Relative density effects on the bearing capacity of unsaturated sand

This study focuses on the impact of relative density on the bearing capacity of unsaturated sand using both theoretical predictions and measurements from physical modeling tests. The theoretical predictions incorporate the effective stress, quantified using the suction stress concept and friction angles obtained from direct shear tests on unsaturated sand specimens at different relative densities and degrees of saturation, into conventional bearing capacity equations. The suction stress values inferred from the failure envelopes were found to match well with values predicted from the soil-water retention curves for sands with different relative densities. Moreover, the bearing capacity values measured in physical modeling experiments involving loading of a circular footing atop unsaturated silty sand layers having different initial degrees of saturation matched well with the predicted bearing capacity values from an effective-stress based model. As expected, the bearing capacity was greater for soils with increasing relative density, but an interesting observation is that a transition from general to local shear failure occurred at a certain combination of relative density and degree of saturation. For the silty sand tested, this transition occurred at a relative density of 0% for degrees of saturation between 4 and 16% and at a relative density of 40% for degrees of saturation between 30 and 90%. General shear failure was always observed at relative densities of 70 and 90%.     

Particle erosion in suffusion under isotropic and anisotropic stress states

In this study, a set of laboratory experiments is conducted to investigate the erosion behaviors of soils subjected to suffusion under isotropic and anisotropic stress states. The results show that the amount of eroded particles gradually increases with the erosion time under isotropic stress states. The final accumulative particle loss approaches a constant if the erosion time is sufficiently long under a given erosion gradient. The erosion behaviors under anisotropic stress states are similar to those under isotropic stress states, as long as the amount of particle loss is small. However, if the erosion amount is high enough to reach a critical value, the specimen collapses and undergoes significant volumetric deformation. Based on these erosion behaviors, an analytical expression for the erosion rate is developed to quantify the erodibility of cohesionless soils. Moreover, an energy-based model is used to interpret the erodibility of soils. The mechanism of the effects of the stress state on the erosion behaviors, especially the collapse of specimens, is explained. It is concluded that the evolution of the strain-stress behaviors and the rearrangement of the microstructure are the main reasons for the differences between the erosion behaviors under isotropic and anisotropic stress conditions.     

Response of stone column-improved ground under c-ϕ soil embankment

Problems with stone column-supported embankments are often addressed considering the pure granular soil properties of the embankment material. In practice, however, the embankment material may contain a certain percentage of fines which makes the material c-ϕ in nature. In the present paper, experimental and 3D numerical studies are conducted to investigate the effect of the fines content present in the embankment soil on the response of a stone column-improved ground. The numerical study is carried out using the finite difference software package FLAC^3D. The time-dependent behavior of the improved soil is modeled. It is observed that an increase in the fines content in the embankment soil brings about a decrease in the stress concentration ratio and an increase in the vertical displacement and the pore pressure in the soft soil. However, the vertical displacement of the soft soil does not change significantly above a fines content of 20%. The lateral displacement of the stone column increases at the top with an increase in the fines content and the point of the maximum lateral displacement shifts in the downward direction. It is also observed that the differential settlement increases at the ground level as well as at the embankment top with an increase in the quantity of fines in the embankment soil. Thus, the critical height of the embankment (a height where no differential settlement occurs on the embankment surface) increases due to the increase in the fines content.     

Interface shear strength characteristics of steel piles in frozen clay under varying exposure temperature

The ultimate shaft capacity of pile foundations in frozen grounds has long been correlated to the long-term shear strength of the surrounding frozen soils using a surficial roughness factor “m”. This roughness factor is different for different pile materials (e.g., steel, concrete, and timber), but is often assumed to be constant for any soil type, ground temperature, or stress condition. The current study evaluates the validity of the proposed roughness factor “m” for steel piles embedded in frozen clay and exposed to different scenarios of ground temperatures and normal stress levels. Interface element tests were utilized to characterize the shear strength of frozen Leda clay and the adfreeze strength of the pile-frozen clay interface and to investigate the proposed roughness factor “m” for steel piles exposed to various temperatures and normal stress conditions. The experiments were carried out in a walk-in temperature-controlled environmental chamber. Roughness factor “m” was found not to be a constant number for a given pile material, but rather to decrease with an increase in the freezing temperature. A frictional factor “n”, analogous to roughness factor “m”, was also introduced to correlate the frictional resistance of frozen soil to the frictional resistance of the pile-soil interface. A temperature-dependent empirical equation was also proposed for predicting the shaft capacity of steel piles based on the shear strength parameters of the surrounding ice-rich clay soil.     

