Influences of overburden pressure and soil dilation on soil nail pull-out resistance

Soil nailing is the most popular technique for stabilizing newly formed and existing sub-standard slopes in Hong Kong because of its economic and technical advantages. The nail–soil interface shear resistance is an important parameter in design of soil nailed structures. A three-dimensional finite element model was established and used for simulating soil nail pull-out tests. The finite element model was verified by comparing simulated results with measured data. The agreement between the experimental and simulated results in terms of both average pull-out shear stress and stress variation was very good. Using this finite element model, a parametric study was carried out to study the influences of the overburden pressure and soil dilation angle on the soil nail pull-out resistance. The simulated peak pull-out resistance was not directly related to the overburden pressure, which was coincident with the observations in laboratory pull-out tests. The simulated pull-out resistance increased significantly with the increase in dilation angle of the shearing zone. This analysis indicated that the constrained dilatancy of the nail–soil interface and the soil surrounding the nail contributed a lot to the development of peak pull-out resistance.     

Bearing capacity of strip and circular footings in sand using finite elements

Design of shallow foundations relies on bearing capacity values calculated using procedures that are based in part on solutions obtained using the method of characteristics, which assumes a soil following an associated flow rule. In this paper, we use the finite element method to determine the vertical bearing capacity of strip and circular footings resting on a sand layer. Analyses were performed using an elastic–perfectly plastic Mohr–Coulomb constitutive model. To investigate the effect of dilatancy angle on the footing bearing capacity, two series of analyses were performed, one using an associated flow rule and one using a non-associated flow rule. The study focuses on the values of the bearing capacity factors N_q and N_γ and of the shape factors s_q and s_γ for circular footings. Relationships for these factors that are valid for realistic pairs of friction angle and dilatancy angle values are also proposed.     

Seismic Bearing Capacity of Shallow Strip Footing with Coulomb Failure Mechanism using Limit Equilibrium Method

In this paper, an effort is made to evaluate the seismic bearing capacity of shallow strip footing resting on c–ф soil. The formulation is developed to get a single coefficient of bearing capacity for simultaneous resistance of weight, surcharge and cohesion. Limit equilibrium method in Pseudo-static approach with Coulomb mechanism is applied here to evaluate the seismic bearing capacity. The seismic bearing capacity of footing (q_uE) is expressed in terms of single coefficient N_γE. The effect of various parameters viz. angle of internal friction of soil (ф), angle of wall friction (δ), cohesion (c), ratio of depth to width of footing (d_f/B₀), seismic acceleration (k_h, k_v) are studied on the variation of seismic bearing capacity co-efficients.     

Bearing capacity of foundations on slopes

By applying the lower bound finite element limit analysis in conjunction with non-linear optimisation, the bearing capacity factors, N_c, N_q and N_γ, due to the components of cohesion, surcharge and unit weight, respectively, have been estimated for a horizontal strip footing placed along a sloping ground surface. The variation of N_c, N_q and N_γ with changes in slope angle (β) for different soil friction angle (φ) have been computed for smooth as well as rough strip footings. The analysis reveals that along a sloping ground surface, in addition to N_γ, the factors N_c and N_q also vary considerably with changes in footing roughness. Compared to the smooth footing, the extent of the plastic zone around the footing becomes greater for the rough footing. The results obtained from the analysis are found to compare well with those previously reported in literature.     

Piles shaft capacity from CPT and CPTu data by polynomial neural networks and genetic algorithms

Cone penetration test (CPT) is one of the most common in situ tests which is used for pile design because it can be realized as a model pile. The measured cone resistance (q_c) and sleeve friction (f_s) usually are employed for estimation of pile unit toe and shaft resistances, respectively. Thirty three pile case histories have been compiled including static loading tests performed in uplift, or in push with separation of shaft and toe resistances at sites which comprise CPT or CPTu sounding. Group method of data handling (GMDH) type neural networks optimized using genetic algorithms (GAs) are used to model the effects of effective cone point resistance (q_E) and cone sleeve friction (f_s) as input parameters on pile unit shaft resistance, applying some experimentally obtained training and test data. Sensitivity analysis of the obtained model has been carried out to study the influence of input parameters on model output. Some graphs have been derived from sensitivity analysis to estimate pile unit shaft resistance based on q_E and f_s. The performance of the proposed method has been compared with the other CPT and CPTu direct methods and referenced to measured piles shaft capacity. The results demonstrate that appreciable improvement in prediction of pile shaft capacity has been achieved.     

