Effects of Laboratory Consolidation on Petrophysical Properties of Fine-Grained Marine Sediments: Electron Microscopic Observations

Abstract

Pliocene-Recent marine sediments, recovered at site 1125 by ODP Leg 181 on the eastern New Zealand margin, were subjected to laboratory consolidation tests and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after consolidation test. The primary objective of this study is to document the effects of consolidation on microfabric and petrophysical properties. X-ray diffraction and grain-size distribution data indicate that the samples are mineralogically and texturally similar and thus are ideal for the present study on the role of consolidation solely on petrophysical properties. Porosity was measured before and after each consolidation test, and permeability was estimated indirectly based on the theoretical method. SEM photomicrographs show details of changes of pore geometry and distribution after the consolidation test that account for the porosity loss.     

Evaluation of Undrained Shear Strength and Consolidation Characteristics of Disturbed Marine Sedimentary Clay due to SCP Installation

The behaviors of the marine sedimentary ground improved by sand compaction pile (SCP) method are analyzed. To do this, the results of upheaval characteristics of the sea floor, undrained shear strength, and horizontal consolidation coefficient (consolidation) are investigated. Due to SCP installation on ground, as thickness of a soft clay layer increases, upheaval height increases and upheaval angle decreases. Undrained shear strength of disturbed ground due to SCP construction decreases in early stage after completion of construction, but it shows a trend of recovering as months elapse. As the result of piezocone penetration dissipation tests, consolidation delay phenomenon by the disturbance due to SCP installation clearly is identified and its degree is dependent on the replacement area ratio of SCP and the location of ground.     

Case Studies of PSDDF for Phased Placement of Dredged Soils

Use of Terzaghi's one-dimensional consolidation theory is not suitable for consolidation of highly deformable soft clays such as dredged soils. To model this condition, it is necessary to consider non-linear finite strain consolidation behavior, i.e., changes in compressibility and permeability with increasing stress. A one-dimensional non-linear finite strain numerical model, Primary Consolidation, Secondary Compression, and Desiccation of Dredged Fill (PSDDF), has been used to predict the stress-dependent settlement of fine-grained dredged materials. In this paper, two case studies of using PSDDF are discussed to illustrate the applicability and accuracy of PSDDF. The first case study involves PSDDF simulations of laboratory-phased placement of a marine clay dredged from Busan, Korea. PSDDF results are in good agreement with the corresponding results of the laboratory large strain consolidation tests. The other involves estimating the service life of the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area near Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States. The excellent agreement between measured and calculated values shows that PSDDF is a reliable tool for predicting settlement of dredged material.     

Consolidation Parameters Interpretation of CPTU Dissipation Data Based on Strain Path Theory for Soft Jiangsu Quaternary Clays

When a piezocone (CPTU) penetrates the ground, pore pressures are set up due to the stress changes. Pore pressure dissipation occurs in the subsequent consolidation process in a manner dependent on the initial stress distribution. The process of analysis can be used to interpret the consolidation parameters from CPTU data based on strain path approach. For the two approaches to the CPTU analysis, the Houlsby and Teh method used an elastic-plastic model, while the Levadoux and Baligh solution used parameters specifically appropriate for Boston Blue Clay. This article discusses a comparison between the two theoretical predictions and field CPTU measurements deployed in Jiangsu (China) Quaternary clays. The values of the coefficient of consolidation calculated from the two methods are then compared with high-quality laboratory tests. Both theoretical predictions provide good agreement for the shape of the dissipation curve, but the predicted c _h values are different and thought should indeed be given to the use of an appropriate value of G/s _u.     

Monotonic and cyclic behaviors of loose anisotropically consolidated calcareous sand in torsional shear tests

ABSTRACT

The behavior of loose anisotropically consolidated calcareous sand obtained from an island in the South China Sea was investigated under undrained monotonic and cyclic loading in a hollow cylinder torsional apparatus. The tests were conducted on specimens which consolidated under various initial effective confining pressures and consolidation stress ratios. The monotonic test results show that the failure and phase transformation line are essentially independent of the consolidation conditions, while the initial contractive tendency of the specimens decreases with an increasing consolidation stress ratio. During monotonic loading of the anisotropically consolidated specimens, a same major principal stress direction is observed at the constant stress ratio lines up to the phase transformation line, irrespective of initial effective confining pressure. The cyclic strength of the sand increases with an increasing consolidation stress ratio. Moreover, a pronounced stress dependence is observed in the sand with higher consolidation stress ratio. During cyclic loading, the generated excess pore water pressure presents considerable fluctuations. The normalized terminal excess pore water pressure is described as a function of consolidation stress ratio. The tests show that the particle shape, rather than particle crushing, plays an important role in the monotonic and cyclic behaviors of the calcareous sand.     

