Evaluation of deformation parameter for deep excavation in sand through case histories

This study back analyzed deformation parameters of in situ sand through two excavation case histories in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Two main features are highlighted; deformation prediction based on monitoring data at the first excavation stage and in situ Young’s modulus evaluation for sand considering monitoring data at the overall excavation stages. The former tends to establish a reliable method to predict the wall deflection at the critical stage based on the data at the first stage and the latter to enrich the limited database of Young’s modulus correlation for sand, specifically applicable for deep excavations analysis. The two constitutive models, linear elastic perfectly plastic and non-linear stress–strain constitutive models, were selected. The stiffness parameters of the models were discretely distributed along the subdivided soil body mesh to reflect the effect of overburden pressure on the in situ soil. In addition, relationship between Standard Penetration Test value (SPT-N value) and Young’s modulus and relationships for estimating the in situ Young’s modulus of the Kaohsiung sand as a function of depth were evaluated. The results greatly enhanced a framework for estimating the in situ Young’s modulus of sand.     

三轴试验中砂土刚度的统计和回归分析及应用

砂土的密度和应力状态对其刚度有很大的影响。计算岩土工程中许多硬化土体模型都是基于邓肯−张模型得出的,没有考虑到密度对砂土刚度的影响。而在极致密或松散的砂土的三轴压缩过程中,剪切应变的上升会引起密度的显著变化。为了评估粒径分布、密度及应力状态对砂土刚度的影响,使用统计和回归方法对来自莫斯科和明斯克的15个建筑工地的962个土壤样本的各向同性三轴试验数据进行分析。基于密度和应力状态参数的影响,提出了评估不同粒径砂土刚度的经验方程。对来自欧洲、印度和美国的冲积土和陆地土试验的比较分析表明,其砂土的刚度与莫斯科和明斯克的砂土在同一范围。所提出的方程可用于初步估计有限元法计算里的刚度参数,也可应用于岩土工程模型（允许考虑刚度的变化、水平和垂直分布）。此外,还提出了基于邓肯−张模型的半经验关系。当密度的变化影响土的刚度时,该半经验关系可为受到大变形和（或）复杂加载路径影响的松散和非常致密的砂土提供更为真实的结果。一般来说,岩土工程师可将获得的结果应用于更为复杂的土体模型设计中。     

Modelling of shear stiffness of unsaturated fine grained soils at very small strains

The shear modulus at very small strains (less than 0.001%) is an important parameter in the design of geotechnical structures subjected to static and cyclic loadings. Although numerous soil models are available for predicting shear modulus of saturated and dry soils, only a few ones can predict shear stiffness at very small strains of unsaturated soils correctly. In this study, a few unsaturated soil models are evaluated critically and compared with a newly developed model. This newly proposed model is verified by using measured shear modulus at very small strains for three different low plasticity fine grained soils available in the literature. It is found that this new model can predict shear modulus at very small strain resulting from an increase and a decrease in mean net stress at constant matric suction for low plasticity fine grained soils. Moreover, this model is able to give a reasonably good prediction on shear stiffness at very small strain during wetting of a collapsible unsaturated soil. In addition, the newly proposed model is illustrated to capture a consistent trend with experimental data of shear stiffness at very small strain for non-collapsible soils obtained during drying–wetting cycles. This evaluation revealed that the newly proposed model has better predictive capabilities than some earlier formulations of the same simplicity. In addition, the proposed model with fewer parameters has similar predictive capability as compared with a more complex model.     

