Cones to model foundation vibrations: incompressible soil and axi-symmetric embedment of arbitrary shape

The recently streamlined strength-of-materials approach using cones to calculate vibrations of foundations embedded in layered half-spaces and full-spaces is applied to incompressible and nearly-incompressible soil and to axi-symmetric embedments of arbitrary shape. For incompressible soil the axial-wave velocity in the cones is limited to twice the shear-wave velocity and a trapped mass for the vertical motion and a trapped mass moment of inertia for the rocking motion moving as a rigid body with the under-most disk of an embedded foundation are introduced. In the case of a fully embedded foundation, a mass and a mass moment of inertia are also assigned to the upper-most disk. For an axi-symmetric embedment of arbitrary shape, the disks have varying radii. No modifications to the formulation are, however, required. For these two extensions the strength-of-materials approach using cones leads to the same sufficient engineering accuracy as is achieved in other more conventional cases. This is demonstrated in a vast study. Thus the same other advantages also apply: physical insight with conceptual clarity, simplicity and sufficient generality.     

Comparing liquefaction evaluation methods using penetration-VS relationships

Three methods that follow the general format of the Seed-Idriss simplified procedure for evaluating liquefaction resistance of soils are compared in this paper. They are compared by constructing relationships between penetration resistance and small-strain shear–wave velocity (V_S) implied from cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) curves for the three methods, and by plotting penetration-V_S data pairs. The penetration-V_S data pairs are from 43 Holocene-age sand layers in California, South Carolina, Canada, and Japan. It is shown that the V_S-based CRR curve is more conservative than CRR curves based on the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Cone Penetration Test (CPT), for the compiled Holocene data. This result agrees with the findings of a recent probability study where the SPT-, CPT-, and V_S-based CRR curves were characterized as curves with average probability of liquefaction of 31, 50, and 26%, respectively. New SPT- and CPT-based CRR equations are proposed that provide more consistent assessments of liquefaction potential for the Holocene sand layers considered.     

Fast practical evaluation of soil–structure interaction of embedded structures

A simple and fast evaluation method of soil–structure interaction (SSI) effects of embedded structures is presented via a cone model. The impedances and the effective input motions at the bottom of an embedded foundation are evaluated by means of the cone model. Those quantities are transformed exactly to the corresponding values at the top of the foundation. The evaluated quantities are combined with the super-structure at the top of the foundation. The transfer function amplitude of the interstory drift of a single-degree-of-freedom super-structure is computed for various cases, i.e. no SSI, SSI without embedment, SSI with shallow embedment, SSI with deep embedment. Soil properties are also varied to investigate in more detail the SSI effects of embedded structures. It is found that, while the transfer function amplitude is reduced by the increase of embedment in general, the characteristics of the transfer function amplitude for a very small ground shear wave velocity and large embedment are irregular and complicated.     

Field measurements of shear strength of an underconsolidated marine clay

This paper presents the observations of cone penetration testing (CPT), in situ vane shear testing and undrained triaxial testing of underconsolidated marine clay in the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area (CIDMMA), Norfolk, VA. Comparison of vane shear measurements, taken during 1981–1983, to CPT measurements, taken during 1993, indicates a change in undrained shear strength. Both the vane shear and cone penetration resistances are lowest at the mid-heights of the clay layers and the excess pore water pressures are highest at the mid-height of the clay layers, indicating that the clay layer is underconsolidated.     

Liquefaction-induced ground deformations at Hotel Sapanca during Kocaeli (Izmit),Turkey earthquake

This paper presents a study of liquefaction-induced ground deformations at the Hotel Sapanca site during the 1999 Kocaeli (Izmit)—Turkey earthquake. The paper discusses: (1) observed ground deformations and displacements after the earthquake, (2) the results of field investigations by means of borings and in situ index tests including standard penetration tests (SPT), static cone penetration tests (CPT) and piezocone (CPTU) tests, (3) analyses of observed ground settlements and lateral deformations by a suite of methods, and (4) comparisons of observed and calculated ground movements.     

Prediction of ultimate axial load-carrying capacity of piles using a support vector machine based on CPT data

The support vector machine (SVM) is a relatively new artificial intelligence technique which is increasingly being applied to geotechnical problems and is yielding encouraging results. In this paper SVM models are developed for predicting the ultimate axial load-carrying capacity of piles based on cone penetration test (CPT) data. A data set of 108 samples is used to develop the SVM models. These data were obtained from the literature containing pile load tests and each sample contains information regarding pile geometry, full-scale static pile load tests and CPT results. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to examine the relative significance of each input variable with respect to ultimate strength prediction. Finally, a statistical analysis is conducted to make comparisons between predictions obtained from the SVM models and three traditional CPT-based methods for determining pile capacity. The comparison confirms that the SVM models developed in this paper outperform the traditional methods.     

64层锥束CT扫描的优化系统

近年来X射线断层成像(CT)技术获得了突飞猛进的发展,自1998年推出4层螺旋CT后,CT扫描设备在容积覆盖,空间分辨率,扫描速度,切片数方面取得了长足进展.这不仅给医学应用带来了深远的影响,同时也给CT系统设计提出了巨大的挑战.容积CT(VCT)的设计过程引入了各种策略来战胜其复杂性.这些方法学包括:理论分析,系统性能预测的图像分析工具,各种基于专家背对背评价的参数优化.本文论述了64层CT系统设计中的一些考虑因素及优化过程.这些设计过程保证了锥束CT的优化性能.首批客户的应用反馈显示了我们设计实践的有效率性.     

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.     

Modified approach to evaluation of undrained shear strength from piezocone tests in soft clays

This paper proposes a modified-theoretical approach to interpreting the undrained shear strength from piezocone tests in clays. Assuming the shear and normal stresses on the cone face to be the friction at the cone–soil interface and the ultimate expansion pressure, respectively, an expression of the tip resistance is first derived at force equilibrium. The undrained shear strength is then determined by combining the derived expression of tip resistance with the formulation for pore pressure at the cone shoulder position. Many factors, such as the penetration rate and the cone roughness, are considered in this model. Different shaped model penetrometers, including cone- and ball-shaped ones, are adopted in centrifuge tests to investigate the validity of the proposed method. The undrained shear strength estimated from the piezocone test is found to agree well with that from ball penetrometer test. Case studies are also presented to show the application of the proposed method. Comparisons between the predicted and measured values of undrained shear strength indicate that the proposed approach is generally applicable for nonfissured clays, especially intact clays.