An extended micromechanical-based plastic damage model for understanding water effects on quasi-brittle rocks

Water effects on the mechanical properties of rocks have been extensively investigated through experiments and numerical models.However,few studies have established a comprehensive link between the microscopic mechanisms of water-related micro-crack and the constitutive behaviors of rocks.In this work,we shall propose an extended micromechanical-based plastic damage model for understanding weakening effect induced by the presence of water between micro-crack’s surfaces on quasi-brittle rocks,based on the Mori-Tanaka homogenization and irreversible thermodynamics framework.Regarding the physical mechanism,water strengthens micro-crack propagation,which induces damage evolution during the pre-and post-stage,and weakens the elastic effective properties of rock matrix.After proposing a special calibration procedure for the determination of model parameters based on the laboratory compression tests,the proposed micromechanical-based model is verified by comparing the model predictions to the experimental results.The model effectively captures the mechanical behaviors of quasibrittle rocks subjected to the weakening effects of water.

Evaluation and prediction of engineering construction suitability in the Chinae-Mongoliae-Russia economic corridor

It is proposed to build a high-speed railway through the China‒Mongolia‒Russia economic corridor(CMREC)which runs from Beijing to Moscow via Mongolia.However,the frozen ground in this corridor has great impacts on the infrastructure stability,especially under the background of climate warming and permafrost degradation.Based on the Bayesian Network Model(BNM),this study evaluates the suitability for engineering construction in the CMREC,by using 21 factors in five aspects of terrain,climate,ecology,soil,and frozen-ground thermal stability.The results showed that the corridor of Mongolia's Gobi and Inner Mongolia in China is suitable for engineering construction,and the corridor in Amur,Russia near the northern part of Northeast China is also suitable due to cold and stable permafrost overlaying by a thin active layer.However,the corridor near Petropavlovsk in Kazakhstan and Omsk in Russia is not suitable for engineering construction because of low freezing index and ecological vulnerability.Furthermore,the sensitivity analysis of influence factors indicates that the thermal stability of frozen ground has the greatest impact on the suitability of engineering construction.These conclusions can provide a reference basis for the future engineering planning,construction and risk assessment.

Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on uniaxial mechanical properties of cohesive coarse-grained soils

Freeze-thaw cycles are closely related to the slope instability in high-altitude mountain regions. In this study, cohesive coarse-grained soils were collected from a high-altitude slope in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau to study the effect of cyclic freeze-thaw on their uniaxial mechanical properties. The soil specimens were remolded with three dry densities and three moisture contents. Then, after performing a series of freeze-thaw tests in a closed system without water supply, the soil specimens were subjected to a uniaxial compression test. The results showed that the stress-strain curves of the tested soils mainly performed as strain-softening. The softening feature intensified with the increasing dry density but weakened with an increase in freeze-thaw cycles and moisture content. The uniaxial compressive strength, resilient modulus, residual strength and softening modulus decreased considerably with the increase of freeze-thaw cycles. After more than nine freeze-thaw cycles, these four parameters tended to be stable. These parameters increased with the increase of dry density and decreased with the increasing moisture content, except for the residual strength which did not exhibit any clear variation with an increase in moisture content. The residual strength, however, generally increased with an increase in dry density. The soil structural damage caused by frozen water expansion during the freeze-thaw is the major cause for the changes in mechanical behaviors of cohesive coarse-grained soils. With results in this study, the deterioration effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the mechanical properties of soils should be considered during the slope stability analysis in high-altitude mountain regions.

