Study of Sandy Soil Compaction

In this paper, a study of sandy soil compaction with different granulometry and moisture content has been performed, and soil mechanical property variations in moisture and granulometry have been investigated. Investigations were performed to compare hydrostatic compression test （HCT） responses and evaluate the compression index, Cc, which is an indicator of the soil＇s susceptibility to compaction-induced damage. The experiments have been performed on 24 soil samples typologies. Each sample has been obtained by combining three types of soil granulometry （types A, B and C） with a relative content varying from 0% to 100% in 20% increments. Soil type A had a granulometry ranging between 0.5 mm and 1 mm, type B between 0.25 mm and 0.5 mm, and type C less than 0.25 mm. These samples were representative of a sandy soil, chemically inactive and had various granulometries and initial moisture contents. A cell for HCT has been set up to allow the initial volume measurement of the test pieces and the subsequent changes during HCT with an estimated error less than 0.1 cm3. All samples were pre-compacted and prepared in agreement with the actual standards. The experimental data are reported in diagrams, the data allowed comparison of the mechanical behaviors between the considered unsaturated soils and underlined how soil moisture and granulometry affect soil response during HCT. Furthermore, because of the methodology used, the equipment was very economical.

Study on one-dimensional consolidation of soil under cyclic loading and with varied compressibility

This paper presents a semi-analytical method to solve one dimensional consolidation problem by taking consideration of varied compressibility of soil under cyclic loading. In the method, soil stratum is divided equally into n layers while load and consolidation time are also divided into small parts and time intervals accordingly. The problem of one-dimensional consolidation of soil stratum under cyclic loading can then be dealt with at each time interval as one-dimensional linear consolidation of multi-layered soils under constant loading. The compression or rebounding of each soil layer can be judged by the effective stress of the layer. When the effective stress is larger than that in the last time interval, the soil layer is compressed, and when it is smaller, the soil layer rebounds. Thus, appropriate compressibility can be chosen and the consolidation of the layered system can be analyzed by the available analytical linear consolidation theory. Based on the semi-analytical method, a computer program was developed and the behavior of one-dimensional consolidation of soil with varied compressibility under cyclic loading was investigated, and compared with the available consolidation theory which takes no consideration of varied compressibility of soil under cyclic loading. The results showed that by taking the variable compressibility into account, the rate of consolidation of soil was greater than the one predicted by conventional consolidation theory.

An analytical p-y curve method based on compressive soil pressure model in sand soil

With the high-quality development of urban buildings,higher requirements are come up with for lateral bearing capacity of laterally loaded piles.Consequently,a more accurate analysis to predict the lateral response of the pile within an allowable displacement is an important issue.However,the current p-y curve methods cannot fully take into account the pile-soil interaction,which will lead to a large calculation difference.In this paper,a new analytical p-y curve is established and a finite difference method for determining the lateral response of pile is proposed,which can consider the separation effect of pile-soil interface and the coefficient of circumferential friction resistance.In particular,an analytical expression is developed to determine the compressive soil pressure by dividing the compressive soil pressure into two parts:initial compressive soil pressure and increment of compressive soil pressure.In addition,the relationship between compressive soil pressure and horizontal displacement of the pile is established based on the reasonable assumption.The correctness of the proposed method is verified through four examples.Based on the verified method,a parametric analysis is also conducted to investigate the influences of factors on lateral response of the pile,including internal friction angle,pile length and elastic modulus of pile.

Settlement prediction and behaviour of pile foundations in deep clayey soil deposits

A new measurement technique is used to determine the settlement of bridge pile foundation and the thickness of deep compressed soft layer. The finite element Plaxis 3D foundation program is used in the analysis with a proposed empirical equation to modify the input parameters represented by the soil compression modulus. The results of the numerical analysis using the proposed empirical equation provide insight to the settlement analysis of pile groups in soft clayey soils; consequently, the finite element Plaxis 3D program can be a useful tool for numerical analysis. The numerical analysis is modified by adjusting the calculation of compression modulus from those obtained under pressure between 100-200 kPa by which the results of the settlement are modified and thus matching the realistic measurements. The absolute error is 3 mm which is accepted compared with the last researches. This scenario can be applied for the similar problems in the theoretical applications of deep foundations.

Thermo-Mechanical Properties Study of Stabilized Soil Bricks to Sugar Cane Molasses and Cassava Starch Binders

