Lateral Displacement of Retaining Walls

When Rankine or Coulomb theories to design of retaining wall are used, it is accepted beforehand that the retaining wall will experience a lateral displacement. This displacement is normally not calculated when a retaining wall is designed. This paper describes a method to estimate the lateral displacement of retaining walls. A practical example in the lateral displacement of a gravity retaining wall is presented.

Comparative study of different theories on active earth pressure

Determination of distribution and magnitude of active earth pressure is crucial in retaining wall designs. A number of analytical theories on active earth pressure were presented. Yet, there are limited studies on comparison between the theories. In this work, comparison between the theories with finite element analysis is done using the PLAXIS software. The comparative results show that in terms of distribution and magnitude of active earth pressure, RANKINE＇s theory possesses the highest match to the PLAXIS analysis. Parametric studies were also done to study the responses of active earth pressure distribution to varying parameters Increasing soil friction angle and wall friction causes decrease in active earth pressure. In contrast, active earth pressure increases with increasing soil unit weight and height of wall. RANK/NE＇s theory has the highest compatibility to finite element analysis among all theories, and utilization of this theory leads to proficient retaining wall design.

A DFT+U study of the structures and reactivities of polar CeO_2(100) surfaces

Density functional theory calculations corrected by on-site Coulomb interactions were carried out o study the structures of polar CeO2 （100） surfaces as well as activities during catalytic CO oxidation. The stabilities of various CeO2 （100） termination structures are discussed, and calculated energetics are presented. The most stable Ce〇2 （100） surface was obtained by removing half the outermost full layer of oxygen and the surface stability was found to decrease as the exposed oxygen concentration was increased. Assessing the reaction pathways leading to different final products during CO oxidation over the most stable CeO2 （100） surface, we determined that the formation of carbonate species competed with CO2 desorption. However, during CO oxidation on the less stable CeO2 （100） surfaces having more exposed oxygen, the CO is evidently able to react with surface oxygen, leading to CO2 formation and desorption. The calculation results and electronic analyses reported herein also indicate that the characteristic Ce 4/ orbitals are directly involved in deter-mining the surface stabilities and reactivities.

Reexamining the Seismological Implications of the Present-day Stress State of the Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault after the Wenchuan Earthquake

The present-day stress state of the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault after the Wenchuan earthquake was re-estimated using measured in-situ stress data obtained after the Wenchuan earthquake. The results reveal that the gradient coefficients of principal stresses versus depth decrease from south to north along the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault, revealing that the stress level decreases from south to north. The consistency between the present-day stress levels and surface ruptures generated during the earthquake indicates that the accumulated tectonic stress beneath the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault before the Wenchuan earthquake was relieved in form of surface ruptures. This resulted in the stress remaining high in the southern section of the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault but relatively low in the northern section. Abnormal high pore pressure conditions and an extremely low frictional coefficient play important role in the interpretation of the stress field adjustment and seismic events observed after the Wenchuan earthquake along this fault, according to the estimation results using the Coulomb frictional-failure theory incorporating frictional coefficients ranging from 0.4 to 1.0. To accurately estimate the seismological hazard of the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault by analyzing fault instability using the Coulomb frictional-failure theory, much attention should be focused on the pore pressure conditions and the evolution state of the frictional coefficient under the present-day stress state.

Coulomb Stress Evolution History as Implication on the Pattern of Strong Earthquakes along the Xianshuihe-Xiaojiang Fault System, China

Coulomb stress accumulation and releasing history and its relationship with the occur- rence of strong historical earthquakes could deepen our understanding of the occurrence pattern of strong earthquakes and hence its seismic potential in future. The sinistral strike-slip Xianshuihe- Xiaojiang fault zone （XXFS） is one of the most dangerous fault zones in China, extending 1 500-km- long from the central Tibetan Plateau to the Red River fault zone. There are 35 M≥6.5 historical earth- quakes occurred since 1327, hence it is an ideal site for studying the Coulomb stress evolution history and its relationship with the occurrences of strong earthquakes. In this study, we evaluated the Cou- lomb stress change history along the XXFS by synthesizing fault geometry, GPS data and historical earthquakes. Coulomb stress change history also revealed different patterns of historical earthquakes on different segments of the XXFS, such as characteristic recurrence intervals along the Salaha-Moxi fault and super-cycles along the Xianshuihe fault. Based on the occurrence pattern of past historical earthquakes and current Coulomb stress field obtained in this study, we suggest positive ACFS and hence high seismic potential along the Salaha-Moxi fault and the Anninghe fault.