Measurement of small strain behavior of a local soil by fiber Bragg grating-based local displacement transducers

The small strain stiffness of soils has a significant role in geotechnical design and analysis. In laboratory, the small strain behavior is examined by different techniques including the bender element method for measuring the maximum shear modulus and local displacement transducer (LDT) for measuring Young’s modulus at small strains. However, most commonly used LDTs are based on electrical components and have limitations, such as electromagnetic interference and possibility of short circuit in the presence of water. To overcome these limitations, in the present study, a conventional triaxial apparatus has been modified to measure and study the stress–strain behavior of soils at small strains. The major modifications include addition of piezoceramic sensors (bender elements) for measuring the maximum shear modulus and fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor-based local displacement transducers (FBG–LDTs) for measuring the stress–strain behavior at small strains. The modified triaxial apparatus has been used to conduct several tests on a completely decomposed granite soil from a site in Hong Kong. The stress–strain behaviors measured by the newly developed FBG–LDTs and an external displacement transducer are compared and discussed. In particular, the shear modulus values obtained using the bender elements, FBG–LTDs, and the external displacement transducer are also compared, discussed, and evaluated. The comparison and assessment show that the FBG–LTDs are more suitable for measuring the small strain behavior of soils.     

Ground Investigations for Changi East Reclamation Projects

Geotechnical ground investigation is important in all construction works particularly, land reclamation projects. The Changi East reclamation project is a mega project that involves creation of land space as large as 3,000 hectares in multiple phases between 1991 and 2005. Ground investigation plays a critical role in the Changi project which involved substantial amount of ground improvement works after reclamation by sand filling. One important aspect of the investigation was to evaluate the geotechnical characteristics of the underlying compressible soils beneath the original seabed for the selection of suitable methods of ground improvement. The other important aspect of the investigation was to characterize and verify the compactness of the reclaimed sand fill. Many types of in situ tests were extensively used in the project. The field vane shear test provides correlations between the undrained shear strength and depth for the upper and the lower marine clay strata in the Northern part and the Southern Part of the reclaimed site. Combined with laboratory undrained shear strength tests, the field vane strength profiles allow the derivation of the undrained shear strength over effective stress ratios for the upper and the lower marine clays. In addition, results from three other in situ tests, the piezocone cone penetration test, the flat dilatometer test, and the self boring pressuremeter test provided useful verification of these correlations. A field-performance based method of assessing degree of consolidation in the underlying clay was developed by combining field monitoring, laboratory testing and conventional as well as specialized in situ testing. An effective use of in situ testing methods for assessment, the outcome of ground improvement and for fill quality control in the densification of granular soils is illustrated with field observation data collected at the project site.     

Bearing Capacity of a Model Scale Footing on Crude Oil-Contaminated Sand

Onshore and offshore oil spills contaminate soil. In addition to environmental concerns for ground water pollution and other possible effects, the geotechnical properties of the contaminated soil such as the shear strength and the hydraulic conductivity are also altered. This note is a report of research in progress to evaluate the variation of the shear strength of a sand contaminated by a crude oil and thus the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow foundations. The limited results of the tests reported here relate to only one type of sand and one crude oil. The oil content was varied from zero to 4.2%. Results of direct shear tests for determining the soil friction angle are given. Along with these, laboratory model test results for the ultimate bearing capacity of a surface strip foundation supported by crude oil-contaminated sand are also presented. Based on these test results, the effect of oil contamination in drastically reducing the bearing capacity is discussed.     

初始应力条件对松砂动力变形特性影响的试验研究

实际建筑物地基或土坡中土体在地震或波浪等复杂动力荷载作用前往往处于复杂的初始应力状态,而常规的土工动力试验通常无法再现这种复杂固结应力条件下土的动力特性。利用最新研制开发的土工静力-动力液压三轴-扭转多功能剪切仪,针对福建标准砂（ %）,进行了循环扭剪试验,探讨了初始主应力方向角 和初始偏应力比 等初始固结条件对松砂动剪切模量G和阻尼比 等动力变形特性的影响。     

材料状态对干砂小应变特性的影响

利用注能虚拟质量(EIVM)共振柱系统进行了干砂小应变特性试验,研究了有效平均正应力、土样密度、剪应变幅值以及荷载往复次数对剪切模量和阻尼比的影响。试验结果表明,剪切模量随有效平均正应力与土样密度的增加而增加,而阻尼比的变化规律则与之相反,并且有效平均正应力对干砂小应变特性的影响程度比土样密度的影响程度大得多;随着剪应变的增加,剪切模量越来越小,而阻尼比越来越大;荷载往复次数对剪切模量基本没有影响,而对阻尼比有较大影响。     

