Damage evolution of rock-encased-backfill structure under stepwise cyclic triaxial loading

Rock-encased-backfill(RB)structures are common in underground mining,for example in the cut-andfill and stoping methods.To understand the effects of cyclic excavation and blasting activities on the damage of these RB structures,a series of triaxial stepwise-increasing-amplitude cyclic loading experiments was conducted with cylindrical RB specimens(rock on outside,backfill on inside)with different volume fractions of rock(VF=0.48,0.61,0.73,and 0.84),confining pressures(0,6,9,and 12 MPa),and cyclic loading rates(200,300,400,and 500 N/s).The damage evolution and meso-crack formation during the cyclic tests were analyzed with results from stress-strain hysteresis loops,acoustic emission events,and post-failure X-ray 3D fracture morphology.The results showed significant differences between cyclic and monotonic loadings of RB specimens,particularly with regard to the generation of shear microcracks,the development of stress memory and strain hardening,and the contact forces and associated friction that develops along the rock-backfill interface.One important finding is that as a function of the number of cycles,the elastic strain increases linearly and the dissipated energy increases exponentially.Also,compared with monotonic loading,the cyclic strain hardening characteristics are more sensitive to rising confining pressures during the initial compaction stage.Another finding is that compared with monotonic loading,more shear microcracks are generated during every reloading stage,but these microcracks tend to be dispersed and lessen the likelihood of large shear fracture formation.The transition from elastic to plastic behavior varies depending on the parameters of each test(confinement,volume fraction,and cyclic rate),and an interesting finding was that the transformation to plastic behavior is significantly lower under the conditions of 0.73 rock volume fraction,400 N/s cyclic loading rate,and 9 MPa confinement.All the findings have important practical implications on the ability of backfill to support underground excavations.

Liquefaction susceptibility and deformation characteristics of saturated coral sandy soils subjected to cyclic loadings-a critical review

Coral sandy soils widely exist in coral island reefs and seashores in tropical and subtropical regions.Due to the unique marine depositional environment of coral sandy soils,the engineering characteristics and responses of these soils subjected to monotonic and cyclic loadings have been a subject of intense interest among the geotechnical and earthquake engineering communities.This paper critically reviews the progress of experimental investigations on the undrained behavior of coral sandy soils under monotonic and cyclic loadings over the last three decades.The focus of coverage includes the contractive-dilative behavior,the pattern of excess pore-water pressure(EPWP)generation and the liquefaction mechanism and liquefaction resistance,the small-strain shear modulus and strain-dependent shear modulus and damping,the cyclic softening feature,and the anisotropic characteristics of undrained responses of saturated coral sandy soils.In particular,the advances made in the past decades are reviewed from the following aspects:(1)the characterization of factors that impact the mechanism and patterns of EPWP build-up;(2)the identification of liquefaction triggering in terms of the apparent viscosity and the average flow coefficient;(3)the establishment of the invariable form of strain-based,stress-based,or energy-based EPWP ratio formulas and the unique relationship between the new proxy of liquefaction resistance and the number of cycles required to reach liquefaction;(4)the establishment of the invariable form of the predictive formulas of small strain modulus and strain-dependent shear modulus;and(5)the investigation on the effects of stress-induced anisotropy on liquefaction susceptibility and dynamic deformation characteristics.Insights gained through the critical review of these advances in the past decades offer a perspective for future research to further resolve the fundamental issues concerning the liquefaction mechanism and responses of coral sandy sites subjected to cyclic loadings associated with seismic events in marine environments.

Lateral earth pressure of granular backfills on retaining walls with expanded polystyrene geofoam inclusions under limited surcharge loading

Existing studies have focused on the behavior of the retaining wall equipped with expanded polystyrene(EPS)geofoam inclusions under semi-infinite surcharge loading rather than limited surcharge loading.In this paper,the failure mode and the earth pressure acting on the rigid retaining wall with EPS geofoam inclusions and granular backfills(henceforth referred to as EPS-wall),under limited surcharge loading are investigated through two-and three-dimensional model tests.The testing results show that different from the sliding of almost all the backfill in the EPS-wall under semi-infinite surcharge loading,only an approximately triangular backfill slides in the wall under limited surcharge loading.The distribution of the lateral earth pressure on the EPS-wall under limited surcharge loading is non-linear,and the distribution changes from the increase of the wall depth to the decrease with the increase of the limited surcharge loading.An approach based on the force equilibrium of a differential element is developed to predict the lateral earth pressure behind the EPS-wall subjected to limited surcharge loading,and its performance was fully validated by the three-dimensional model tests.

