扩底抗拔桩动态变形全过程承载特性模型试验研究

利用砂土中扩底抗拔桩的模型试验,研究从开始加载到破坏时扩底抗拔桩地基动态变形全过程的承载特性。试验结果表明:半模试验得到的极限荷载和破坏面均略小于全模试验结果,采用半模试验测量地基变形过程与破坏模式有明显优势,用半模试验代替全模试验是可行的;随着桩顶荷载的增加,扩大头上方的土体由压缩变形逐渐发展为局部的压缩—剪切破坏;扩大头对其上部的桩侧摩阻力有增强作用,对其下部的桩侧摩阻力有削弱作用;扩大头在工作荷载、极限荷载和破坏荷载作用时分担的荷载比例为15%~20%。     

Shaft capacity of pre-bored grouted planted nodular pile under various overburden pressures in dense sand

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a series of model tests performed to study the shaft capacity of pre-bored grouted planted nodular (PGPN) pile in dense sand. The influence of the vertical overburden pressure on the shaft capacity of the PGPN pile is also investigated based on the test results. The test piles were equipped with strain gauges to measure the axial loads during the loading process, moreover, a foam plate was buried beneath pile tip to eliminate the influence of tip resistance on the shaft capacity. Some conclusions can be drawn based on the test results: the peak skin friction of PGPN pile increases with the increase of vertical overburden pressure applied on the foundation soil, while the rate of increase decreases with the increasing overburden pressure; the surface of the pile–soil interface of PGPN pile is relatively rough, and significant dilatant increase in lateral stress occurs during the loading process.     

Jacked model pile shafts in offshore calcareous soils

Abstract

This paper describes the results of laboratory tests carried out on model pile shafts in a variety of reconstituted calcareous sands and on silica sand. The factors influencing both the skin friction under static loading and the degradation of skin friction under cyclic loading have been investigated. The grading and crushability of the particles appears to have a significant influence on both, with less favourable performance being found for uniformly graded crushable particles. Relative density and overconsolidation ratio also have some influence.

Under cyclic loading, the amplitude of cyclic displacement and, more specifically, the cyclic slip displacement, influence the extent of cyclic degradation of skin friction.     

Inclined loading capacity of suction piles in sand

A series of centrifuge model tests have been conducted on a model suction pile embedded in sand to evaluate its inclined pull-out loading capacity. This paper describes the centrifuge model tests, the analytical solution, and comparisons between the centrifuge model test results and the analytical predictions of the pull-out capacities of the suction pile under inclined loads. The main variables of the study are the load inclination angle and the point of mooring line attachment which varies from the top to the bottom of the suction pile’s side surface. Effects of these two parameters on the suction pile inclined pull-out loading capacity are described.     

Field and Theoretical Study of the Response of Super-Long Bored Pile Subjected to Compressive Load

In this article, two full-scale pile loading tests were conducted to observe the field performance of the super-long bored piles, and a simplified approach for nonlinear analysis of the load-displacement behavior of a single pile was presented. The field tests on piles indicates that, under the maximum test load, more than 70% of the pile top settlement is caused by the compression of pile shaft. For practical purposes, the pile top settlement can be reduced through improving the pile shaft strength. When the load reaches the maximum test load, the proportion of the load carried by the pile tip is approximately 30%. The super-long pile is functioning as an end-bearing friction pile. The skin friction at shallow depth is fully mobilized and decreases from a peak value with increasing load. However, the skin friction of deeper soil is not fully developed due to less relative displacement. Furthermore, a BoxLucas1 model is used to capture the relationship between unit skin friction and pile-soil relative displacement, whereas a hyperbolic model is used to describe the relationship between toe stress and pile base displacement. Based on the BoxLucas1 model and the hyperbolic model, a load transfer method is used to clarify the response of a single pile, and a computational flow chart is developed. The efficiency and accuracy of the present method is verified using the field tests on piles. The proposed simple analytical approach is economical and efficient, resulting in savings in time and cost.     

