dissipation stage;and 3)pressure zone diminution stage.Furthermore,face failure firstly develops from a stable condition to the local failure state,and then continues to develop to the global failure state that can be divided into two sub-zones with different failure mechanisms:rotational failure zone(lower zone)and gravitational failure zone(upper zone).Further discussion shows that under the effects of soil arching,the shape of the gravitational failure zone can adopt arch shaped(most frequent)and column shaped(in shallow tunnels).Limit support pressure for face stability usually appears atδ/D=0.2%−0.5%(ratio of face displacement to tunnel diameter).

A generalized dilatancy angle equation of granular soil

This paper presents a generalized dilatancy angle equation of granular soil to cover not only the drained tests but also the undrained tests by introducing a generalized structure of soil:soil skeleton formed by soil particles and the fluid in soil voids,under the assumptions of the incompressibility of soil particles and the compressibility of the fluid in soil voids.For the drained tests,the generalized dilatancy angle equation of granular soil would be degenerated to its current dilatancy angle equation.However,for the undrained tests,the generalized dilatancy angle equation of granular soil was derived with aλparameter that was related to the stress-strain state of soil and the nature of the fluid in soil voids.Theλparameter was determined by the initial dilatancy angles of granular soil at the onset of shearing on the same initial state of the soil in the drained and undrained tests.In addition,the generalized dilatancy angle equation of granular soil was verified for application in calculation of the dilatancy angles of sands in the drained and undrained tests.

Behavior of raft on settlement reducing piles:Experimental model study

An experimental program is conducted on model piled rafts in sand soil.The experimental program is aimed to investigate the behavior of raft on settlement reducing piles.The testing program includes tests on models of single pile,unpiled rafts and rafts on 1,4,9,or 16 piles.The model piles beneath the rafts are closed ended displacement piles installed by driving.Three lengths of piles are used in the experiments to represent slenderness ratio,L/D,of 20,30 and 50,respectively.The dimensions of the model rafts are 30 cm×30 cm with different thickness of 0.5 cm,1.0 cm or 1.5 cm.The raft-soil stiffness ratios of the model rafts ranging from 0.39 to 10.56 cover flexible to very stiff rafts.The improvement in the ultimate bearing capacity is represented by the load improvement ratio,LIR,and the reductions in average settlement and differential settlement are represented by the settlement ratio,SR,and the differential settlement ratio,DSR,respectively.The effects of the number of settlement reducing piles,raft relative stiffness,and the slenderness ratio of piles on the load improvement ratio,settlement ratio and differential settlement ratio are presented and discussed.The results of the tests show the effectiveness of using piles as settlement reduction measure with the rafts.As the number of settlement reducing piles increases,the load improvement ratio increases and the differential settlement ratio decreases.

An elasto-plastic constitutive model incorporating strain softening and dilatancy for interface thin-layer element and its verification

The mechanical behaviors of the interface between coarse-grained soil and concrete were investigated by simple shear tests under condition of mixed soil slurry (bentonite mixed with cement grout).For comparison,the interfaces both without slurry and with bentonite slurry were analyzed.The experimental results show that different slurries exert much influence on the strength and deformation of soil/structure interface.Under mixed soil slurry,strain softening and shear dilatation are observed,while shear dilatation appears under the small normal stress of the interface without slurry,and shear contraction is significant under the condition of the bentonite slurry.The thickness of the interface was determined by analyzing the disturbed height of the sample with both simple shear test and particle flow code (PFC).An elasto-plastic constitutive model incorporating strain softening and dilatancy for thin layer element of interface was formulated in the framework of generalized potential theory.The relation curves of shear stress and shear strain,as well as the relation curves of normal strain and shear strain,were fitted by a piecewise function composed by hyperbolic functions and resembling normal functions.The entire model parameters can be identified by tests.The new model is verified by comparing the measured data of indoor cut-off wall model tests with the predictions from finite element method (FEM).The FEM results indicate that the stress of wall calculated by using Goodman element is too large,and the maximum deviation between the test data and prediction is about 45%.While the prediction from the proposed model is close to the measured data,and the error is generally less than 10%.

基于含冰量的冻结砂土-混凝土接触面蠕变特性

保证高含冰量冻土区桩基础的长期稳定性是多年冻土区桥梁桩基础安全服役中的关键问题,为研究含冰量对冻土-混凝土接触面蠕变特性的影响,采用自行研制的大型蠕变剪切仪,在−2℃条件下开展含冰量为6%、12%、16%、23%、36%、60%、80%的冻结砂土与混凝土接触面蠕变试验.试验结果表明:在恒定的剪应力作用下,除含冰量为6%试样出现加速蠕变外,其他试样仅出现衰减蠕变及稳定蠕变2个阶段;随含冰量的增大,试样黏性变形占比增大,含冰量为80%试样的黏性变形超过总变形量的80%;稳定蠕变速率受到干密度及含冰量的综合影响,含冰量为16%时稳定蠕变速率最小;Burgers黏弹性模型能较好地模拟高含冰量冻结砂土-混凝土接触面蠕变曲线;随着含冰量的增大,初始剪切模量和稳定蠕变阶段黏滞系数先增大后减小,初始蠕变阶段的渐进剪切模量呈幂函数减小,初始蠕变阶段黏滞系数呈幂函数增大.

