Direct CPT and CPTu methods for determining bearing capacity of helical piles

Helical piles are structural deep foundation elements, which can be categorized as torque-driven piles without any limitations to implement in marine situations. Different methods are used to predict the axial capacity of helical piles, such as static analysis, but have some limitation for this type of piles on marine conditions. In situ testing methods as supplement of static analysis have been rarely used for helical piles. In geotechnical engineering practice, the most common in situ tests particularly applicable for coastal or offshore site investigation are cone penetration test (CPT) and piezocone penetration test (CPTu). The CPT is simple, repeatable, and prepares the continuous records of soil layers. In this paper, a data bank has been compiled by collecting the results of static pile load tests on thirty-seven helical piles in ten different sites including CPT or CPTu data. Axial capacities of thirty-seven helical piles in different sites were predicted by direct CPT methods and static analysis. Accuracy estimation of ten direct CPT methods to predict the axial capacity of helical piles was investigated in this study. Comparisons have been made among predicted values and measured capacity from the pile load tests. Results indicated that the recently developed methods such as NGI-05 (2005), ICP-05 (2005), and UWA-05 (2005) predicted axial capacity of helical piles more accurately than the other methods such as Meyerhof (1983), Schmertmann (1978), Dutch (1979), LCPC (1982), or Unicone (1997). However, more investigations are required to establish better correlation between CPT data and axial capacity of helical piles.     

潮致泥沙全沙净输运解析模式

泥沙运动作为水流和底床相互作用的纽带,是河流、河口及海岸工程研究的重要内容。在潮波作用明显的河口、海岸地区,周期性的动力作用下的泥沙运动具有往复和可逆的特征,因此研究这类水域的泥沙的净输运更具有实际的意义。基于泥沙输运和流速呈指数关系假设,建立潮流环境下的泥沙全沙净输运的解析解公式,并对该公式的计算结果和数值计算以及数学模型的结果进行了检验和验证,结果表明本研究提出的公式能较好地反应潮流环境下的泥沙净输运。由此,基于本公式采用潮流分潮调和常数可计算得到全沙净输运,并可以分析各分潮流及其相互作用与泥沙净输运的关系。研究结果显示,在受径流影响较大的半日潮河口,S2、MS4、M2三潮相互作用对全沙净输运的贡献显著高于通常的潮流不对称作用,即M2、M4的相互作用。此外,河口区域径流导致的余流对泥沙净输运的贡献不可忽略,特别是在洪季,大径流量条件下往往导致余流较大,其对泥沙净输运的贡献所占比例较大。     

试说中国陆内构造变形和其地球动力学特征

中国陆内构造变形主要始于晚二叠世中国北方进入后海西地台发展时期。印支期末以至喜马拉雅期,随着特提斯洋的关闭,大陆范围也随即向中国南方和青藏地区增生和扩展。中国的陆内构造变形从后海西地台形成的准平原化阶段即已开始。但规模巨大的变形则发生于燕山构造旋回中期和喜马拉雅旋回。陆内构造变形的规模可分两个等级:一是覆盖整个中国大陆的,另一是局部的。前者两次改变了中国构造-地貌的整体面貌;后者则表现为造山、造盆和微陆块纵向或横向的逃逸,以及由此引起的造山或造盆。根据中国陆内构造变形特征及其与区域构造背景演化的关系分析认为,中国陆内构造变形主要是由周边洲级规模板块运动引起的,同时,随着地壳上部构造变形引发的地壳或岩石圈均衡调整,则使地下深处产生相应的构造响应。     

Development of the cyclic p–y curve for a single pile in sandy soil

Pile foundations that support transmission towers or offshore structures are dominantly subjected to cyclic lateral load induced by wind and waves. For a successful design, it is crucial to investigate the effect of cyclic lateral loads on the pile behavior that is loaded laterally. Although the p–y curve method is generally utilized to design the cyclic laterally loaded pile foundations, the effect of cyclic lateral loads on the pile has not been properly implemented with the p–y curve. This reflects a lack of consideration of the overall stiffness change in soil–pile interaction. To address this, a series of model pile tests were conducted in this study on a preinstalled aluminum flexible pile under various sandy soil conditions. The test results were used to investigate the effect of cyclic lateral loads on the p–y behavior. The cyclic p–y curve, which properly takes into account this effect, was developed as a hyperbolic function. Pseudo-static analysis was also conducted with the proposed cyclic p–y curve, which showed that it was able to properly simulate cyclic laterally loaded pile behavior in sandy soil.     

