Novel Approach to Integration of Numerical Modeling and Field Observations for Deep Excavations

Precedent and observation of performance are an essential part of the design and construction process in geotechnical engineering. For deep urban excavations designers rely on empirical data to estimate potential deformations and impact on surrounding structures. Numerical simulations are also employed to estimate induced ground deformations. Significant resources are dedicated to monitor construction activities and control induced ground deformations. While engineers are able to learn from observations, numerical simulations have been unable to fully benefit from information gained at a given site or prior excavation case histories in the same area. A novel analysis method, self-learning in engineering simulations (SelfSim), is introduced to integrate precedent into numerical simulations. SelfSim is an inverse analysis technique that combines finite element method, biologically inspired material models, and field measurements. SelfSim extracts relevant constitutive soil information from field measurements of excavation response such as lateral wall deformations and surface settlement. The resulting soil model, used in a numerical analysis, provides correct ground deformations and can be used in estimating deformations of similar excavations. The soil model can continuously evolve using additional field information. SelfSim is demonstrated using two excavation case histories in Boston and Chicago.     

Pore Pressure and Dissipated Energy inEarthquakes—Field Verification

The possibility of a correlation between dynamic pore pressure increase p and dissipated energy density D in soils subjected to earthquake shaking has been the subject of speculation for nearly 20 years. While cyclic loading tests have tended to confirm the D-p hypothesis in the laboratory, no field confirmation has been given. In this paper compelling evidence is presented to support the D-p model from two real earthquakes. Downhole acceleration records from two earthquakes are analyzed to obtain approximate histories of shear stress, shear strain, and dissipated energy over a range of depths. The measured data were obtained from the Lotung downhole array in Taiwan and from the Sunamachi downhole array near Tokyo. Both of these arrays also contain pore pressure measurement devices, and records of pore-pressure increase during the earthquakes are available. Time histories of measured pore pressure will be directly compared with calculated values based on the D-p hypothesis. The results of this study suggest dissipated energy density may be remarkably well correlated with pore pressure increase in field situations.     

Small-Strain Behavior of Granular Soils. I: Model for Cemented and Uncemented Sands and Gravels

A simple formulation is presented that predicts the nonlinear small strain behavior of cemented and uncemented granular soils. Its performance is evaluated through the comparison of model predictions to results from laboratory tests. A companion paper evaluates the performance of this model implemented in a site response analysis code through comparison with the measured response at two sites. The formulation for the maximum shear modulus, Gmax, which is selected through the evaluation of existing formulations and data, is presented with the hysteretic model developed to describe the shear modulus reduction and damping increase with increasing strains. Few parameters are needed to predict the small strain response, and correlations between model parameters and index properties of granular materials are presented when possible. The model, SimSoil, is shown to capture the cyclic response for sands and gravels with varying densities over a wide range of pressures measured in laboratory tests, including cases when cementation is present.     

Nonlinear Analysis of Torsionally Loaded Piles in a Two-Layer Soil Profile

This paper presents a method for predicting the nonlinear response of torsionally loaded piles in a two-layer soil profile, such as a clay or sand layer underlain by rock. The shear modulus of the upper soil is assumed to vary linearly with depth and the shear modulus of the lower soil is assumed to vary linearly with depth and then stay constant below the pile tip. The method uses the variational principle to derive the governing differential equations of a pile in a two-layer continuum and the elastic response of the pile is then determined by solving the derived differential equations. To consider the effect of soil yielding on the behavior of piles, the soil is assumed to behave linearly elastically at small strain levels and yield when the shear stress on the pile-soil interface exceeds the corresponding maximum shear resistance. To determine the maximum pile-soil interface shear resistance, methods that are available in the literature can be used. The proposed method is verified by comparing its results with existing elastic solutions and published small-scale model pile test results. Finally, the proposed method is used to analyze two full-scale field test piles and the predictions are in reasonable agreement with the measurements.     

