Ultimate bearing capacity of strip footing resting on clay soil mixed with tire-derived aggregates

This study investigated the use of recycled tire-derived aggregate (TDA) mixed with kaolin as a method of increasing the ultimate bearing capacity ( UBC) of a strip footing. Thirteen 1g physical modeling tests were prepared in a rigid box of 0.6 m × 0.9 m in plan and 0.6 m in height. During sample preparation, 0%, 20%, 40%, or 60% (by weight) of powdery, shredded, small-sized granular (G 1–4 mm) or large-sized granular (G 5–8 mm) TDA was mixed with the kaolin. A strip footing was then placed on the stabilized kaolin and was caused to fail under stress-controlled conditions to determine the UBC. A rigorous 3D finite element analysis was developed in Optum G-3 to determine the UBC values based on the experimental test results. The experimental results showed that, except for the 20% powdery TDA, the TDA showed an increase in the UBC of the strip footing. When kaolin mixed with 20% G (5–8 mm), the UBC showed a threefold increase over that for the unreinforced case. The test with 20% G (1–4 mm) recorded the highest subgrade modulus. It was observed that the UBC calculated using finite element modeling overestimated the experimental UBC by an average of 9%.     

Delay compensated control of the Stefan problem and robustness to delay mismatch

This paper presents a control design for the one‐phase Stefan problem under actuator delay via a backstepping method. The Stefan problem represents a liquid‐solid phase change phenomenon which describes the time evolution of a material's temperature profile and the interface position. The actuator delay is modeled by a first‐order hyperbolic partial differential equation (PDE), resulting in a cascaded transport‐diffusion PDE system defined on a time‐varying spatial domain described by an ordinary differential equation (ODE). Two nonlinear backstepping transformations are utilized for the control design. The setpoint restriction is given to guarantee a physical constraint on the proposed controller for the melting process. This constraint ensures the exponential convergence of the moving interface to a setpoint and the exponential stability of the temperature equilibrium profile and the delayed controller in the norm. Furthermore, robustness analysis with respect to the delay mismatch between the plant and the controller is studied, which provides analogous results to the exact compensation by restricting the control gain.     

A global output-feedback controller for stabilization and tracking of underactuated ODIN: A spherical underwater vehicle

This paper presents a method to design an output-feedback controller that simultaneously solves global asymptotic stabilization and tracking of an underactuated omni-directional intelligent navigator—a spherical underwater vehicle moving in a horizontal plane (i.e. at a constant depth). The vehicle does not have a sway actuator and has only position and orientation measurements available. The control development is based on Lyapunov's direct method, backstepping technique and use of interconnected structure of the vehicle dynamics. Numerical simulations demonstrate the results.     

Fast and accurate 4‐node quadrilateral

An accurate and variationally consistent 4‐node quadrilateral element is introduced where high coarse mesh accuracy and low mesh distortion sensitivity are characteristic qualities, even when incompressibility is approached for plane strain. One‐point quadrature integration procedure is adopted and a new improved stabilization technique is developed. Orthogonality conditions are utilized so that the patch test is satisfied for arbitrary quadrilaterals. Several numerical examples including a convergence rate study are presented which confirm the excellent performance of this element. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stabilization Methods for Spectral Element Computations of Incompressible Flows

A stabilization method for the spectral element computation of incompressible flow problems is investigated. It is based on a filtering procedure which consists in filtering the velocity field by a spectral vanishing Helmholtz-type operator at each time step. Relationship between this filtering procedure and SVV-stabilization method, introduced recently in [JCP, 2004, 196(2), p680], is established. A number of numerical examples are presented to show the accuracy and stabilization capability of the method.     

Two-Dimensional Physical and Numerical Modeling of a Pile-Supported Earth Platform over Soft Soil

This paper focuses on the mechanisms occurring in a granular earth platform over soft ground improved by rigid piles. Two-dimensional physical model experiments were performed using the Schneebeli’s analogical soil to investigate the load transfer mechanisms by arching and the settlement reduction and homogenization. Experimental outputs are compared to results obtained on a numerical model using a plane strain continuum approach. The impact of the constitutive model complexity to simulate the platform material behavior was first assessed, but no large difference was recorded. As far as the proposed model, which takes the main features of the observed behavior satisfactorily into account, the numerical procedure could be validated and the parametric studies extended numerically. Both approaches of this study underlined the main geometrical and geotechnical parameters which should inevitably be taken into account in a simplified design method, namely the capping ratio, the platform height, and the platform material shear strength.     

预测井眼稳定性的力学化学耦合方法

在井眼力学稳定性评价的基础上，将硬脆性页岩水化后岩石强度等参数的变化规律用于页岩水化前后坍塌压力变化的对比分析，结果表明，地层坍塌压力当量密度随页岩水化程度的增加逐渐升高。给出了预测井眼稳定性的力学化学耦合方法，并将该方法应用于现场生产中，取得了较好的预测效果     

不确定控制系统的输出反馈镇定

本文研究具有匹配和非匹配不确定性系统的输出反馈镇定。在对不确定性的增长性作适当限制的条件下，利用本文引入输出反馈严格正实系统的概念，构造了保证团环系统在开球Ｂ上或在Ｒ＾ｎ上指数式稳定的光滑或解析输出反馈控制律。     

时滞不确定系统的鲁律性分析

此文利用解的估计方法和比较定理，研究了线性时滞不确定系统的鲁棒性问题，得到了用状态反馈来镇定这类系统的充分条件，并给出了此类系统具有任意希望的鲁棒性条件．     

安徽省长江干堤的几种加固措施

安徽省境内765km的长江干堤，由于均是在原来旧堤的基础上经逐年加高培厚的，修筑时均未按设计要求施工，致使堤身密实度不够，新老堤土之间结合不牢，在汛期高水位时易产生渗漏。20世纪70年代以来，安徽省高度重视对长江干堤渗漏隐患的处理，经过长期的实践，逐渐摸索出一套行之有效的除险加固方法，如锥探灌浆、灭杀白蚁、冲抓套吉、垂直铺塑防渗、粘土铺盖及压渗盖重等处理措施。使长江干堤的渗漏隐患得以基本消除，其具体作法可供类似工程借鉴。