Experimental study on the hydraulic conductivity of calcareous sand in South China Sea

Characterization of the hydraulic property of a specific geomaterial is of fundamental importance in engineering design and application. This paper reports an experimental investigation to the hydraulic conductivity of a typical marine sand, i.e., calcareous sand, which becomes increasingly popular as sea-filling material for land reclamation or construction of artificial islands. A series of permeability tests have been performed using the calcareous sand collected from Nansha islands in South China Sea. Using the home-made permeability test apparatus (so-called velocity-controlled pressure-differential acquisition flow apparatus), the relationship between flow velocity and hydraulic gradient was obtained and the hydraulic conductivity of calcareous sand was then determined accordingly. The effects of important parameters, including particle shape and particle size distribution on the hydraulic conductivity of calcareous sand, were assessed. To investigate the effect of particle size distribution on the hydraulic conductivity of calcareous sand, two often-used parameters, i.e., nonuniformity coefficient and curvature coefficient were considered in this study. To quantitatively evaluate the irregularity of soil particle, a particle-shape parameter was introduced and it was able to consider sphericity and circularity of highly irregular particle. Two materials, namely, Fujian quartz sand and glass beads consisting of particles of characteristic shape, were also used in the permeability tests, and they were used to compare with calcareous sand. Through the comparison, the effect of particle shape of calcareous sand on its hydraulic conductivity was examined based on the newly introduced particle shape parameter. The test results indicate that the particle size distribution has a significant influence on the hydraulic conductivity of calcareous sand. The quite irregular particle shape is able to reduce the hydraulic conductivity of the calcareous sand. A comparative study of hydraulic conductivity between the theoretical prediction and experimental measurement was performed, and it is concluded that an improvement of theoretical model for prediction of the hydraulic conductivity of the porous media consisting of particles with highly irregular shapes, such as the calcareous sand, is still required.     

Gradation affects basic mechanical characteristics of Chinese calcareous sand as airport subgrade of reefs

Abstract

Construction of the reefs in the South China Sea is a significant foundation to the secure stability and economic development of China. The construction of an airport runway is necessary for this realization. The calcareous sand is the main primary material in the runway construction. A certain type of calcareous sand near a certain reef of the South China Sea was studied in this paper. To investigate this specific calcareous sand, quartz sand was used as a reference for comparison. Microscopic 3-D imaging, compression and triaxial tests were conducted to test the micro, squeezing and shear properties. The effect mechanism of gradation on the calcareous sand’s compressibility and shear characteristics are discussed from a mesoscopic viewpoint using 3-D morphology. Calcareous sand particles are multiangular and flatter in comparison with quartz sand. The larger the particle sizes are, the more different the two sands’ morphologies are. The compressibility of calcareous sand is greater, and the effect of the coarse fraction (5–1?mm) content in the gradation plays the most significant role in this feature. When the coarse particles’ content is less than 25% and the mass ratio of the middle and fine particles (M) is constant, there is the worst coarse fraction content causing the calcareous sand to be most likely compressed. The worst coarse fraction content decreases with the increase in M, and an empirical formula is proposed. When the gradation, relative density and confining pressure are the same, the peak shear stress and strain of calcareous sand are all at a high level. The effect of confining pressure is manifested in calcareous sand. The shear strength and dilation of calcareous sand are also most affected by the medium coarse fraction (5–0.25?mm) content.     

