Properties and organic activation of ocean clay in the East Pacific

In order to make use of ocean clay reasonably and excavate its potential applications the properties of ocean clay in Chinese investigating area of the East Pacific have been tested with the chemical analysis, XRFS, ICP/MAS, granulometry and SSA, etc. The results show that the clay sediments of this area are rich in clay minerals, fine granularity, bigger SSA, bigger water absorbability and lower ion changing ability etc. To improve the adaptability of ocean clay and macromolecule materials, using the dry milling method with silane, aluminate, stearic acid coupling agents etc the properties of ocean clay are improved. The effect has been evaluated by testing the water absorbing of the modified ocean clay and their dispersing in paraffin liquid. The result is that KH550 is better than any other active reagents, and the best activation technics is that 1.5% (volume) of KH550 quantity, 20min of milling time. The DTA, XRD, SEM and IR analyses and SSA testing show that the organic activation can not change the mineral structure but can densify the structure of clay, and activation mechanism is chemical covered mainly and chemical combined secondly.     

中晚全新世以来闽江口水下三角洲物质来源及古环境演变

通过对闽江口南侧柱状样沉积物开展高分辨率的粒度、粘土矿物分析及AMS¹⁴C测年,揭示了中晚全新世以来闽江口水下三角洲物质来源及古环境演变。中全新世(7 ka BP—4 ka BP)高海平面时期,梅花水道可能是闽江口南侧陆源物质输运的主要通道,沉积了以砂为主[(58.6±8.7)%]的沉积物,平均粒径为(3.76±0.49)φ,为较高能的沉积环境。期间,增强的浙闽沿岸流携带更多的长江物质沉积到闽江口,导致沉积物中蒙脱石含量增多。然而,到晚全新世(3 ka BP)海平面略有下降,梅花水道衰退,闽江口南侧的水动力条件减弱,形成以粉砂为主[(58.1±4.4)%]的沉积物,平均粒径为(6.30±0.32)φ。晚全新世浙闽沿岸流有所减弱,闽江口沉积物中的蒙脱石含量明显减少,而来自闽江的高岭石含量增加。     

Unified numerical study of shallow foundation on structured soft clay under unconsolidated and consolidated-undrained loadings

Abstract

Based on a new elasto-plastic constitutive model, this paper presents a soil–water coupled numerical prediction of the bearing capacity for shallow foundation constructed on Ballina soft clay for unconsolidated undrained (UU) and consolidated undrained (CU) conditions. This elasto-plastic constitutive Shanghai model has an advantage of describing the mechanical behaviour of over-consolidated and structured soil under different loading and drainage conditions, by using one set of material parameter. In this paper, the Shanghai model used for both UU and CU conditions has the same initial parameters obtained from laboratory test results. The loading conditions and consolidation stages vary based on construction details. The predicted bearing pressure-settlement responses for UU and CU, approves the field observation. The phenomenon of gaining the bearing capacity due to consolidation is captured and explained by the use of soil–water coupled numerical analysis with a new elasto-plastic model. The stress strain behaviour, stress paths and the decay of the structure of elements at different depths presented in this study, reveal the mechanism for the difference between UU and CU conditions to understand the foundation behaviour. Effect of the initial degree of soil structure on the bearing capacity is also addressed. Overall, this approach provides the integrated solution for the shallow foundation design problems under short and long-term loadings.     

Undrained monotonic shear behavior of marine soft clay after long-term cyclic loading

Abstract

In the coastal area, nearshore and offshore structures have been or will be built in marine soft clay deposits that have experienced long-term cyclic loads. Therefore, the mechanical behavior of marine clay after long-term cyclic loading needs to be investigated. In this research, a series of monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests were carried out to investigate the postcyclic mechanical behavior of the marine soft clay. The postcyclic water pore pressure, shear strength and secant stiffness are discussed by comparing the results with the standard monotonic test (without cyclic loading). It is very interesting that the postcyclic behavior of marine soft clay specimen is similar to the behavior of overconsolidated specimen, that is, the specimen shows apparent overconsolidation behavior after long-term cyclic loading. Then relationship between the overconsolidation ratio and the apparent overconsolidation ratio is established on the basis of the theory of equivalent overconsolidation. Finally, a validation formula is proposed which can predict the postcyclic undrained shear strength of marine soft clay.     