Interplay between Field Measurements and Soil Behavior for Capturing Supported Excavation Response

Instruments are installed during the construction of urban excavations to monitor ground response at discrete locations to various construction activities, to verify design assumptions and to effectively apply the observational approach. Inverse analysis approaches are often used to develop improved soil models suitable for representing soil response during excavation from these measurements. We propose that through the integration of inverse analysis and instrument measurements, it is possible to provide information on excavation performance at locations where no instrumentation is available. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between various instruments typically used on an excavation project and the quality of information that can be extracted for excavation modeling. A synthetically generated set of instrument measurements that include inclinometers, surface settlement points, extensometers, heave gauges, piezometers, and strain gauges, using an idealized soil profile are initially used. The analyses show that in addition to the measurements of lateral wall deflections and surface settlement, inclinometers placed some distance behind the wall and measured forces in the struts significantly improve the quality of the extracted soil behavior. These findings are further demonstrated with a well instrumented deep excavation case study in Taipei. The inclinometers at the wall and at farther distance from the wall are used to extract the soil behavior. The extracted soil model used in a numerical analysis provides a good prediction of excavation behavior elsewhere around the excavation including surface settlements.     

On-Site Nonlinear Hysteresis Curves and Dynamic Soil Properties

Strong motion records at five vertical array sites in Japan are used to examine soil shear modulus and material damping as a function of shear strain during large earthquakes. Acceleration data from the sites are processed directly for evaluation of site shear stress-strain hysteresis curves for different time windows of the record. Results of the analysis demonstrate a significant nonlinear ground response at the sites with surface peak ground accelerations exceeding 90 gal. The results of shear stress-strain hysteresis curves are also used to estimate variation of soil shear modulus and material damping characteristics with shear strain amplitude at each site. The identified shear modulus-shear strain and damping ratio-shear strain relationships are in general agreement with published laboratory results. These response interpretations are also compared with the results of a frequency-domain analysis by using the spectral ratio (uphole∕downhole) technique. There is general agreement between the time- and frequency-domain results. The results illustrate the significance of the site nonlinearity during strong ground motions as well as the accuracy of the dynamic soil properties obtained from laboratory tests.     

Application of the Coupled Local Minimizers Method to the Optimization Problem in the Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves Method

The spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) method aims to determine the small strain dynamic soil characteristics of shallow soil layers. The method involves an in situ experiment, the determination of an experimental dispersion curve, and the solution of an inverse problem, formulated as a nonlinear least squares problem. The latter is usually solved with a gradient-based local optimization method, which converges fast, but does not guarantee to find the global minimum of the objective function. The method of coupled local minimizers (CLM) combines the advantage of gradient-based local algorithms with the global approach of genetic algorithms. A cooperative search mechanism is set up by simultaneously performing a number of local optimization runs that are coupled by pairs of synchronization constraints. A synthetic example with two design variables (the shear wave velocity of two top layers of a layered half-space consisting of three layers on a half-space), demonstrates that the CLM method succeeds in finding the global minimum of an objective function with multiple minima and can successfully be used to solve the inverse problem in the SASW method. This is further illustrated by a complete inversion of the shear wave velocity profile accounting for seven design variables (the thickness and shear wave velocity of the three layers and the shear wave velocity of the underlying half-space). The inversion algorithm based on the CLM method is subsequently applied to invert the experimental dispersion curve derived from in situ data collected at a test site in Saluggia, Italy, consisting mainly of alluvial sediments. Up to a depth of about 25?m, the results show a reasonably good correspondence with crosshole test results.     

Stress Integration Approach in Resonant Column and Torsional Shear Testing for Soils

Determination of strain in resonant column and torsional shear (RC/TS) tests is complicated due to nonuniform stress–strain variation occurring linearly with the radius in a soil specimen in torsion. The equivalent radius approach is adequate when calculating strain at low to intermediate levels, however, the approach is less accurate when performing the tests at higher strains. The stress integration approach involving integration of an assumed soil stress–strain model was developed to account for this problem more precisely. This approach was used to generate the plots of equivalent radius ratio versus strain developed based upon shear modulus and damping. Results showed that the equivalent radius ratio curves converge to a value of approximately 0.8 at low strains and decrease as strain increases. The equivalent radius ratio curves based upon damping decrease to significantly lower values at high strain than curves based upon shear modulus. This study suggests that using the same values of equivalent radius ratio to calculate strains for both shear modulus and damping is not appropriate. The stress integration approach provides an accurate analysis technique for evaluating both modulus and damping behavior of soil, over any range of strains in RC/TS testing.     