多层砂土地基扩底桩单桩抗压模型试验及颗粒流模拟研究

利用室内半模试验和颗粒流数值模拟,揭示多层砂土地基扩底桩单桩抗压承载特性及变形特征。结果表明,通过对比分析极限承载力与H_h/D(持力层厚度与扩大头直径之比)的关系可以看出,单桩的抗压极限承载力随H_h/D逐渐增加,当H_h/D超过2.0时,极限承载力基本不再增加,此时的单桩抗压极限承载力稳定在300.01~303.25 N,是H_h/D=0.5时极限承载力(183.83 N)的1.65倍。扩大头下部土体发生局部压缩-剪切破坏,破坏面从扩大头底面边缘向斜下方扩展,在水平方向影响范围达到最大后逐渐向桩内侧收缩;荷载作用越大,地基破坏区域越大,相应的极限抗压承载力也越大;持力层厚度增加,扩大头分担的荷载比例增大,分担的荷载达到稳定需要的桩顶位移也越大,H_h=0.5 D试验扩大头分担的荷载比例稳定时为60%,对应的桩顶位移约为29 mm;桩顶位移达到33 mm后,H_h=1.0~3.0 D试验稳定在63%~65%之间;通过细观颗粒流理论对砂土移动特性的研究发现,持力层厚度从0.5 D增大至2.0 D,破坏面的起始扩展角度从31°增大至42°。数值模拟研究结果与模型试验数据吻合效果良好,证明该方法分析多层砂土地基扩底桩单桩抗压荷载传递机理是可行的。     

Post-Cyclic Behavior of Carbonate Sand of the Northern Coast of the Persian Gulf

The post-cyclic behavior of biogenic carbonate sand was evaluated using cyclic triaxial testing through a stress control method under different confining pressures between 50 to 600 kPa. The testing program included a series of isotropically and anisotropically consolidated, undrained triaxial compression and extension tests on samples of remolded calcareous Bushehr sand. Grading analyses (before and after each test) were used to examine the influence of particle breakage on post-cyclic behavior of Bushehr sand. The particle breakage commonly occurred in these soils even in lower values of confining pressure, yet there was not a clear correlation between the post-cyclic responses and particle breakage. Based on the present study, a concept is suggested for post-cyclic behavior of carbonate sand. It was observed that post-cyclic strength has a good correlation with cyclic stress ratio, type of consolidation, and value of residual cyclic strain. For all specimens, it is clear that the post-cyclic strength is greater than monotonic strength, irrespective of confining pressure and relative density.     

Monotonic and cyclic behaviors of loose anisotropically consolidated calcareous sand in torsional shear tests

ABSTRACT

The behavior of loose anisotropically consolidated calcareous sand obtained from an island in the South China Sea was investigated under undrained monotonic and cyclic loading in a hollow cylinder torsional apparatus. The tests were conducted on specimens which consolidated under various initial effective confining pressures and consolidation stress ratios. The monotonic test results show that the failure and phase transformation line are essentially independent of the consolidation conditions, while the initial contractive tendency of the specimens decreases with an increasing consolidation stress ratio. During monotonic loading of the anisotropically consolidated specimens, a same major principal stress direction is observed at the constant stress ratio lines up to the phase transformation line, irrespective of initial effective confining pressure. The cyclic strength of the sand increases with an increasing consolidation stress ratio. Moreover, a pronounced stress dependence is observed in the sand with higher consolidation stress ratio. During cyclic loading, the generated excess pore water pressure presents considerable fluctuations. The normalized terminal excess pore water pressure is described as a function of consolidation stress ratio. The tests show that the particle shape, rather than particle crushing, plays an important role in the monotonic and cyclic behaviors of the calcareous sand.     

Field and Theoretical Analysis on the Response of Destructive Pile Subjected to Tension Load

Most field tests are carried out using working piles for verification purposes in China, and loading tests are terminated before achieving true pile capacity. In this work, two full-scale destructive loading tests on tension piles instrumented with strain gauges were conducted to capture true pile capacity. The load-displacement response, load transfer, and threshold of the pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistance in the uplift case were discussed. It was found that the shaft resistance degradation is observed to be along the pile depth with a reduction factor of 0.905 to 0.931, and the thresholds of pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistance of the tension pile in different soils are found to be in the range 0.67% to 1.34% of the pile diameter. Based on the field test results, a simple softening model was proposed to describe the degradation behavior of skin friction along the pile-soil interface. Further study was conducted to assess the influence of the threshold of pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin friction and the reduction factor on the skin friction. As to the analysis of the response of single pile subjected to tension load, a highly effective iterative computer program was developed using the proposed skin friction softening model. Comparisons of the load-settlement response for the well-instrumented tests were given to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed simple method.     

