Coupled hydro-mechanical model for partially saturated soils predicting small strain stiffness

In the paper, we present newly developed hydro-mechanical hypoplastic model for partially saturated soils predicting small strain stiffness. Hysteretic void ratio dependent water retention model has been incorporated into the existing hypoplastic model. This required thorough revision of the model structure to allow for the hydro-mechanical coupling dependencies. The model is formulated in terms of degree of saturation, rather than of suction. Subsequently, the small strain stiffness effects were incorporated using the intergranular strain concept modified for unsaturated conditions. New features included degree of saturation-dependent size of the elastic range and an updated evolution equation for the intergranular strain. The model has been evaluated using two comprehensive data sets on completely decomposed tuff from Hong-Kong and Zenos Kaolin from Iran. It has been shown that the modified intergranular strain formulation coupled with the hysteretic water retention model correctly reproduces the effects of both the stress and suction histories on small strain stiffness evolution. The model can correctly predict also different other aspects of partially saturated soil behaviour, starting from the very small strain range up to the asymptotic large-strain response.     

Effective transfer properties of partially saturated geomaterials with interfaces using the immersed interface method

The present work aims at introducing an efficient numerical approach based on the immersed interface method to estimate the effective thermal conductivity and permeability of geomaterials as porous media with either perfect or debonded interfaces. The first part deals with the problem of the overall thermal properties of a medium containing perfectly bonded inclusions. The evolution of the homogenized properties with respect to the properties of individual constituents, the volume fraction, the spatial distribution, and the shape of inclusions is highlighted. The second part of the paper is devoted to the case of imperfectly bonded inclusions. An extension of the immersed interface method in this context makes it possible to study other aspects that have an influence on the effective properties such as the interfacial resistance and the size of inclusions. The application of the proposed numerical tool to some porous rocks in partially saturated condition shows good agreement with the available experimental results and demonstrates the performance and the flexibility of the developed procedure.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An advanced hydro-mechanical constitutive model for unsaturated soils with different initial densities

This paper presents an advanced constitutive model for unsaturated soils, using Bishop’s effective stress (σ′) and the effective degree of saturation (S_e) as two fundamental constitutive variables in the proposed constitutive model. A sub-loading surface and a unified hardening parameter (H) are introduced into the σ′–S_e modelling framework to interpret the effects of initial density on coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour of compacted soils. Compared with existing models in the literature, the main advantage of the proposed model that it is capable of modelling hydro-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils compacted to different initial densities, such as the dependence of loading–collapse volume on initial void ratio and density effect on the shearing-induced saturation change. The proposed model requires 13 material parameters, all of which can be calibrated through conventional laboratory tests. Numerical studies are conducted to assess the performance of the model for a hypothetical soil under two typical hydro-mechanical loading scenarios. The proposed advanced unsaturated soil model is then validated against a number of experimental results for both isotropic and triaxial conditions reported in the literature.     

On the modeling of the state dependency of granular soils

Experimental studies have revealed that principal elements of the mechanical behavior of granular soils like the angles of internal peak friction and dilatancy are highly influenced by the combined effect of soil density and mean principal effective stress. In the literature, various empirical correlations between these elements and some parameters indicating soil state have been suggested. Herein, by using two well-known empirical expressions for state dependent peak friction and dilatancy angles, proper constitutive equations are derived and implemented in a stress ratio-based bounding surface plasticity framework. It is shown that the modified model is capable of simulating sand response in either loose or dense states using a unique set of parameters.     

海堤施工中软土地基沉降计算分析

从剖析沉降固结的概念,探讨常规沉降计算公式的适用性出发,对照海堤工程实践中暴露出来的问题,指出软基筑堤工程实践中沉降计算分析的注意事项和建议,以起到抛砖引玉的效果。     

复杂应力条件下饱和砂土单调剪切特性的试验研究

利用土工静力-动力液压-三轴扭转多功能剪切仪,针对相对密度为30 %的福建标准砂,进行了复杂初始固结条件下应力路径变化的应力控制式单调排水与不排水剪切试验。控制试验过程的平均主应力保持不变,变化中主应力系数和主应力方向,分别探讨在不同排水条件下中主应力系数和主应力方向对饱和砂土剪切特性的影响。通过对比表明：与排水条件无关,中主应力系数对归一化的应力-应变关系具有影响,但对体变或孔压的影响并不明显。初始条件相同,偏应力比随中主应力系数的增大而降低。主应力方向的影响同样显著,排水试验的主应力方向角不同时应力-应变关系所表现出的变化规律取决于水平面与竖直面上受到的剪应力作用。不排水试验的峰值有效偏应力比随着主应力方向角的增大而减小。     

一个高饱和度非饱和土的本构模型

高饱和度的非饱和土中由于气体处于封闭状态,其内部气压的变化必将对土体的行为产生影响。首先,对高饱和度非饱和土特性进行探讨和研究,随后,在已有非饱和土模型框架基础上,采用广义有效应力原理,建立一个适用于高饱和度条件下的非饱和土的弹塑性本构模型。模型中引入气相耗散的影响,在硬化方程中考虑封闭气体压力改变的影响。最后,利用已有的试验结果来对模型进行验证,并将模型预测结果与前人模型进行对比,表明模型预测可以很好地预测土体的行为,尤其是在高饱和度条件下其结果比其他模型更加接近实际情况。     

复杂应力条件下饱和砂土排水剪切强度的试验研究

针对相对密度为30 %的福建标准砂,利用土工静力－动力液压－三轴扭转多功能剪切仪,在不同初始固结条件下控制试验过程的平均主应力保持不变,改变中主应力系数和主应力方向,进行了应力控制式单调排水剪切试验,着重探讨中主应力系数和主应力方向对砂土剪切强度的耦合影响。试验结果表明：在相同的试验条件下,中主应力系数对饱和标准砂的应力-应变关系具有影响,但对体变特性的影响并不明显。上述现象同初始固结应力比的大小无关。平均主应力一定,广义剪应力随中主应力系数增大而降低的趋势同时依赖于主应力方向的作用。中主应力系数对内摩擦角的放大效应同样受到主应力方向的影响。基于广义双剪应力准则,引入考虑主应力方向影响程度的权重系数,结合试验结果给出了考虑中主应力系数和主应力方向耦合影响的强度指标表达式。     

New basis for the constitutive modelling of aggregated soils

Natural and compacted soils are usually characterized by aggregation of particles. The mechanical behaviour of these materials depends on soil structure. The oedometric compression tests performed on aggregated samples presented here showed that these materials exhibit a yield limit depending not only on stress history and stress state but also on soil structure. Evidence is provided using the neutron tomography technique. These results revealed that soil structure modification occurs together with plastic deformations. The experimental results are used to propose a new state parameter to quantify the soil structure. Based on pore-scale experimental observations, an evolution law for this parameter is proposed as a function of associated plastic strains. Considering both soil fabric and inter-particle bonding effects, a new yield limit depending on stress state, stress history and soil structure is introduced for the aggregated soils. Accordingly, a new constitutive framework consistent with strain hardening plasticity is proposed to consider soil structure effects in the modelling of aggregated soils.     

On the influence of vertical loads on the lateral response of pile foundation

The influence of vertical loads on the lateral response of group piles installed in sandy soil and connected together by a concrete cap is studied through finite elements analyses. The analyses focus on the five piles in the middle row of 3 × 5 pile groups. The vertical load is applied by enforcing a vertical displacement equivalent to 2% of the pile diameter through the pile cap prior to the application of the lateral loads. The results have shown that the lateral resistance of the leading pile (pile 1) does not appear to vary considerably with the vertical load. However, the vertical load leads to 23%, 36%, 64%, and 82% increase in the lateral resistance of piles 2–5, respectively. The increase in the lateral pressures in the sand deposit is the major driving factor to contribute the change in the lateral resistance of piles, depending on the position of the pile in the group. The distribution of lateral loads among piles in the group tends to be more uniform when vertical loads were considered leading to a more economical pile foundation design.     

Numerical modeling of the elastoplastic damage behavior of dry and saturated concrete targets subjected to rigid projectile penetration

The objective of the present paper is to present a numerical study on the penetration performance of concrete targets with 2 different water contents. Numerical analysis has been performed by using the finite element code Abaqus/Explicit, in which a coupled elastoplastic damage model has been developed for saturated/unsaturated concrete under a wide range of confining pressures. The performance of proposed model has been firstly verified by simulating the triaxial compression tests and penetration tests realized with saturated/dry concretes. Comparisons of available experimental results and numerical simulations show that the proposed model is able to reproduce satisfactorily the mechanical behavior of saturated and dry concretes. A higher failure stress and a more important pores closing are generally obtained in dry concrete samples with respect to saturated ones. Furthermore, the main observed patterns of penetration test realized with saturated concrete targets are also satisfactorily simulated by the numerical results. Therefore, the proposed model is used to numerically predict the penetration performance of dry concrete target, and the penetration performance of dry/saturated concrete target is discussed. We observe that in dry concrete target, the penetration of projectile is strongly declined, and a smaller damage zone is created. The numerical predictions and discussions can help engineers to enhance their understandings on the influence of hydraulic conditions on structural vulnerability of concrete structures subjected to near‐field detonations or impacts.     

中主应力系数影响下的冻结砂土损伤本构模型

人工冻结法是饱水砂层开挖过程中常用的止水和临时支护方法,通过冻土损伤特性研究为冻土力学特性和冻结体稳定性分析奠定基础。为研究冻结砂土的损伤力学特性,在-5℃下进行了不同中主应力系数的冻结砂土三维室内试验。从冻土微元破坏服从Weibull随机分布的特点出发,将Drucker-Prager强度准则作为冻土微元统计分布变量,利用应变等价性假说,建立了三维应力状态下冻结砂土损伤本构模型;在此基础上,讨论模型参数F₀与m和中主应力系数的关系,对模型参数进行合理修正,建立中主应力系数影响下的冻结砂土损伤本构模型,并与试验结果进行对比。分析结果表明：参数F₀和m随着中主应力系数的增大呈现先减小后增大的趋势;参数F₀反映了冻结砂土的强度特性,参数m代表了冻结砂土的延性及脆性特征,考虑中主应力系数影响的冻结砂土损伤本构模型能很好地模拟冻结砂土应力-应变全过程曲线。研究成果为人工冻结法工程设计提供一定的理论依据。移动阅读     

On the use of effective stress in three-dimensional hydro-mechanical coupled model

In the last decades, a number of hydro-mechanical elastoplastic constitutive models for unsaturated soils have been proposed. Those models couple the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils, and take into account the effects of the degree of saturation on the stress–strain behaviour and the effects of deformation on the soil–water characteristic response with a simple reversible part for the hysteresis. In addition, the influence of the suction on the stress–strain behaviour is considered. However, until now, few models predict the stress–strain and soil–water characteristic responses of unsaturated soils in a fully three-dimensional Finite Element code. This paper presents the predictions of an unsaturated soil model in a Three-dimensional Framework, and develops a study on the effect of partial saturation on the stability of shallow foundation resting on unsaturated silty soil. Qualitative predictions of the constitutive model show that incorporating a special formulation for the effective stress into an elastoplastic coupled hydro-mechanical model opens a full range of possibilities in modelling unsaturated soil behaviour.     

中主应力对饱和松砂不排水单调剪切特性的影响

利用土工静力-动力液压-三轴扭转多功能剪切仪,针对相对密度为30 %的福建标准砂,在不排水条件下控制主应力方向、中主应力系数、平均主应力保持不变,进行了单调剪切试验。以此着重探讨了中主应力系数对相变有效内摩擦角、峰值有效内摩擦角及有效应力路径的影响。研究表明,中主应力系数对在不排水单调剪切条件下饱和松砂的强度参数具有显著的影响,而对有效应力路径及应力-应变关系发展模式影响较小。基于广义双剪强度准则,从理论上探讨了土的强度参数对于中主应力的依赖性,并与试验结果进行了对比。     

Dynamic response of a non-circular lined tunnel with visco-elastic imperfect interface in the saturated poroelastic medium

A semi-analytical method is proposed to investigate the dynamic response of a non-circular tunnel with visco-elastic imperfect interface in poroelastic medium. Biot’s dynamic theory is used to simulate the saturated poroelastic medium, and the governing equations are solved by reducing them into three Helmholtz equations that the potential functions satisfy. The visco-elastic interface model with elastic and viscosity coefficients is adopted to analyze the interface effect around the non-circular lined tunnel. The analytic solutions of displacements and stresses are expanded in terms of wave functions. Some numerical examples are provided to analyze the effect of visco-elastic interface on the dynamic stress around the tunnel.     

Unsaturated resilient behavior of a natural compacted sand

Granular materials are generally used in unbound layers of road pavement structures. The mechanical behavior of these materials is widely studied with repeated load triaxial tests (RLTT) in which the elastic response is defined as the resilient behavior. Usually observed under total stress conditions, the effect of pore pressure changes during loading are not usually included in design. Further, the unbound layers frequently exist under partially saturated conditions. The influence of the unsaturated state, i.e., the suction, on the mechanical behavior, of unbound granular materials for roads has not been sufficiently studied and is generally not taken into account in models used for these materials.