Energy dissipation in engineered sand of large damping ratio

Many geotechnical problems such as seismic resistant designs and machine vibrations require the installation of dampers or isolators to control the amplitude of vibrations. Engineered fills designed with increased capability of dissipating energy can provide a more economical approach to control excessive vibrations. This study presents a novel technique to increase the damping ratio of sand without affecting its stiffness and shear strength. The increase in damping ratio is evaluated by performing resonant column tests on the engineered sand. The damping ratio of the sand is increased by adding a controlled amount of viscoelastic material to the voids. The resonant column tests indicate that the damping ratio of the sand can be increased manifold without affecting the shear modulus. The micromechanical evaluation of the results shows a good correlation between the particle surface area in contact with the pore-mixture and the damping ratio of the sand. The suitability of engineered sand as foundation material is also evaluated by performing direct shear tests. The direct shear tests on mixtures indicate similar or better shear strength parameters compared to pure sand.     

上海典型黏土小应变剪切模量现场和室内试验研究

土体小应变剪切模量在基坑、隧道等地下工程的计算分析中有着重要作用,越来越受到人们的关注。虽然上海地区地下工程项目的建设规模不断扩大,但关于上海典型黏土层的小应变剪切模量的研究相对较少。分别采用现场波速测试和室内弯曲元试验对上海典型黏土层的初始剪切模量进行了研究。试验结果表明：在减小土样扰动、保持土样应力状态与原位土体等效的基础上,弯曲元试验得到的初始剪切模量与现场波速测试相一致;考虑了土体应力状态和孔隙比的经验公式能够合理地描述上海典型黏土层初始剪切模量的变化规律,并给出了各土层的经验参数。试验结果可为上海地区地下工程计算分析中小应变剪切模量的估算提供参考。     

A bounding surface model for saturated and unsaturated soil-structure interfaces

In many geotechnical systems, such as reinforced slopes and embankments, soil-structure interfaces are often unsaturated. Shear behaviour of unsaturated interfaces is strongly dependent on their matric suctions, as revealed by the results of extensive laboratory tests. So far, constitutive models for unsaturated interfaces are very limited in the literature. This paper reports a new bounding surface model for saturated and unsaturated interfaces. New formulations were developed to incorporate suction effects on the flow rule and plastic modulus. To examine the capability of the proposed model, it was applied to simulate suction- and stress-controlled direct shear tests on unsaturated soil–cement, soil–steel and soil–geotextile interfaces. Measured and computed results are well matched, demonstrating that the proposed model can well capture key features of the shear behaviour of unsaturated interfaces, including suction-dependent dilatancy, stress–strain relation and peak and critical state shear strengths.     

基于硬化土模型的小应变本构模型研究

大量的工程现场监测结果表明,城市中强支护隧道施工过程中其周围大部分土体仍处于小应变状态,小应变情况下土体具有显著的高模量和非线性特性。土体小应变刚度特征和应力路径相关性是准确分析土与隧道相互作用的重要因素。虽然采用双刚度的硬化土模型(hardening soil model)能够基本反映应力路径的影响,但其卸载再加载模量并没有与应力-应变水平相关,不能模拟小应变情况下土体模量的高度非线性。为此,结合小应变刚度理论对硬化土模型的卸载再加载模量进行了改进,使之与应力-应变水平相关,并且考虑了土体卸载抗剪强度指标的变化以及侧向卸荷应力路径下不同的模量。通过与土体的应力路径试验结果进行对比,证明了模型的合理性。     

碎石桩复合地基桩体减震作用研究

地震引起的土体液化和地基失效对岩土工程师而言仍是一个热点问题。地震液化及地基变形可以采用多种地基加固方法防治,碎石桩技术是常用方法之一。碎石桩复合地基抗液化效用主要是增加桩周土体的密度、桩体的排水以及桩体分担地震水平剪应力作用(桩体减震作用)。目前,以抗液化为主的碎石桩复合地基的设计以及效果评价方法仍只考虑加密作用。首先通过3个模型(1个饱和砂土地基模型、2个碎石桩复合地基模型)的振动台试验研究抗液化碎石桩的减震作用。然后以试验记录的模型动力反应以及建立的理论模型为基础,分析碎石桩复合地基的桩体减震作用。试验及理论分析结果表明,复合地基中的碎石桩可以明显地降低作用在桩间可液化土上的地震剪应力。     

