Three-dimensional finite element analysis on effects of tunnel construction on nearby pile foundation

A three-dimensional finite element simulation was carried out to investigate the effects of tunnel construction on nearby pile foundation.The displacement controlled model (DCM) was used to simulate the tunneling-induced volume loss effects.The numerical model was verified based on the results of a centrifuge test and a set of parametric studies was implemented based on this model.There is good agreement between the trend of the results of the centrifuge test and the present model.The results of parametric studies show that the tunnelling-induced pile internal force and deformation depend mainly on the pile?tunnel distance,the pile length to tunnel depth ratio and the volume loss.Two different zones are separated by a 45° line projected from the tunnel springline.Within the zone of influence,the pile is subjected to tensile force and large settlement;whereas outside the zone of influence,dragload and small settlement are induced.It is also established that the impact of tunnelling on a pile group is substantially smaller as compared with a single pile in the same location with the rear pile in a group,demonstrating a positive pile group effect.

Finite Element Analysis and Linear Regression of Maximum Temperature for Inner Wall of Chimney Foundation

The uniform design method was adopted and the twenty-four groups of different geometric and physical pa-rameters were chosen. The finite element model was built. Comparisons between the simulation results and the test re-sults prove that the simulation results are correct. The distribution of the temperature field of the chimney foundationwas analyzed. The multivariate linear regression of the hightest tomperature was performed on the inner wall of thechimney foundation by the numerical calculated results. The fitting property of the highest temperature with six influ-ence factors was obtained. A simple method for the calculation of the temperature field of the chimney foundation wasprovided.

Seismic response comparison and sensitivity analysis of pile foundation in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils

Case history investigations have shown that pile foundations are more critically damaged in liquefiable soils than non-liquefiable soils.This study examines the differences in seismic response of pile foundations in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils and their sensitivity to numerical model parameters.A two-dimensional finite element(FE)model is developed to simulate the experiment of a single pile foundation centrifuge in liquefiable soil subjected to earthquake motions and is validated against real-world test results.The differences in soil-pile seismic response of liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils are explored.Specifically,the first-order second-moment method(FOSM)is used for sensitivity analysis of the seismic response.The results show significant differences in seismic response for a soil-pile system between liquefiable and non-liquefiable soil.The seismic responses are found to be significantly larger in liquefiable soil than in non-liquefiable soil.Moreover,the pile bending moment was mainly affected by the kinematic effect in liquefiable soil,while the inertial effect was more significant in non-liquefiable soil.The controlling parameters of seismic response were PGA,soil density,and friction angle in liquefiable soil,while the pile bending moment was mainly controlled by PGA,the friction angle of soil,and shear modulus of loose sand in non-liquefiable soil.

Finite element analysis on impact of foundation treatment in bridgehead transition section upon bridge piles

In order to decrease relative settlement, foundation treatment plays an extremely important role in bridgehead transition section, especially, the situation of building the bridge piles firstly, and then processing piles. On the basis of engineering practice, the authors analyzed the influence of foundation treatment on bridge piles in bridgehead transition section by finite-element method (FEM). This research has positive significance in predicting displacement of bridge pile, directing construction of foundation treatment, and improving quality of engineering and so forth.

Vision-based Dynamics Monitoring(VDM)for Diagnosing the Variations of Wind Turbine Tower Foundation Conditions

A slight uneven settlement of the foundation may cause the wind turbine to shake,tilt,or even collapse,so it is increasingly necessary to realize remote condition monitoring of the foundations.At present,the wind turbine foundation monitoring system is incomplete.The current monitoring research of the tower foundation is mainly of contact measurements,using acceleration sensors and static-level sensors for monitoring multiple reference points.Such monitoring methods will face some disadvantages,such as the complexity of monitoring deployment,the cost of manpower,and the load effect on the tower structure.To solve above issues,this paper aims to investigate wind turbine tower foundation variation dynamic monitoring based on machine vision.Machine vision monitoring is a kind of noncontact measurement,which helps to realize comprehensive diagnosis of early foundation uneven settlement and loose faults.The FEA model is firstly investigated as the theoretical foundation to investigate the dynamics of the tower foundation.Second,the Gaussian-based vibration detection is adopted by tracking the tower edge points.Finally,a tower structure with distributed foundation support is tested.The modal parameters obtained from the visual measurement are compared with those from the accelerometer,proving the vision method can effectively monitor the issues with tower foundation changes.

