Territorial cohesion trends in Inner Scandinavia: The role of cross-border cooperation – INTERREG-A 1994–2010

The article examines whether the goal of territorial cohesion can be achieved in the area designated ‘Inner Scandinavia’ through the interventions of the European Union's cross-border cooperation programme, INTERREG-A. The programme supports a polycentric development of the Inner Scandinavian border region, which is one of three Swedish-Norwegian INTERREG-A sub-programmes. Since 1994 substantial progress has been made in the Swedish-Norwegian INTERREG-A programme, which recently ended its third generation (2007–2013), with the overarching goals of strengthening the attractiveness and competitiveness of the border region. Progress can be witnessed in the improved selectivity of the projects, which have become fewer, with more funding and more focus on innovation, and of the involved partners, with increasing participation by universities and research centres. However, despite the maturity of the Nordic cross-border programme, many challenges lie ahead. In general, the Swedish-Norwegian border region continues to lag behind in the Scandinavian socio-economic context, in which the main urban agglomerations (Stockholm, Oslo, and Gothenburg) benefit from competitive territorial advantages such as human capital, knowledge centres, decision-making structures, access to capital, and accessibility.     

Ultimate bearing capacity of a foundation reinforced by columns or cross trenches under inclined loads: a homogenization approach

This paper addresses the geotechnical engineering problem of evaluating the ultimate bearing capacity of a strip foundation resting upon a reinforced soil, by means of the yield design homogenization approach. The analysis is notably focused on the determination of the macroscopic strength criterion of such reinforced soils, where both constituents are purely cohesive, which can be conveniently expressed through the notion of anisotropic cohesion. A comprehensive comparison is made between the classical configuration of reinforcing columns and the more original one of orthogonal reinforcing trenches. Among the most outstanding results of the analysis is the conclusion that the cross trench configuration is notably more efficient in terms of load bearing capacity than the reinforcement by columns, notably when significantly inclined loading is concerned. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A homogenization method for estimating the bearing capacity of soils reinforced by columns

The ultimate bearing capacity problem of a strip foundation resting on a soil reinforced by a group of regularly spaced columns is investigated in the situation when both the native soil and reinforcing material are purely cohesive. Making use of the yield design homogenization approach, it is shown that such a problem may be dealt with as a plane strain yield design problem, provided that the reinforced soil macroscopic strength condition has been previously determined. Lower and upper bound estimates for such a macroscopic criterion are obtained, thus giving evidence of the reinforced soil strong anisotropy. Performing the upper bound kinematic approach on the homogenized bearing capacity problem, by using the classical Prandtl's failure mechanism, makes it then possible to derive analytical upper bound estimates for the reinforced foundation bearing capacity, as a function of the reinforced soil parameters (volume fraction and cohesion ratio), as well as of the relative extension of the reinforced area. It is shown in particular that such an estimate is closer to the exact value of the ultimate bearing capacity, than that derived from a direct analysis which implicitly assumes that the reinforced soil is an isotropic material. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of Soil Shear-Strength Parameters and Prediction of the Collapse of Gully Walls in the Black Soil Region of Northeastern China

The collapse of gully walls is an important mode of gully erosion, and it depends strongly on two soil shear-strength parameters: cohesion and the internal friction angle. However, little research has examined these parameters in China's black soil region. In the present study, we sampled six groups of surface soils from four different land uses, and two groups of soils at depths of 30 cm and 60 cm. The cohesion (c) and internal friction angle (φ) of each group were determined at 10 levels of water content. The results show that c increased with increasing water content until a certain level (12% for the surface soils, and 14% for the deeper soils), after which c decreased. Internal friction angle generally decreased with increasing water content. We developed a model predicting collapse of gully walls based on four parameters: dry bulk density, water content, crack depth, and the width of the soil collapse. The model predicts that soil collapse would occur at two levels of water content: dry and wet conditions. Field data showed that collapse only occurred under the wet condition; the critical mass water content given by the model is between 31.0% and 33.8% moisture.     

