Mechanical Aspects of Flow-Like Movements in Granular and Fine Grained Soils

Summary Experience shows that slope movements occurring in similar geomorphogical contexts may display very different styles and magnitude. This has important practical implications, since the risk associated with a landslide depends just on its magnitude. The paper discusses the mechanics of slope failure in coarse-grained and in fine-grained soils with particular reference to flow-like landslides, showing that even small details can affect their movement pattern. Author’s address: Prof. Luciano Picarelli, Seconda Università di Napoli, Aversa, Italy     

Experimental Investigation on the Movement of Soil and Piles in Transparent Granular Soils

In order to visually observe the displacement characteristics of internal soil, model tests on the penetration of six flat-ended piles in synthetic transparent soil were carried out. The granular-soil particles were registered by laser speckles, thus the penetration process of the piles was visualized. The movement of pile-soil interaction was determined by comparing the images before and after penetrations. Based on the test results, the vertical and horizontal displacement of the granular caused by a sequence of jacked piles was discussed. The sheltering effect of the adjacent piles during the penetration of the follow-up pile was analyzed. The responses of the granular soils during the penetration of piles were discussed, and test data was compared with DEM analyses. The pile heave at different stages of the penetration and the ground uplift at different positions were evaluated and compared.     

细颗粒粘滑运动的能量耗散与释放试验

近年来,利用断层产物以及其中的颗粒来研究断层或地震带的能量耗散与释放,已引起大家的重视.在围压分别为30 kPa、60 kPa、100 kPa、200 kPa、400 kPa和600 kPa的条件下,采用直径为0.6~0.8 mm的玻璃珠以0.02 mm/min的轴向应变速率进行干燥、松散细颗粒材料的固结不排水三轴压缩试验.为了减少轴向应变过大时主应力轴旋转产生的误差及其对做功的影响,试验只分析加载后轴向应变为10%时试样变形破坏过程中的能量耗散与能量释放特性.试验结果表明:随着围压的增大,主震频率减小、偏应力降幅增大,但偏应力降幅与最大偏应力的比值逐渐趋于稳定.粘滑运动过程中,在偏应力骤降瞬间,声发射强烈、试样体积收缩,说明能量控制着试样的变形与破坏特征,耗散结构能量越大,系统发生滑动的频率越小.粘滑运动过程可以表示为能量耗散与能量突然释放.最后,从热力学的角度分析滑动过程的3个阶段,得出粘滑运动为不可逆耗散能与可释放应变能共同作用的结果.      

Viscous Energy Dissipation and Strain Partitioning in Partially Molten Rocks

We develop a steady-state fluid-mechanical analysis describingthe effect of strain partitioning on viscous energy dissipation.As observed in experimental studies of shear deformation ofpartially molten rocks, strain partitions when melt segregatesbecause viscosity is reduced in regions of elevated melt fraction.The equations derived here are based on parameters measuredin experiments, describing the evolution of melt distributionand rheological properties. We find that the dissipation dependsstrongly on the configuration of the melt-rich network of shearzones, including the average angle, volume fraction of meltand amplification of strain rate in the melt-rich bands. Minimain energy dissipation as a function of band angle develop, correspondingto configurations of melt networks that minimize the differencein mean stress between the band and the non-band regions. Wepropose that the organization of band networks occurs by theinterplay between strain localization and viscosity variationsassociated with melt segregation. The band networks maintaina steady-state angle during shear by continuously pumping meltthrough the network. The development of strain partitioningin melt-rich networks will modify the energetics of meltingand melt transport by efficiently extracting melt and reducingeffective viscosity. KEY WORDS: melt transport; rheology; self-organization; strain localization; strain partitioning     

Modeling of the Dissipation Rate of Turbulent Kinetic Energy

Doklady Earth Sciences - We consider a relaxation equation for turbulence wavenumber in semi-empirical turbulence closures. It is shown that the well-known phenomenological equation for the...     

Experimental Set-up for Determining Soil Water Retention Curves for Granular Soils During Drying

Abstract: Soil water retention curves (SWRCs) provide an important means of describing the response of unsaturated soils during drying / wetting processes in terms of variations of degree of saturation, water content or void ratio with suction. A key consideration in generating these curves is how to measure the suction. Frequently the filter paper technique is adopted, especially when high suctions are developed, e.g. with plastic clays. As each measurement takes at least a week with this technique, it can take months or years to generate a full SWRC in drying and wetting. Developments in laboratory tensiometers now allow matrix suctions up to about 1.5 MPa to be measured. With such a device it is possible to develop SWRCs for granular soils such as silts and clays in hours or days by continuous measurement. This paper describes an experimental set-up that was developed to measure changes in volume, water content and matrix suction during drying of three granular soils. Limitations of the apparatus and usefulness of the curves are discussed.     