Parameter analysis of composite pile foundation in bridge foundation

In the current theory of bridge foundation design,all of the loads above the cap are loaded by the pile,and the bearing capacity of the soil among piles is not taken into account.In order to analyze the bearing capacity of the soil among piles in bridge pile foundation,a model of pile foundation is established based on a bridge foundation which is under construction,and by the finite element analysis software ANSYS.According to the results of finite element analysis(FEA)and current bridge foundation design theory,a feasible composite pile foundation which can be applied in the design of bridge foundation,is recommended.Additionally,a number of modifications are made to the original design.It was confirmed that these modifications derived from numerical simulations can improve the performance of the foundation.

Analysis model for deformation mechanism of strip foundation of building:Considering shear effect of down-crossing tunnel under excavation

When the tunnel underpasses through the building,it will cause deformation and even damage to the buildings above,and the deformation of building foundation is the key to building safety.Based on the engineering case,the theoretical analysis was employed to evaluate the influence of shield tunnel underpass construction on the stability of the building,and the optimal tunneling parameters in the field construction have been obtained through the verified theoretical model and parameter analysis.First,the strip foundation of the building was simplified to the Timoshenko beam,which was taken into account the shear effect,and then the deformation displacement of the soil at the same place of strip foundation was applied to the simplified Timoshenko beam.Finally,the numerical solution of the displacement of the strip foundation was obtained by using the finite element method and verified its reliability using Euler-Bernoulli beam theoretical model,field monitoring data,and numerical simulation.Parameters analysis for the deformation and internal force of strip foundation under different types of shield machine tunneling parameters showed that the influence of the pressure of shield excavation chamber,thrust of shield,and driving speed played an important role in the deformation of the building’s strip foundation and internal force.

Numerical Analysis of the Settlement of Composite Foundation Reinforced with Crushed Stone Grouting Pile and Rigid Bearing Plate

This paper deals with a new type of crushed stone grouting pile with a rigid bearing plate. The load transfer characteristics were analyzed, and a settlement model of the composite foundation reinforced with crushed stone grouting pile and rigid bearing plate was built by FEM program. The effects of replacement ratio of capping plate, replacement ratio of pile, replacement ratio of grout diffusion zone, pile-soil modulus ratio, and serous-soil modulus ratio, on the composite foundation settlement were discussed. It is concluded that the proposed crushed stone grouting pile with a rigid bearing plate is effective in decreasing the settlement of composite foundation.

SEMI-ANALYTICAL AND SEMI-NUMERICAL METHOD FOR DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF FOUNDATION

A semi-analytical and semi-numerical method is proposed for the dynamic analysis of foundations. The Lamb＇s solution and the approximate formulae were used to establish the relation of the contact force and deflection between the foundation and soil. Therefore, the foundation can be separated from soil and analyzed by FEM as for the static cases. The plate can be treated as that the known forces are acting on the upper surface, and the contact pressure from soil can be represented as the deflection. So that only the plate needs to be divided into elements in the analysis. By this method, a series of vibration problems, including various shapes and rigidities of foundations, different excitation frequencies, were analyzed. Furthermore, it can be used for the embedded foundation. The numerical examples show that this method has simplicity, highly accurate and versatile. It is an effective method for the dynamic analysis of foundations.

Structural Strength Analysis of a Tri-Floater Floating Foundation for Offshore VAWT

Vertical axis wind turbines(VAWTs) are advantageous for the development of large-scale offshore wind power because the drive system is located at the bottom of the turbine. This study investigates the structural strength of a tri-floater floating foundation supporting a 2.6 MW Darrieus VAWT. Finite element models of the floating foundation were developed using space plate-beam elements. The environmental loads, such as the aerodynamic loads, static wind loads, and wave-current loads, were considered. The general strengths of the floating foundation were calculated for the normal operating case(a cut-out wind speed of 25 m s^(-1) and blade rotation of 12 r min^(-1) were used to analyze the most unfavorable loads) and an extreme case(wind speed of 40 m s^(-1) and parked blades), and the weak components of the structure were analyzed. The results show that the floating foundation meets the strength requirements and the structural stress is highest when the wave, wind, and current are in a collinear direction. The main and secondary supporting bars transmit the loads between the stand columns and the tower foundation, and their stresses are higher than those in the other components. In the actual design, these supporting bars should be strengthened. The aerodynamic loads are very important and should be considered in the structural strength analysis of the floating foundation and the floating wind turbine system.

