Strain accumulation in sand due to cyclic loading: drained triaxial tests

Our aim is the prediction of the accumulation of strain and/or stress under cyclic loading with many (thousands to millions) cycles and relatively small amplitudes. A high-cycle constitutive model is used for this purpose. Its formulas are based on numerous cyclic tests. This paper describes drained tests with triaxial compression and uniaxial stress cycles. The influence of the strain amplitude, the average stress, the density, the cyclic preloading history and the grain size distribution on the direction and the intensity of strain accumulation is discussed.     

Strain accumulation in sand due to cyclic loading: Drained cyclic tests with triaxial extension

This paper presents results of numerous drained cyclic tests with triaxial extension. The influence of the strain amplitude, the average stress and the number of load cycles on the accumulation rate was studied. A simple cyclic flow rule was observed. Most findings confirm a previous study with cyclic triaxial compression tests. The test results serve as the basis of an explicit accumulation model.     

Effects of silt loading on turbulence and sand transport

The transport of bed material and fluid turbulence are affected by many factors,including the fine sediment load being carried in a channel.Current research has focused on sand-sized particles introduced to gravel beds,while the effect of silt load on sand transport has received less attention. Experiments on the effects of silt load,in concentrations 0-26,900 mg l^-1,on sand transport were performed with a recirculating laboratory flume using three different sand bed configurations:ripples （Fr=0.24）,dunes（Fr=0.34）,and dunes（Fr=0.48）.Three Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters were arranged to measure flow and turbulence quantities simultaneously in one vertical.Sand transport did not change in a consistent manner with increasing silt load,increasing up to 4,000 mg l^-1 for dunes （Fr=0.48） and up to 2,000 mg l^-1 for dunes（Fr=0.34） and then declining to near the clear water case with increasing silt concentrations.Silt addition for the ripple case caused a relatively small change in sand transport,decreasing with added silt up to approximately 2,000 mg l^-1 and then increasing as silt went up to approximately 10,000 mg l^-1.Dunes（Fr=0.48） decreased in length and height as silt increased,while dunes（Fr=0.34） did not show a consistent trend.A clear trend of decreasing Reynolds stress with increasing silt concentration was observed in the ripple case,with a 33% reduction in near-bed Reynolds stress caused by an 8,900 mg l^-1 concentration of silt.     

波浪荷载作用下砂土变形特性的模拟试验研究

利用新研制的“土工静力-动力液压三轴-扭转多功能剪切仪”模拟波浪荷载作用，对福建标准砂进行了4组三轴一扭转耦合振动剪切试验，以研究海床砂土在波浪荷载作用下的变形特性及其对砂土初始密度和固结压力的依赖性。试验结果表明，应力-应变呈现出良好的双曲线关系，与等效线性模型理论相吻合；阻尼比和模量随应变幅值的变化规律均依赖于土体的初始密度和固结压力；归一化后的E／Emax-ε及G／Gmax-γ曲线对相对密度和固结压力仍具有明显的依赖性；但完全归一化后的E／Emax-ε/εr及G／Gmax-γ/γr的关系曲线则与固结压力无关。     

Analysis of repeated-load laboratory tests on buried plastic pipes in sand

This paper describes a laboratory model test carried out on high-density polyethylene (HDPE), small diameter pipes buried in trenches, which subjected to repeated loadings to simulate the vehicle loads. Deformation of the pipe was recorded at eight points on the circumference of the tested pipes to measure the radial deformations and detect cross-sectional pipe profiles. Also settlement of the soil surface during the test up to 1000 cycles of loadings was recorded, until its value become stable or the excessive settlement was happened. The parameters varied in the testing program include height of buried depth, relative density of the sand and intensity of stress on the soil surface. The influence of various repeated loads (with magnitude of 250, 400 and 550 kPa) at relative densities of 42%, 57% and 72% in different embedded depth of 1.5–3 times of pipe diameter were investigated. Based on the results, in medium and dense sand relative density, the pipe embedded in depth of 3.0D and 2.0D, respectively, mostly remained undamaged (the maximum value of VDS is less than 5%) and increased the safety of buried pipes under different magnitude of repeated loads. The records of the pipe deformation and settlement of the soil surface due to the repeated loads have been compared in different conditions. These values increase rapidly during the initial loading cycles by a rate decreasing significantly as the number of cycles increase. The influence of the first cycle was also found to be one of the main behavioral characteristics of buried pipes under repeated loads. The ratio of deformation of pipe at first cycle to last cycle changes from 0.60 to 0.85 in different of tests. Finally for the obtained results, a non-linear power model has been developed to estimate the vertical diametral strain of buried pipe and settlement of the soil surface based on the model test data. It should be noted that only one type of pipe and one type of sand are used in laboratory tests.     

