• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.333-366
• /
• 2023

Rock as a mass generally exhibits discontinuities, commonly witnessed in rock slopes and underground structures like tunnels, rock pillars etc. When these discontinuities experiences loading, a new crack emerges from them which later propagates to a macro scale level of failure. The failure pattern is often influenced by the nature of discontinuity, geometry and loading conditions. The study of crack growth in rocks, namely its initiation and propagation, plays an important role in defining the true strength of rock and corresponding failure patterns. Many researchers have considered the length of the discontinuity to be fully persistent on rock or rock-like specimens by both experimental and numerical methods. However, only during recent decades, there has been a substantial growth in research interest with non-persistent discontinuities where the crack growth and its propagation phenomenon were found to be much more complex than persistent ones. The non-persistence fractures surface is generally considered to be open and closed. Compared to open flaws, there is a difference in crack growth behaviour in closed or narrow flaws due to the effect of surface closure between them. The present paper reviews the literature that has contributed towards studying the crack growth behaviour and its failure characteristics on both open and narrow flaws subjected to uniaxial and biaxial compression loading conditions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.75 no.1
• /
• pp.123-131
• /
• 2020

The bond performance of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars and that of steel bars embedded in Alkali Activated Cement (AAC) concrete are analysed and compared using pull-out specimens. The bond failure modes, the average bond strength and the free end bond stress-slip curves are used for comparison. Tepfers' concrete ring model is used to further analyse the splitting failure in ribbed steel bar and GFRP bar specimens. The angle the bond forces make with the bar axis was calculated and used for comparing bond behaviour of ribbed steel bar and GFRP bars in AAC concrete. The results showed that bond failure mode plays a significant role in the comparison of the average bond stress of the specimens at failure. In case of pull-out failure mode, specimens with ribbed steel bars showed a higher bond strength while specimens with GFRP bars showed a higher bond stress in case of splitting failure mode. Comparison of the bond stress-slip curves of ribbed steel bars and GFRP bars depicted that the constant bond stress region at the peak is much smaller in case of GFRP bars than ribbed steel bars indicating a basic bond mechanism difference in GFRP and ribbed steel bars.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2009

Earth reinforcement by using geogrids as reinforcing materials are widely applied to several earth structures. The bearing capacity of geogrid reinforced foundation soils is usually examined on based on the rigid plasticity theory or Limit Equilibrium Method. Method of analysis such Limit Equilibrium Method provide no detail information about failure behaviour or strain which develop in the reinforcement or foundation. In this paper the analysis of failure behaviour of strip footing on geogrid-reinforced sand over a soft caly was investigated by using a numerical method. A series of finite element analyses were performed on a geogrid-reinforced strip footing over a soft clay including number of geogrid layers, length, depth. We effectively investigated the failure behaviour and improvement of bearing capacity on the reinforced foundation soil by using FEM program.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.67-73
• /
• 2020

Traditionally used analytical approach to predict the fatigue failure of reinforced concrete (RC) structure is generally conservative and has certain limitations. The nonlinear finite element method (FEM) offers less expensive solution for fatigue analysis with sufficient accuracy. However, the conventional implicit dynamic analysis is very expensive for high level computation. Whereas, an explicit dynamic analysis approach offers a computationally operative modelling to predict true responses of a structural element under periodic loading and might be perfectly matched to accomplish long life fatigue computations. Hence, this study simulates the fatigue behaviour of RC beams with finite element (FE) assemblage presenting a simplified explicit dynamic numerical solution to show computer aided fatigue behaviour of RC beam. A commercial FEM package, ABAQUS has been chosen for this complex modelling. The concrete has been modelled as a 8-node solid element providing competent compression hardening and tension stiffening. The steel reinforcements are simulated as two-node truss elements comprising elasto-plastic stress-strain behaviour. All the possible nonlinearities are duly incorporated. Time domain analysis has been adopted through an automatic Newmark-β time incremental technique. The program consists of twelve RC beams to visualize the real behaviour during fatigue process and to obtain the reliability of the study. Both the numerical and experimental results indicate a redistribution of stresses along the time and damage accumulation of beam which severely affect the serviceability and ultimate capacity of RC beam. The output of the FEM analysis demonstrates good match with the experimental consequences which affirm the efficacy of the computer aided model. The controlled fatigue damage evolution at service fatigue load limits makes the FE model an efficient tool in predicting high cycle fatigue behaviour of RC structures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Industrial Safety Conference
• /
• 1998.11a
• /
• pp.261-266
• /
• 1998

This paper presents a numerical simulation of the failure behaviour for the pipeline which has external corroded parts along the axis. The numerical study for the pipeline failure analysis is based on an FEM with an elastic-plastic and large-deformation. The predicted failure assessments for the simulated corrosion defects are compared with ANSI/ASME B31G code and a modified B31G method.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.535-570
• /
• 2017