Stability Problems in Soil‐Structure Interfaces: Experimental Observations and Numerical Study

This article presents experimental results of tests on soil‐structure interfaces carried out on a new “ring simple shear” apparatus specially developed at Ecole Nationale des Ponts and Chaussées, Paris, for such studies. In this apparatus strain localization takes place at or near the surface of the rotating steel drum that forms the soil‐structure interface. Depending on the conditions of tests, in terms of surface roughness, special instrumentation is capable of recording local as well as global response. Three tests on Hostun gravel at different confining radial pressures have been conducted and a deviatoric hardening model with nonassociated flow rule has been adopted for their numerical simulations. The point of inception of strain localization based on various theoretical considerations has been discussed and experimentally verified. The post‐peak behavior is simulated by employing a homogenization technique in which the soil sample is treated as a composite material consisting of a shear band surrounded by intact material. A deviatoric strain softening model has been adopted for the shear band. It is shown that the mechanism of failure and the response of the soil sample is reasonably well simulated. Although there are some concerns regarding the homogeneity of the sample, the post‐peak stage and the overall mechanical response of gravel‐steel interface are rather well reproduced.     

In Situ Pore-Pressure Generation Behavior of Liquefiable Sand

To overcome current limitations in predicting in situ pore-pressure generation, a new field testing technique is used to measure directly the coupled, local response between the induced shear strains and the generated excess pore pressure. The pore-pressure generation characteristics from two in situ liquefaction tests performed on field reconstituted specimens are presented, including the pore- pressure generation patterns at various strain levels, the observed stages of pore-pressure generation, and pore-pressure generation curves. Comparisons of the in situ pore-pressure generation curves with data in the literature and from laboratory strain-controlled, cyclic direct simple shear tests support the in situ testing results. In addition, the effects of effective confining stress on threshold shear strain and pore- pressure generation curves are discussed. Comparisons of the rate of pore-pressure generation among the in situ tests, laboratory strain-controlled tests, and a model based on stress-controlled tests reveal that in situ pore pressures generated in reconstituted soil specimens during dynamic loading develop more similarly to those from cyclic strain-controlled laboratory testing. This observation implies that the evaluation of induced strains rather than induced shear stresses may be more appropriate for the simulation of pore-pressure generation.     

Extracting compressive stress-strain curve based on stick-slip shear banding process in bulk metallic glasses

Based on the stick-slip process, an effective method to extract the stress-strain curve directly from the crosshead displacement-load raw data in compression of bulk metallic glasses was proposed.The method was tested in two bulk metallic glass samples with different plasticities and shear band morphologies.The extracted stress-strain curves were found to well resemble the stress-strain curve measured by a laser ex-tensometer.In addition, the extracted curve could resolve fine structures of serrated flow much better than that measured by extensometer, thus facilitating the study of shear banding process.Results obtained by this method made the stick-slip dynamics of shear banding valid, and this method could be employed to obtain the real strain of small-sized metallic glass samples where extensometer cannot be applied.     

Effective Soil Density for Propagation of Small Strain Shear Waves in Saturated Soil

This technical note defines an “effective soil density” that controls the velocity of small strain shear waves in saturated soil. Biot theory indicates that the ratio of effective density to saturated density will generally range from 0.75 to 1.0 and is a function of specific gravity of solids, porosity, hydraulic conductivity, and shear wave frequency. For many geotechnical applications, effective density will be equal to saturated density for low hydraulic conductivity soils (clays and silts) and may be less than saturated density for high hydraulic conductivity soils (clean sands and gravels). The findings are relevant to applications involving the propagation of small strain shear waves through saturated soil, and in particular for laboratory and field tests in which shear modulus is back-calculated from measured shear-wave velocity.     