Response and capacity of monopod caisson foundation under eccentric lateral loads

Monopod caisson foundation is a viable alternative for supporting offshore wind turbines located at shallow water depths. This foundation system has to resist overturning moment generated due to resultant lateral load, arising from wind and water wave action, that can act at any loading height above the seabed. This paper presents results of a numerical investigation performed to determine the influence of loading height, caisson geometry and superstructure load on the ultimate lateral capacity, initial stiffness, and soil failure zone of the foundation, when installed in very dense sand. Both the ultimate and serviceable states of the caisson foundation obtained from the analyses are represented in terms of envelopes plotted between lateral load and overturning moment. Simplified expressions, which take into account the influence of caisson geometry, loading height, and soil properties, are also presented to serve as a preliminary base for design of the monopod caisson foundation.     

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.     

隧道地震响应数值模拟研究

在进行隧道地震响应的数值模拟研究时, 横向计算范围和人工边界等对计算结果有很大的影响。本文以黄草坪隧道为研究对象, 应用有限差分程序FLAC3D对其进行地震响应的数值模拟研究, 将横向计算范围分别取为隧道洞径的5倍、6倍、7倍、8倍、9倍和10倍, 并分别采用FLAC3D中的截断边界、自由场地边界和粘性边界进行计算。研究结果表明, 当地震波为P波时, 横向计算范围取为洞径的7至8倍, 人工边界采用自由场地边界或粘性边界是比较合理的。      

Lateral dynamic response of a pipe pile in saturated soil layer

This paper presents an analytical solution for the lateral dynamic response of a pipe pile in a saturated soil layer. The wave propagations in the saturated soil and the pipe pile are simulated by Biot's three‐dimensional poroelastic theory and one‐dimensional elastic theory, respectively. The governing equations of soil are solved directly without introducing potential functions. The displacement response and dynamic impedances of the pipe pile are obtained based on the continuous conditions between the pipe pile and both the outer and inner soil. A comparison with an existing solution is performed to verify the proposed solution. Selected numerical results for the lateral dynamic responses and impedances of the pipe pile are presented to reveal the lateral vibration characteristics of the pile‐soil system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bearing capacity of strip foundations reinforced with geogrid sheets by using upper bound finite‐element limit analysis

By using the upper bound finite‐elements limit analysis, with an inclusion of single and two horizontal layers of reinforcements, the ultimate bearing capacity has been computed for a rigid strip footing placed over (i) fully granular, (ii) cohesive‐frictional, and (iii) fully cohesive soils. It is assumed that (i) the reinforcements are structurally strong so that no axial tension failure can occur, (ii) the reinforcement sheets have negligible resistance to bending, and (iii) the shear failure can take place between the reinforcement and soil mass. It is expected that the different approximations on which the analysis has been based would generally remain applicable for reinforcements in the form of geogrid sheets. A method has been proposed to incorporate the effect of the reinforcement in the analysis. The efficiency factors, η_c and η_γ, to be multiplied with N_c and N_γ , for finding the bearing capacity of reinforced foundations, have been established. The results have been obtained (i) for different values of ? in case of fully granular and cohesive‐frictional soils, and (ii) for different rates at which the cohesion increases with depth for a fully cohesive soil. The optimum positions of the reinforcements' layers have also been determined. The effect of the reinforcements' length on the results has also been analyzed. As compared to cohesive soils, the granular soils, especially with higher values of ?, cause a much greater increase in the bearing capacity. The results compare reasonably well with the available theoretical and experimental data from literature. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonlinear analysis of laterally loaded rigid piles in cohesive soil

This article presents a method for the nonlinear analysis of laterally loaded rigid piles in cohesive soil. The method considers the force and the moment equilibrium to derive the system equations for a rigid pile under a lateral eccentric load. The system equations are then solved using an iteration scheme to obtain the response of the pile. The method considers the nonlinear variation of the ultimate lateral soil resistance with depth and uses a new closed‐form expression proposed in this article to determine the lateral bearing factor. The method also considers the horizontal shear resistance at the pile base, and a bilinear relationship between the shear resistance and the displacement is used. For simplicity, the modulus of horizontal subgrade reaction is assumed to be constant with depth, which is applicable to piles in overconsolidated clay. The nonlinearity of the modulus of horizontal subgrade reaction with pile displacement at ground surface is also considered. The validity of the developed method is demonstrated by comparing its results with those of 3D finite element analysis. The applications of the developed method to analyze five field test piles also show good agreement between the predictions and the experimental results. The developed method offers an alternative approach for simple and effective analysis of laterally loaded rigid piles in cohesive soil. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.