Field Measurements and Pullout Tests of Reinforced Earth Retaining Wall

In this paper, field measurements and pullout tests of a new type of reinforced earth retaining wall, which is reinforced by trapezoid concrete blocks connected by steel bar, are described. Field measurements included settlements of the earth fill, tensile forces in the ties and earth pressures on the facing panels during the construction and at completion. Based on the measurements, the following statements can be made: (1) the tensile forces in the ties increased with the height of backfill above the tie and there is a tensile force crest in most ties; (2) at completion, the measured earth pressures along the wall face were between the values of the active earth pressures and the pressures at rest; (3) larger settlements occurred near the face of the wall where a zone of drainage sand and gravel was not compacted properly and smaller settlements occurred in the well-compacted backfill. The results of field pullout tests indicated that the magnitudes of pullout resistances as well as tensile forces induced in the ties were strongly influenced by the relative displacements between the ties and the backfill, and pullout resistances increased with the height of backfill above the ties and the length of ties.

Influence of soil moisture content on pullout properties of Hippophae rhamnoides Linn. roots

Plant root system plays an important role in preventing soil erosion and improving slope stability.However,its performance is significantly affected by soil moisture content,and the role of soil moisture in root reinforcement is not fully understood.In this study,the influence of soil moisture on root pullout properties was studied by experiments.Vertical in-situ pullout tests under four different levels of soil matric suction(12 kPa,18 kPa,24 kPa,30 kPa)were carried out on roots of sea buckthorn plants(Hippophae rhamnoides Linn.)which were artificially cultivated for 7 months.Diameter and length of the root system of sea buckthorn were investigated.The results showed that a very significant correlation was observed between root diameter(D)and root length(L)(P<0.01),and root diameter decreased with soil depth.When soil bulk density was constant,peak pullout force(F)and friction coefficient of root-soil interface(μ)decreased with increasing gravimetric soil moisture content in power functions.Soil moisture content significantly affected root pullout resistance because the increase of soil moisture content decreased the friction coefficient between the roots and soil.Root diameter at breakage point(Db)and length of root segment left in soil(Lb)were increased with soil moisture content.In addition,peak pullout force of the roots increased in a power function with root diameter at the soil surface(D0)and in a linear function with total root length(L).The results provided an experimental basis for quantifying the effects of soil moisture content on soil reinforcement by plant roots.

Mechanism underlying the uprooting of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China

Characteristics of root pullout resistance determine the capacity to withstand uprooting and the slope protection ability of plants.However,mechanism underlying the uprooting of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau,China remains unclear.In this study,a common taproot-type shrub,Caragana korshinskii Kom.,in northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau was selected as the research material.Mechanism of root-soil interaction of vertical root of C.korshinskii was investigated via a combination of a single-root pullout test and numerical simulation analysis.The results indicated that,when pulling vertically,axial force of the roots decreased with an increase in buried depth,whereas shear stress at root-soil interface initially increased and then decreased as burial depths increased.At the same buried depth,both axial force and shear stress of the roots increased with the increase in pullout force.Shear stress and plastic zone of the soil surrounding the root were symmetrically distributed along the root system.Plastic zone was located close to the surface and was caused primarily by tensile failure.In nonvertical pulling,symmetry of shear stress and plastic zone of the soil surrounding the root was disrupted.We observed larger shear stress and plastic zones on the side facing the direction of root deflection.Plastic zone included both shear and tensile failure.Axial force of the root system near the surface decreased as deflection angle of the pullout force increased.When different rainfall infiltration depths had the same vertical pulling force,root axial force decreased with the increase of rainfall infiltration depth and total root displacement increased.During rainfall infiltration,shear stress and plastic zone of the soil surrounding the root were prone to propagating deeper into the soil.These findings provide a foundation for further investigation of soil reinforcement and slope protection mechanisms of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and similar areas.