Dynamic characteristics of marine soft clay under variable phase difference and initial static shear stress

Abstract

Under seismic loading, the soil layer is subjected to multidirectional cyclic shear stress with different amplitudes and frequencies because of the coupling of multiple shear waves and the soil element within a slope or behind a retaining wall is subjected to initial static shear stress before subjected to cyclic loading. Due to the complexity of seismic loading propagation, a phase difference exists between the initial static shear stress and cyclic shear stress. To investigate the influence of the phase difference and initial static shear stress on cyclic shear strain, cyclic modulus, and cyclic strength, a series of laboratory tests are performed on Wenzhou marine soft clay by multi-directional simple shear system, which can simulate the actual state better by controlling the horizontal cyclic stress in the x and y directions simultaneously. As the phase difference varies from 0° to 90°, the dynamic shear modulus increases and cyclic strain accumulation decreases with an increasing number of cycles. The shear strain increases with the initial shear stress.     

Effect of nano-MgO on mechanical performance of cement stabilized silty clay

Abstract

A series of direct shear tests were performed on cement-admixed silty clay to investigate the effect of cement content and nano-magnesia (MgO) on its shear strength properties. For each normal stress, shear strength increased with cement content. However, an obvious increment in shear strength was achieved when the cement content was adjusted from 13% to 17%. Both cohesion and friction angle of cemented soil increased with cement content, and exponential function was adopted to correlate both the factors with cement content. For cement content of 10% investigated in this study, the optimum nano-MgO content was 10‰, wherein the cohesion could reach the peak value. The microstructure of the mixture revealed that the structure of the mixture was compacted for the optimum nano-MgO content. However, micro-cracks were formed when the amount of nano-MgO exceeded its optimum content.     

Coupling numerical simulation with remotely sensed information for the study of frozen soil dynamics

The acquisition of spatial-temporal information of frozen soil is fundamental for the study of frozen soil dynamics and its feedback to climate change in cold regions. With advancement of remote sensing and better understanding of frozen soil dynamics, discrimination of freeze and thaw status of surface soil based on passive microwave remote sensing and numerical simulation of frozen soil processes under water and heat transfer principles provides valuable means for regional and global frozen soil dynamic monitoring and systematic spatial-temporal responses to global change. However, as an important data source of frozen soil processes, remotely sensed information has not yet been fully utilized in the numerical simulation of frozen soil processes. Although great progress has been made in remote sensing and frozen soil physics, yet few frozen soil research has been done on the application of remotely sensed information in association with the numerical model for frozen soil process studies. In the present study, a distributed numerical model for frozen soil dynamic studies based on coupled water-heat transferring theory in association with remotely sensed frozen soil datasets was developed. In order to reduce the uncertainty of the simulation, the remotely sensed frozen soil information was used to monitor and modify relevant parameters in the process of model simulation. The remotely sensed information and numerically simulated spatial-temporal frozen soil processes were validated by in-situ field observations in cold regions near the town of Naqu on the East-Central Tibetan Plateau. The results suggest that the overall accuracy of the algorithm for discriminating freeze and thaw status of surface soil based on passive microwave remote sensing was more than 95%. These results provided an accurate initial freeze and thaw status of surface soil for coupling and calibrating the numerical model of this study. The numerically simulated frozen soil processes demonstrated good performance of the distributed numerical model based on the coupled water-heat transferring theory. The relatively larger uncertainties of the numerical model were found in alternating periods between freezing and thawing of surface soil. The average accuracy increased by about 5% after integrating remotely sensed information on the surface soil. The simulation accuracy was significantly improved, especially in transition periods between freezing and thawing of the surface soil.     

晚上新世以来菲律宾海盆XT4孔黏土矿物特征及其古环境意义

菲律宾海是典型风尘汇聚区,菲律宾海远离吕宋岛的深海沉积物是重建构造尺度亚洲风尘演化历史的良好载体.选取菲律宾海盆XT4孔沉积物开展了黏土矿物研究,并结合前人研究成果,在明确该孔黏土矿物来源的基础上,探讨了晚上新世以来亚洲风尘的演化历史及其可能的影响机制.菲律宾海盆XT4孔黏土矿物以伊利石为主,平均含量为39％,蒙脱石含...     

青藏铁路填土路基热-力耦合离散元研究

多年冻土是含有冰的特殊土体,在自然环境变化及工程扰动下易发生冻胀融沉变形,严重威胁着青藏高原工程建筑物的安全稳定,特别对青藏铁路的畅通运营提出了严峻挑战.以青藏铁路五道梁地区路基断面为研究对象,采用颗粒离散单元法,通过建立热-力离散元计算模型,对路基的温度场和变形进行了计算和预测.结果表明:离散单元法克服了有限元方法无...     

皂土在葡萄酒生产中性能之探讨

皂土是用于葡萄酒行业的一种膨润土,其主要成分蒙脱石具有的晶格置换性能、负电性、离子交换性、水体系特性(膨胀性、悬浮性)等,使其成为葡萄酒澄清剂优质原料。通过在涿州皂土应用实践中对其性能的进一步认识,认为它仍有进一步扩展的应用及市场空间。