A method of making deepwater shallow sediments considering their rehological properties

Abstract

In this article, based on the rheological consolidation model of deepwater shallow sediments, the artificial samples were made in laboratory. The feasibility of artificial samples was verified by electron microscopy scanning and triaxial experiments. Deepwater shallow sediments consolidation models mainly considers two points: (i) the change of permeability with time and temperature and (ii) the effect of rheology. The consolidation experiment of deepwater shallow sediments verifies the correctness of the model. It can be found that, the artificial and natural samples have the same physical and mechanical properties. And the physical properties of natural samples can be obtained by rheological consolidation model of deepwater shallow sediments.     

Determining the effects of depositional processes on consolidation behavior of sediment using shear-wave velocity

Abstract

Compression behavior of sediments is crucial to geological engineering applications for ascertaining the deformation characteristics of the particular depositional environments. Unfortunately, obtaining the geotechnical parameters required to assess the compression behavior of sediments can be a costly and time-consuming undertaking. This study developed a general prediction equation that simulates the compression behavior of sediments. This developed equation is an exponential decline model that relates an increase of the shear-wave velocity to an increase of the mean effective stress. Consequently, the decrease of void ratio is presented as a continuous function of the shear-wave velocity. For this research, laboratory-derived sediment samples created to mimic actual sediments were isotopically consolidated during a consolidated undrained triaxial compression tests. The samples were prepared in the laboratory by mixing different percentages of fines and controlling the ratio of clay-to-silt fractions. Shear-wave velocity tests were performed during this consolidation testing using bender elements. The experimental constants needed for the prediction equation were well correlated to the depositional factors specifically characterized by percent fines, silt percent, and liquid limit that define better complexity of depositional processes.     

Integration degree of risk in terms of scene and application

Risk is a scene in the future associated with some adverse incident. Scene means something seen by a viewer, or felt by individuals or various societal groups. Any risk assessment is to model some aspects of the scene for risk. Different aspects for assessment leads to different scene. In this paper, we suggest the integration degree of risk to distinguish characters of risks with respect to the aspects. The total number of factors of a risk system determines the macro degree and the granulation scale for measuring a risk reflects the micro degree. A simple framework depends on the degrees provides an explanation of the integrated risk. The most common model for risk assessment is available for the two-freedom-degree serial risk. A case studying flood risk shows the application to explain what the risk is, where the information is incomplete and we use the information diffusion technique to estimate the risk. Project 40771007 supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Extensions of nonlinear error propagation analysis for explicit pseudodynamic testing

Two important extensions of a technique to perform a nonlinear error propagation analysis for an explicit pseudodynamic algorithm (Chang, 2003) are presented. One extends the stability study from a given time step to a complete step-by-step integration procedure. It is analytically proven that ensuring stability conditions in each time step leads to a stable computation of the entire step-by-step integration procedure. The other extension shows that the nonlinear error propagation results, which are derived for a nonlinear single degree of freedom (SDOF) system, can be applied to a nonlinear multiple degree of freedom (MDOF) system. This application is dependent upon the determination of the natural frequencies of the system in each time step, since all the numerical properties and error propagation properties in the time step are closely related to these frequencies. The results are derived from the step degree of nonlinearity. An instantaneous degree of nonlinearity is introduced to replace the step degree of nonlinearity and is shown to be easier to use in practice. The extensions can be also applied to the results derived from a SDOF system based on the instantaneous degree of nonlinearity, and hence a time step might be appropriately chosen to perform a pseudodynamic test prior to testing.     

指标动态权重对边坡稳定性的影响研究

从权重的涵义出发,分析了传统权重评价方法存在的问题,认为指标权重计算结果应是动态变化的,即会随着指标实际取值的变化而变化。以此为出发点,引入了可拓理论的简单关联函数对传统权重求解的AHP(层次分析法)进行了改进。改进的方法一方面减少了边坡稳定性多因素评价方法中由于主观因素过多对指标权重结果合理性的影响,使指标权重的求解结果更加客观;另一方面,充分反映了相同指标在不同取值的情况下对边坡系统稳定性影响程度的变化,使评价结果更趋合理。对某具体边坡工程实例进行了分析,研究结果表明：指标权重具有动态变化的特征。也就是说,即使评价指标相同,指标权重值也会随着指标具体取值的不同而发生变化,从而对边坡稳定性的评价结果产生影响。