Mechanical behaviour of fiber-reinforced grout in rock bolt reinforcement

Grouted rock bolts subject to axial loading in the field exhibit various failure modes,among which the most predominant one is the bolt-grout interface failure.Thus,mechanical characterization of the grout is essential for understanding its performance in ground support.To date,few studies have been conducted to characterize the mechanical behaviour of fiber-reinforced grout(FRG)in rock bolt reinforcement.Here we experimentally studied the mechanical behaviour of FRG under uniaxial compression,indirect tension,and direct shear loading conditions.We also conducted a series of pullout tests of rebar bolt encapsulated with different grouts including conventional cementitious grout and FRG.FRG was developed using 15%silica fume(SF)replacement of cement(by weight)and steel fiber to achieve highstrength and crack-resistance to overcome drawbacks of the conventional grout.Two types of steel fibers including straight and wavy steel fibers were further added to enhance the grout quality.The effect of fiber shape and fiber volume proportion on the grout mechanical properties were examined.Our experimental results showed that the addition of SF and steel fiber by 1.5%fiber volume proportion could lead to the highest compressive,tensile,and shear strengths of the grout.The minimum volume of fiber that could improve the mechanical properties of grout was found at 0.5%.The scanning electron microscopy(SEM)analysis demonstrated that steel fibers act as an excellent bridge to prevent the cracks from propagating at the interfacial region and hence to aid in maintaining the integrity of the cementitious grout.Our laboratory pullout tests further confirmed that FRG could prevent the cylindrical grout annulus from radial crack and hence improve the rebar’s load carrying capacity.Therefore,FRG has a potential to be utilized in civil and mining applications where high-strength and crack-resistance support is required.

Laboratory large-scale pullout investigation of a new reinforcement ofcomposite geosynthetic strip

In this paper,more than 70 large-scale pullout tests were performed to evaluate the performance of an innovative composite geosynthetic strip(CGS)reinforcement in sandy backfill.The CGS reinforcement is composed of a geosynthetic strip(GS)and parts of a scrap truck tire as transverse members.The experimental pullout results for the CGS reinforcement were compared with the suggested theoretical equations and ordinary reinforcements,including the GS,the steel strip(SS),and the steel strip with rib(SSR).The pullout test results show that adding three transverse members to the GS reinforcement(CGS3)with S/H?6.6(where S and H are the space and height of the transverse members,respectively)increases pullout resistance by more than 120%,170%,and 50%compared to the GS,the SS,and the SSR,respectively.This result shows that the CGS3(CGS with three transverse members)reinforcement needs at least 55.5%,63%,and 33.3%smaller length compared to the GS,the SS,and the SSR,respectively.In general,implementation of mechanically stabilized earth wall(MSEW)with the proposed strip may help geotechnical engineers prevent costly designs and solve the problem of MSEW implementation in cases where there are limitations of space.

Studying the mechanical properties of the soil-root interface using the pullout test method

It is important to quantify the effect of the root diameter, the embedment length of the root and load speed on the soil-root interface mechanical properties for studying the root anchorage. The soilroot interface mechanical properties can be obtained through the pullout force and root slippage curve(F-S curve). About 120 Pinus tabulaeformis single roots whose diameters ranged from 1 mm to 10 mm divided into 6 groups based on different root embedment length(50 mm, 100 mm and 150 mm) and different load velocity(10 mm·min^(-1), 50 mm·min^(-1), 100 mm·min^(-1) and 300 mm·min^(-1)) were investigated using the pullout method. This study aims to explore the mechanical properties of the soil-root interface in the real conditions using the pullout test method. The results showed two kinds of pullout test failure modes during the experimental process: breakage failure and pullout failure. The results showed that the roots were easier to be broken when the root diameter was smaller or the loading speed was larger. The relationship between the maximum anchorage force and root diameter was linear and the linearly dependent coefficient(R^2) was larger than 0.85. The anchorage force increased with the root embedment length. An increase of 10%^(-1)5% for the maximumanchorage force was found when load speed increased from 10 to 300 mm.min^(-1). The mean peak slippage of the root was from 13.81 to 35.79 mm when the load velocity varied from 10 to 300 mm.min^(-1). The study will be helpful for the design of slopes reinforced by vegetation and in predicting risk of uprooting of trees, and will have practical benefits for understanding the mechanism of landslide.

Characteristics of root pullout resistance of Caragana korshinskii Kom.in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

Roots exert pullout resistance under pullout force,allowing plants to resist uprooting.However,the pullout resistance characteristics of taproot-type shrub species of different ages remain unclear.In this study,in order to improve our knowledge of pullout resistance characteristics of taproot systems of shrub species,we selected the shrub species Caragana korshinskii Kom.in different growth periods as the research plant and conducted in situ root pullout test.The relationships among the maximum pullout resistance,peak root displacement,shrub growth period,and aboveground growth indices(plant height and plant crown breadth)were analyzed,as well as the mechanical process of uprooting.Pullout resistance of 4-15 year-old C.korshinskii ranged from 2.49(±0.25)to 14.71(±4.96)kN,and the peak displacement ranged from 11.77(±8.61)to 26.50(±16.09)cm.The maximum pullout resistance and the peak displacement of roots increased as a power function(R^(2)=0.9038)and a linear function(R^(2)=0.8242)with increasing age,respectively.The maximum pullout resistance and the peak displacement increased with increasing plant height;however,this relationship was not significant.The maximum pullout resistance increased exponentially(R^(2)=0.5522)as the crown breadth increased.There was no significant relationship between the peak displacement and crown breadth.The pullout resistance and displacement curve were divided into three stages:the initial nonlinear growth,linear growth,and nonlinear stages.Two modes of failure of a single root occurred when the roots were subjected to vertical loading forces:the synchronous breakage mode and the periderm preferential breakage mode.These findings provide a foundation for further investigation of the soil reinforcement and slope protection mechanisms of this shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China.

