An integrated approach for validating unsaturated soil parameters in seepage analyses

Soil–water characteristic curves (SWCCs) and soil permeability functions (SPFs) for a silty sand were validated based on soil suction and soil water content measurements in calibration box and constant-head seepage tests. Transient seepage analyses using finite element method (FEM) were performed to examine the accuracy of the derived SWCCs and SPFs, with a special focus on the wetting front propagation. Results show that the proposed new integrated system consisting of experimental and analytical techniques works well, in the sense that the soil moisture responses at specific depths of soil mimic those measured in constant-head seepage tests.     

海上风电塔架基础的新型吸力锚研发

海上风电作为一种清洁能源,其开发利用越来越受到世界各沿海国家的重视.吸力锚基础是海洋工程中的一种新型基础型式,广泛应用于海洋平台、海洋浮动式结构等.近年来,也被作为海上风电工程塔架的基础,此海上风电塔架的基础部分是整个工程结构的重要组成部分,它涉及到整个风电结构的安全性,是工程可靠运行的前提.在深入研究已有塔架的基础上...     

深海吸力锚水平极限承载力研究

深海吸力锚基础的极限承载能力是海洋工程锚固系统的一个关键问题。基于Coulomb摩擦接触对原理,给出一种模拟吸力锚承载能力的有限元模型。在该数值模型基础上,利用通用有限元分析软件ABAQUS,研究系泊点位置、吸力锚长径比对极限承载力的影响,并给出深海吸力锚失稳模式。结果表明,系泊点位置极大地影响着吸力锚的极限承载力与稳定性,系泊点位置的变化会导致吸力锚出现前倾转动、平移滑动和后仰转动失稳模式,同时吸力锚失稳模式受长径比的影响。为工程实际和理论分析提供了技术支持和理论指导。     

Towards understanding the behaviour of naturally-occurring road construction materials

Summary Naturally-occurring road construction materials generally contain a greater amount of fines, and the fines have a higher plasticity than traditional materials such as a crushed rock aggregates. This makes their behaviour more difficult to understand and predict since soil suction and fabric become important controlling factors. The concepts of suction and fabric are outlined, and their role in controlling the behaviour of road construction materials is illustrated by a fundamental laboratory study of a lateritic gravel and two calcrete gravels. These materials have successfully been used as road base construction materials in low-volume bituminous-surfaced roads in Kenya and Botswana. It is concluded that the presence of fines can be an advantage, since they allow significant suctions to develop and also reduce the permeability.     

Indirect Measurement of Suction

This paper reports on indirect soil suction measurement methods. Indirect suction measurement techniques measure the moisture equilibrium condition of the soil instead of suction. The moisture equilibrium condition of the soil can be determined by primary means as in vapor pressure, secondary means as through another porous medium or tertiary means as in measuring other physical properties of the porous medium that indicates its moisture equilibrium condition. Indirect suction measurement techniques employing primary means include thermocouple psychrometers, transistor psychrometer and chilled-mirror psychrometer. Indirect suction measurement techniques employing secondary means includes the filter paper method and indirect suction measurement techniques employing tertiary means include thermal conductivity sensors and electrical conductivity sensors. These techniques have been widely used in engineering practice and in research laboratories. However, each of these techniques has its own limitations and capabilities, and active research into improving these techniques is ongoing in universities, research laboratories, and private sector. This paper outlines working principles, calibration, measurement, and application areas of these methods based on recent literature and practice.     

Laboratory Hydraulic Testing in Unsaturated Soils

This paper synthesizes the state-of-the art of the various laboratory testing techniques presently available for measuring the water hydraulic constitutive functions of unsaturated soils. Emphasis is on the laboratory testing techniques for measuring the soil–water retention curves and the water hydraulic conductivity functions of unsaturated soils. The significant recent advances in the investigation of the hydraulic behaviour of unsaturated swelling soils, are also presented. Comprehensive recent references on each measurement method are listed and discussed.     

