Field study of set-up effect in open-ended PHC pipe piles

Large-scale field tests were conducted to study set-up effect in open-ended prestressed high-strength concrete pipe piles jacked into stratified soil. Four open-ended prestressed high-strength concrete pipe piles with 13 and 18 m in embedment depth were fully instrumented with fiber Bragg grating sensors and installed. Several restrike dynamic tests were performed on each test pile, with the time interval from 21.5 to 284 hours after installation. Static loading tests (SLTs) were later performed on each test pile at 408 hours after installation to substantiate the dynamic tests. Changes with time in pile bearing capacity and in the shaft and toe resistances were studied based on the results of the pile tests. The development of shaft resistance set-up in different layers was studied in particular. It was found that set-up effect in the shaft resistance is significant and the toe resistance increment was minor. The overall set-up factor of total bearing capacity was found to range from 0.09 to 0.53, and the set-up effect of friction pile is much larger than the end bearing pile. More significant set-up in shaft resistance was observed in fill and alluvium layer. The dimensionless set-up factor A for shaft resistance in marine deposits ranges from 0.5 to 1.43, and it contributes the most to the shaft resistance as the shaft resistance in marine deposits is higher.     

The prediction of traveling jet trenching in stiff clay based on the erosion failure mechanism

The performance of traveling jet trenching in stiff clay was tested. All the key parameters varied in the experiment, including the jet velocity, the shear strength of clay, the diameter of the nozzle, and the translational velocity of the nozzle. The jet–soil interface was found to be an arc. An equation was given to describe the interface. On the basis of the erosion failure mechanism, a new method is presented for predicting jet trenching depth. We first calculated the trajectory of the jet–soil interface and then predicted the distribution of the boundary layer shear stress along the jet–soil interface. The point where the wall shear stress was equal to the critical shear strength of clay was the ultimate trenching depth. The predictive results were found to fit the experimental results well.     

The application of cutting plus waterlogging to control Spartina alterniflora on saltmarshes in the Yangtze Estuary,China

Control and eradication of the exotic and invasive plant Spartina alterniflora within the Chongming Dongtan nature reserve, Shanghai, China, is vital for the management and conservation of the saltmarshes. A demonstration project was established using waterlogging and cutting to control this invasive species. Results from 2007 to 2008 showed that, although the managed waterlogging significantly reduced biomass and seed production of S. alterniflora at an early stage, the species subsequently showed rapid adaptation to the long-term waterlogging stress. Thus, managed waterlogging alone was insufficient for the effective eradication of S. alterniflora. However, managed waterlogging for around 3 months, combined with cutting the above-ground part of S. alterniflora at a key stage (flowering period in July), controlled and eradicated the plant successfully. Both the above-ground and below-ground parts of S. alterniflora were killed and the plants began to decompose after 3 months. Furthermore, there was no re-growth of the emergent part of S. alterniflora in the following years. However, once the impounded water was released restoring the natural hydrodynamic regime of the saltmarshes, the seeds and seedlings of S. alterniflora reinvaded the controlled site from the neighboring areas and the S. alterniflora community was re-established. Thus, after eradication of S. alterniflora, control measures should be maintained to prevent the re-establishment of S. alterniflora. The results of this demonstration project indicate a potentially useful and effective approach for the control and management of large-scale invasion by S. alterniflora on saltmarshes in the Yangtze Estuary, China.     

Molecular weight and chemical reactivity of dissolved trace metals (Cd,Cu, Ni) in surface waters from the Mississippi River to Gulf of Mexico