Transport of BTEX Vapours Through Granular Soils with Different Moisture Contents in the Vadose Zone

The single-ring aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and m-xylene (BTEX) are common and dangerous pollutants in subsurface environments. The diffusive transport of BTEX vapours through the unsaturated zone of the ground is a potential health hazard to humans, living in the vicinity of petroleum fuel contaminated sites. Past studies have shown that gas transport through the vadose zone can be influenced by moisture content due to variations in gaseous permeability, phase partitioning and aerobic biodegradation. In this particular study laboratory soil column experiments were employed to compare the diffusive transport of BTEX vapours through a sand layer of high moisture content, where biodegradation of BTEX compounds occurred, with diffusion through air-dried sand. The presence of a thin soil layer of high moisture content reduced the gaseous concentrations of benzene and toluene and stopped the migration of ethylbenzene and m-xylene vapours, demonstrating its efficiency as a barrier on the diffusive transport of BTEX vapours in unsaturated soil.     

Predicting Hysteresis of the Water Retention Curve from Basic Properties of Granular Soils

The water retention curve (WRC), which represents the relationship between volumetric water content (θ) and suction (ψ), is required to analyze the hydro-geotechnical response of unsaturated soils. The laboratory (or field) determination of the WRC can however be time consuming and difficult to conduct. A practical alternative, particularly useful at the preliminary stages of a project, is to estimate the WRC using a predictive model based on basic geotechnical properties that are easy to obtain. One common limitation of such predictive models is due to hysteresis effects, which are not taken into account by most of these models. The authors present in this paper an extended version of the Modified Kovács (MK) predictive model that incorporates hysteresis of the WRC along different paths, including the main wetting and drying curves and the wetting and drying scanning curves for granular soils. The model formulation is presented, and predictions are compared to experimental data obtained on different granular soils. The results show a good agreement for the main and scanning curves.     

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.     

Generation and Dissipation of Excess Pore Water Pressure During CPTu in Clayey Soils: A Numerical Approach

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - Do all the clayey soils have the same behavior in terms of the generation and dissipation of excess pore water pressure during the piezocone penetration...     

Fracture Evolution and Accumulation and Dissipation Law of Energy During Ascending Mining

Ascending mining method is a widely used method in China for coal mine safety. To determine whether ascending mining method can eliminate or reduce the outburst risk or not in Xinzyao Mine, China, a numerical model was built by FLAC3D software to investigate the fracture evolution and accumulation and dissipation law of energy during the process of ascending mining. And a dual water blocking system was used to verify the fracture evolution obtained from the numerical model. The results show that FLAC3D model can predict the fracture evolution in overburden with a reasonable error. The height of water-conducting fractured zone of no. 14-3 coal seam is about 82.5 m, and it increases by 27 % after no. 12-2 coal seam is mined. The largest energy accumulated in no. 12-2 coal seam is about 32.5 kJ/m³ when mining it directly. The energy accumulated in no. 12-2 coal seam decreases by more than 40 % when ascending mining method is adopted. Ascending mining method can effectively eliminate the outburst risk of the upper coal seam. The research is helpful for the determination of ascending mining method and the further study of the prevention mechanism of rock burst.     

X射线能地测定土壤中7种主次量元素

采用粉末样品压片制样,土壤标准物质以及人工合成标样为标准,用Ｘ射线荧光能谱仪对土壤试样中的Ｓｉ、Ｋ、ｃａ、Ｔｉ、Ｍｎ、Ｆｅ、Ｓｒ７种、次量元素进行测定。讨论了基体疚及校正等问题。方法经土壤标样分析验证,其结果与标准值符合较好,方法的精密度《３％     

X射线能谱法测定土壤中7种主次量元素

采用粉末样品压片制样,土壤标准物质以及人工合成标样为标准,用Ｘ 射线荧光能谱仪对土壤试样中的Ｓｉ、Ｋ、Ｃａ 、Ｔｉ、Ｍｎ 、Ｆｅ 和Ｓｒ ７ 种主、次量元素进行测定。讨论了基体效应及校正等问题。方法经土壤标样分析验证,其结果与标准值符合较好,方法的精密度（ ＲＳＤ,ｎ ＝ ５） ＜ ３ ％ 。     

