Bearing Capacity Analysis of Shallow Foundations Supported on an Artificial Fill(Substation at Kashari,Tirana)

The paper presents conclusions related to the design of shallow foundations,at the site where the Substation at Kashari,in Tirana is foreseen to be constructed.The project includes buildings with small to medium structures with 1-3 stories.The geological survey works include 6 boreholes of a depth 20.0 m,90 SPT(Standard Penetration Tests)tests,and laboratory works include 13 direct shear tests,27 unconfined and compressive strength tests,7 CU(consolidated undrained)tests and 9 UU(unconsolidated undrained)tests,etc.The foundation design must fulfill both,bearing and settlement criteria,but in this case the settlements of foundations are not possible to be calculated,since the laboratory works do not include any consolidation test.So,the local bearing capacity is expected to control the design in terms of bearing capacity and settlements.The local bearing capacity of shallow square foundations is evaluated by using Terzaghi’s formula,based on reduced shear strength parameters of soils below the bottom of foundations.The results are compared with the bearing capacity values calculated by using Burland and Burbdige(1984)method,based on the data of SPT tests.This method is used for checking the settlement(serviceability)criterion in the foundation design,when the direct settlement calculation is missing.The paper presents some conclusions related to local bearing capacity foundation-based design.

Flow-pipe-soil coupling mechanisms and predictions for submarine pipeline instability

The stability of a submarine pipeline on the seabed concerns the flow-pipe-soil coupling, with influential factors related to the ocean waves and/or currents, the pipeline and the surrounding soils. A flow-pipe-soil coupling system generally has various instability modes, including the vertical and lateral on-bottom instabilities, the tunnel-erosion of the underlying soil and the subsequent vortex-induced vibrations（VIVs） of free-spanning pipelines. This paper reviews the recent advances of the slip-line field solutions to the bearing capacity, the flow-pipe-soil coupling mechanism and the prediction for the lateral instability, the multi-physical coupling analysis of the tunnel-erosion, and the coupling mechanics between the VIVs and the local scour. It is revealed that the mechanism competition always exists among various instability modes, e.g., the competition between the lateral-instability and the tunnel-erosion. Finally, the prospects and scientific challenges for predicting the instability of a long-distance submarine pipeline are discussed in the context of the deep-water oil and gas exploitations.