Time-Domain Analysis of Underground Station-Layered Soil Interaction Based on High-Order Doubly Asymptotic Transmitting Boundary

Based on the modified scale boundary finite element method and continued fraction solution,a high-order doubly asymptotic transmitting boundary(DATB)is derived and extended to the simulation of vector wave propagation in complex layered soils.The high-order DATB converges rapidly to the exact solution throughout the entire frequency range and its formulation is local in the time domain,possessing high accuracy and good efficiency.Combining with finite element method,a coupled model is constructed for time-domain analysis of underground station-layered soil interaction.The coupled model is divided into the near and far field by the truncated boundary,of which the near field is modelled by FEM while the far field is modelled by the high-order DATB.The coupled model is implemented in an open source finite element software,OpenSees,in which the DATB is employed as a super element.Numerical examples demonstrate that results of the coupled model are stable,accurate and efficient compared with those of the extended mesh model and the viscous-spring boundary model.Besides,it has also shown the fitness for long-time seismic response analysis of underground station-layered soil interaction.Therefore,it is believed that the coupled model could provide a new approach for seismic analysis of underground station-layered soil interaction and could be further developed for engineering.

Coupled effects of particle overall regularity and sliding friction on the shear behavior of uniformly graded dense sands

Particle morphology has been regarded as an important factor affecting shear behaviors of sands,and covers three important aspects,i.e.global form(overall shape),local roundness(large-scale smoothness),and surface texture(roughness)in terms of different observation scales.Shape features of different aspects can be independent of each other but might have coupled effects on the bulk behavior of sands,which has been not explored thoroughly yet.This paper presents a systematic investigation of the coupled effects of the particle overall regularity(OR)and sliding friction on the shear behavior of dense sands using three-dimensional(3D)discrete element method(DEM).The representative volume elements consisting of ideal spheres and irregular clumps of different mass proportions are prepared to conduct drained triaxial compression simulations.A well-defined shape descriptor named OR is adopted to quantify particle shape differences of numerical samples at both form and roundness aspects,and the particle sliding friction coefficient varies from 0.001 to 1 to consider the surface roughness effect equivalently in DEM.The stress-strain relationships as well as peak and critical friction angles of these assemblies are examined systematically.Moreover,contact network and anisotropic fabric characteristics within different granular assemblies are analyzed to explore the microscopic origins of the multi-scale shape-dependent shear strength.This study helps to improve the current understanding with respect to the influence of the particle shape on the shear behavior of sands from different shape aspects.

Three‑Dimensional Numerical Modeling of Ground Ice Ablation in a Retrogressive Thaw Slump and Its Hydrological Ecosystem Response on the Qinghai‑Tibet Plateau,China

Retrogressive thaw slumps(RTSs),which frequently occur in permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP),China,can cause signifcant damage to the local surface,resulting in material losses and posing a threat to infrastructure and ecosystems in the region.However,quantitative assessment of ground ice ablation and hydrological ecosystem response was limited due to a lack of understanding of the complex hydro-thermal process during RTS development.In this study,we developed a three-dimensional hydro-thermal coupled numerical model of a RTS in the permafrost terrain at the Beilu River Basin of the QTP,including ice–water phase transitions,heat exchange,mass transport,and the parameterized exchange of heat between the active layer and air.Based on the calibrated hydro-thermal model and combined with the electrical resistivity tomography survey and sample analysis results,a method for estimating the melting of ground ice was proposed.Simulation results indicate that the model efectively refects the factual hydro-thermal regime of the RTS and can evaluate the ground ice ablation and total suspended sediment variation,represented by turbidity.Between 2011 and 2021,the maximum simulated ground ice ablation was in 2016 within the slump region,amounting to a total of 492 m^(3),and it induced the reciprocal evolution,especially in the headwall of the RTS.High ponding depression water turbidity values of 28 and 49 occurred in the thawing season in 2021.The simulated ground ice ablation and turbidity events were highly correlated with climatic warming and wetting.The results ofer a valuable approach to assessing the efects of RTS on infrastructure and the environment,especially in the context of a changing climate.