含泥量对砂类硫酸盐渍土工程特性的影响分析

为了明确含泥量对砂类硫酸盐渍土的盐胀和力学特性的影响,人工配制了不同细粒土含量的砂类硫酸盐渍土,在1%和3%(质量分数,下同)含盐量单向冻结盐胀试验的基础上,选取了细粒土含量为5%、15%、30%和40%的砂样进行常温、低温三轴剪切试验。研究结果表明:此试验条件下,不同级配砂类硫酸盐渍土的冻结温度为-0.7~-0.1℃,当砂样孔隙溶液浓度在冻结温度之上达到饱和时,降温过程中会首先生成盐结晶;1%含盐量条件下,高细粒土含量(≥30%)砂样的起胀温度在4~9℃之内,而低细粒土含量砂样的起胀温度在0℃附近,3%含盐量砂样的起胀温度为20~23℃;试验含水率和细粒土含量通过影响土体中自由水的含量对盐冻胀产生显著影响。在力学特性方面,随着细粒土掺量的增加,砂类硫酸盐渍土的抗剪强度表现出先增大后减小的趋势,细粒土由增强摩擦转变为颗粒间的“润滑”作用;此外,冻结后砂土转变为承载能力更强的“土-盐-冰骨架结构”,抗剪强度大幅提高,并呈现出明显的脆性破坏特征,由于冻结砂土受相对温度的影响,随着含盐量的增加,破坏应力呈先减小后增大的趋势。

基于统计损伤修正的冻结砂—黏混合土改进Duncan-Chang模型

为描述冻结砂—黏混合土的偏应力—应变关系,进行不同含砂量冻结砂—黏混合土的冻土三轴压缩试验。基于改进的Duncan-Chang模型(D-C模型),引入统计损伤理论,拟合三轴压缩试验结果,分别建立以Mises强度准则和应变发展为微元强度变量的统计损伤修正模型,对比计算结果与试验数据。结果表明:冻结砂—黏混合土偏应力峰值随含砂量的增加而增加,偏应力—应变曲线由应变硬化型逐渐过渡到应变软化型的临界含砂量为50%。当含砂量介于20%~60%时,基于统计损伤理论的修正改进D-C模型能有效拟合应变硬化型曲线和具有轻微应变软化现象的偏应力—应变曲线。当含砂量为90%时,基于应变发展的统计损伤修正模型的偏应力峰值与试验结果相差3%,具有较强适用性。该结果为不同微元强度变量的统计损伤修正模型提供参考。

风沙土混拌刀具的改良设计与试验

为解决风沙土改良设备研制中存在的核心问题,探讨混拌刀具与风沙土-改土材料间相互作用机理,以国标旋耕刀IT245为基础,分析其作用原理,在此基础上设计了专用于风沙土改良的混拌刀具,通过离散元仿真模拟及室内沙槽试验,以改土材料体积比为评价指标对国标刀及专用刀具5层深度下的混拌效果进行分析。结果显示,风沙土混拌刀具偏转角度越大,改土材料体积比越大,当深度150—120 mm、偏转角为60°时达到最大值(35.67%);风沙土混拌刀具弯折角越大,改土材料体积比越大,当深度150—120 mm、弯折角为130°时达到最大值(36.02%)。风沙土混拌刀具与国标旋耕刀IT245混拌效果相比,深度越浅,改土材料体积比越大,混合效果越好,在深度90—60、60—30 mm时,偏转角60°的风沙土混拌刀具作业后改土材料体积比分别比IT245增加了3.19%、5.11%。研究结果为风沙土混拌刀具及风沙土治理机械的设计与优化提供依据。

振动台试验饱和机制砂模型土动力特性研究

根据饱和砂土-结构相互作用振动台试验的相似性要求,对饱和砂土的相似性要求进行探讨,提出以机制砂作为通用的饱和砂土模型材料。通过动力三轴分级循环加载试验,研究饱和机制砂模型土的最大动剪切模量Gmax、动剪切模量比G/Gmax-γ曲线、阻尼比λ-γ曲线、孔压比ru-ΔW曲线的变化范围,得到其动力本构模型参数随有效粒径d10、不均匀系数Cu、曲率系数Cc和相对密度Dr的变化规律和拟合公式,并根据相似要求和拟合公式分不同情况给出饱和机制砂模型土的配制方法。与文献中多种原型砂土的相似性分析表明,饱和机制砂模型土可以对大部分原型砂土有效实现动力特性相似和液化特性相似,证明其广泛适用性。