Penetration Type Field Velocity Probe for Soft Soils

The assessment of the shear stiffness of dredged soft ground and soft clay is extremely difficult due to soil disturbances caused during sampling and field access. Several in situ methods such as spectral analysis of surface waves, multichannel analysis of surface wave, cross hole, and downhole methods have been developed to measure the shear-wave velocity, but a few disadvantages hinder the adoption of existing methods to soft ground. This study presents a new apparatus, the penetration type field velocity probe (FVP), which overcomes several of the limitations of commonly used shear-wave measurement methods in the field. Design concerns of the FVP include the tip shape, soil disturbance, transducers, self acoustic insulation, protectors, and the electromagnetic coupling from transducer-to-transducer and cable-to-cable. The crosstalk between cables is eliminated by grouping and extra grounding of the cables. The shear-wave velocity of the FVP is directly calculated, without any inversion process, by using the travel distance and the travel time. After calibration tests are carried out in the laboratory, application tests in the field are conducted up to 29 m in depth. Calibration results show the velocity profiles obtained by the FVP and by the rods fitted with transducers are similar to each other. The experimental results obtained in the field show that the FVP can produce reasonable and detailed shear-wave velocity profiles in soft clay. This study suggests that the FVP may be an effective technique for measuring the shear-wave velocity in soft ground.     

Pile Behavior due to Excavation-Induced Soil Movement in Clay. I: Stable Wall

A series of centrifuge model tests has been conducted to investigate the behavior of a single pile subjected to excavation-induced soil movements behind a stable retaining wall in clay. The results reveal that after the completion of soil excavation, the wall and the soil continue to move and such movement induces further bending moment and deflection on an adjacent pile. For a pile located within 3?m behind the wall where the soil experiences large shear strain (>2%) due to stress relief as a result of the excavation, the induced pile bending moment and deflection reach their maximum values sometime after soil excavation and thereafter decrease slightly with time. For a pile located 3?m beyond the wall, the induced pile bending moment and deflection continue to increase slightly with time after excavation until the end of the test. A numerical model developed at the National University of Singapore is used to back-analyze the centrifuge test data. The method gives a reasonably good prediction of the induced bending moment and deflection on a pile located at 3?m or beyond the wall. For a pile located at 1?m behind the wall where the soil experiences large shear strain (>2%) due to stress relief resulting from the excavation, the calculated pile response is in good agreement with the measured data if the correct soil shear strength obtained from postexcavation is used in the analysis. However, if the original soil shear strength prior to excavation is used in the analysis, this leads to an overestimation of the maximum bending moment of about 25%. The practical implications of the findings are also discussed in this paper.     

Seismic Compression of Two Compacted Earth Fills Shaken by the 1994 Northridge Earthquake

Seismic compression is defined as the accrual of contractive volumetric strain in unsaturated soil during strong shaking by earthquakes. We document and analyze two case histories (denoted school site and site A) of ground deformation from seismic compression in canyon fills strongly shaken by the Northridge earthquake. Site A had ground settlements up to about 18 cm, which damaged a structure, while the school site had settlements up to about 6 cm. For each site, we perform decoupled analyses of shear and volumetric strain. Shear strain is calculated using one-dimensional and two-dimensional ground response analyses, while volumetric strain is evaluated from shear strain using material-specific models derived from simple shear laboratory testing that incorporates important effects of fines content and as-compacted density and saturation. Analyses are repeated using a logic tree approach in which weights are assigned to multiple possible realizations of uncertain model parameters. At the school site, predicted settlements appear to be unbiased. At site A, the analyses successfully predict the shape of the settlement profile along a section, but the weighted average predictions are biased slightly too low. We speculate that the apparent site A bias can be explained by limited resolution of the site stratigraphy, bias in laboratory-derived volumetric strain models, and/or uncertainty in the estimated earthquake-induced settlements.     

Model for Reinforced Concrete Members under Torsion, Bending, and Shear. I: Theory

A model has been developed that can predict the load-deformation response of a reinforced concrete (RC) member subjected to torsion combined with bending and shear to spalling or ultimate capacity. The model can also be used to create interaction surfaces to predict the failure of a member subjected to different ratios of applied torsion, bending, and shear. The model idealizes the sides of an reinforced concrete member as shear “wall panels.” The applied loads are distributed to the wall panels as uniform normal stresses and uniform shear stresses. The shear stress due to an applied torsional moment and shear force are summed over the thickness of the shear flow zone. Stress-strain relationships are adopted for tension stiffening and softened concrete in compression. The crack alignment rotates to remain normal to the principal tensile stress and the contribution of concrete in shear is neglected. The model has been validated by comparing the predicted and experimental behavior of members loaded under torsion combined with different ratios of bending and shear. The torque-twist behavior, reinforcement stress, and concrete surface strain predicted by the model were in agreement with experimental results.     