Pullout behavior of polymeric strip in compacted dry granular soil under cyclic tensile load conditions

Assessment of the reinforcement behavior of soil under cyclic and monotonic loads is of great impor- tance in the safe design of mechanically stabilized earth walls, In this article, the method of conducting a multistage pullout （MSP） test on the polymeric strip （PS） is presented, The post-cyclic behavior of the reinforcement can be evaluated using a large-scale pullout apparatus adopting MSP test and one-stage pullout （OSP） test procedures, This research investigates the effects of various factors including load amplitude, load frequency, number of load cycles and vertical effective stress on the peak apparent coefficient of friction mobilized at the soil-PS interface and the pullout resistance of the PS buried in dry sandy soil. The results illustrate that changing the cyclic tensile load frequency from 0,1 Hz to 0,5 Hz does not affect the pullout resistance. Moreover, the influence of increasing the number of load cycles from 30 to 250 on the peak pullout resistance is negligible. Finally, the effect of increasing the cyclic tensile load amplitude from 20% to 40% on the monotonic pullout resistance can be ignored. The peak apparent coefficient of friction mobilized at the soil-PS interface under monotonic and cyclic load conditions decreases with the increase in vertical effective stress.

Investigations on pullout behavior of geogrid-granular trench using CANAsand constitutive model

Experimental and numerical investigations have been carried out on behavior of pullout resistance of embedded circular plate with and without geogrid reinforcement layers in stabilized loose and dense sands using a granular trench.Different parameters have been considered,such as the number of geogrid layers,embedment depth ratio,relative density of soil and height ratio of granular trench.Results showed that,without granular trench,the single layer of geogrid was more effective in enhancing the pullout capacity compared to the multilayer of geogrid reinforcement.Also,increasing the soil density and embedment depth ratio led to an increase in the uplift capacity.When soil was improved with the granular trench,the uplift force significantly increased.The granular trench improved the uplift load in dense sand more,as compared to the same symmetrical plate embedded in loose sand.Although it was observed that,in geogrid-reinforced granular trench condition,the ultimate pullout resistance at failure increased as the number of geogrid layers increased up to the third layer,and the fifth layer had a negligible effect in comparison with the third layer of reinforcement.Finite element analyses with hardening soil model for sand and CANAsand constitutive model for granular trench were conducted to investigate the failure mechanism and the associated rupture surfaces utilized.The response of granular material in the proposed model is an elastoplastic constitutive model derived from the CANAsand model,which uses a non-associated flow rule along with the concept of the state boundary surface possessing a critical and a compact state.It was observed that the granular trench might change the failure mechanism from deep plate to shallow plate as the failure surface can extend to the ground surface.The ultimate uplift capacity of anchor and the variation of surface deformation indicated a close agreement between the experiment and numerical model.

Thermal Effects on Bond Properties of GFRP Rebars Embedded in Concrete

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the thermal effects on glass fibre reinforced polymer （GFRP） bars embedded in concrete. The pullout test specimens were subjected to temperatures of 40℃, 60℃ and 80℃ during a continuous four months-period of time. The results were compared to the reference specimens （room temperature）. It was found that up to 60℃, the loss in bond strength due to the temperature is not significant, whereas for the 80℃-temperature a reduction of 14% in the bond strength is observed. Also, the bond-slip relationship was modelled using the CMR-model and new coefficients are proposed for the bond-slip behaviour of GFRP bars.