Bearing capacity computation for a ring foundation using the stress characteristics method

The stress characteristics method (SCM) has been used to compute the bearing capacity of smooth and rough ring foundations. Two different failure mechanisms for a smooth footing, and four different mechanisms for a rough footing have been considered. For a rough base, a curvilinear non-plastic wedge has been employed below the footing. The analysis incorporates the stress singularities at the inner as well as outer edges of the ring footing. Bearing capacity factors, N_c, N_q and N_γ are presented as a function of soil internal friction angle (ϕ) and the ratio (r_i/r_o) of inner to outer radii of the footing.     

Influence of random heterogeneity of the friction angle on bearing capacity factor Nγ

ABSTRACT

Probabilistic methods in geotechnical engineering have received a lot of attention during the last decade and different methodologies are used to capture the inherent variability of soil in different geotechnical engineering problems. In this paper, numerical simulations are conducted to obtain the bearing capacity factor, N_γ, for a purely frictional heterogenous soil where the friction angle is modelled as randomly distributed throughout the domain and the effect of its spatial variability on N_γ is investigated. A finite element method, based on the upper bound limit analysis was combined with random field theory and linear programming to develop a probabilistic analysis. Monte Carlo simulations were performed and the effect of the variability of the friction angle defined by statistical parameters on the bearing capacity factor was investigated. Results show that the mean bearing capacity factor N_γ of a footing on a spatially variable cohesionless soil is generally higher than the deterministic N_γ obtained from a constant mean value. Increasing the heterogeneity of the friction angle by an increase in the coefficient of variation generally increases this deviation. This can be explained by the nonlinearity of the relationship between N_γ and the friction angle.     

Bearing capacity of a strip foundation on a sand layer overlying a smooth rigid stratum

The effect of a smooth rigid stratum, located beneath a dense sand layer, on the bearing capacity and settlement of surface and shallow strip footings is investigated using an advanced experimental model. A theoretical analysis is presented for the bearing capacity of surface footings. The results indicate that the bearing capacity reaches a minimum value at a specific sand-layer thickness. Any increase in the layer thickness above this value causes an increase in the bearing capacity up to that corresponding to a continuous media.Notation H= thickness of the sand layer - B= foundation width - N _q and N = bearing capacity factors for a semi-infinite layer - N _qs and N _s= bearing capacity factors for a finite layer - H _o /B= limiting depth - D _r= relative density - = angle of soil internal friction - M= model width - D= depth of surcharge - q= bearing stress, pressure applied on the footing - q _u= bearing capacity - = unit weight of sand     

带加强肋单向土工格栅的拉拔试验

在水平-垂直加筋体系研究的基础上,对单向土工格栅设置了加强肋,使其具备立体加筋效果。通过大量的拉拔试验,研究了带加强肋土工格栅加筋的筋-土界面特性。通过对汇总得到的36组拉拔试验数据进行分析,探讨了肋间距与肋厚对极限拉拔阻力的影响情况。试验结果表明：在相同法向应力作用下,带加强肋土工格栅的极限拉拔阻力明显高于普通土工格栅,其极限拉拔阻力随着加强肋肋厚的增加而显著增加,并随着加强肋肋距的增加而逐渐减小。在试验基础上,进一步分析了带加强肋土工格栅与砂土的相互作用机制,探讨了极限拉拔阻力的影响因素,建立了拉拔阻力理论公式,并将试验结果与理论值比较,二者基本吻合。     

Failure modes and bearing capacity of strip footings on soft ground reinforced by floating stone columns

This study evaluates the failure modes and the bearing capacity of soft ground reinforced by a group of floating stone columns. A finite difference method was adopted to analyze the performance of reinforced ground under strip footings subjected to a vertical load. The investigation was carried out by varying the aspect ratio of the reinforced zone, the area replacement ratio, and the surface surcharge. General shear failure of the reinforced ground was investigated numerically without the surcharge. The results show the existence of an effective length of the columns for the bearing capacity factors N _c and N _γ. When certain surcharge was applied, the failure mode of the reinforced ground changed from the general shear failure to the block failure. The aspect ratio of the reinforced zone and the area replacement ratio also contributed to this failure mode transition. A counterintuitive trend of the bearing capacity factor N _q can be justified with a shift in the critical failure mode. An upper-bound limit method based on the general shear failure mode was presented, and the results agree well with those of the previous studies of reinforced ground. Equivalent properties based on the area-weighted average of the stone columns and clay parameters were used to convert the individual column model to an equivalent area model. The numerical model produced reasonable equivalent properties. Finally, a theoretical method based on the comparison of the analytical equations for different failure modes was developed for engineering design. Good agreement was found between the theoretical and numerical results for the critical failure mode and its corresponding bearing capacity factors.     