浅析饱水淤泥和粘性土的粘聚力

以汕头地区普遍存在的饱水淤泥土和粘性土为例，研究饱水粘性土与淤泥土的粘聚力和土体的含水量、液限之间的关系，指出饱水粘性土的粘聚力是变量，而不是常量，粘聚力与液限和含水量之差呈近正比关系。     

考虑粘聚力及墙背粘着力的主动土压力公式

考虑滑裂面上填土的粘聚力及填土与墙背接触面上的粘着力，推得了粘性填土挡墙上的主动土压力计算公式。可以应用程序按假定滑裂面的方式进行编程试算，从而确定主动土压力并确定滑裂面倾角，该法客观合理且实用方便，可保证足够的精度。也可以直接应用式（16）近似计算主动土压力。     

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地风沙土的物理力学性质

风沙是形成于干旱、半干旱区的一种特殊性质的土 ,其力学性质不同于一般土体 ,结构松散性为其最主要的特点。本文通过对塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地风沙土样进行的试验 ,获得了风沙土基本力学参数 :压缩模量为 5 0 0～ 14 2 86MPa ,是一种低压缩性土 ;为 31°5 5′～ 36°19′ ;风沙土存在结构力 ,其力学效应相当于粘聚力 ,数值在 0 6～ 9 3MPa之间。     

加筋土堤表层壁体效果的评价

用水平加筋材料加固土堤时，常常在表层设置一列土袋用于施工中临时挡土及固定水平加筋材料，该到土袋形成一表层壁体，对土堤整体稳定有着很大作用，介绍了考虑表层壁体对加筋土堤的整体稳定作用的方法。该方法分为两个步骤来验算土堤的最小安全系数；其一是将表层一列土袋假想成一刚性壁体，该假想刚性壁体作为一薄壁挡墙作用于后面的补强土堤上；其二是对设有土袋的区域，稳定计算中考虑由于土袋张力引起的附加粘聚力c。并重点说明了该附加粘聚力c的产生机理并给出试验验证结果。     

Morphological Characteristics of Till Formations in Relation with Mechanical Parameters

The study of landslides stability on mountain slopes can become very difficult when materials in movement are heterogeneous: it is a current problem with the old glacial till formations presently under study (Aspe Valley, Pyrénées, France). Analysis of slope stability using numerical models necessitates accurate data about mechanical and physical properties. Because tills are very heterogeneous, a large sample is necessary but, unfortunately, data acquisition costs a lot of time and money. Therefore, we would like to estimate mechanical data from correlated parameters that are easier to acquire (morphological parameters using image analysis). Observations in the field and previous mechanical results in the laboratory have shown that differences between the behavior of tills seem to be related not only to their 3D structure but also to the morphological and petrographical characteristics of their components. The aim of this paper is first to illustrate how to classify the till formations textural and petrographical characteristics at the sample scales; these classifications are based on the distributions of size, shape of their constitutive elements (blocks, matrix, etc.). Significant statistical results are available by applying image analysis methods based on mathematical morphology. Next we show how these characteristics are related to the mechanical characteristics (friction angle, cohesion). Six specific till formations were collected, and we establish the relation between the effective internal angle of friction and the elongation factor.     

A model of capillary cohesion for numerical simulations of 3D polydisperse granular media

We present a 3D discrete‐element approach for numerical investigation of wet granular media. This approach relies on the basic laws of contact and Coulomb friction enriched by a capillary force law between particles. We show that the latter can be expressed as a simple explicit function of the gap and volume of the liquid bridge connecting a pair of spherical particles. The length scales involved in this expression are analyzed by comparing with direct integration of the Laplace–Young equation. We illustrate and validate this approach by application to direct shear and simple compression loadings. The shear and compression strengths obtained from simulations reproduce well the experimental measurements under similar material and boundary conditions. Our findings clearly show that the number density of liquid bonds in the bulk is a decisive parameter for the overall cohesion of wet granular materials. A homogeneous distribution of the liquid within the bridge debonding distance, even at low volume contents, leads to the highest cohesion. The latter is independent of the liquid content as far as the liquid remains in the pendular state and the number density of liquid bonds remains constant. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.