It is generally assumed that estuarine mixing is continuous for metals from terrestrial sources, gradually decreasing towards the open ocean endmember. Here we show that, chemical reactivity, determined by ion exchange method, and molecular weight distributions, obtained using cross-flow ultrafiltration, of dissolved Cd, Cu, and Ni in the surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico varied systematically across the estuarine mixing zone of the Mississippi River. Most size or chemical affinity fractions of dissolved metals (<0.4 μm) were linearly related to salinity (10.8–36.6), suggesting that the distribution of these elements was mainly controlled by continuous mixing processes. Dissolved concentrations across the salinity gradient ranged for Cd: 87–187 pM; Cu: 1.4–18.3 nM; and Ni: 2.6–18.8 nM, with highest values near the Mississippi river mouth, and lowest concentrations in a warm core ring in the Gulf of Mexico. Dissolved Cd was mostly present as a truly dissolved (<10 kDa, 97 ± 1%) and cationic fraction (Chelex-100 extractable, 94 ± 4%). A novel observation across the estuarine mixing zone was that colloidal metal concentrations were identical to either inert (for Cu, Ni) or AMPG-labile anionic (Cu, Cd) fractions. The difference in behavior between Cu and the other two metals might indicate differences in the biopolymeric nature of the metal–organic chelates. In particular, the anionic-organic Cd fractions accounted for just 3 ± 1%, on average. However, for Cu, it was 24 ± 4%, and for Ni, it was 9 ± 6%. The fractions of the total dissolved metal fractions that were “inert” averaged 31 ± 10% for Cu and 29 ± 12% for Ni. Small but noticeable amounts (6 ± 3%) of dissolved inert Cd fractions were also present. Apparent non-local transport processes, likely associated with cross-shelf sediment resuspension processes, could have been responsible for the relatively high concentrations of ‘inert’ and ‘anionic’ metal fractions in high salinity coastal waters, and accounting for the persistence of metals bound to humic substances in the Gulf of Mexico.     

A System for Fast Cartographic Sounding Selection

Soundings on nautical charts provide information about the shape of the ocean bottom between chart depth curves. A single chart may have thousands of soundings posted on it. This article describes a system for automatic cartographic sounding selection. In this system, a new algorithm for automated selecting soundings is developed. The algorithm is employed in such a way that it can guarantee (a) fast and accurate selecting sounding, (b) processing the circular depth curves, (c) solving the overplotting problems between depth curves and soundings, and (d) keeping selected soundings “prettier.” The system was intensively tested using real data sets, and its superiority has been revealed by the testing results.     

Time-Dependent Deformation Behavior of Jiangsu Marine Clay

In this article, the mechanical behavior of a Jiangsu marine clay was investigated by drained triaxial tests, traixial rheological tests, and one-dimensional compression and swelling tests. A visco-plastic model, the Bingham model combining two yield surfaces model, was proposed to describe the time-dependent deformation behaviors of the marine clay. The governing equation of Biot's consolidation theory for the visco-plastic soil is solved using a finite element code which incorporates the visco-plastic model. Using the finite element method, settlements of a typical embankment on the Lianxu expressway in China are calculated. Settlement calculations using the visco-plastic model are in agreement with the measured settlements in the field. The results demonstrate that the visco-plastic model is appropriate for calculating the visco-plastic deformations of Jiangsu marine clay. Theoretical and experimental studies show that the visco-plastic deformation of Jiangsu marine clay is substantial.     

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.     

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.     

Cyclic behavior of natural organic clay under variable confining pressure that match traffic loading conditions

ABSTRACT

One-way cyclic loading is more typical for traffic loading and cyclic triaxial test has been recognized as a useful method for solving many engineering problems. Under traffic loading, the influence of variable confining pressure on cyclic behavior of natural organic clay subjected to cyclic traffic loading is rarely reported in the literature. In this study, a laboratory investigation on undrained cyclic behavior of natural organic clay is presented and conducted by cyclic triaxial apparatus. Tests are conducted by both constant confining pressure and variable confining pressure, to simulate the loading conditions induced by passing vehicles in actual engineering. Different stress levels are also considered in this study. By comparing between the results of constant confining pressure tests and variable confining pressure tests, it shows that the one-way cyclic behavior of organic clay is influenced significantly by variation of confining pressure, in terms of pore water pressure, permanent axial strain and stress–strain hysteretic loops.     

A Lagrangian particle random walk model for simulating a deep-sea hydrothermal plume with both buoyant and non-buoyant features

This paper presents a computational model of simulating a deep-sea hydrothermal plume based on a Lagrangian particle random walk algorithm. This model achieves the efficient process to calculate a numerical plume developed in a fluid-advected environment with the characteristics such as significant filament intermittency and significant plume meander due to flow variation with both time and location. Especially, this model addresses both non-buoyant and buoyant features of a deep-sea hydrothermal plume in three dimensions, which significantly challenge a strategy for tracing the deep-sea hydrothermal plume and localizing its source. This paper also systematically discusses stochastic initial and boundary conditions that are critical to generate a proper numerical plume. The developed model is a powerful tool to evaluate and optimize strategies for the tracking of a deep-sea hydrothermal plume via an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).