循环荷载下饱和砂孔压发展模型研究

以武汉地铁四号线二期工程中饱和砂为研究对象,通过室内动三轴试验,研究饱和砂在不同干密度、固结比及动剪应力比下的孔隙水压力发展规律。研究表明,武汉饱和砂的孔压增长可以用一个负指数模型进行描述,模型拟合结果与试验数据的一致性好,说明该模型具有一定的实用性。     

Generalized densification law for dry sand subjected to dynamic loading

In this paper a generalization of the well known endochronic densification law for dry sand under dynamic loading is presented, taking into account the dependence of its parameters on some measured and calculated sand properties and the variation of these parameters with time. This new generalized law needs the calibration of only one numerical coefficient. For this purpose two sets of reported experimental data of dry sand under cyclic shear strain controlled tests have been used. For non-harmonic loading a new method to determine the equivalent number of cycles has been developed. Finally, the proposed law is implemented in a one-dimensional FEM code to simulate the behavior of a sand layer subjected to the San Fernando earthquake (February 9, 1971), in order to compare the computed results with previous researches and field observations.     

荷载大小对随机波与定次数波作用下土体变形关系的影响

通过砂土的一系列动三轴实验,研究不规则地震荷载作用下与定次数等幅荷载作用下土体变形间的关系,给出了地震荷载的大小对二者间关系的影响规律。结果表明:真实地震荷载下土的变形发展与等幅正弦荷载明显不同,应变发展时程的形态主要受地震动的形态控制;若采用以20周作为标准作用次数的等幅荷载代替不规则的地震荷载,修正真实地震应力下的残余变形,荷载大小对随机波与定次数波作用下土体变形间关系没有影响。     

Settlements of saturated clean sand deposits in shaking table tests

Shaking table tests were conducted on saturated clean Vietnam sand in the large biaxial laminar shear box (1880 mm×1880 mm×1520 mm) at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), Taiwan. The settlement of sand specimens was measured and evaluated during and after each shaking test. Without liquefaction, the settlement of sand caused by shaking is very small. Significant volume changes occur only when there is liquefaction of sand. The volumetric strain of liquefied sand was calculated according to the measured settlement and the thickness of liquefied sand in the specimen. Relations between volumetric strain after liquefaction and the relative density of saturated clean sand were developed for various shaking durations and earthquake magnitudes. They are not affected by the shaking amplitude, frequency, and direction (one- or multidirectional shaking).     

Shaking table tests on the lateral response of a pile buried in liquefied sand

This paper presents an experimental study on the lateral resistance of a pile subjected to liquefaction-induced lateral flow. To observe the soil surrounding the pile during liquefaction, it was modeled as a buried cylinder that corresponded to a sectional model of the prototype pile at a certain depth in the subsoil. In order to create a realistic stress condition in the model ground, the model was prepared in a sealed container and the overburden pressure was applied to the ground surface by a rubber pressure bag. The model pile was actuated back and forth through rods attached on each side by an electro-hydraulic actuator.This paper focuses on observing the deformation of the liquefied soil surrounding the pile when a large relative displacement between the pile and the soil is induced. The loading rate effect on the lateral resistance of the pile in the liquefied sand and the influence of the relative density are also investigated.Test results show that a larger resistance is mobilized as the loading rate becomes higher. When the loading rate is higher, the cylinder displacement required for the lateral resistance becomes smaller. It has been also observed that as the relative density of the soil increases, dilatancy of the soil in front of the pile also increases.     

Property estimation of free-field sand in 1-g shaking table tests

Experimental data taken from free-field soil in 1-g shaking table tests are valuable for seismic studies on soil-structure interaction. But the available data from medium-to large-scale shaking table tests were not abundant enough to cover a large variety of types and conditions of the soil. In the study, 1-g shaking table tests of a 3-m-height sand column were conducted to provide seismic experimental data about sand. The sand was directly collected in-situ, with the largest grain diameter bein...     