Bond strength improvement of GFRP rebars with different rib geometries

Based on the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) criteria,105 pullout specimens were tested to investigate the effect of different rib geometries on bond strength of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebars embedded in concrete. Two kinds of conventional reinforcing rebars were also studied for comparison. Each rebar was embedded in a 150 mm concrete cube,with the embedded length being four times the rebar diameter. The experimental parameters were the rebar type,rebar component,rebar diameter,rebar surface texture,rib height,rib spacing and rib width. Theoretical analysis was also carried out to explain the experimental phenomena and results. The experimental and theoretical results indicated that the bond strength of GFRP rebars was about 13%～35% lower than that of steel rebars. The bond strength and bond-slip behavior of the specially machined rebars varied with the rebar type,rebar diameter,rebar surface texture,rib height,rib spacing and rib width. Using the results,design recom-mendations were made concerning optimum rib geometries of GFRP ribbed rebars with superior bond-slip characteristics,which concluded that the optimal rib spacing of ribbed rebars is the same as the rebar diameter,and that the optimal rib height is 6% of the rebar diameter.

Anchorage properties at the interface between soil and roots with branches

Roots play an important role in stabilizing and strengthening soil. This article aims to study the mechanical properties of the interface between soil and roots with branches, using the pullout test method in the laboratory. The mechanical properties of the soil-root with branches interface is determined through the pullout-force and root-slippage curve （F-S curve）. The results of investigating 24 Pinus tabulaeformis single roots and 55 P. tabulaeformis roots with branches demonstrated three kinds of pullout test failures： breakage failure on branching root, breakage failure on branching node, and pullout failure. The branch angle had a remarkable effect on the failure mode of the roots with branches： the maximum pullout force increased with the sum of the branch diameters and the branch angle. The peak slippage and the initial force had a positive correlation with the sum of the branch diameter. The sig- nificance test of correlation between branch angle and the initial force, however, showed they had no correlation. Branch angle and branch root diameter affect the anchorage properties between root system and soil. Therefore, it is important to investigate the anchorage mechanics of the roots with branches to understand the mechanism of root reinforcement and anchorage.

Tensile bond anchorage properties of Australian 500N steel bars in concrete

In order to investigate the tensile bond anchorage properties of Australian 500N steel bars in concrete, 111 pullout tests were conducted. The precise bond slip values have been gained by using the laser displacement sensor with high resolution, including the complete bond-slip curves. How the main anchorage factors such as concrete strength, bar diameter （8, I0, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32 and 36 mm） the concrete covered, embedded length and transverse reinforcement influencing the bond anchorage properties was studied under tensile condition. The process of the tensile force-slip failure for Australian 500N reinforcing steel can be divided into five stages： elastic stage, local slip stage, slip in ascent stage, slip in descent stage and remnant stage. The formula for calculating the tensile bond strength of Australian 500N reinforcing bar in concrete was proposed according to the test results, including the consistent model for tensile bond-slip relationship.

A novel rock bolting system exploiting steel particles

The effectiveness of rock bolting in ground control has been extensively investigated,mainly for resin based systems.Alternative coupling materials are needed to have good mechanical performance and to reduce the economic impact.This study proposed a new bolting system exploiting steel particles as coupling material.The applicability of this system was assessed by laboratory and field pullout tests,assisted by digital imaging correlation(DIC),infrared thermography(IRT)and acoustic emission(AE).The results indicated that,for a 20 mm diameter bolt,the suitable steel particle size and corresponding inner diameter of borehole were 1.4 and 28 mm,respectively.For bolts installed in steel tubes,the particles improved the loading capacity compared to the resin bonded ones.Additional pullout tests on cement blocks indicated that steel particles can be effective for hard rock,whilst resin was a better choice for bolting of soft rock.Similar understanding was obtained by pullout tests in engineering fields,which demonstrated that the steel particles coupled bolts can provide favorable effects in hard rock mass,while the effects were negligible when installed in extremely soft coal mass.The wide set of multi-technique measurements helped to understand the mechanisms involved in the performance of the bolting system with coupling steel particles.

Evaluation on High-temperature Adhesion Performance of Hot-applied Sealant for Asphalt Pavement

In order to investigate the high-temperature performances of the asphalt pavement hot-applied sealant, as well as to reduce failures of the sealant pullout, the softening point test and the flow test（two existing methods for evaluating high-temperature performances） were conducted. It was found that both tests could not accurately reflect the adhesion performances of the sealant at high temperatures. For this purpose, the adhesion test for PSAT（pressure sensitive adhesive tape） has been taken as a reference to develop a device that is suitable for evaluating the adhesion performances, by modifying relevant test parameters according to the road conditions at high temperatures. Thirteen common sealants were tested in the modified adhesion test, softening point test and f low test. The experimental results show that no significant correlation（p〉0.05） exists between the adhesion value, softening point, adhesion value and flow value; while a significant correlation（p〈0.05） exists between the softening point and flow value. The modified adhesion test is efficient in distinguishing the hightemperature adhesion performances of different sealants, and can be used as a standard method for evaluating such performances.