Effects of geologic time on the initial stiffness of clays

The paper addresses the effect of geologic aging on the initial stiffness of clays through the analysis of in situ shear stiffness data obtained using a seismic cone penetrometer at three sites in Boston blue clay (BBC), a 12,000–14,000-year old post-glacial marine clay deposit. The effects of this aging period are estimated using as reference for the unaged behavior the results of over 90 triaxial shear phases conducted on specimens of resedimented Boston blue clay (RBBC), a soil prepared in the laboratory from natural BBC, and tested after 1 day of laboratory aging.At the same OCR and effective stress level, the natural clay displays an initial stiffness, which on the average, is approximately 50% greater than that of the laboratory resedimented clay. Based on the estimated age of the natural deposit, this corresponds to an increase of the stiffness per log cycle of time of 7%. This value of the aging coefficient, N_G, is at the low end of values presented in the literature for clays, which are however all based on shorter aging durations (days to weeks).     

轻量砂变形及强度特性三轴试验研究

通过三轴试验系统研究了新型土工材料--轻量砂的变形及强度特性。结果表明,不同的配比、龄期使轻量砂具有不同的原生结构强度,围压使不同原生结构强度的土样处于剪胀或剪缩状态,导致发生应变硬化、应变软化以及相应状态下孔压的3种对应形态变化。变形模量随EPS（发泡聚苯乙烯）球粒掺入比的增大而线性减小,随水泥掺入比、龄期增大而线性增大,相同配比的土样变形模量与围压关系不大;三轴抗压强度随EPS球粒掺入比增大而呈负指数关系减小,随水泥掺入比、龄期、围压增大而线性增大,存在水泥掺入比阀值;土骨架转换效应对于土样强度的影响很大,造成了土体单轴、三轴抗压强度分带,高水泥掺入比能够大大弱化EPS颗粒的土骨架效应。结合前人成果,系统地研究了轻量砂密度、无侧限抗压强度的影响因素,引入材料学中比强的概念,提出了单价比强图结合配方公式的方法,对轻量土砂进行配方优化。分析了轻量土砂应力-应变关系转型问题,提出采用无侧限抗压强度来表征不同配比、龄期轻量土砂的原生结构强度。通过试验与数理统计,建立临界围压与原生结构强度的关系,为数值模拟计算与建立本构模型奠定了基础。     

Liquefaction and cyclic mobility model for saturated granular media

A new constitutive law for the behaviour of undrained sand subjected to dynamic loading is presented. The proposed model works for small and large strain ranges and incorporates contractive and dilative properties of the sand into the unified numerical scheme. These features allow to correctly predict liquefaction and cyclic mobility phenomena for different initial relative densities of the soil. The model has been calibrated as an element test, by using cyclic simple shear data reported in the literature. For the contractive sand behaviour a well‐known endochronic densification model has been used, whereas a plastic model with a new non‐associative flow rule is applied when the sand tends to dilate. Both dilatancy and flow rule are based on a new state parameter, associated to the stiffness degradation of the material as the shaking goes on. Also, the function that represents the rearrangement memory of the soil takes a zero value when the material dilates, in order to easily model the change in the internal structure. Proceeding along this kind of approach, liquefaction and cyclic mobility are modelled with the same constitutive law, within the framework of a bi‐dimensional FEM coupled algorithm developed in the paper. For calibration purposes, the behaviour of the soil in a cyclic simple shear test has been simulated, in order to estimate the influence of permeability, frequency of loading, and homogeneity of the shear stress field on the laboratory data. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Micro-mechanical analysis of soil–structure interface behavior under constant normal stiffness condition with DEM