A CPT-based model to predict the installation torque of helical piles in sand

Helical piles present a possible alternative to driven displacement piles in the offshore sector. While this type of pile is used widely in the onshore environment, design methods tend to be highly empirical and there is considerable uncertainty around the bearing resistance and the installation resistance required to install large diameter piles necessary to resist uplift. The paper combines a theoretical model for estimating torque resistance from the literature with a cone penetration test (CPT)-based model originally developed to estimate the axial resistance of helical piles and to predict the installation torque required to install piles in sand. The model appears to be able to capture the general installation behavior of piles across a range of scales and in various sand states.     

Bearing Behavior of Cast-in-Place Expansive Concrete Pile in Coral Sand Under Vertical Loading

The low side friction of piles in coral sand results in the low bearing capacity of foundations. In this paper, expansive concrete pile is utilized to improve the bearing capacity of pile foundations in coral sand. Both model tests and numerical simulation are performed to reveal the bearing mechanism of expansive concrete pile in coral sand.Results showed that the lateral earth pressure near pile increases obviously and the side friction of piles is improved,after adding expansion agent to the concrete. The horizontal linear expansion is 1.11% and the bearing capacity increased 41% for the pile, when 25% expansion agent is added. Results in finite element numerical simulation also show that ultimate bearing capacity increases with the increase of the linear expansion ratio. Besides, the area for obvious increase in side friction is below the surface of soil about three times the pile diameter, and the expansion leads to a high side friction sharing of the pile. Therefore, the cast-in-place expansive concrete pile is effective in improving the bearing capacity of piles in coral sand.     

Experimental study on the phase transformation point of crushable and noncrushable soils

Two marine calcareous deposits as crushable soils and a siliceous sand as a noncrushable soil were used in this study to compare their monotonic response. Undrained monotonic triaxial tests were conducted on samples, which were prepared in different relative densities and consolidated under various confining pressures. The location of phase transformation point in undrained response of the sands in different initial conditions was evaluated. The effect of important parameters including relative density, confining pressure, particle shape, and particle breakage on phase transformation point was assessed. The input energy applied per unit volume of the soils was used to interpret the shearing response of crushable and noncrushable soils. The results showed that calcareous sands have more tendencies in contraction. Particle shape and breakage play a key role in engineering behavior of crushable soils.     

Lateral cyclic response of an aluminum model pile in sand

Lateral cyclic load tests were performed on an aluminum model pile in dry sand. Two levels of loading were adopted to represent different service load conditions. The maximum number of loading cycles was 1,000. From the test results, it was found that the even though in the service load condition, the pile response was still affected by cyclic effects and a larger load level would produce more significant influence. In a global point of view, the lateral displacement and maximum moment increased with loading cycles, while the secant stiffness within a cycle decreased with cycles. The cyclic effect was more significant on the lateral displacement than on the moment. In a local point of view, cyclic loading would degrade the equivalent subgrade stiffness for the soil shallower than about seven times diameter. In addition, the secant subgrade stiffness within a cycle increased with loading cycles. Some experimental relationships of lateral pile response and loading cycles were built and compared with those in the literature.     

Shear tests of interfaces between calcareous sand and steel

Abstract

Various modified direct shear tests on the interface between calcareous sand and steel with different degrees of roughness were conducted in this article, and the different interface property results between calcareous sand-steel and siliceous sand-steel were compared. It was found that: (1) Under various normal stresses, the limit shear stress at the interface reaches the peak value when the groove depth is at the critical value Rcr. Further, when the flat width is at a critical value Gcr, the limit interface shear stress reaches to that of a grooved surface with a flat width of zero. (2) The magnitudes of Rcr and Gcr are related to the gradation and grain size of sand. For the calcareous sand tested, Rcr and Gcr are three times and seven times the mean grain size, respectively. (3) When the intersection angle between the symmetrical V-shaped grooves and the direct shear direction equals to 45°, the limit interface shear stress reaches the peak value and no significant increase is observed at the larger intersection angle. (4) Under the same interface testing conditions with siliceous and calcareous sands, the interface friction angle of the calcareous sand is ～5°–6° greater than that of siliceous sand.     