Anchorage Performance and Interfacial Mechanics Transfer Characteristics of a Composite Anchor Bolt with Different Surface Shape

To solve the deficiency of steel anchor blot in corrosion resistance and flaw of GFRP anchor bolt in fracture resistance, our research group develops a new composite anchor bolt made of steel strands wrapped up with compound fiber resin. To improve the cohesion performance of the composite anchor bolt, pull-out tests of different composite anchor bolts with different groove intervals and depths were made and analyzed. The results show that the pulling resistance of the composite anchor bolt increases with the increase of groove interval and depth, but groove interval and depth have optimal value. Based on elastic mechanics, the cohesion between anchor bolts and anchor bodies and its distribution characteristics caused by axial tension are analyzed and cohesion formula is obtained. By contrast, the experimental result is consistent with the theoretical analysis. Therefore, the surficial change of anchor colts could influence the performance of the composite anchor bolt. The cohesion force and anchorage performance can be improved by changing the surface of anchor bolts. Research results show that the new composite anchor bolt is high-performance material in the civil engineering.

Study of bond strength between various grade of Ordinary Portland Cement(OPC)and Portland Pozzolane Cement(PPC)mixes and different diameter of TMT bars by using pullout test

Since last two decades,the Portland Pozzolane Cement(PPC)is extensively used in structural concrete.But,till to date,a few literature is available on bond strength of concrete using PPC mixes.There are many literatures available on bond strength of concrete mixes using Ordinary Portland Cement(OPC).Hence,a comparative study was conducted on bond strength between OPC and PPC mixes.In the present investigation,total 24 samples consisting of M20,M35 and M50 grades of concrete and 16 and 25 mm diameter of TMT bar were tested for 7 and 28 days.The pullout bond test was conducted on each specimen as per IS:2770-1967/1997[1]and the results were observed at 0.25 mm slip at loaded end called as critical bond stress and at maximum bond load called as maximum bond stress.It was observed that the critical bond strength of PPC mixes is 10%higher than OPC mixes.Whereas,marginal improvement was noticed in maximum bond strength of PPC mixes.Hence,based on these findings,it could be concluded that development length for PPC mixes could be reduced by 10%as compared with same grade of OPC mixes.

Pullout characteristics and conceptual model of gabion reinforcement

The reinforced gabion wall on the west line of Xiangtan to Hengyang highway in Hunan province was studied with the large scale pullout model tests and numerical simulations to obtain the interface friction characteristics between the double twisted hexagonal gabion mesh(2.2 mm and 2.7 mm respectively) and red sandstone. The experimental results showed that the pullout displacement-shear stress curve could be roughly divided into 3 sections:the rapid growth,the steady progression and the yielding sections. The thinner gabion mesh led to the higher peak shear stress,larger cohesion and friction angle under the same normal stress. The pullout displacement-shear stress curve from the numerical simulation had two sections,namely,the rapid growth of shear stress and the yielding of gabion mesh. Under the same conditions,the 2.2 mm meshes resulted in the larger drawing coefficient and pseudo-friction coefficient and thus presented the better interface friction properties. The conceptual model suggested that the proportion of pullout force shared by the horizontal bars and longitudinal bars relied on the magnitude,the length,the coefficient of earth pressure and the friction factor,etc. The pullout bearing resistance on the transversal bars(T_1) comprises the largest proportion of the total resistance(about 62%–72%),on the other hand,the proportions of the annular pullout friction on the longitudinal bars(T_2) and the interface friction acting on the surfaces of all nodes(T_3) both grow against T_1 when the normal stress increases.

Deformational characteristics of sensor-enabled geobelts incorporating two failure modes in reinforced sand

Geobelt deformation is of significance when making prejudgments on potential failure planes in reinforced structures.A failure plane results from two geobelt failure modes,tensile failure and pullout.In order to investigate the deformation characteristics of geobelts in two failure modes,results from pullout tests on sensor-enabled geobelts(SEGBs)with various lengths in sand are reported here across a range of normal pressures.Self-measurements of SEGB can provide data during the tests regarding distributions of strain,stress,and displacement.Data collected during pullout tests reveal the effects of normal pressures and specimen lengths on failure mode.A critical line considering normal pressure and specimen length is derived to describe the transition between two failure modes,an approach which can be utilized for preliminary predictions of failure mode in pullout tests.Warning criteria established based on critical line and data from the self-measurements of SEGB are proposed for failure mode prediction which can contribute to prejudgments of potential failure plane in geosynthetically reinforced soil structures.