Uplift response of buried pipelines in saturated sand deposit under earthquake loading

Pipelines buried in saturated sand deposits, during earthquake loading could damage from resulting uplift due to excess pore water pressure generation. Several studies have been made to better understand the uplift mechanism and evaluate the effectiveness of mitigating techniques through experiment, but little numerical works have been done to assess the influence of soil properties and field conditions in pipeline floatation. Especially for previously buried pipelines, in order to set the priority for seismic retrofit, evaluating the risk of floatation in each region could be a concern. In this paper, effects of several parameters including dilatancy angle and density ratio of natural soil, diameter and burial depth of pipe, underground water table and thickness of the saturated soil layer on uplift of pipe have been investigated. Results show the prominent role of burial depth in pipe response and that there exits an optimum level for drop of water table to reduce floatation.     

Behavior of braced wall embedded in saturated liquefiable sand under seismic loading

It is well known that the generation of excess pore water pressure and/or liquefaction in foundation soils during an earthquake often cause structural failures.This paper describes the behavior of a small-scale braced wall embedded in saturated liquefiable sand under dynamic condition.Shake table tests are performed in the laboratory on embedded retaining walls with single bracing.The tests are conducted for different excavation depths and base motions.The influences of the peak magnitude of the ground motions and the excavation depth on the axial forces in the bracing,the lateral displacement and the bending moments in the braced walls are studied.The shake table tests are simulated numerically using FLAC 2D and the results are compared with the corresponding experimental results.The pore water pressures developed in the soil are found to influence the behavior of the braced wall structures during a dynamic event.It is found that the excess pore water pressure development in the soil below the excavation is higher compared to the soil beside the walls.Thus,the soil below the excavation level is more susceptible to the liquefaction compared to the soil beside the walls.     

南京片状细砂不排水循环三轴试验的数值仿真

基于软件ABAQUS的二次开发平台,引入Byrne修正的Martin和Finn孔压应变模型,并与土体动力黏塑性记忆型嵌套面模型相结合,通过编制Fortran子程序,嵌入到软件ABAQUS中,实现了软件ABAQUS的有效应力算法,对南京片状细砂土的不排水循环三轴试验进行三维数值仿真。通过与循环三轴试验结果的比较,发现数值模拟结果基本上能再现南京片状细砂的不排水循环特性,如不排水循环三轴试验的动应力?应变关系、应变累积、应变软化等;且数值仿真结果较好地反映了试验结果的振动孔压发展特征。研究的意义在于理想三维数值模拟试验能够突破常规的室内土工试验能力及其局限性,这为今后饱和砂土不排水循环特性的宏、细观机理的进一步研究奠定了基础。     

Multi-directional transmitting boundaries for steady-state SH waves

The incident steady-state SH waves in the neighbourhood of a boundary node point are first expanded in terms of a few plane waves at different incident angles, the motion of the boundary point is then related to those of its adjacent node points to form the multi-directional transmitting boundary conditions, which reduce reflections from the boundary over the entire range of incident angles. This feature of the boundaries is demonstrated by finite element computations of SH motions of a layer fixed at its base, in which the incident wave may travel parallel to the boundary as the frequency of excitation approaches one of the natural frequencies of the system.     

Multi-directional wave spectra from marine X-band radar

The signal measured by heave–pitch–roll directional wave buoys yields the first four coefficients of a Fourier series. Data adaptive methods must be employed to estimate a directional wave spectrum. Marine X-band radars (MRs) have the advantage over buoys that they can measure “model-free” two-dimensional (2D) wave spectra. This study presents the first comprehensive validation of MR-derived multi-directional wave characteristics. It is based on wave data from the 2010 Impact of Typhoons on the Ocean in the Pacific (ITOP) experiment in the Philippine Sea, namely MR measurements from R/V Roger Revelle, Extreme Air–Sea Interaction (EASI) buoy measurements, as well as WAVEWATCH-III (WW3) modeling results. Buoy measurements of mean direction and spreading as function of frequency, which do not require data adaptive methods, are used to validate the WW3 wave spectra. An advanced MR wave retrieval technique is introduced that addresses various shortcomings of existing methods. Spectral partitioning techniques, applied to MR and WW3 results, reveal that multimodal seas are frequently present. Both data sets are in excellent agreement, tracking the evolution of up to 4 simultaneous wave systems over extended time periods. This study demonstrates MR’s and WW3’s strength at measuring and predicting 2D wave spectra in swell-dominated seas.     