Mechanical responses of anchoring structure under triaxial cyclic loading

Dynamic load on anchoring structures(AS)within deep roadways can result in cumulative damage and failure.This study develops an experimental device designed to test AS under triaxial loads.The device enables the investigation of the mechanical response,failure mode,instability assessment criteria,and anchorage effect of AS subjected to combined cyclic dynamic-static triaxial stress paths.The results show that the peak bearing strength is positively correlated with the anchoring matrix strength,anchorage length,and edgewise compressive strength.The bearing capacity decreases significantly when the anchorage direction is severely inclined.The free face failure modes are typically transverse cracking,concave fracturing,V-shaped slipping and detachment,and spallation detachment.Besides,when the anchoring matrix strength and the anchorage length decrease while the edgewise compressive strength,loading rate,and anchorage inclination angle increase,the failure intensity rises.Instability is determined by a negative tangent modulus of the displacement-strength curve or the continued deformation increase against the general downward trend.Under cyclic loads,the driving force that breaks the rock mass along the normal vector and the rigidity of the AS are the two factors that determine roadway stability.Finally,a control measure for surrounding rock stability is proposed to reduce the internal driving force via a pressure relief method and improve the rigidity of the AS by full-length anchorage and grouting modification.

Commentary on"Speed and surface steepness affect internal tibial loading during running"

It is a pleasure to write a commentary on the work of Dr.Hannah Rice and colleagues,l who have advanced our understanding of how the mechanical loading environment of the tibia changes as a function of running grade and speed.It is important that we understand how the tibia is loaded during conditions that an individual is likely to encounter when running as it is these internal loads which we believe are responsible for the development of bone-stress injuries.

Evolution of molecular structure of TATB under shock loading from transient Raman spectroscopic technique

By combination of the transient Raman spectroscopic measurement and the density functional theoretical calculations,the structural evolution and stability of TATB under shock compression was investigated.Due to the improvement in synchronization control between two-stage light gas gun and the transient Raman spectra acquisition,as well as the sample preparation,the Raman peak of the N-O mode of TATB was firstly observed under shock pressure up to 13.6 GPa,noticeably higher than the upper limit of 8.5 GPa reported in available literatures.By taking into account of the continuous shift of the main peak and other observed Raman peaks,we did not distinguish any structural transition or any new species.Moreover,both the present Raman spectra and the time-resolved radiation of TATB during shock loading showed that TATB exhibits higher chemical stability than previous declaration.To reveal the detailed structural response and evolution of TATB under compression,the density functional theoretical calculations were conducted,and it was found that the pressure make N-O bond lengths shorter,nitro bond angles larger,and intermolecular and intra-molecular hydrogen bond interactions enhanced.The observed red shift of Raman peak was ascribed to the abnormal enhancement of H-bound effect on the scissor vibration mode of the nitro group.

Reinforcing effects of polypropylene on energy absorption and fracturing of cement-based tailings backfill under impact loading

Polypropylene(PP)fiber-reinforced cement-based tailings backfill(FRCTB)is a green compound material with superior crack resistance and has good prospects for application in underground mining.However,FRCTB exhibits susceptibility to dynamic events,such as impact ground pressure and blast vibrations.This paper investigates the energy and crack distribution behavior of FRCTB under dynamic impact,considering the height/diameter(H/D)effect.Split Hopkinson pressure bar,industrial computed tomography scan,and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)experiments were carried out on six types of FRCTB.Laboratory outcomes confirmed fiber aggregation at the bottom of specimens.When H/D was less than 0.8,the proportion of PP fibers distributed along theθangle direction of80°-90°increased.For the total energy,all samples presented similar energy absorption,reflectance,and transmittance.However,a rise in H/D may cause a rise in the energy absorption rate of FRCTB during the peak phase.A positive correlation existed between the average strain rate and absorbed energy per unit volume.The increase in H/D resulted in a decreased crack volume fraction of FRCTB.When the H/D was greater than or equal to 0.7,the maximum crack volume fraction of FRCTB was observed close to the incidence plane.Radial cracks were present only in the FRCTB with an H/D ratio of 0.5.Samples with H/D ratios of 0.5 and 0.6 showed similar distributions of weakly and heavily damaged areas.PP fibers can limit the emergence and expansion of cracks by influencing their path.SEM observations revealed considerable differences in the bonding strengths between fibers and the FRCTB.Fibers that adhered particularly well to the substrate were attracted together with the hydration products adhering to surfaces.These results show that FRCTB is promising as a sustainable and green backfill for determining the design properties of mining with backfill.