There are only few cases where cause and location of failure of a rock structure are limited to a single discontinuity. Usually several discontinuities of limited size interact and eventually form a combined shear plane where failure takes place. So, besides the discontinuities, the regions between adjacent discontinuities, which consist of strong rock and are called material or rock bridges, are of utmost importance for the shear strength of the compound failure plane. Shear behaviour of persistent and non-persistent joint are different from each other. Shear strength of rock mass containing non-persistent joints is highly affected by mechanical behavior and geometrical configuration of non-persistent joints located in a rock mass. Therefore investigation is essential to study the fundamental failures occurring in a rock bridge, for assessing anticipated and actual performances of the structures built on or in rock masses. The purpose of this review paper is to present techniques, progresses and the likely future development directions in experimental testing of non-persistent joint failure behaviour. Experimental results showed that the presence of rock bridges in not fully persistent natural discontinuity sets is a significant factor affecting the stability of rock structures. Compared with intact rocks, jointed rock masses are usually weaker, more deformable and highly anisotropic, depending upon the mechanical properties of each joint and the explicit joint positions. The joint spacing, joint persistency, number of rock joint, angle of rock joint, length of rock bridge, angle of rock bridge, normal load, scale effect and material mixture have important effect on the failure mechanism of a rock bridge.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.34 no.5
• /
• pp.491-505
• /
• 2023

The practical usage of underground space and demand for vehicular tunnels necessitate the construction of non-circular wide rectangular tunnels. However, constructing large tunnels in soft clayey soil conditions with no ground improvement can lead to excessive ground deformations and collapse. In recent years, in situ ground improvement techniques such as jet grouting and deep cement mixing are often utilized to perform cement-stabilisation around the tunnel boundary to prevent large deformations and failure. This paper discusses the stability characteristics and failure behaviour of a wide rectangular tunnel in cement-treated soft clays. First, the plane strain finite element model is developed and validated with the results of centrifuge model tests available in the past literature. The critical tunnel support pressures computed from the numerical study are found to be in good agreement with those of centrifuge model tests. The influence of varying strength and thickness of improved soil surround, and cover depth are studied on the stability and failure modes of a rectangular tunnel. It is observed that the failure behaviour of the tunnel in improved soil surround depends on the ratio of the strength of improved soil surround to the strength of surrounding soil, i.e., q_ui/q_us, rather than just q_ui. For low q_ui/q_us ratios,the stability increases with the cover; however, for the high strength improved soil surrounds with q_ui >> q_us, the stability decreases with the cover. The failure chart, modified stability equation, and stability chart are also proposed as preliminary design guidelines for constructing rectangular tunnels in the improved soil surrounded by soft clays.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.37 no.5
• /
• pp.509-527
• /
• 2011

The paper investigates the dynamic buckling behaviour of a laminated composite stiffened cylindrical shell using the commercial finite element code ABAQUS. The numerical model of the composite shell is validated by static tests. In particular, the experimental collapse test is numerically simulated by a quasi static analysis carried out by both ABAQUS/Standard and ABAQUS/Explicit. The behaviour in the post-buckling field and the collapse load obtained by the analyses are close to the experimental data. The validated model is then used to study the dynamic buckling behaviour with ABAQUS/Explicit. The effects of the loading magnitude and of the loading duration are investigated, implementing in the analysis also first-ply failure criteria. It is observed that the dynamic buckling load is highly affected by the loading duration.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.121-131
• /
• 2019

Due to the heterogeneity nature of the concrete, it is difficult to simulate the hyperdynamic behaviour and crack trajectory of concrete material when subjected to explosion loads. In this paper, a 3D nonlinear numerical study was conducted to simulate the hyperdynamic behaviour of concrete under various loading conditions using Riedel-Hiermaier-Thoma (RHT) model. Detailed calibration was conducted to identify the optimal parameters for the RHT model on the material level. For the component level, the calibrated RHT parameters were used to simulate the failure behaviour of plain concrete (PC) slab under free air blast load. The response was compared with an available experimental result. The results show the proposed numerical model can accurately simulate the crack trajectory and the failure mode of the PC slab under free air blast load.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.551-570
• /
• 2012

An experimental program was carried out to investigate the influence of fibre reinforcement on the mechanical behaviour of high strength reinforced concrete beams. Eighteen beams, loaded in four-point bending tests, were examined by applying monotonically increasing controlled displacements and recording the response in terms of load-deflection curves up to failure. The major test variables were the volume fraction of steel fibres and the transverse steel amount for two different values of shear span. The contribution of the stirrups to the shear strength was derived from the deformations of their vertical legs, measured by means of strain gauges. The structural response of the tested beams was analyzed to evaluate strength, stiffness, energy absorption capacity and failure mode. The experimental results and observed behaviour are in good agreement with those obtained by other authors, confirming that an adequate amount of steel fibres in the concrete can be an alternative solution for minimizing the density of transverse reinforcement. However, the paper shows that the use of different theoretical or semi-empirical models, available in literature, leads to different predictions of the ultimate load in the case of dominant shear failure mode.