P–Y Curves for Piles Under Seismic Lateral Loads

This paper describes an experimentally based procedure for building dynamic P–Y curves for clays from the Campeche sound in the Gulf of Mexico and for Mexico City clays. Cyclic triaxial and resonant column tests were used to derive hyperbolic stiffness–strain and damping–strain functions that depend on soil plasticity and on relative consistency. The dynamic P–Y curves incorporate these functions and also include hysteretical and geometrical damping characteristics of the pile–soil system; they can be used directly in dynamic interaction analyses of structure–pile–soil systems in the time or the frequency domains. Usual practice relies on pseudo static formulations and a simplified alternative to include P–Y curves in this kind of analysis is also proposed, which is essentially the same as the dynamic ones but does not include radiation or hysteretical damping.     

Spatial variability of snowmelt timing from AMSR‐E and SSM/I passive microwave sensors,Pelly River,Yukon Territory,Canada

Spring snow melt run‐off in high latitude and snow‐dominated drainage basins is generally the most significant annual hydrological event. Melt timing, duration, and flow magnitude are highly variable and influence regional climate, geomorphology, and hydrology. Arctic and sub‐arctic regions have sparse long‐term ground observations and these snow‐dominated hydrologic regimes are sensitive to the rapidly warming climate trends that characterize much of the northern latitudes. Passive microwave brightness temperatures are sensitive to changes in the liquid water content of the snow pack and make it possible to detect incipient melt, diurnal melt‐refreeze cycles, and the approximate end of snow cover on the ground over large regions. Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR‐E) passive microwave brightness temperatures (T_b) and diurnal amplitude variations (DAV) are used to investigate the spatial variability of snowmelt onset timing (in two stages, ‘DAV onset’ and ‘melt onset’) and duration for a complex sub‐arctic landscape during 2005. The satellites are sensitive to small percentages of liquid water, and therefore represent ‘incipient melt’, a condition somewhat earlier than a traditional definition of a melting snowpack. Incipient melt dates and duration are compared to topography, land cover, and hydrology to investigate the strength and significance of melt timing in heterogeneous landscapes in the Pelly River, a major tributary to the Yukon River. Microwave‐derived melt onset in this region in 2005 occurred from late February to late April. Upland areas melt 1–2 weeks later than lowland areas and have shorter transition periods. Melt timing and duration appear to be influenced by pixel elevation, aspect, and uniformity as well as other factors such as weather and snow mass distribution. The end of the transition season is uniform across sensors and across the basin in spite of a wide variety of pixel characteristics. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vertical amplitude reduction of Rayleigh waves by a row of piles in a poroelastic half‐space

A row of rigid piles is addressed as the countermeasures for isolating Rayleigh waves in a poroelastic half‐space. The complex characteristic equations for Rayleigh waves are derived via Biot's theory and their existence conditions are given. The piles are modeled as Euler–Bernoulli beams with longitudinal displacements and the diffracted field by each pile is constructed only with Rayleigh waves. Six infinite linear systems of algebraic equations are obtained in terms of the equilibrium of forces and continuity of displacements at the pile–soil interfaces. The systems are subsequently solved in the complex least‐squares sense. The influence of certain pile and soil characteristics such as the permeability of poroelastic soil, spacing between the piles and length of the piles on the isolating performance of a pile barrier is investigated. Computed results show that the permeability of poroelastic soil displays a significant effect on the vertical amplitude reduction of Rayleigh waves. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3D Numerical Simulation Analysis of Passive Drag near Free Surface in Swimming

The aim of this work is to build a 3D numerical model to study the characteristics of passive drag on competitive swimmers taking into account the impact of the free surface. This model solves the 3D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using RNG k?ε turbulence closure. The volume of fluid (VOF) method is used to locate the free surface. The 3D virtual model is created by Computer Aided Industrial Design (CAID) software, Rhinoceros. Firstly, a specific posture of swimming is studied. The simulation results are in good agreement with the data from mannequin towing experiments. The effects of a swimmer’s arms and legs positions on swimming performance are then studied. Finally, it is demonstrated that the present method is capable of simulating gliding near the free surface.     