Experimental study of the damage characteristics of rocks containing non-penetrating cracks under cyclic loading

The damage evolution process of non-penetrating cracks often causes some unexpected engineering disasters.Gypsum specimens containing non-penetrating crack(s)are used to study the damage evolution and characteristics under cyclic loading.The results show that under cyclic loading,the relationship between the number of non-penetrating crack(s)and the characteristic parameters(cyclic number,peak stress,peak strain,failure stress,and failure strain)of the pre-cracked specimens can be represented by a decreasing linear function.The damage evolution equation is fitted by calibrating the accumulative plastic strain for each cycle,and the damage constitutive equation is proposed by the concept of effective stress.Additionally,non-penetrating cracks are more likely to cause uneven stress distribution,damage accumulation,and local failure of specimen.The local failure can change the stress distribution and relieve the inhibition of non-penetrating crack extension and eventually cause a dramatic destruction of the specimen.Therefore,the evolution process caused by non-penetrating cracks can be regarded as one of the important reasons for inducing rockburst.These results are expected to improve the understanding of the process of spalling formation and rockburst and can be used to analyze the stability of rocks or rock structures.

Study on the tunnel shape and soil-lining interaction influencing the lining behavior under seismic loading

The response of tunnels subjected to seismic loading is a complex mechanism and depends not only on the seismic nature but also on tunnel structure and surrounding soil properties.The individual behavior of circular,rectangular,and sub-rectangular tunnels subjected to seismic loadings has already been studied in the literature.In the present research,two case scenarios of circular,rectangular tunnels and four sub-rectangular shaped tunnels,with similar cross-section areas,were adopted to perform a comprehensive numerical investigation.The purpose of the study was to determine the mechanical behavior of tunnels of different shapes,depending upon seismic conditions.Analyses were performed by considering the influence of soil-lining interaction,soil parameters,and lining thickness,as well as lining rigidity.Computations were performed for no-slip and full-slip conditions.The results indicate that the tunnel shape design is of great importance when regarding the mechanical behavior of the surrounding soil.This concerns no-slip as well as full-slip soil-lining interaction,especially when the lining is subjected to seismic loading.Moreover,it is shown that changes in incremental bending moments for circular,rectangular and sub-rectangular tunnels that depend upon the soil-lining interaction conditions differ significantly.

Comparison of microwave- and thermal-assisted rock fragmentation methods at different temperatures and loading rates

Understanding the effects of microwave irradiation and thermal treatment on the dynamic compression and fragmentation properties of rocks is essential to quantify energy consumption in rock engineering.In this study,Fangshan granite(FG)specimens were exposed to microwave irradiation and heat treatment.The damage of FG specimens induced by these two methods was compared using X-ray CT scanning and ultrasonic wave method.The temperatures of FG after microwave irradiation and thermal treatment were effectively evaluated using a newly proposed technique.A novelty method for precisely determining the geometric features of fragments is developed to estimate the fragmentation energy.Thus,the dynamic uniaxial compressive strength(UCS),the dynamic fragmentation characteristics,and the fragmentation energy of FG after these two pretreatment methods can be reasonably compared.The noticeable distinction of loading rate effect on the dynamic UCS of FG between these two pretreatment methods is first observed.A relationship is established between the dynamic UCS and the damage induced by microwave irradiation and heat treatment.Moreover,fragmentation energy fan analysis is introduced to accurately compare the fragmentation properties of FG after two pretreatment methods in dynamic compression tests.

