Three-dimensional seismic face stability of shield tunnels inundrained clay

Tunnel face stability has received increasing research interest over the past few decades. However, computing time-efficient and safethree-dimensional solutions under seismic loading is still an unsolved problem, while case studies indicate that seismic loading can be onecritical destabilizing factor affecting tunnel stability. The primary objective of this work is to fill this gap in knowledge by providing compromisingand computationally efficient solutions, along with their respective lower and upper bounds, to compute face stability underseismic conditions. The analyses employ the finite element limit analysis method to evaluate the limit support pressure in undrained clay,considering horizontal pseudo-static seismic forces pointing outwards from the face. Moreover, the analyses employ both constant andlinearly increasing shear strengths with depth. The results are summarized as dimensionless stability charts and tables to facilitate theirinterpretation and future use for tunnel design. A new design equation has been developed to evaluate the stability of the tunnel faceconsidering the effect of seismic forces. Additionally, the effects of different parameters on the shape of the failure mechanism have beeninvestigated by analysing the distribution of shear dissipation.

Studies on Suction-Assisted Installation Behavior of Suction Caissons in Clay Under Various Undrained Shear Strengths

Suction caissons are widely used for anchoring floating platform and offshore wind turbines.Penetration of the suction caisson into the desired position under the combination of its self-weight and applied suction resulted from pumping out the encased water is integral to practical engineering.Model tests were carried out to investigate the suctionassisted installation of suction caissons in clay under various undrained shear strengths.It was found that there exists a critical penetration depth value.When the penetration depth is smaller than the critical value,the soil plug undrained shear strength is higher than intact clay(i.e.,clay prior to installation).However,when the penetration depth is greater than the critical penetration depth,the undrained shear strength of soil plug is lower than intact clay.The critical value decreases with the increasing consolidation time and undrained shear strength of clay.During suction-assisted installation,cracks occur around suction caissons.The installation way has little effect on the crack formation.The influence range(i.e.,the maximum distance between the crack and the suction caisson edge)was found to increase with the increasing friction coefficient of interface between the suction caisson wall and soil and decreases with the increasing soil undrained shear strength.In addition,the drained condition of the clay during installation is dominated by the caisson aspect ratio,the undrained shear strength and the friction coefficient between the caisson wall and clay.Equations to estimate the penetration resistance and the required suction to install the suction caisson are summarized.

Undrained response of reconstituted clay to cyclic pure principal stress rotation

A series of monotonic and rotational shearing tests are carried out on reconstituted clay using a hollow cylinder apparatus under undrained condition. In the rotational shearing tests, the principal stress axes rotate cyclically with the magnitudes of the principal stresses keeping constant. The anisotropy of the reconstituted clay is analyzed from the monotonic shearing tests. Obvious pore pressure is induced by the principal stress rotation alone even with shear stress q0=5 k Pa. Strain components also accumulate with increasing the number of cycles and increases suddenly at the onset of failure. The deviatoric shear strain of 7.5% can be taken as the failure criterion for clay subjected to the pure cyclic principal stress rotation. The intermediate principal stress parameter b plays a significant role in the development of pore pressure and strain. Specimens are weakened by cyclic rotational shearing as the shear modulus decreases with increasing the number of cycles, and the shear modulus reduces more quickly with larger b. Clear deviation between the directions of the principal plastic strain increment and the principal stress is observed during pure principal stress rotation. Both the coaxial and non-coaxial plastic mechanisms should be taken into consideration to simulate the deformation behavior of clay under pure principal stress rotation. The mechanism of the soil response to the pure principal stress rotation is discussed based on the experimental observations.

Resistance Factor of Caisson-Tip with Internal Fillet for Suction Caissons Penetrating into Clay

This paper presents failure mechanisms of the soil at the caisson-tip with fillet during suction-assisted penetration of suction caissons in undrained clay.Theoretical solutions of resistance factor N_c of the caisson-tip are obtained in terms of the caisson-tip geometry ratio of the flat section of the caisson-tip to the caisson wall thickness m/t and adhesion factorsα_i along inside of caisson wall andα_b at the base of the caisson-tip.It is indicated that the factor N_c increases with the increase of m/t,α_i and a_b.The resistance factors N_c for the rough base(α_b=1)are larger by 0.57than that for the smooth base(α_b=0).Besides,the factors N_c of caisson-tip with flat base(m=t)are larger by 1.14 than that with full internal fillet(m=0).The required suction to penetrate suction caissons with various fillets is obtained in terms of the force equilibrium in vertical direction.The finite element limit analysis and centrifuge model test results are used to verify the rationality of the presented failure mechanisms and theoretical predictions.

Capacities and Failure Modes of Suction Bucket Foundation with Internal Bulkheads

Suction bucket foundations can be divided into four compartments by cruciform internal bulkheads,thereby yielding better capacity in certain conditions than those without internal bulkheads.As yet,no systematic study has been conducted regarding the effects of cruciform internal bulkheads on the capacities of suction bucket foundations.In this study,we established a large number of finite element models of suction bucket foundations with and without cruciform internal bulkheads and of solid embedded circular foundations.We found the uniaxial capacities and failure modes of suction bucket foundations with various depth ratios to remain basically unaffected by internal bulkheads in uniform clays.However,in inhomogeneous clay with high strength heterogeneity,we observed the uniaxial moment and horizontal capacities and corresponding failure modes of suction bucket foundations with a low depth ratio to be obviously affected by internal bulkheads.In this case,the uniaxial moment capacities,in particular,as well as the horizontal capacities of suction bucket foundations with cruciform internal bulkheads become obviously greater than those without internal bulkheads.Under combined loading,we found the failure envelopes of suction bucket foundations with and without cruciform internal bulkheads and of solid circular foundation to also be basically consistent in uniform clays.However,in inhomogeneous clay with high strength heterogeneity,cruciform internal bulkheads can obviously change the shapes of the failure envelopes of bucket foundations with a small depth ratio.We conclude that when the acting vertical load or foundation depth is relatively small,suction bucket foundations with cruciform internal bulkheads can be subjected to larger moment and horizontal loads in soft clays with high strength heterogeneity.