Required strength of geosynthetics in a reinforced slope with tensile strength cut-off subjected to seepage effects

The Mohr-Coulomb (M-C) yield criterion is found to overestimate the tensile strength of cohesive soils. By introducing the concept of tensile strength cut-off, the M-C criterion is modified to reduce or eliminate the tensile strength from the criterion. In this study, a new approach is proposed to investigate the stability of geosynthetic-reinforced slopes in cohesive soils subjected to seepage effects by means of the kinematic approach of limit analysis. The distribution of pore-water pressure is obtained using the numerical modeling software package, FLAC3D. A kinematically admissible failure mechanism is discretized to incorporate the results from the numerical simulation. The strength of geosynthetics required for maintaining the slope stability is evaluated from the work-energy balance equation. An optimization routine is used to seek out the maximum value among all possible results. Design charts providing the normalized required reinforcement under different parameters are plotted for a parametric study and convenient use in engineering. The obtained results show that less reinforcement is required in the presence of soil cohesion, and that the inclusion of the effect of tensile strength cut-off leads to a more conservative solution, which is more obvious in the presence of seepage effects.     

Experimental and theoretical studies on the ultimate bearing capacity of geogrid-reinforced sand

Geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) structures have gained popularity in replacing concrete rigid piles as abutments to support medium or small-spanned bridge superstructures in recent years. This study conducted 13 model tests to investigate the ultimate bearing capacity of the GRS mass when sand was used as backfill soil. The GRS mass was constructed and loaded to failure under a plane strain condition. Test results were compared with two analytical solutions available in literature. This study also proposed an analytical model for predicting the ultimate bearing capacity of the GRS mass based on the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. The failure surface of the GRS mass was described by the Rankine failure surface. The effects of compaction and reinforcement tension were equivalent to increased confining pressures to account for the reinforcing effects of the geosynthetic reinforcement. The proposed model was verified by the results of the model tests conducted in this study and reported in literature. Results indicated that the proposed model was more capable of predicting the ultimate bearing capacity of the GRS mass than the other two analytical solutions available in literature. The proposed model can be used to predict the ultimate bearing capacity of GRS structures when sand was used as backfill material. In addition, a parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of friction angle of backfill soil, reinforcement spacing, reinforcement strength, and reinforcement stiffness on the ultimate bearing capacity of the GRS mass calculated with and without compaction effects. Results showed that the ultimate bearing capacity of the GRS mass was significantly affected by the friction angle of backfill soil, reinforcement spacing and strength. Compaction effects resulted in an increase in the ultimate bearing capacity of the GRS mass.     

考虑变形及滞回效应影响的三维土-水特征曲面模型

为研究变形和滞回效应对非饱和土水-力耦合特性的影响,以边界面理论为基础,建立一个同时考虑变形及滞回效应影响的三维非饱和土土-水特征曲面模型,所建立模型可完整地描述非饱和土的水-力耦合特性。提出的本构方程以吸力和孔隙比为自变量,以饱和度为因变量,建立三维土-水特征曲面模型,通过编程实现了本模型的预测功能。通过程序的预测结果与一系列不同应力和水力路径下的试验结果进行对比,在饱和度-吸力/孔隙比二维平面及饱和度-吸力-孔隙比三维空间中,均验证了所建立模型的适用性及预测精度。     

桩承式路堤土拱数值模拟中路堤土本构模型的选择

数值模拟方法已成为研究桩承式路堤中土拱最重要的手段,其关键在于路堤填土要采用合理的本构模型。建立桩承式路堤平面土拱分析的弹塑性有限元模型,考虑摩尔-库伦模型（MC）、硬化土模型（HS）和小应变硬化土模型（HSS）3种不同的路堤土本构模型,用有限元方法模拟不同路堤土本构模型下桩承式路堤中的土拱形态和土拱效应。计算结果表明：3种不同路堤土本构模型下平面土拱的形态都是半个椭圆。路堤土采用HS和HSS模型,获得的土拱形态、效应和桩帽-土差异沉降相同。较之HS和HSS模型,路堤土采用MC模型时计算得到的桩帽-土差异沉降较小,桩帽荷载分担比略大。当路堤高度较小时,采用MC模型获得的土拱远小于HS和HSS模型下的计算结果。土拱效应的数值模拟中路堤土可采用简单的MC模型,但土拱形态的数值模拟中路堤土宜采用HS模型。     

15%腐霉利烟剂在保护地番茄及土壤中的消解动态与残留量

为评价腐霉利在保护地番茄上使用的安全性,建立其使用规范,2013年在6地进行了15%腐霉利烟剂在番茄和土壤中的残留试验。样品采用乙腈提取,固相萃取柱净化,气相色谱电子捕获检测器进行检测,外标法定量。结果表明:腐霉利在番茄和土壤中的半衰期分别为1.9~3.7 d和1.4~2.7 d。番茄及土壤中腐霉利残留量均低于2 mg/kg。     

快速溶剂萃取-气相色谱法测定土壤中六六六和滴滴涕残留

建立了快速溶剂萃取-气相色谱法测定土壤中α-HCH、β-HCH、γ-HCH、δ-HCH、p,p′-DDE、p,p′-DDD、o,p′-DDT、p,p′-DDT等8种有机氯农药残留的方法。8种有机氯农药标准曲线方程的相关系数均在0.9990以上;检出限为0.094-0.102μg·kg^-1;基质加标实验的回收率为84%-120%,相对标准偏差为3.06%-5.27%。该方法快速、定性和定量准确可靠,适合土壤中六六六和滴滴涕残留的分析测定。