Dynamic failure process of expanded polystyrene particle lightweight soil under cyclic loading using discrete element method

Expanded polystyrene(EPS)particle-based lightweight soil,which is a type of lightweight filler,is mainly used in road engineering.The stability of subgrades under dynamic loading is attracting increased research attention.The traditional method for studying the dynamic strength characteristics of soils is dynamic triaxial testing,and the discrete element simulation of lightweight soils under cyclic load has rarely been considered.To study the meso-mechanisms of the dynamic failure processes of EPS particle lightweight soils,a discrete element numerical model is established using the particle flow code(PFC)software.The contact force,displacement field,and velocity field of lightweight soil under different cumulative compressive strains are studied.The results show that the hysteresis curves of lightweight soil present characteristics of strain accumulation,which reflect the cyclic effects of the dynamic load.When the confining pressure increases,the contact force of the particles also increases.The confining pressure can restrain the motion of the particle system and increase the dynamic strength of the sample.When the confining pressure is held constant,an increase in compressive strain causes minimal change in the contact force between soil particles.However,the contact force between the EPS particles decreases,and their displacement direction points vertically toward the center of the sample.Under an increase in compressive strain,the velocity direction of the particle system changes from a random distribution and points vertically toward the center of the sample.When the compressive strain is 5%,the number of particles deflected in the particle velocity direction increases significantly,and the cumulative rate of deformation in the lightweight soil accelerates.Therefore,it is feasible to use 5%compressive strain as the dynamic strength standard for lightweight soil.Discrete element methods provide a new approach toward the dynamic performance evaluation of lightweight soil subgrades.

R-Factor Analysis of Data Based on Population Models Comprising R- and Q-Factors Leads to Biased Loading Estimates

Effects of performing an R-factor analysis of observed variables based on population models comprising R- and Q-factors were investigated. Although R-factor analysis of data based on a population model comprising R- and Q-factors is possible, this may lead to model error. Accordingly, loading estimates resulting from R-factor analysis of sample data drawn from a population based on a combination of R- and Q-factors will be biased. It was shown in a simulation study that a large amount of Q-factor variance induces an increase in the variation of R-factor loading estimates beyond the chance level. Tests of the multivariate kurtosis of observed variables are proposed as an indicator of possible Q-factor variance in observed variables as a prerequisite for R-factor analysis.

Two-Stage IoT Computational Task Offloading Decision-Making in MEC with Request Holding and Dynamic Eviction

The rapid development of Internet of Things(IoT)technology has led to a significant increase in the computational task load of Terminal Devices(TDs).TDs reduce response latency and energy consumption with the support of task-offloading in Multi-access Edge Computing(MEC).However,existing task-offloading optimization methods typically assume that MEC’s computing resources are unlimited,and there is a lack of research on the optimization of task-offloading when MEC resources are exhausted.In addition,existing solutions only decide whether to accept the offloaded task request based on the single decision result of the current time slot,but lack support for multiple retry in subsequent time slots.It is resulting in TD missing potential offloading opportunities in the future.To fill this gap,we propose a Two-Stage Offloading Decision-making Framework(TSODF)with request holding and dynamic eviction.Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)-based task-offloading request prediction and MEC resource release estimation are integrated to infer the probability of a request being accepted in the subsequent time slot.The framework learns optimized decision-making experiences continuously to increase the success rate of task offloading based on deep learning technology.Simulation results show that TSODF reduces total TD’s energy consumption and delay for task execution and improves task offloading rate and system resource utilization compared to the benchmark method.

Mechanical behavior of 2G NPR bolt anchored rock samples under static disturbance loading