黏性土对垃圾渗滤液中多环芳烃吸附机理与规律

论文以华北平原某垃圾场为例,选取低环萘(2环)和高环苯并[ghi]苝(6环)即迁移能力最强与最弱的两类多环芳烃的代表性物质为研究对象,采用0.01 mol/L CaCl_2溶液与垃圾渗滤液两种背景溶液,通过试验分析黏性土对多环芳烃吸附动力学、等温吸附性,揭示出垃圾渗滤液中多环芳烃在包气带黏性土中吸附规律和机理,这一研究对探讨黏性土吸附垃圾中多环芳烃的阻隔规律和地下水污染防治具有重要意义。     

Microscale flow modelling in geologic materials

Three-dimensional imaging techniques, numerical methods for simulating flow and transport, and emergent computational architectures are combined to enable fundamental studies of fluid flow at the pore scale. High resolution reconstructions of porous media obtained using laser scanning confocal microscopy reduce sampling artifacts to sub-micron features, and simultaneously capture multiple grain length scales. However, the volumetric image data sets are extremely large, and there are significant computational challenges in utilising this information effectively. The principal problem lies in the complexity of the geometry and the retention of this structure in numerical analyses. Lattice Boltzmann (LB) methods provide a direct means to simulate transport processes in complex geometric domains due to the unique ability to treat accurately and efficiently the multitude of discrete boundary conditions. LB methods are numerically explicit as formulated, and this characteristic is exploited through a mapping of the numerical domain to distributed computing architectures. These techniques are applied to perform single phase flow simulations in 3D data sets obtained from cores of Berea sandstone using confocal microscopy. Simulations are performed using both a purpose-built distributed processor computer and a massively parallel processer (MPP) platform.     

饱和软土地基中PHC群桩贯入过程的能量耗散模型

软土地基中群桩稳定性分析是岩土工程的难点之一.通过对饱和软土地基中群桩贯入全过程的力学分析, 结合群桩效应与工作性能, 根据功能平衡原理, 建立了贯入过程中附加应力(含超静孔隙水压力)引起的耗散能量与外力做功、弹性势能三者的平衡关系; 同时, 针对饱和软土地基中高预应力管桩(PHC)的排土特性, 结合现行桩基规范, 分别给出了超静孔隙水压力势能、挤土耗散能、重力做功、超静孔隙水压力做功、摩擦耗能、土体弹性势能等的定量表达, 构建了PHC群桩贯入过程的能量耗散模型; 在此基础上, 导出了局部能量安全系数与整体能量安全系数.将上述模型应用于某工程PHC群桩基础的稳定性分析中, 并与数值模拟结果对比, 验证了该模型的合理可靠性, 对饱和软基中PHC群桩稳定性状态的判别具有一定指导意义.      

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.     

稻田土壤碳循环关键微生物过程的计量学调控机制探讨

稻田生态系统碳循环是我国陆地生态系统碳循环的重要组成部分,微生物驱动的稻田土壤碳循环(输入、分配、稳定等过程)的生物地球化学过程是土壤碳循环过程研究的核心。目前,对稻田土壤碳循环过程及其机制的认识缺乏基于生态化学计量学层面的研究。因此,系统解析耦合化学—生物—环境要素的稻田土壤碳循环的关键过程是深入研究当前面临的诸多土壤生物化学问题(如土壤碳循环与土壤肥力、温室气体减排等)的科学瓶颈。在综合分析计量学的基本内涵与土壤计量学发展需求的基础上,论述了稻田土壤有明显区别于其他土壤类型的土壤发生学和生物化学特点,重点评述了稻田土壤碳循环的3个主要过程的研究进展,包括:1稻田土壤新鲜有机质转化、矿化的关键微生物过程计量;2典型水稻土CH4产生的关键微生物过程计量;3典型水稻土微生物CO2光合同化功能的计量。在此基础上,探讨了土壤生物化学过程统计学和数学模型在土壤计量学研究中的应用,并提出了稻田土壤碳循环关键微生物过程的计量学特征研究的发展趋势和科学问题展望。期望能够通过这些探讨对推动我国该研究领域的基础理论建设和新技术发展有所贡献。