Engineering Properties of Lunar Soil Simulant JSC-1A

This study was carried out to assess the tensile and shear strength in lunar soil, and to examine the variation as a function of density and confinement. Geotechnical engineering properties of the lunar soil simulant designated Johnson Space Center Number One-A lunar soil simulant (JSC-1A) have been investigated experimentally. To better understand these soil properties, a variety of conventional and unconventional experiments were conducted on JSC-1A to determine its grain-size distribution, cohesion, friction angle, dilatancy angle, tensile strength, and appropriate low strain elastic constants. These experiments were conducted on JSC-1A at a variety of densities prepared through tamping densification to quantify the response of the soil over a range of conditions. To simulate lunar conditions, the samples were prepared at medium to very high relative densities. Grain-size distribution, shear strength, tensile strength, dilatancy angles, and elasticity modulus of the JSC-1A were compared with lunar soil and other simulants.     

Model for Reinforced Concrete Members under Torsion, Bending, and Shear. II: Model Application and Validation

A model was recently proposed for predicting the load-deformation response of a reinforced concrete member under torsion combined with bending and shear to spalling or ultimate. This paper shows the application of the model to create interaction surfaces to predict the failure of a member subjected to different ratios of applied torsion, bending, and shear. The model was validated by comparing the predicted and experimental behavior of 28 members from three experimental studies available in the literature. The members were loaded under torsion combined with different ratios of bending, and shear. The torque-twist behavior, reinforcement stress, and concrete surface strain predicted by the model were in close agreement with the experiments. This paper also describes how the model can be applied to create interaction surfaces. The interaction curves predicted by the model were validated by comparing the predicted and experimental capacities of 17 specimens available in the literature.     

Anisotropic Strength Evaluation of Clay Reinforced with Grout Piles

Grout piles are often used to reinforce the base soil against base heave when carrying out deep excavations in soft clay. However, there is still a lack of an adequate criterion to describe the shear strength of clay reinforced with grout piles. In general, the anisotropic strength characteristic of clay reinforced with grout piles is more significant than that of clay. The objective of this work is to develop an anisotropic strength criterion for the reinforced soil mass. Only four parameters are needed in this anisotropic strength criterion: two are the strength properties of the in situ clay, namely, the axial compressive and axial extensive undrained shear strengths; another is the undrained shear strength of treated soil; and the final is the improvement ratio which is related to the spacing and layout pattern of the grout piles. To be used in two-dimensional undrained stability analysis, the suitability of this anisotropic strength criterion under plane strain conditions is verified by comparing the results with true triaxial test. The maximum difference between the calculated and laboratory measured shear strengths is less than 8%. The results of this study indicate that the anisotropic undrained shear strength of clay reinforced with grout piles under plane strain condition decreases with an increase in the angle between the vertical direction and the major principal stress and decreases with a decrease in the strength anisotropy ratio of clay reinforced with grout piles. However, there will be a greater improvement in the effect if the grout piles are installed in the active zone rather than in the passive zone. This is because the shear strength of a grout pile mobilized in the active zone is close to its maximum level.     

Dynamic Shear Behavior of a Needle-Punched Geosynthetic Clay Liner

An experimental investigation of the dynamic internal shear behavior of a hydrated needle-punched geosynthetic clay liner is presented. Monotonic and cyclic displacement-controlled shear tests were conducted at a single normal stress to investigate the effects of displacement rate, displacement amplitude, number of cycles, frequency, and motion waveform on material response. Monotonic shear tests indicate that peak shear strength first increased and then decreased with increasing displacement rate. Cyclic shear tests indicate that cyclic response was primarily controlled by displacement amplitude. Excitation frequency and waveform had little effect on cyclic shear behavior or postcyclic static shear strength. Number of cycles ( ≥ 10) also had little effect on postcyclic static shear strength. Shear stress versus shear displacement diagrams displayed hysteresis loops that are broadly similar to those for natural soils with some important differences due to the presence of needle-punched reinforcement. Secant shear stiffness displayed strong reduction with increasing displacement amplitude and degradation with continued cycling. Values of damping ratio were significantly higher than those typical of natural clays at lower shear strain levels. Finally, cyclic tests with increasing displacement amplitude yielded progressively lower postcyclic static peak strengths due to greater levels of reinforcement damage. Postcyclic static residual strengths were unaffected by prior cyclic loading.