The deep mining of coal resources is accompanied by severe environmental challenges and various potential engineering hazards.The implementation of NPR(negative Poisson's ratio)bolts are capable of controlling large deformations in the surrounding rock effectively.This paper focuses on studying the mechanical properties of the NPR bolt under static disturbance load.The deep nonlinear mechanical experimental system was used to study the mechanical behavior of rock samples with different anchored types(unanchored/PR anchored/2G NPR anchored)under static disturbance load.The whole process of rock samples was taken by high-speed camera to obtain the real-time failure characteristics under static disturbance load.At the same time,the acoustic emission signal was collected to obtain the key characteristic parameters of acoustic emission such as acoustic emission count,energy,and frequency.The deformation at the failure of the samples was calculated and analyzed by digital speckle software.The findings indicate that the failure mode of rock is influenced by different types of anchoring.The peak failure strength of 2G NPR bolt anchored rock samples exhibits an increase of 6.5%when compared to the unanchored rock samples.The cumulative count and cumulative energy of acoustic emission exhibit a decrease of 62.16%and 62.90%,respectively.The maximum deformation of bearing capacity exhibits an increase of 59.27%,while the failure time demonstrates a delay of 42.86%.The peak failure strength of the 2G NPR bolt anchored ones under static disturbance load exhibits an increase of 5.94%when compared to the rock anchored by PR(Poisson's ratio)bolt.The cumulative count and cumulative energy of acoustic emission exhibit a decrease of 47.16%and 43.86%,respectively.The maximum deformation of the bearing capacity exhibits an increase of 50.43%,and the failure time demonstrates a delay of 32%.After anchoring by 2G NPR bolt,anchoring support effectively reduces the risk of damage caused by static disturbance load.These results demonstrate that the support effect of 2G NPR bolt materials surpasses that of PR bolt.

Effect of NaCl Concentration on the Cumulative Strain and Pore Distribution of Clay under Cyclic Loading

Clay,as the most common soil used for foundationfill,is widely used in various infrastructure projects.The phy-sical and mechanical properties of clay are influenced by the pore solution environment.This study uses a GDS static/dynamic triaxial apparatus and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments to investigate the effects of cyclic loading on clay foundations.Moreover,the development of cumulative strain in clay is analyzed,and afitting model for cumulative plastic strain is introduced by considering factors such as NaCl solution concentration,con-solidation stress ratio,and cycle number.In particular,the effects of the NaCl solution concentration and con-solidation stress ratio on the pore distribution of the test samples before and after cyclic loading are examined,and the relationship between microscopic pore size and macroscopic cumulative strain is obtained accordingly.Our results show that as the consolidation stress ratio grows,an increasing number of large pores in the soil samples are transformed into small pores.As the NaCl solution concentration becomes higher,the number of small pores gradually decreases,while the number of large pores remains unchanged.Cyclic loading causes the disappearance of the large pores in the samples,and the average pore size before cyclic loading is posi-tively correlated with the axial cumulative strain after cyclic loading.The cumulative strain produced by the soil under cyclic loading is inversely proportional to the NaCl solution concentration and consolidation stress ratio.

Stem cell technology for antitumor drug loading and delivery in oncology

The main aim of antineoplastic treatment is to maximize patient benefit by augmenting the drug accumulation within affected organs and tissues,thus incrementing drug effects and,at the same time,reducing the damage of non-involved tissues to cytotoxic agents.Mesenchymal stromal cells(MSC)represent a group of undifferentiated multipotent cells presenting wide self-renewal features and the capacity to differentiate into an assortment of mesenchymal family cells.During the last year,they have been proposed as natural carriers for the selective release of antitumor drugs to malignant cll,s thus optimizing cytotoxic action on cancer cll,while significantly reducing adverse side efect on healthy cells.MSC chemotherapeutic drug loading and delivery is an encouraging new area of cell therapy for several tumors,especially for those with unsatisfactory prognosis and limited treatment options available.Although some experim ental models have been sucesfuly developed,phase I dinical studies are needed to confirm this potential application of cell therapy,in particular in the case of primary and secondary lung cancers.

Effect of dynamic loading orientation on fracture properties of surrounding rocks in twin tunnels

For expedited transportation,vehicular tunnels are often designed as two adjacent tunnels,which frequently experience dynamic stress waves from various orientations during blasting excavation.To analyze the impact of dynamic loading orientation on the stability of the twin-tunnel,a split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)apparatus was used to conduct a dynamic test on the twin-tunnel specimens.The two tunnels were rotated around the specimen’s center to consider the effect of dynamic loading orientation.LS-DYNA software was used for numerical simulation to reveal the failure properties and stress wave propagation law of the twin-tunnel specimens.The findings indicate that,for a twin-tunnel exposed to a dynamic load from different orientations,the crack initiation position appears most often at the tunnel corner,tunnel spandrel,and tunnel floor.As the impact direction is created by a certain angle(30°,45°,60°,120°,135°,and 150°),the fractures are produced in the middle of the line between the left tunnel corner and the right tunnel spandrel.As the impact loading angle(a)is 90°,the tunnel sustains minimal damage,and only tensile fractures form in the surrounding rocks.The orientation of the impact load could change the stress distribution in the twin-tunnel,and major fractures are more likely to form in areas where the tensile stress is concentrated.