Performance of a compaction-grouted soil nail in laboratory tests

This study proposed a new soil nail known as the compaction-grouted soil nail, and a physical model was established to investigate its pull-out behaviour with different grouting pressures. The study on scale effect of the physical model was performed subsequently via numerical modelling. Additionally, interface shear tests were performed using the same boundary conditions as the physical model test. The strength parameters obtained were used to estimate the pull-out resistance of a conventional soil nail. The merits of these two soil nail types were compared based on their pull-out resistances. The physical model test results showed that the pull-out resistance of the compaction-grouted soil nail increases with increasing grouting pressure. In addition, the pull-out resistance exhibits hardening behaviour without a yield point, indicating that the compaction-grouted soil nail enables soils to remain stable against a relatively large deformation before ultimate failure. Furthermore, a higher grouting pressure results in a higher rate of increase for pull-out resistance versus pull-out displacement, which improves the performance of the compaction-grouted soil nail in the stabilization of large deformation problems. A comparison of the two types of soil nails suggests that the new compaction-grouted soil nail is more sensitive to grouting pressure than the conventional soil nail in terms of pull-out resistance improvement. In other words, the performance (pull-out resistance) of the compaction-grouted soil nail can be markedly improved by increasing the grouting pressure without inducing any accidental or undesired cracking or soil displacement.

     

A Simple Limit Equilibrium Approach for Calculation of Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundations on Two-Layered Granular Soils

The bearing capacity of shallow foundations in a non-homogeneous soil profile has been a challenging task in geotechnical engineering. In this paper, a limit equilibrium method is used for calculating bearing capacity factors of shallow foundations constructed on a two-layered granular soil profile. The main objective has been to determine the ultimate bearing capacity computed from equivalent bearing capacity factors N_q and N_γ and comparing that with numerical analysis using finite element methods. It will be shown that the data obtained form the developed method are well comparable with those obtained from FE approach, specially when the difference between shear strength parameters of layers is low which is a practical case for sedimentary soil profiles and also for artificially compacted soils. A computer program has been developed to investigate the influence of various parameters on bearing capacity factors.     

Experimental Study of Bearing Capacity of Granular Soils,Reinforced with Innovative Grid-Anchor System

The pull-out resistance of reinforcing elements is one of the most significant factors in increasing the bearing capacity of geosynthetic reinforced soils. In this research a new reinforcing element that includes elements (anchors) attached to ordinary geogrid for increasing the pull-out resistance of reinforcements is introduced. Reinforcement therefore consists of geogrid and anchors with cubic elements that attached to the geogrid, named (by the authors) Grid-Anchor. A total of 45 load tests were performed to investigate the bearing capacity of square footing on sand reinforced with this system. The effect of depth of the first reinforcement layer, the vertical spacing, the number and width of reinforcement layers, the distance that anchors are effective, effect of relative density, low strain stiffness and stiffness after local shear were investigated. Laboratory tests showed that when a single layer of reinforcement is used there is an optimum reinforcement embedment depth for which the bearing capacity is the greatest. There also appeared to be an optimum vertical spacing of reinforcing layers for multi-layer reinforced sand. The bearing capacity was also found to increase with increasing number of reinforcement layer, if the reinforcement were placed within a range of effective depth. The effect of soil density also is investigated. Finally the results were compared with the bearing capacity of footings on non-reinforced sand and sand reinforced with ordinary geogrid and the advantages of the Grid-Anchor were highlighted. Test results indicated that the use of Grid-Anchor to reinforce the sand increased the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow square footing by a factor of 3.0 and 1.8 times compared to that for un-reinforced soil and soil reinforced with ordinary geogrid, respectively.     

土工格栅与砂土相互作用机制的拉拔试验研究

筋土之间的相互作用机制复杂,是土工合成材料加筋加固应用中的核心问题。通过室内拉拔试验,研究了土工格栅与砂土相互作用机制和格栅几何特征对拉拔阻力的影响。初步揭示了格栅横肋和纵肋在拉拔模式下的作用机制和格栅网格刚度对拉拔阻力的影响。结果表明,在拉拔位移较小时,纵肋摩阻力和横肋被动阻力几乎同步增长;在拉拔位移较大时,纵肋摩阻力逐步达到峰值,拉拔力的增量大部分来源于被动阻力的进一步增长。土工格栅拉伸模量和网格刚度是影响筋土界面力学特性的重要因素。     

The influence of horizontal confinement on the bearing capacity factor Nγ of smooth strip footing

We studied the upper-bound ultimate bearing capacity of smooth strip shallow footings with symmetrical and asymmetrical horizontal confinements on purely frictional sand within the framework of upper-bound limit analysis. The subsoil follows the associated flow rule, and no surcharge on the soil surface is assumed. The contact between the soil and the horizontal confinement walls is assumed to be perfectly rough. The upper-bound solutions for the objective functions are obtained using nonlinear sequential quadratic programming. The results for the different internal friction angles φ are provided in terms of the variation of two parameters, namely, the bearing capacity factor N_γ and the correction factor of bearing capacity K_γ, with respect to the change in the clear spacing between the edge of smooth footing and the rigid vertical walls. The values of N_γ and K_γ increase with φ and decrease with the clear spacing between the edge of the smooth footing and the rigid vertical walls. N_γ and K_γ are more sensitive to this confining effect as φ increases. The numerical results, a comparative analysis with the results from previous studies, and design charts are also included.     