水泥土加固桩水平循环承载性能足尺试验研究

选取宿迁典型饱和粉土场地,采用水泥土搅拌桩加固钻孔灌注桩桩周土,开展灌注桩水平循环加载足尺试验。探究水泥土加固试验桩(TPI)和未加固试验桩(TPU)在循环水平荷载作用下的滞回特性、弯矩、刚度退化、位移延性、水平承载力与残余变形能力。试验结果表明:TPI比TPU桩的弯矩减小47%,屈服位移减小41%,水平承载力提升150%,有效刚度提升240%,等效黏滞阻尼比提升233%,桩的开裂荷载提升150%,屈服荷载阶段桩体的残余变形能力减小17%。水泥土搅拌法不仅可以限制桩侧粉土液化,增加桩基础的耗能及位移延性,而且可以显著的降低桩头水平位移和弯矩的发展。从抗震性能的角度分析,水泥土搅拌桩加固既有桩基,有效抑制了加固范围内地基土刚度衰减,增强了桩-土结构的总耗能、等效黏滞阻尼系数与变形恢复能力,提高桩基础在大变形阶段的抗震性能。

基于界面本构模型的砂土中单桩荷载−沉降响应预测方法

基于界面本构模型提出了一种新的砂土中单桩荷载沉降响应的预测方法。首先,从土−结构界面本构模型出发推导了严格的桩−土界面非线性荷载传递模型,该模型承继了界面本构模型特征,能够模拟桩−土界面上发生的应变硬化/软化、剪胀与应力路径依赖性等行为。此外,采用双曲线荷载传递模型模拟桩端−土相互作用的非线性应力−位移关系。上述荷载传递模型所需参数可以通过室内界面剪切试验和土工试验进行校准。继而,基于荷载传递法,提出了单桩荷载沉降响应分析的一维计算模型,并采用迭代算法进行数值求解。最后,将理论解答与已报道的模型试验、自主开展的模型桩试验以及数值模拟结果进行比较,以验证所提出的理论方法的正确性。试验结果表明,预测值与实测值吻合较好,且该方法能够很好地预测非位移桩与位移桩的荷载沉降响应。提出了一个基于界面本构模型的单桩荷载沉降响应分析框架,为竖向荷载下砂土中单桩优化设计提供了理论参考。

玄武岩纤维提升水泥土抗压性能试验研究

水泥土搅拌桩常用于处治山区软弱土路基,但其抗压强度和变形性能较弱,易发生脆性破坏。为此,提出采用玄武岩纤维提升水泥土搅拌桩抗压性能的方法,并通过单轴抗压试验分析纤维掺量和长度对玄武岩纤维水泥土抗压性能的影响规律,最后通过电镜扫描试验(SEM)揭示玄武岩纤维对水泥土的抗压性能提升机理。结果表明:玄武岩纤维水泥土的应力-应变曲线先后经历孔隙压密、弹性变形、弹塑性变形及破坏4个典型阶段;玄武岩纤维的掺入有效提高了水泥土的抗压性能,抗压强度、峰值应变随着纤维掺量的增加先增大后减小,弹性模量随之先减小后小幅上下波动;抗压强度随着纤维长度的增加而减小,峰值应变随之先增大后减小,而弹性模量则先减小后增大,在纤维掺量为0.6%、长度为6 mm时抗压强度最大;玄武岩纤维通过与水泥土颗粒之间的摩擦力和机械锚固力对土体进行摩擦加筋,锚固水泥土内部的裂纹增强颗粒之间的连接作用力,但当纤维过多或者较长时,会出现“堆聚”和“交叉搭接”现象,减少有效加筋纤维数量,从而降低试样的抗压性能,因此在水泥土中掺入玄武岩纤维时,纤维掺量和长度要适宜。

聚乙烯醇纤维沙漠砂混凝土配合比试验研究

为充分发挥沙漠砂的颗粒填充优势和改善沙漠砂混凝土力学性能,本文基于Dinger-Funk紧密堆积理论开展了聚乙烯醇纤维沙漠砂混凝土配合比设计方法的试验研究。首先,应用Dinger-Funk紧密堆积理论得到优化砂率为42%,优化沙漠砂质量替代率为10%、20%和30%,混凝土骨料颗粒级配得到改善,混合细集料的细度模数从3.27分别降到2.92、2.81和2.71,有效孔隙率从2.50%分别降到1.65%、1.45%和1.51%;其次,采用正交试验方法,研究了水胶比、沙漠砂质量替代率、聚乙烯醇纤维体积掺量对混凝土和易性、抗压强度、劈裂抗拉强度和抗折强度的影响规律。结果表明,随沙漠砂质量替代率和纤维掺量的增加,混凝土拌合物和易性先提高后降低,抗压、劈裂抗拉和抗折强度均表现为先增大后减小的趋势。综合考虑和易性和力学性能试验结果,确定C30聚乙烯醇纤维沙漠砂混凝土最优配合比为水胶比0.45,沙漠砂质量替代率20%,聚乙烯醇纤维体积掺量0.10%。