Compaction process in sedimentary basins: the role of stiffness increase and hardening induced by large plastic strains

This paper is devoted to the simulation of large strain compaction process in sedimentary basins. Special attention is paid to the effects of large porosity changes on the elastic and plastic mechanical properties of the sediment material. The latter are introduced in the constitutive behaviour in the framework of a micromechanical reasoning. In particular, the proposed approach avoids the problem of negative porosities that are predicted by classical models under high confining pressures. Some closed‐form solutions are presented in the simplified case of one‐dimensional compaction. While the influence of stiffness increase is shown to be negligible as regards the compaction law, it proves to affect significantly the stress and porosity profiles. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Linking weathering and rock slope instability: non‐linear perspectives

Weathering is linked complexly to the erosion and evolution of rock slopes. Weathering influences both the strength of rock slopes and the stresses that act upon them. While weathering has often been portrayed in an over‐simplified way by those studying rock slope instability, in reality it consists of multiple processes, acting over different spatial and temporal scales, with many complex inter‐linkages. Through a demonstration of the sources of non‐linearities in rock slope weathering systems and their implications for rock slope instability, this paper proposes five key linkages worthy of further study. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization and constitutive modeling of red clay contaminated with ammonium carbonate

Conventionally, red clay is used for agricultural purposes in southern China. Fertilizers, especially urea, are commonly introduced into the red clay to improve the crop yields. However, due to the rapid urbanization in China, large areas of lands with red clays have been converted into sites for domestic and industrial constructions. Nevertheless, few researchers focused on the effect of urea on the strength and compressibility of red clay. In this research, the shear strength and compressibility of the red clay saturated by different concentrations of the (NH₄)₂CO₃ solution (urea's hydrolysates) were experimentally investigated using direct shear as well as oedometer tests, respectively. It was noticed that both the shear strength and stiffness of the red clay significantly decreased after exposure to the urea solution. In addition, the micromechanisms of the strength and compressibility of the red clay treated by the (NH₄)₂CO₃ were studied by the scanning electron microscope test and X-ray diffraction test. Based on the test results, a new model was developed to simulate the chemomechanical behavior of saturated clayey soil by modifying the Barcelona basic model (BBM) for unsaturated soils. The proposed model introduces four additional parameters, compared to the BBM, to account for the nonlinear shear strength behavior of the red clay. This model accounts for most of the complex features related to the strength and stiffness behavior of clayey soils. The parameter calibration procedures, by using the oedometer and direct shear test results, are also presented. To validate the proposed model, experimental results from the literature are considered in which illite clay samples were either mechanically or chemically or both mechanically and chemically loaded. Part of the experimental results is used to calibrate the model parameters and the other part along with the calibrated parameters is used to verify the proposed model. A comparison between experimental data and predicted results demonstrated that the proposed model is able to capture the main features related to the chemomechanical coupling behavior of saturated soils.     

动力UH模型

针对砂土在动力荷载作用下所表现出的应力诱导各向异性,以改进后的UH超固结土模型为基础,采用旋转硬化规则将其扩展为可考虑与砂土应力应变关系的动本构模型。主要改进有3方面:(1)将形状固定的椭圆屈服面改变为可变屈服面,椭圆的形状由β来刻画,而β本身是椭圆旋转轴的大小,表示应力诱导各向异性程度的大小;(2)引入旋转硬化规则,使椭圆屈服面可围绕原点旋转以反映反向加载条件下的本构响应;(3)对统一硬化参数进行了修正,首先对潜在强度公式增加了一个参数α用来调节超固结应力比参数R对于潜在强度值的影响,其次针对应力诱导各向异性建立起能反映旋转硬化与等向硬化相协调的扩展统一硬化参数。模型预测与试验结果的对比以及有限元模拟表明:提出的动力统一硬化(DUH)模型能够简单、合理的描述与砂土在动力载荷下的本构关系,验证了所提模型的合理性。     

滩涂淤泥加固处理的试验研究

唐山曹妃甸工业区是国家正在着力开发建设的重要经济产业区,其滩涂大面积淤泥的固结硬化处理是开发建设中的首要技术难题。现场研究表明,用固化剂将曹妃甸淤泥进行化学加固处理是行之有效的方法。通过室内试验,提出固化剂中熟料、Na2SO4、Na2SiF6等配方的最佳配比,并通过无侧限抗压强度试验检验其强度。试验结果表明,此固化剂配方具有极大的优越性,可为现场施工提供科学指导。     

苏州粉土地层地连墙施工对地层扰动影响研究

采用三维有限差分软件FLAC3D对地下连续墙施工进行模拟,分析苏州地区粉土地层中地连墙施工对土体扰动及周边建筑物影响。利用UBCSAND硬化规律对外部扰动作用下土体强度逐步发挥的力学特性进行表征,模拟开挖过程中浅层土体变形,并对地连墙施工中成槽开挖、钢筋混凝土施工及混凝土硬化进行全过程模拟。计算结果表明,硬化模型较好地反映地连墙施工扰动下浅层土体力学特性;地连墙成槽阶段地层变形随深度的增加而减小,地表以下20 m范围内地层变形显著,而深部土体变形较小;钢筋混凝土浇筑施工对地层变形起到抑制作用;混凝土硬化阶段地层变形趋于稳定。在该基础上采用硬化模型对苏州某基坑地连墙施工进行数值仿真,模拟结果和现场实测吻合较好。     

一种考虑黏聚强度的改良土弹塑性本构模型

改良土中土颗粒和水化物形成具有一定结构的聚合体而表现出较强的结构性。与重塑正常固结土相比,改良土的结构性更强且具有一定的超固结比。在变形发展过程中,由于聚合体结构逐渐破坏,黏聚强度逐渐损失,土体表现出应变软化的力学特性。基于适用于超固结重塑黏土的统一硬化模型,引入改良土黏聚强度及其随塑性变形的演化规律,对统一硬化参数进行了修正,并采用更适用于改良土的非关联的流动法则,建立了一个可以较好地描述改良土力学特性的弹塑性本构模型。通过与水泥改良土和石灰改良土的三轴剪切排水试验的结果进行对比,该模型能够较为合理地描述改良土加载过程中黏聚强度损失对其力学特性的影响。黏聚强度的存在导致土体表现出超固结土的特性,当黏聚强度损失时会加剧土体的软化速度。     

考虑温度影响的冻土蠕变本构模型

冰作为冻土的基本组成部分,对冻土蠕变的加速蠕变阶段有重要影响。温度通过影响冻土中冰的冻结与融化过程,及其黏塑性流动,引起冻土结构的强化与弱化,从而成为了决定冻土蠕变力学行为的关键因素之一。同时,外部应力也造成冻土的强化与弱化,影响着冻土的蠕变。通过引入硬化因子与损伤因子来考虑温度、应力造成的冻土材料强化与弱化。硬化因子H代表了蠕变过程中强化效应的大小,而损伤因子D则代表了由弱化效应造成的冻土材料相关参数的折减比例,进而提出了适用于冻土的改进西原蠕变本构模型。该模型预测值与试验数据的比较表明：改进的模型不仅能较好地描述初始蠕变阶段、稳定蠕变阶段,而且相比于传统模型,能更好地描述冻土加速蠕变阶段,具有合理性与一定的实用性。     

三种硬化理论的比较

本文把土体弹塑性模型中已有的硬化理论归结为三种，即等值面理论、对偶应力理论和等价应力理论，并通过不同应力路线的数值计算对它们作了比较。