Mechanical Testing in Unsaturated Soils

The state-of-the-art report presented herein is aimed at documenting, to the largest extent possible, some of the recent advances in laboratory testing of unsaturated soils for stress–strain–strength–stiffness characterization under suction-controlled isotropic, axisymmetric, and true triaxial stress states. The report is intended to be neither comprehensive nor fully inclusive, offering plenty of room for further discussion on recent refinements and techniques not yet reported in the literature. The main sections in this report are devoted to describing current methods and technologies using cylindrical triaxial systems, including advances in volume change measurements; resonant column/torsional shear systems; bender element-based systems; and suction-controlled testing under true triaxial stress states. Concluding remarks are included in the last section of the report.     

A unified bounding surface plasticity model for unsaturated soils

A unified constitutive model for unsaturated soils is presented in a critical state framework using the concepts of effective stress and bounding surface plasticity theory. Consideration is given to the effects of unsaturation and particle crushing in the definition of the critical state. A simple isotropic elastic rule is adopted. A loading surface and a bounding surface of the same shape are defined using simple and versatile functions. The bounding surface and elastic rules lead to the existence of a limiting isotropic compression line, towards which the stress trajectories of all isotropic compression load paths approach. A non‐associated flow rule of the same general form is assumed for all soil types. Isotropic hardening/softening occurs due to changes in plastic volumetric strains as well as suction for some unsaturated soils, enabling the phenomenon of volumetric collapse upon wetting to be accounted for. The model is used to simulate the stress–strain behaviour observed in unsaturated speswhite kaolin subjected to three triaxial test load paths. The fit between simulation and experiment is improved compared to that of other constitutive models developed using conventional Cam‐Clay‐based plasticity theory and calibrated using the same set of data. Also, the model is used to simulate to a high degree of accuracy the stress–strain behaviour observed in unsaturated Kurnell sand subjected to two triaxial test load paths and the oedometric compression load path. For oedometric compression theoretical simulations indicate that the suction was not sufficiently large to cause samples to separate from the confining ring. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

干湿过程中花岗岩残积土抗拉强度变化研究

利用自制的土体直拉强度测试仪,研究了重塑花岗岩残积土在不同含水率下、增湿过程和干燥过程中抗拉强度的变化规律,并从胶结力和湿吸力的角度讨论了抗拉强度变化规律的微观机制。结果表明：不同含水率条件下抗拉强度随含水率增加呈现先增后减,峰值两侧呈较好的指数规律;增湿过程中抗拉强度随含水率增加呈先增后减趋势,峰值两侧为一次函数规律;干燥过程中抗拉强度随含水率降低出现指数增加阶段、平稳阶段和小幅降低阶段3个阶段,其抗拉强度峰值为不同含水率条件下抗拉强度的4倍。花岗岩残积土在不同含水率和增湿过程中的抗拉强度的变化主要受湿吸力控制,而干燥过程中抗拉强度变化的同时受湿吸力和胶结力的控制,且胶结力对抗拉强度的贡献超过70%。土体的干燥开裂过程对应干燥过程中抗拉强度变化的几个阶段,干燥时湿吸力是土体内部拉应力的来源,这说明湿吸力既是抗拉强度的贡献者,同时也是抗拉强度的破坏者。该研究结果从另一种角度解释了土体抗拉强度的形成来源及其变化的主控因素。     

全吸力范围内渗透系数快速测定方法研究

非饱和土渗透系数函数跨越多个数量级,传统的测量方法动辄耗时数月,且难以实现全吸力范围内渗透系数的测量。为了实现全吸力范围内渗透系数的快速测量,将湿润锋前进法与瞬时剖面法相结合（简称联合测定方法）,利用自行研制的土柱入渗装置,开展了不同干密度条件下青海粉质黏土全吸力范围内渗透系数测量试验。试验结果表明：在联合测定方法中,湿润锋前进法适用于高吸力段（基质吸力ψ > 25 kPa）渗透系数的测量,瞬时剖面法则适用于低吸力段（基质吸力ψ ≤25 kPa）渗透系数的测量,且两种方法在吸力重叠范围内渗透系数测量结果基本一致。联合测定方法可将全吸力范围内渗透系数的测量时长压缩至一周左右,且精度良好。此外,还对两种试验方法的误差来源进行了分析与讨论。研究结果表明：联合测定方法能够实现全吸力范围内渗透系数的快速测量,有望使得非饱和土渗透系数的测量成为土力学的常规试验。