Evaluation of Plasticity Models’ Ability to Analyze Typical Earth Dams’ Soil Materials

The selection of the constitutive laws reproducing the response of geomaterials usually becomes a very complicated procedure; especially during the analysis of geostructures containing coarse grained materials. The objective of this study, is the evaluation of models based on the perfect and hardening plasticity theory, regarding their ability to analyze the behaviour of soil materials, used for the construction of earth dams. The evaluated constitutive laws are the elastic–perfect plastic model based on the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion and the isotropic hardening CAP model based on the same criterion. The data used for the evaluation of the models, originate from the body of the Sfikia earth dam. This dam is considered suitable, because of the specialized laboratory tests’ available data, regarding the materials of every zone. The availability of those data, as well as the variety of the construction geomaterials, allows the deduction of generalized conclusions, concerning the ability of the specific models to simulate a variety of similar earth constructions.     

Residual and Fully Softened Strength Evaluation of Soils using Artificial Neural Networks

A backpropagation artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed to predict the secant friction angle of residual and fully softened soils, using data reported by Stark et al. (J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 131:575–588, 2005). In the ANN model, index properties such as liquid limit, plastic limit, activity, clay fraction and effective normal stress are used as input variables while secant residual friction angle is used as output variable. The model is verified using data that were not used for model training and testing. The results also indicate that the secant residual friction angle of cohesive soils can be predicted quite accurately using liquid limit, clay fraction and effective normal stress as input variables with R ² = 0.93. The sensitivity analysis results indicate that plastic limit and activity have no appreciable effect on ANN predicted secant friction angles. The secant friction angle predictions of the ANN model were also compared with those of Stark’s et al. (2005) curves and the empirical formulas suggested for the same data sets by Wright (Evaluation of soil shear strengths for slope and retaining wall stability with emphasis on high plasticity clays, 2005). The comparison shows that the ANN model predictions are very close to those suggested by the Stark et al. (2005) curves but much better than the prediction of Wright’s (2005) empirical equations. The results also show that ANN is an alternative powerful tool to predict the secant friction angle of soils.     

北京地区粘性土分类指标与力学指标关系回归分析

通过统计北京地区7 602组粘性土土工试验数据,研究了粘土分类指标与力学指标各参数之间的相关关系,并给出了相应的一元、多元回归方程式和相关系数。分类指标回归分析结果表明:含水量与孔隙比、饱和度、液限和塑限指标相关性较好;液限与比重、孔隙比、塑限、塑性指数相关性较好;液性指数与饱和度、塑限与孔隙比、孔隙比与密度、饱和度与液性指数及塑性指数与比重相关性都较好。力学指标回归分析表明:压缩模量E2与E1相关性好;E2与E1、初始应力相关性好;E2与粘聚力、摩擦角、E1、初始应力、孔隙比相关性好;E2与E1、粘聚力、摩擦角相关性好。并不建议运用相关方程式确定指标,但对于资料欠缺的地区可以借鉴。     

Mississippi Valley regional source of loess on the southern Green Bay Lobe land surface, Wisconsin

Loess has been recognized on the glacial land surface of the Green Bay Lobe for over 100 yr, but no systematic explanation of the source of the loess has been advanced. Intriguingly, the loess on the Green Bay Lobe land surface is thicker than predicted by regional thinning trends from the Mississippi Valley and is geographically separated from much loess of southwest Wisconsin by a sandy region devoid of loess. Mapping based on soil survey interpretation indicates that the loess occurs above an escarpment marking the eastern end of the sandy loess-free region. Particle size fining trends demonstrate that the loess was transported by northwesterly winds. Clay mineralogy of the Green Bay Lobe loess is distinctly different than glaciogenic sediments and matches loess of the Mississippi Valley, indicating a regional source and long distance transport of the loess. We propose the loess was transported from the regional source along a surface of transport produced by migration of eolian sand through low-relief landscapes including the glacial Lake Wisconsin basin. Eolian sand migration caused repeated entrainment of dust leading to east-southeastward transport. The loess accumulated above an escarpment that limited sand mobility and re-entrainment of loess beyond this topographic barrier.     

Numerical analysis of a cylinder moving through rate-dependent undrained soil

Geo-hazard assessment of the potential damage to a pipeline caused by a submarine landslide requires a quantitative model to evaluate the impact forces on the pipeline. In contrast with typical geotechnical problems, the strain rate within the fast moving, flow-like submarine landslide is typically far higher, which will lead to enhancement of the soil strength and therefore result in larger impact forces. Generally, there are two possible predictive frameworks for strain-rate dependence: a fluid dynamics framework and a geotechnical framework. By comparison of common rheological models adopted in these two different approaches, a unified additive power-law model, a normalised form of the Herschel-Bulkley model from fluid mechanics, is explored in this paper. This model has been used in conjunction with a large deformation finite element approach to investigate the undrained limiting loads on a cylinder moving steadily through inertia-less soft rate-dependent material, in order to quantify the strain-rate effects.The flow mechanism and the effects of the shear-thinning index and Oldroyd number on the shear zones are explored. The calculated resistance factors are compared with the drag coefficients obtained from computational fluid dynamics analysis. The average rate of strain experienced by the soil flowing past the cylinder is estimated for a given flow velocity and an expression in the form of a conventional bearing capacity equation, but with shear strength linked directly to the normalised flow velocity, is proposed to predict the magnitude of the viscous force exerted by the debris flow.     

Varicolored and vesiculated tuffs from La Fossa volcano,Vulcano Island (Aeolian Archipelago,Italy): evidence of syndepositional alteration processes

Chemical and mineralogical data for samples collected from a surge sequence from La Fossa cone (Vulcano Island, Italy) show a wide variety of alteration states between adjoining beds, the macroscopic features of which are expressed by various degrees of reddening. The effects of the alteration processes on pyroclastic rocks are as follows: hydration and oxidation of each component of the pyroclastic rocks to varying degrees; formation of authigenic smectite; precipitation of a large variety of soluble salts; and corrosion on the surface of glass fragments (pitting). Dry surge beds, emplaced from a two-phase, dry steam + solid, suspension do not show significant alteration. By contrast, wet surge deposits, suggesting an emplacement from free water-bearing turbulent flows, show an increasing degree of alteration, passing from grey to red coloured beds. The strict relationship between the present alteration state and the depositional unit rules out any post-depositional processes. The occurrence of alteration in wet surge beds and the lack of alteration in dry beds shows that the main controlling agent was water condensed from the eruptive cloud and suggests a syn-depositional character to the alteration itself. These observed differences can be ascribed to the different chemical reactivities of the water, probably related to the amounts of acidic species carried by the eruptive cloud and/or by the efficiency of their capture during the condensation of the water vapour.     

Source rock potential (TOC + hydrogen index) evaluation by integrating well log and geochemical data

Evaluation of source rock potential using well log data alone, e.g. density or sonic log, is limited to the assessment of total organic carbon (TOC) content. Well logs that directly measure the most important source quality parameter, the hydrogen content of the kerogen, do not exist. Therefore, a method is proposed that combines log-derived TOC data with calibration schemes relating TOC content to Hydrogen Index and maturity for individual source rock sets. The method has been applied to the compositionally heterogeneous Kimmeridge Clay Formation of the North Sea and the homogeneous Lower Toarcian Shale of N.-Germany. The combination of well log and geochemical data greatly improves the accuracy with which the lateral and vertical distribution of source rocks and their potential can be predicted on a basin and prospect level.     

Ultimate uplift capacity of model rigid metal piles in clay

Summary Laboratory model test results for estimation of the ultimate uplift capacity of rigid metal piles embedded in a compacted near-saturated clayey soil are presented. The length-diameter ratio of the piles was varied from 10 to 15. The direction of the uplift load on the pile was varied from 0 to 50°. Based on the present test results and the results of existing model studies, an empirical relationship for estimating the pile uplift capacity has been presented.     

The bearing capacity of surface strip foundations on geogrid-reinforced sand and clay — a comparative study

Summary Laboratory model test results for the ultimate bearing capacity of a strip foundation supported by geogrid-reinforced sand and saturated clay are presented. One type of geogrid only was used for all the tests. On the basis of the model test results, the optimum depth and width of reinforcing layers and the optimum depth of the location of the first layer of the geogrid in sand and saturated clay were determined and compared.