Control nodes based loading method: A versatile approach for multi-degree-of-freedom loading in quasi-static tests and hybrid simulations

In quasi-static and hybrid tests, accurate reproduction of structural responses often requires multi-degree-of-freedom (multi-DOF) loading methods. A successful loading method should not only be used on specific specimens for research purposes, but also be applicable to all possible types of specimen and testing setups for engineering purposes. However, for different specimens, the concerned nodes and DOFs differ in size, leading to non-uniform kinematic transformation between the Cartesian system and the actuators/transducers coordinate systems. While for different testing setups, the type of loading targets on each DOF varies, they can be displacement or force. These diversities together make it difficult to achieve versatility in applying loading methods. To address this challenge, a control nodes based loading method was proposed. This method was constructed based on the viewpoint that any specimen can be treated as a combination of several control nodes, and the loading loop should be constructed on each control node. In this method, at first, the loading targets, actuators and external transducers were assigned to each control node accordingly. Then, the loading loops were constructed based on each control node instead of the entire specimen DOFs, which is capable of achieving uniform kinematic transformation and also convenient to apply redundant controlling. Finally, all the control nodes were assembled in one closed loop to support mixed force-displacement loading considering the coupling of multiple DOFs. Hybrid tests and quasi-static tests of a full-scale steel frame were carried out to demonstrate the accuracy and feasibility of the proposed loading method.     

复杂应力条件下饱和松砂孔隙水压力增长特性的试验研究

针对福建标准砂D1=30％,在三向非均等固结条件下,利用新研制的土工静力一动力液压三轴一扭转多功能剪切仪针对多种不同初始主应力变化方式进行了循环扭剪试验,讨论了初始主应力方向变化等初始固结条件对饱和松砂不排水条件下孔隙水压力变化规律的影响,对循环扭剪过程中主应力方向与中主应力系数的变化进行了分析,给出了孔隙水压力随循环次数的变化规律。结果表明：分别以最大孔隙水压力和液化破坏时循环次数归一化后的孔隙水压力比和循环次数比之间的关系依赖于循环剪应力幅值和初始主应力方向。而归一化后的孔隙水压力比与广义剪应变之间的关系和循环剪应力幅值、初始主应力方向无关,可以统一地采用双曲线模式表达,其中的两个待定参数依赖于初始主应力方向。     

Pore water pressure increment model for saturated Nanjing fine sand subject to cyclic loading

Three groups of dynamic triaxial tests were performed for saturated Nanjing fine sand subjected to uniform cyclic loading. The tested curves of the excess pore water pressure (EPWP) ratio variation with the ratio of the number of cycles are provided. The concept of the EPWP increment ratio is introduced and two new concepts of the effective dynamic shear stress ratio and the log decrement of effective stress are defined. It is found that the development of the EPWP increment ratio can be divided into three stages: descending, stable and ascending. Furthermore, at the stable and ascending stages, a satisfactory linear relationship is obtained between the accumulative EPWP increment ratio and natural logarithm of the effective dynamic shear stress ratio. Accordingly, the EPWP increment ratio at the number of cycles N has been deduced that is proportional to the log decrement of effective stress at the cycle number N-1, but is independent of the cyclic stress amplitude. Based on the analysis, a new EPWP increment model for saturated Nanjing fine sand is developed from tested data fitting, which provides a better prediction of the curves of EPWP generation, the number of cycles required for initial liquefaction and the liquefaction resistance.     

Cyclic shearing and liquefaction of soil under irregular loading: an incremental model for the dynamic earthquake-induced deformation

The paper presents a mathematical model for the deformation of soil under irregular cyclic loading in the simple-shear conditions. The model includes the possible change in the effective pressure in saturated soil due to the cyclic shearing, the reciprocal influence of the effective pressure on the response of the soil to the shear loading, and the pore pressure dissipation due to the seepage of the pore fluid. The hysteresis curves for the strain–stress relationship are constructed in such a way that they produce both the required backbone curve and the required damping ratio as functions of the strain amplitude. At the same time, the approach enables the constitutive functions involved in the model to be specified in various ways depending on the soil under study. The constitutive functions can be calibrated independently of each other from the conventional cyclic shear tests. The constitutive model is incorporated in the boundary value problem for the dynamic site response analysis of level ground. A numerical solution is presented for the dynamic deformation and liquefaction of soil at the Port Island site during the 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake.