Reviewing probabilistic soils modelling

The probabilistic approach to soils and foundation engineering requires a suitable set of models. Consistency and comparability require that these models are to a certain extent standardized but capable of incorporating the most important aspects. The concept of ergodicity is introduced as an important tool of probabilistic modelling. For layered soils some standard random field models are proposed. Their properties are discussed. Especially for soils and foundation engineering a Bayesian approach to handle different types of knowledge is mandatory — even in simplified form. An attempt is made to quantify prior information about different soil types and a simple update formula is presented. A methodology to treat classification errors is proposed. An illustrating example is presnted.     

Experimental study on dynamic characteristics of granular materials under axial high-frequency vibration

The fundamental understanding of the behavior of granular materials by the effect of vibration is necessary to properly address a number of engineering issues, such as long-term settlement of high-speed railway, vibratory pile driving in sandy stratum, and earthquake-induced geotechnical disaster. Triaxial compression tests of dry Pingtan sand were carried out by a modified triaxial apparatus, where axial high-frequency vibration was super-imposed on the specimen at pre-peak, peak, and post-peak stress states during monotonic shearing. The influences of vibration conditions, confining pressure, and the initial relative density on the vibration-induced responses of Pingtan sand are mainly considered. It is shown that the super-imposed vibration leads to significant deviatoric stress reduction and vibro-induced additional axial strain. This owes to the fact that the static inter-particle friction turns to dynamic friction, and consequently, the frictional resistance has a considerable reduction when vibration is applied to the sand specimen. The vibration-induced stress–strain behavior of sand specimen is characterized into three states by two thresholds concerning vibration intensity and confining pressure: (1) stable state, (2) vibro-compression state and (3) vibro-instability state. For the vibro-compression state, the deviatoric stress reduction has a positive linear correlation with the increase in vibration intensity, while the vibro-induced additional axial strain follows a power-law increase with vibration intensity. Given a vibration condition, the deviatoric stress reductions and the vibro-induced additional axial strains at pre-peak, peak, and post-peak stress state follow a descending order. Besides, the influences of vibration on shear strength and critical state were also discussed.

     

Web-based Data and Monitoring Platform for Complex Geotechnical Engineering Projects

Data management is the key of geotechnical risk management and disaster prevention providing right information at right time and right place. It supports regular construction cycles as well as handling of exceptional situations occurring probably during execution stages where the detailed knowledge of the actual state of construction is especially important. The web-based client–server software platform DoMaMoS was developed to cover all aspects in a new fashion. Main parts of the software are a graphical user interface, a SQL database and a controller application. Software development concerned user-friendly handling, geotechnical monitoring, security aspects, rapid access and adaptivity during a running project. Basic ideas and main features of the developed software are described and the practical application is shown.     

Factors of safety and pile load tests

The factor of safety used in designing pile foundations for vertical load should depend on three things, prior information on load capacity summarized by empirical correlations with load capacity models, site specific information derived from load tests, and an objective function reflecting economic and safety considerations. A statistical approach to factor of safety selection was developed in order to suggest improvements of current standards for driven pile design. This approach recognizes a distinction between the variability of pile load capacity within individual sites, and the global variability upon which model correlations are based. Charts have been prepared for determining the FS required to achieve specified reliability indices, as a function of the number of load tests at a particular site and their outcomes.