Modeling and Dynamic Analysis for the Foundation of a Blade-Rotor System

In order to achieve the model-based fault monitoring and diagnosis,an accurate model for the rotor system is necessary to locate and quantify faults.Since the dynamic characteristics of a blade-rotor system is influenced by foundation flexibility,the modeling and dynamic analyses on the foundation were sequentially investigated.Firstly,the effect of element size on the model convergence was investigated using the forward difference quotient as the slope of the frequency difference,which found that the model converged when the element size refined to 4mm.Secondly,a modal analysis and a harmonic response analysis were performed to obtain the dynamic characteristics of the foundation structure.Finally,an optimization to the foundation utilizing an additional stiffener was conducted to reduce the foundation response and make the critical speed far away from the working frequency band of 20—50Hz.

Dynamic Analysis of Submarine Pipelines on an Elastic / Viscoelastic Foundation

This paper presents a new finite element method for solving static and dynamic problems in laying operation of pipelines. The effect of the viscoelastic soil behavior is considered by using the Pasternak foundation model. Some examples are also presented.

Local buckling of thin plate on tensionless elastic foundations under interactive uniaxial compression and shear

This paper uses a mathematical method to develop an analytical solution to the local buckling behaviour of long rectangular plates resting on tensionless elastic Winkler foundations and under combined uniform longitudinal uniaxial compressive and uniform in-plane shear loads. Fitted formulas are derived for plates with clamped edges and simplified supported edges. Two examples are given to demonstrate the application of the current method： one is a plate on tensionless spring foundations and the other is the contact between the steel sheet and elastic solid foundation. Finite element （FE） analysis is also conducted to validate the analytical results. Good agreement is obtained between the current method and FE analysis.

Numerical Simulation of Installation Process and Uplift Resistance for An Integrated Suction Foundation in Deep Ocean

A concept design, named integrated suction foundation, is proposed for a tension leg platform（TLP） in deep ocean. The most important improvement in comparing with the traditional one is that a pressure-resistant storage module is designed. It utilizes the high hydrostatic pressure in deep ocean to drive water into the module to generate negative pressure for bucket suction. This work aims to further approve the feasibility of the concept design in the aspect of penetration installation and the uplift force in-place. Seepage is generated during suction penetration, and can have both positive and negative effects on penetration process. To study the effect of seepage on the penetration process of the integrated suction foundation, finite element analysis（FEA） is carried out in this work. In particular, an improved methodology to calculate the penetration resistance is proposed for the integrated suction foundation with respect to the reduction factor of penetration resistance. The maximum allowable negative pressure during suction penetration is calculated with the critical hydraulic gradient method through FEA. The simulation results of the penetration process show that the integrated suction foundation can be installed safely. Moreover, the uplift resistance of the integrated suction foundation is calculated and the feasibility of the integrated suction foundation working on-site is verified. In all, the analysis in this work further approves the feasibility of the integrated suction foundation for TLPs in deep ocean applications.

Lateral Bearing Capacity of Multi-Bucket Foundation in Soft Ground

The bucket foundation is a new type of foundation for offshore application to intermediate-depth waters. It has advantages over conventional ones. However, there is no consensus in the analysis and design of this type of foundation. In this paper, the lateral bearing capacity and the failure mechanism of multi-bucket foundations are studied with different connection stiffness and bucket spacing by use of a three-dimensional finite element method. Based on the numerical analysis results, a limit analysis method of plasticity for evaluating the lateral bearing capacity of large-spacing multi- bucket foundation with rigid connection in soft ground is proposed. This method provides a simple procedure that gives results comparable to those from the finite element analyses.

Failure envelope of a caisson foundation under combined vertical,horizontal and moment loadings

To investigate the bearing capacity of a caisson foundation under combined vertical,horizontal and moment loadings,the three-dimensional finite element analyses of a circular caisson foundation in homogenous sandy soil subjected to combined loadings are conducted.The caisson model has a depth to breadth ratio equaling one,and a soil-caisson interface friction coefficientμ=0.3.First,the responses of caisson foundations under uniaxial vertical loading V,horizontal loading H and moment loading M are examined.Moreover,the responses of caisson foundations under combined vertical-horizontal V-H,vertical-moment V-M and horizontal-moment H-M load space are studied and presented using normalized failure envelopes generated by the load-controlled method.Subsequently,the bearing behavior of caisson foundations under combined vertical-horizontal-moment V-H-M load space,as well as the kinematic mechanisms accompanying the failure under uniaxial and combined loading,are addressed and presented for different vertical load ratios V/Vu.Finally,three equations that approximate the three-dimensional shape of the failure locus are proposed,which provides a convenient means of calculating the bearing capacity of a caisson foundation subjected to uniaxial and combined vertical,horizontal and moment loadings.