Evaluation of the coefficient of lateral stress at rest of granular materials under repetitive loading conditions

Although the internal stress state of soils can be affected by repetitive loading,there are few studies evaluating the lateral stress(or K_(0))of soils under repetitive loading.This study investigates the changes in K_(0) and directional shear wave velocity(V_(s))in samples of two granular materials with different particle shapes during repetitive loading.A modified oedometer cell equipped with bender elements and a diaphragm transducer was developed to measure the variations in the lateral stress and the shear wave velocity,under repetitive loading on the loading and unloading paths.The study produced the following results:(1)Repetitive loading on the loading path resulted in an increase in the K_(0) of test samples as a function of cyclic loading number(i),and(2)Repetitive loading on the unloading path resulted in a decrease in K_(0) according to i.The shear wave velocity ratio(i.e.V_(s)(HH)/V_(s)(VH),where the first and second letters in parentheses corresponds to the directions of wave propagation and particle motion,respectively,and V and H corresponds to the vertical and horizontal directions,respectively)according to i supports the experimental observations of this study.However,when the tested material was in lightly over-consolidated state,there was an increase in K_(0) during repetitive loading,indicating that it was the initial K_(0),rather than the loading path,which is responsible for the change in K_(0).The power model can capture the variation in the K_(0) of samples according to i.Notably,the K_(0)=1 line acts as the boundary between the increase and decrease in K_(0) under repetitive loading.

Numerical Simulation-Based Analysis of the Impact of Overloading on Segmentally Assembled Bridges

Segmentally assembled bridges are increasinglyfinding engineering applications in recent years due to their unique advantages,especially as urban viaducts.Vehicle loads are one of the most important variable loads acting on bridge structures.Accordingly,the influence of overloaded vehicles on existing assembled bridge structures is an urgent concern at present.This paper establishes thefinite element model of the segmentally assembled bridge based on ABAQUS software and analyzes the influence of vehicle overload on an assembled girder bridge struc-ture.First,afinite element model corresponding to the target bridge is established based on ABAQUS software,and the load is controlled to simulate vehicle movement in each area of the traveling zone at different times.Sec-ond,the key cross-sections of segmental girder bridges are monitored in real time based on the force character-istics of continuous girder bridges,and they are compared with the simulation results.Finally,a material damage ontology model is introduced,and the structural damage caused by different overloading rates is compared and analyzed.Results show that thefinite element modeling method is accurate by comparing with on-site measured data,and it is suitable for the numerical simulation of segmental girder bridges;Dynamic sensors installed at 1/4L,1/2L,and 3/4L of the segmental girder main beams could be used to identify the dynamic response of segmental girder bridges;The bottom plate of the segmental girder bridge is mostly damaged at the position where the length of the precast beam section changes and the midspan position.With the increase in load,damage in the direction of the bridge develops faster than that in the direction of the transverse bridge.Thefindings of this study can guide maintenance departments in the management and maintenance of bridges and vehicles.

Collapse Behavior of Pipe-Framed Greenhouses with and without Reinforcement under Snow Loading:A 3-D Finite Element Analysis

The present paper first investigates the collapse behavior of a conventional pipe-framed greenhouse under snow loading based on a 3-D finite element analysis,in which both geometrical and material non-linearities are considered.Three snow load distribution patterns related to the wind-driven snow particle movement are used in the analysis.It is found that snow load distribution affects the deformation and collapse behavior of the pipe-framed greenhouse significantly.The results obtained in this study are consistent with the actual damage observed.Next,discussion is made of the effects of reinforcements by adding members to the basic frame on the strength of the whole structure,in which seven kinds of reinforcement methods are examined.A buckling analysis is also carried out.The results indicate that the most effective reinforcement method depends on the snow load distribution pattern.