Analysis of nonlinear settlement for an unsaturated soil under stage continuous loading

A new approach was proposed to describe settlement behavior of an unsaturated soil with subgrade filling for high-speed railway. Firstly, based on Terzaghi consolidation theory, equations considering the variation coefficient of consolidation with void ratio and saturation for consolidation of an unsaturated soil under stage continuous loading were derived, and according to analytical solutions of equations, a formula for settlement computation under stage continuous loading was obtained. Then, combined with the width-to-height ratio of subgrade to compute ground reaction, and by means of in-situ plate loading curves, a correctional approach was presented for the analysis of nonlinear settlement of foundation. Also, the comparison between calculated and measured loadsettlement behavior for an unsaturated soil in Qingdao-Ji＇nan high-speed railway was given to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach. It can be noted that the presented solution can be used to predict the settlement of an unsaturated soil foundation under stage continuous loading in engineering design.     

铁路路基下膨胀土地基浸水响应现场试验

在工程建设中,膨胀土大都属于非饱和土范畴。对高速铁路无砟轨道路基而言,膨胀土的胀缩变形可能加剧线路的不平顺性,影响高速铁路的正常运营。为研究铁路路基荷载下非饱和膨胀土土层在人工浸水后的变形特征,结合云桂铁路建设,设计并开展了铁路原型路基荷载下膨胀土地基现场浸水试验,并监测了从路基填筑开始到人工浸水结束时膨胀土地基与路基本体变形及浅层土水分的时程变化。试验结果揭示了膨胀土地基浸水饱和后的极限相对膨胀量、膨胀变形沿路基横向与地基深度的分布规律以及地基表面膨胀变形沿路基本体的衰减特征。基于试验成果,初步提出了以路基表面膨胀变形为0作为控制标准确定路基临界填高的设计思路。现场试验的设计原则与实施方法也可为今后研究铁路路基下膨胀土地基胀缩特性提供参考。