Reliability analysis of seismic bearing capacity of strip footing by stochastic slip lines method

In this research, the reliability analysis of seismic ultimate bearing capacity of strip footing is assessed with implementing slip lines method coupled with random field theory. The probability density functions of seismic and static bearing capacities which are log-normal and nearly normal distribution respectively are compared to each other. The predicted Probability Density Function (PDF) of the seismic bearing capacity by slip line method is verified, with those of the Terzaghi equation and Monte Carlo simulation (MCs). For uncertainties analysis by Terzaghi equation the N_c, N_q and N_γ are assessed stochastically.     

Numerical and experimental studies of the mechanical behaviour for compaction grouted soil nails in sandy soil

A model test was conducted for a newly developed soil nail, the result of which was compared to that of a 3D finite element method (FEM) simulation. The shape angle (β) and friction coefficients (μ) contributed to the difference in pull-out force between the model test and the simulation. Further verifications were conducted, during which the pull-out mechanisms of the soil nail for different β and μ were analysed. It was found that both β and μ have a positive influence on the pull-out force; β only affects the increase rate, while μ influences the overall pull-out force level. Three components were found to govern the pull-out force, with the component applied to the expanded cement bulk surface accounting for approximately 80% of the total. This study proves that the optimal approach for increasing pull-out force is to enlarge the diameter of the cement bulk rather than extend the nail length.     

Discussion of “A simple mathematical model for soil nail and soil interaction analysis” by Wan-Huan Zhou and Jian-Hua Yin [Computers and Geotechnics 35 (2008) 479–488]

The paper by W. H. Zhou and J. H. Yin includes a problem regarding the pull-out resistance of a soil nail within dilatant soils. They calculate the pull-out force due to soil dilatancy using cylindrical expansion in an elastic medium. However, the soil in the vicinity of the nail experiences significant local softening behavior. This discussion indicates another method for calculating the normal stress due to soil dilatancy.     

Shear Strength Response of a Geotextile-Reinforced Chlef Sand: A Laboratory Study

During the last earthquake that occurred in Chlef (El Asnam 1980, Algeria), a significant decrease in the shear strength has caused major damages to several civil and hydraulic structures (earth dams, embankments, bridges, slopes and buildings), especially for the saturated sandy soil of the areas near Chlef valley. This paper presents a laboratory study of drained compression triaxial tests conducted on sandy soil reinforced with horizontal layers of geotextile, in order to study the influence of geotextile layer characteristics both on shear stress–strain and on volumetric change–strain. Tests were carried out on medium and dense sand. The experimental programme includes some drained compression tests performed on reinforced sand samples, for different values of the geotextile layers number (N _g), of confining pressure (\( \sigma_{\text{c}}^{\prime } \)) and relative density (D _r). The test results have shown that the contribution of the geotextile at low values of the axial strain (ε ₁) is negligible, for higher values of (ε ₁); geotextile induces a quasi-linear increase in the deviator stress (q) and leads to an increase in the volume contractiveness within the reinforced samples. A negligible influence of geotextile layers number (N _g) on the stress–strain behaviour and the volumetric change has been shown, when normalized with N _g. The results indicate that the contribution of geotextile to the stress–strain mobilization increases with increasing confining pressure, while its contribution to the volume contraction decreases with the increase in the confining pressure.     

刍议相关规范中关于单桩承载力计算的几点疑惑

国内相关规范中单桩抗压承载力设计计算方法分为特征值法及极限值法两类,单桩承载力均通过桩侧阻力与桩端阻力直接相加的方法得到,在概念及理论上均存在着不完善之处,主要原因是桩侧阻力与桩端阻力的力学特性及对变形的要求不同、不能同步发挥所致。相对来说,极限值设计法更直接、更可靠、更准确,概念更明确,且易于与国际接轨,建议规范优先采用。不同规范根据抗拔试验结果求取单桩抗拔承载力的计算方法存在矛盾,建议求取时桩的自重按天然重度计算、不考虑水的浮力。建议相关规范对以下两种现象进行深入研究：桩长超过有效长度后,单位长度侧摩阻力将会降低;部分工程中得到的抗拔桩的抗拔系数远小于相关规范推荐值,尤其是桩长较长时。