The mechanical behavior at soil–structure interface (SSI) has a crucial influence on the safety and stability of geotechnical structures. However, the behavior of SSI under constant normal stiffness condition from micro- to macro-scale receives little attention. In this study, the frictional characteristics of SSI and the associated displacement localization under constant normal stiffness condition are investigated at both macro- and microscales by simulating a series of interface shear tests with discrete element method. The algorithm to achieve a constant normal stiffness is first developed. The macroscopic mechanical response of the interface shear tests with both loose and dense specimens at various normal stiffness is discussed in terms of shear stress, normal stress, vertical displacement, horizontal displacement and stress ratio. Then, the microscopic behaviors and properties, including shear zone formation, localized void ratio, coordination number, force chains and soil fabric, are investigated. The effect of normal stiffness is thus clarified at both macro- and microscales.

     

三明治形加筋土筋-土界面动力剪切特性

三明治形加筋土是一种在黏土中加入加筋砂层形成的混合填料形式的新型加筋土。为了研究不同条件下三明治形加筋土筋-土界面的动力剪切特性,采用大型直剪仪对三明治形加筋土进行了一系列循环剪切试验,研究了不同薄砂层厚度、循环剪切幅值和竖向应力对界面剪切特性的影响。试验结果表明：筋-土界面的剪应力峰值随着循环次数的增加而增加,循环周次为10时,薄砂层厚度为5、6、7、8、9 mm的条件下,筋-土界面的剪应力峰值分别为24.84、27.4、27.94、26.33、24.68 kPa,表明薄砂层厚度为7 mm时,筋-土界面在循环剪切阶段的峰值剪应力最大;剪切幅值越大,界面循环剪切的最终剪缩量越大,同一循环次数对应的剪切刚度和阻尼比越小;在不同竖向应力下,界面在循环剪切过程中都发生了循环剪切硬化现象,循环周次为10时,竖向应力为30、60、90 kPa的条件下,筋-土界面的剪应力峰值分别为20.4、25.14、32.96 kPa,表明剪应力峰值随竖向应力的增大而增大,同一循环次数对应的剪切刚度也随竖向应力的增大而增大。     

孔隙比对砂类土抗剪强度影响的定量分析

砂类土的密实程度是影响其抗剪强度的重要指标,然而已有研究并没有直观给出砂类土抗剪强度随孔隙比变化的定量规律。控制砂类土的初始孔隙比得到土体所需的抗剪强度,这在土工相似模型试验中具有一定的应用前景。基于砂土的临界状态理论,本文建立了砂类土抗剪强度与孔隙比关系的理论表达式。针对尾矿库现场取回的铜、钨尾砂开展了直剪试验和固结试验,并利用所推导的理论表达式对尾砂在不同状态时的抗剪强度进行了分析。结果表明,随着孔隙比的增加,砂类土的抗剪强度非线性减小,孔隙比越大时抗剪强度减小的幅度越平缓。试验结果证实砂类土抗剪强度与孔隙比关系的理论表达式能够合理描述尾砂在不同孔隙比下的抗剪强度。     

Application of the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) for determination of the engineering parameters of sandy soils

Determination of the in situ engineering properties of foundation materials has always been a challenge for geotechnical engineers and, thus, several methods have been developed so far. Dynamic Cone Penetration (DCP) test is one of the most versatile amongst them. In the present research, a light weight simple DCP device was developed and used for evaluation of the engineering properties of sandy soils in laboratory conditions. The device consisted of an 8-kg hammer that drops over a height of 575 mm, and drives a 60° cone tip with 20 mm base diameter into the ground. To control the validation of the results, laboratory direct shear and plate load tests were used as reference tests. The soil sample was a poorly graded sandy soil (SP) taken from alluvial deposits of the Tehran plain. All DCP tests and PLTs were undertaken on compacted soil in a mould with 700 mm diameter and 700 mm height. Based on the results of the experiments, the relationships between Dynamic Penetration Index (DPI), relative density (D_r), modulus of elasticity (E), shear modulus (G), modulus of subgrade reaction (K_S), and the friction angle of the soil were obtained with a high coefficient of determination (> 90%). The repeatability of the test results was also evaluated by calculating the coefficient of variations (C_v), which was less than 30% for all tests.