应用微波遥感数据的东北地区地表温度反演

针对无源微波遥感时间分辨率高可以克服云层影响获取地表温度的问题,该文应用AMSR-E微波亮度温度数据,分别选取了基于发射率估计的单通道反演法和多通道线性拟合法反演东北地区地表温度。在原有方法的基础上提出算法改进:对单通道反演法按照植被生长周期在生长季与非生长季分别建立发射率估计方程,探究各微波通道在每种地表覆被类型的反演能力并组合反演精度最高的通道,将微波极化差异指数作为表征发射率参数加入多通道拟合方程。结果显示,获取的地表温度剔除水体和冰雪无效像元后可用性达到100%,改进后的单通道反演法均方根误差由3.58~4.6降低至2.0~3.1,在75%的区域的误差小于2 K;多通道拟合法的最终均方根误差为2.6~3.5,同样有较高精度且只使用微波亮温数据就能获取地表温度。     

高应变法在判定大直径灌注桩缺陷中的应用

测试数据准确可靠的高应变法检测,能够定量分析基桩缺陷,准确判定缺陷位置。通过工程桩的低应变法和高应变法对桩身完整性判定分析的工程实例,结合钻芯法验证,总结高应变法在不同情况下对桩身完整性的评定。     

低应变法检测PHC桩身缺陷的新认识

通过宁德国际会展中心桩基工程的低应变法检测事例,提出了反射波形上出现与入射波反相反射波并不一定仅是土层反应,断桩也可能导致低应变波形出现明显的反相反射波,进而对该桩基质量进行全面分析、评价,对桩基检测结果作出判断。     

软土地基某泵闸深基坑支护失稳分析及处理

介绍了某泵闸基坑灌注桩围护位移及钢管支撑受力过程,对造成支护失稳原因进行了详细分析,探讨基坑设计及施工工艺存在的问题,介绍了支护失稳后抢险、围护补强、防渗加固及支撑体系补强等措施,同时对加固补强处置效果进行了分析,得出相关结论及建议,为类似基坑顺利施工提供了一定依据。     

Pseudo-dynamic methods for seismic passive earth pressure behind a cantilever retaining wall with inclined backfill

The designing of retaining walls requires the complete knowledge of earth pressure distribution. Under earthquake conditions the design needs special attention to reduce the devastating effect, but under seismic conditions, the available literature mostly uses the pseudo-static analytical solution as an approximate to the real dynamic nature of the complex problem. This paper shows a detailed study on the seismic passive earth thrust behind a cantilever retaining wall with inclined backfill surface by pseudo-dynamic analysis. A planar failure surface has been considered. The effect of variation of parameters such as soil friction angle, wall friction angle and back fill inclination have been explored. A complete analysis shows that the time dependent non-linear behaviour of the pressure distribution obtained in the present method results in more realistic design values of earth pressures under earthquake conditions. Results are provided in tabular and graphical non-dimensional form and compared thoroughly with the existing values in the literature.     

Assessment of soil–pile–structure interaction influencing seismic response of mid-rise buildings sitting on floating pile foundations

The role of the seismic soil–pile–structure interaction (SSPSI) is usually considered beneficial to the structural system under seismic loading since it lengthens the lateral fundamental period and leads to higher damping of the system in comparison with the fixed-base assumption. Lessons learned from recent earthquakes show that fixed-base assumption could be misleading, and neglecting the influence of SSPSI could lead to unsafe design particularly for structures founded on soft soils. In this study, in order to better understand the SSPSI phenomena, a series of shaking table tests have been conducted for three different cases, namely: (i) fixed-base structure representing the situation excluding the soil–structure interaction; (ii) structure supported by shallow foundation on soft soil; and (iii) structure supported by floating (frictional) pile foundation in soft soil. A laminar soil container has been designed and constructed to simulate the free field soil response by minimising boundary effects during shaking table tests. In addition, a fully nonlinear three dimensional numerical model employing FLAC3D has been adopted to perform time-history analysis on the mentioned three cases. The numerical model adopts hysteretic damping algorithm representing the variation of the shear modulus and damping ratio of the soil with the cyclic shear strain capturing the energy absorbing characteristics of the soil. Results are presented in terms of the structural response parameters most significant for the damage such as foundation rocking, base shear, floor deformation, and inter-storey drifts. Comparison of the numerical predictions and the experimental data shows a good agreement confirming the reliability of the numerical model. Both experimental and numerical results indicate that soil–structure interaction amplifies the lateral deflections and inter-storey drifts of the structures supported by floating pile foundations in comparison to the fixed base structures. However, the floating pile foundations contribute to the reduction in the lateral displacements in comparison to the shallow foundation case, due to the reduced rocking components.