Variations in the northern permafrost boundary over the last four decades in the Xidatan region, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

The distribution and variations of permafrost in the Xidatan region, the northern permafrost boundary of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, were examined and analyzed using ground penetrating radar(GPR), borehole drilling, and thermal monitoring data. Results from GPR profiles together with borehole verification indicate that the lowest elevation limit of permafrost occurrence is 4369 m above sea level in 2012. Compared to previous studies, the maximal rise of permafrost limit is 28 m from 1975 to 2012. The total area of permafrost in the study region has been decreased by 13.8%. One of the two previously existed permafrost islands has disappeared and second one has reduced by 76% in area during the past ~40 years. In addition, the ground temperature in the Xidatan region has increased from 2012 to 2016, with a mean warming rate of ~0.004℃ a^(-1) and ~0.003℃ a^(-1) at the depths of 6 and 15 m, respectively. The rising of permafrost limit in the Xidatan region is mainly due to globalwarming. However, some non-climatic factors such as hydrologic processes and anthropic disturbances have also induced permafrost degradation. If the air temperature continues to increase, the northern permafrost boundary in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau may continue rising in the future.

Distress Characteristics in Embankment‑Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai‑Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has been operating safely for 16 years in the permafrost zone and the railroad subgrade is generally stable by adopting the cooling roadbed techniques.However,settlement caused by the degradation of subgrade permafrost in the embankment-bridge transition sections(EBTS)is one of the most representative and severe distresses.A feld survey on 440 bridges(including 880 EBTSs)was carried out employing terrestrial laser scanning and ground-penetrating radar for comprehensively assessing all EBTSs in the permafrost zone.The results show that the types of distresses of EBTSs were diferential settlement,upheaval mounds of the protection-cone slopes,subsidence of the protection-cone slopes,surface cracks of the protection cones and longitudinal and transverse dislocation of the wing walls.The occurrence rates of these distresses were 78.93,3.47,11.56,3.36,21.18 and 4.56%,respectively.The most serious problem was diferential settlement,and the average diferential settlement amount(ADSA)was 15.3 cm.Furthermore,the relationships between diferential settlement and 11 infuencing factors were examined.The results indicate that ADSA is greater on the northern side of a bridge than on the southern side and on the sunny slope than on the shady slope.It is also greater in the high-temperature permafrost region than in the low-temperature permafrost region and in the high-ice content area than in the low-ice content area.The EBTSs are more infuenced by ice content than by ground temperature.The ADSA increases when the embankment height increases,the particle size of subgrade soil decreases and the surface vegetation cover decreases.

Face stability analysis of large shield-driven tunnel in rock-soil interface composite formations

A new 3D log-spiral model(LS-M model)is proposed to determine the minimal support pressure on the tunnel face of a large shielddriven tunnel in rock-soil interface(RSI)composite formations.In the proposed LS-M model,we define the RSI angle ω and use a new approach to calculate the equivalent tunnel face area,which provides a collapse zone with more realistic geometry than the traditional wedge model.And it has acceptable accuracy with simpler implementation than limit equilibrium analysis.Comparing with previous studies and 3D numerical analysis,it indicates that:(i)the LS-M results agree well with others in full-soil formations on the variation patterns of minimum support pressure and stability coefficients N_(c) and N_(γ);(ii)the critical RSI angle ω_(cr),which is predominantly influenced by soil cohesion,increases with the soil property values;(iii)the limit support pressure starts to increase with ω only when ω>ω_(cr);(iv)the peak support pressure occurs at lower C/D with a lower ω;(v)ω can only affect stability coefficients N_(c) and N_(γ) when ω and the friction angle are relatively small,while N_(s) is substantially influenced by RSI angle ω.

基于嫦娥五号月球样品的月壤残余内摩擦角预测

随着人类探月工程的快速发展,月球基地建设以及月表资源开发利用有望更快实现,合理预测月壤工程力学性质对于未来深层次探月工程意义重大,我国嫦娥五号返回月球样品为研究月壤工程力学特性提供了直接的实测材料。然而,月球样品极其珍贵,难以满足传统土工试验测试.为了应对这一科学挑战,本研究从无损分析月球样品颗粒属性入手,使用高精度X-射线μCT扫描、三维白光干涉、原子力显微镜等无损测试手段,分析了不同类型月壤颗粒的三维多尺度形态、弹性力学和摩擦属性等指标.在此基础上,基于颗粒材料宏微观物理力学理论和数值模型尝试预测了嫦娥五号采样处月壤残余内摩擦角。本研究为基于月球样品信息跨尺度分析月壤工程力学性质提供了可行思路。