The current study deals Swith thermo-mechanical properties of stabilized soil small bricks with the help of organic binders of sugar cane molasses and cassava starch. Different formulations of soil concrete have been suggested after the geotechnical characterization of samples of soil was taken. From these, it arises that the studied soil is the most plastically clay (of type A3) according to GTR classification. Samples made of small bricks and measured out at 4%, 6% and 8% of binders (molasses, starch or molasses + starch) have been warmed up to different temperatures (100°C, 150°C, 200°C and 250°C) for the rising of the thermic behavior under different conditions and submitted to crushing testings for the estimation of characteristic resistances to the compression. According to the mechanical behavior, we note an improvement of resistances for small bricks measured 4%, 6% and 8%, of molasses respectively of 32.44%, 32.06% and 23.43% against the value of reference for small bricks without molasses. In the same way, the binder (molasses + starch) also reveals an improvement of resistance to the compression of 13.27%, 26.17% and 26.17%. On the contrary, the stabilization with the starch binder did not bring a significative improvement. According to the thermic influence, the heating at 100°C of stabilized small bricks at 4%, 6% and 8% of molasses, reveals a significative improvement of resistances. Moreover, the stabilization with the starch reveals on the contrary a good behavior for heatings at 150°C and 250°C. In short, for the binder (molasses + starch), it is the heating at 200°C that shows some improvements of remarkable resistances. Different analyses of realized statistics also show the effectivity of obtained results. For all realized formulations, the measuring out at 6% of binders (molasses, or molasses + starch) seems as optimal in front of the best thermo-mechanical revealed properties.

Upper Bound Solution of the Resisting Moment Bearing Capacity of A Composite Bucket Shallow Foundation of An Offshore Wind Turbine in Sand

Bearing the large moment that is generated by the wind load that acts on the upper structure of offshore wind turbines is an important feature of their foundations that is different from other offshore structures.A composite bucket shallow foundation(CBSF)has been proposed by Tianjin University to address the soft geological conditions in the offshore regions of China for wind turbines.The CBSF is a new type of foundation and is effective against large moments.The soil deformation test of a CBSF and the numerical simulation study under the same working conditions are carried out to determine the failure mechanism of a CBSF under moment loading.The resisting soil compression rateηm is defined as a new empirical parameter that indicates the ability of the soil inside the bucket to resist moment loading.The upper limit of the resisting moment bearing capacity of the bucket foundation is derived through the upper bound theorem of classical plasticity theory based on the failure mechanism.The calculation method is validated by tests of bucket models with different height-diameter ratios in sand under moment loading.

渗透系数极端情况下饱和土中压缩波波速及其物理本质

目前对渗透系数取极端值情况下饱和土中两类压缩波物理本质的理解尚不够清晰,比如文献中对渗透系数无穷大情况下饱和土中两类压缩波波速的求解有不同的结果。结合Zienkiewicz给出的土动力学基本方程,深入讨论了流体运动方程的建立,推导了饱和土一维压缩弹性问题的动力控制方程及其u-w、u-W形式,进而得出渗透系数取0和取无穷大这两种极端情况下饱和土中压缩波的波速,解释了其物理意义。提出了惯性耦合力的概念,指出两相体动力分析时土骨架和孔隙水之间的相互作用包含渗透力和惯性耦合力两项,并重点讨论了衡量惯性耦合力的参数孔隙度对压缩波波速的影响。

Freezing and thawing effects of sand-silt mixtures on elastic waves

Freezing and thawing during the winter season change soil properties such as density. The density change in the particulate media influences soil stiffness. In addition, freezing of partially or fully saturated soils changes the soil matrix from a particulate media to a continuum. The goal of this study is to investigate the cyclic freezing and thawing effects on elastic waves. Sand-silt mixtures with 10% silt fraction in weight and 40% saturation are prepared. The sand-silt mixtures are placed in a nylon cell, onto which a pair of bender elements and a pair of piezoelectric disk elements are installed for the measurement of shear and compressional waves, respectively. The temperature of the mixtures decreases from 20 ℃ to -10 ℃ to freezing. The frozen sample is gradually thawed at room temperature （20 ℃）, These freezing-thawing processes are repeated three times. The test result shows that the shear and compressional wave velocities significantly increase when the specimen is frozen. When the temperature is greater than 0 ℃, the elastic wave velocities are lower during thawing than during freezing due to soil structure change. This study demonstrates that soil strucre change during the winter season may be effectively estimated from elastic waves.

Comparison of short-term and long-term performances for polymer-stabilized sand and clay

A series of tests were carried out on sulfate rich, high-plasticity clay and poorly-graded natural sand to study the effectiveness of a methylene diphenyl diisocyanate based liquid polymer soil stabilizer in improving the unconfined compressive strength （UCS） of freshly stabilized soils and aged sand specimens. The aged specimens were prepared by exposing the specimens to ultraviolet radiation, freeze-thaw, and wet-dry weathering. The polymer soil stabilizer also mitigated the swelling of the expansive clay. For clay, the observations indicated that the sequence of adding water and liquid polymer had great influence on the gained UGS of stabilized specimens. However, this was shown to be of little importance for sand. Furthermore, sand samples showed incremental gains in UCS when they were submerged in water. This increase was significant for up to 4 days of soaking in water after 4 days of ambient air curing. Conversely, the clay samples lost a large fraction of their UCS when soaked in water; however, their remaining strength was still considerable. The stabilized specimens showed acceptable endurance under weathering action, although sample yellowing due to ultraviolet radiation was evident on the surface of the specimens. Except for moisture susceptibility of the clay specimens, the results of this study suggested the liquid stabilizer could be successfully utilized to provide acceptable strength, durability and mitigated swelling.