Lateral loading of a pile using strain wedge model and its application under scouring

The scour hole around a pile will reduce the capacity of a laterally loaded pile. The strain wedge model is capable to derive a p–y curve for the analysis of a lateral loaded pile on a nonlinear Winkler foundation. To improve and extend the ability of the strain wedge method, a modified strain wedge (MSW) method is developed, in which a nonlinear lateral deflection of the pile is assumed to describe the varied soil strain distribution in the passive wedge. And then by treating the soil weight involved in the strain wedge as a vertical load at the bottom of the scour hole, an equivalent wedge depth is obtained to consider the effect of scour hole dimensions on the response of laterally loaded piles in sand. The validity of the MSW model is proved by comparisons with a centrifuge test without scour. And its applicability in the problem of a pile with scour is performed by a comparison with a model test and a FE analysis. The analysis shows the pile displacement at the pile head with scour can be obtained by multiplying the corresponding deflection without scour with an amplification factor related to scour depth at large load level.     

Field Study on the Behavior of Destructive and Non-Destructive Piles Under Compression

This paper presents a series of full-scale load tests on long bored piles instrumented with strain gauges along the shafts, including eight field tests of piles loaded to failure and one non-destructive pile load test. The load-displacement response, skin friction, end resistance, and the threshold of the pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistance were discussed. A simple softening model was proposed to describe the degradation behavior of the skin friction along the pile-soil interface and the load-displacement relationship developed at the pile base. It is found that the shaft resistance degradation investigated in the non-destructive load test only occurs at a shallow depth, and the skin friction of deeper soil is not fully developed. However, unlike the results of the non-destructive load tests, the softening is accompanied by a reduction in skin friction and observed to be along the whole pile depth. The thresholds of pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistances in different soils have been found to be in the range 0.6% to 2.4% of the pile diameter. Moreover, in practical applications, a bilinear model is assumed to be feasible in analyzing the load-settlement relationship developed at the end of non-destructive pile, whereas the load transmission curve of the soils below the pile base corresponds to a softening model in the field tests of piles loaded to failure.     

A Model Test on the Behavior of a Static Drill Rooted Nodular Pile Under Compression

A static drill rooted nodular pile is a new type of composite pile foundation with high bearing capacity, and mud emissions can be largely reduced using the static drill rooted method. This report presents a model test on the behavior of this composite pile in a test box. The load-displacement response, axial force, skin friction, and mobilized base load are discussed in the report; in particular, the force in the cemented soil was investigated based on the measured data. Moreover, the finite element software ABAQUS was used to help investigate this behavior more thoroughly. It was determined that the function of the cemented soil around the pile shaft was different from that at the enlarged pile base; the stress in the cemented soil around the shaft increased suddenly when nearing the pile base; the ultimate skin friction obtained in the model test was larger than that estimated in the field test; and the relative displacement between the precast nodular pile and the cemented soil could be ignored during the loading process, which corresponded to the result of the field test and demonstrated that the nodular pile and cemented soil act as one entity during the loading process.     

颗粒形状对珊瑚砂和石英砂沉降影响的试验研究

在研究海岸侵蚀的过程中,泥沙沉速是一个重要参数,对于侵淤量的计算非常重要。近些年来,由于工程活动、海洋动力和气候等因素变化的影响,珊瑚砂海岸的侵蚀冲刷问题已不容忽视。考虑到珊瑚砂与石英砂在形状、比重上的不同会对其沉速造成影响,套用现有石英砂的沉速公式进行计算并不合适。本文针对珊瑚砂和石英砂进行沉降试验,分析形状对珊瑚砂沉速的影响。结果显示,在小粒径(d 0.5 mm)下形状对珊瑚砂沉速的影响并不明显,在大粒径(d 0.5 mm)下明显减缓了珊瑚砂的沉降速度,套用石英砂的沉降公式计算出的珊瑚砂沉速明显偏大。故通过提出动力形状因子这一参数来表征形状对沉降的影响,推导出考虑了形状影响的沉降公式,能够较为准确地计算砂粒的沉速范围,计算精度随着黏度的增大而提升。