Limits to foundation displacement of an extra high voltage transmission tower in a mining subsidence area

Given the background of a transmission tower erected on a particular mining subsidence area,we used finite element modeling to analyze the anti-deformation performance of transmission towers under a number of different load conditions,including horizontal foundation displacement,uneven vertical downward displacement,wind loads and icing conditions.The results show that the failure in stability of a single steel angle iron represents the limit of the tower given ground deformation.We calculated the corresponding limits of foundation displacements.The results indicate that compression displacement of the foundation is more dangerous than tension displacement.Under complex foundation displacement conditions,horizontal foundation displacement is a key factor leading to failure in the stability of towers.Under conditions of compression or tension displacement of the foundation,wind load becomes the key factor.Towers do not fail when foundation displacements are smaller than 1% (under tension) or 0.5% (under horizontal compression or single foundation subsidence) of the distance between two supports.

Finite element response sensitivity analysis of three-dimensional soil-foundation-structure interaction (SFSI) systems

The nonlinear finite element（FE） analysis has been widely used in the design and analysis of structural or geotechnical systems.The response sensitivities（or gradients） to the model parameters are of significant importance in these realistic engineering problems.However the sensitivity calculation has lagged behind,leaving a gap between advanced FE response analysis and other research hotspots using the response gradient.The response sensitivity analysis is crucial for any gradient-based algorithms,such as reliability analysis,system identification and structural optimization.Among various sensitivity analysis methods,the direct differential method（DDM） has advantages of computing efficiency and accuracy,providing an ideal tool for the response gradient calculation.This paper extended the DDM framework to realistic complicated soil-foundation-structure interaction（SFSI） models by developing the response gradients for various constraints,element and materials involved.The enhanced framework is applied to three-dimensional SFSI system prototypes for a pilesupported bridge pier and a pile-supported reinforced concrete building frame structure,subjected to earthquake loading conditions.The DDM results are verified by forward finite difference method（FFD）.The relative importance（RI） of the various material parameters on the responses of SFSI system are investigated based on the DDM response sensitivity results.The FFD converges asymptotically toward the DDM results,demonstrating the advantages of DDM（e.g.,accurate,efficient,insensitive to numerical noise）.Furthermore,the RI and effects of the model parameters of structure,foundation and soil materials on the responses of SFSI systems are investigated by taking advantage of the sensitivity analysis results.The extension of DDM to SFSI systems greatly broaden the application areas of the d gradient-based algorithms,e.g.FE model updating and nonlinear system identification of complicated SFSI systems.

Development of Finite Element Limiting Analysis Method and Its Applications in Geotechnical Engineering

The Finite Element Limiting Analysis Method(LELAM) has the advantage of combining a numerical analysis method with traditional limiting equilibrium methods.It is particularly applicable to the analysis and design of geotechnical engineering.In the early 20th century,FELAM has been developed vigorously in domestic geotechnical engineering over international common finite element procedures.It has made great achievements in basic theory research and computational precision,thus broadening the application fields in practical projects.In order to gradually make innovations in geotechnical design methods,some of our research results are presented,mainly including geotechnical safety factor definitions,the principles for use of the method concerned,the overall failure criterion,the deduction and selection of the yield criterion,and the measurement to improve the computational precision,etc..The application field has been broadened from two-dimensional to three-dimensional,from soil slope to jointed rock slope and foundation,from stable seepage to non-stable seepage,from slope and foundation to tunnel.This method has also been used in search of many hidden sliding surfaces of complex landslides,conducting the structural support design considering the interaction between the soil and the structure,and computing simulation foundation bearing plates load tests,etc..

Strength reduction and step-loading finite element approaches in geotechnical engineering

The finite element limit analysis method has the advantages of both numerical and traditional limit equilibrium techniques and it is particularly useful to geotechnical engineering.This method has been developed in China,following well-accepted international procedures,to enhance understanding of stability issues in a number of geotechnical settings.Great advancements have been made in basic theory,the improvement of computational precision,and the broadening of practical applications.This paper presents the results of research on（1） the efficient design of embedded anti-slide piles,（2） the stability analysis of reservoir slopes with strength reduction theory,and（3） the determination of the ultimate bearing capacity of foundations using step-loading FEM（overloading）.These three applications are evidence of the design improvements and benefits made possible in geotechnical engineering by finite element modeling.