• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.561-571
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• 2021

Cofferdams made of teel sheet piles are commonly utilized as support structures for excavation of sea-crossing bridge foundations. As cofferdams are often subject to tide variation, it is imperative to consider potential effects of tide on stability and serviceability of sheet piles, particularly, ultralong steel sheet piles (USSPs). In this study, a real USSP cofferdam constructed using new construction technology in Nanxi River was reported. The design of key parts of USSP cofferdam in the presence of tidal action was first introduced followed by the description of entire construction technology and associated monitoring results. Subsequently, a three-dimensional finite-element model corresponding to all construction steps was established to back-analyze measured deflection of USSPs. Finally, a series of parametric studies was carried out to investigate effects of tide level, soil parameters, support stiffness and construction sequence on lateral deflection of USSPs. Monitoring results indicate that the maximum deflection during construction occurred near the riverbed. In addition, measured stress of USSPs showed that stability of USSP cofferdam strengthened as construction stages proceeded. Moreover, the numerical back-analysis demonstrated that the USSP cofferdam fulfilled the safety requirements for construction under tidal action. The maximum deflection of USSPs subject to high tide was only 13.57 mm at a depth of -4 m. Sensitivity analyses results showed that the design of USSP cofferdam system must be further improved for construction in cohesionless soils. Furthermore, the 5th strut level before concreting played an indispensable role in controlling lateral deflection of USSPs. It was also observed that pumping out water before concreting base slab could greatly simplify and benefit construction program. On the other hand, the simplification in construction procedures could induce seepage inside the cofferdam, which additionally increased the deflection of USSPs by 10 mm on average.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.181-195
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• 2022

Roughness and joint inclination angle are the important factors that affect the strength and deformation characteristics of jointed rock mass. In this paper, 3D printer has been employed to make molds firstly, and casting the jointed specimens with different joint roughness coefficient (JRC), and different joint inclination angle (α). Conventional triaxial compression tests were carried out on the jointed specimens, and the influence of JRC on the strength and deformation parameters was analyzed. At the same time, acoustic emission (AE) testing system has been adopted to reveal the AE characteristic of the jointed specimens in the process of triaxial compression. Finally, the morphological of the joint surface was observed by digital three-dimensional video microscopy system, and the relationship between the peak strength and JRC under different confining pressures has been discussed. The results indicate that the existence of joint results in a significant reduction in the strength of the joint specimen, JRC also has great influence on the morphology, quantity and spatial distribution characteristics of cracks. With the increase of JRC, the triaxial compressive strength increase, and the specimen will change from brittle failure to ductile failure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.2
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• pp.205-217
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• 2022

The thermodynamic properties of shaft lining concrete (SLC) are important evidence for the design and construction, and the spatial variability of concrete materials can directly affect the stochastic thermal analysis of the concrete structures. In this work, an array of field experiments of the concrete materials are carried out, and the statistical characteristics of thermophysical parameters of SLC are obtained. The coefficient of variation (COV) and scale of fluctuation (SOF) of uncertain thermophysical parameters are estimated. A three-dimensional (3-D) stochastic thermal model of concrete materials with heat conduction and hydration heat is proposed, and the uncertain thermodynamic properties of SLC are computed by the self-compiled program. Model validation with the experimental and numerical temperatures is also presented. According to the relationship between autocorrelation functions distance (ACD) and SOF for the five theoretical autocorrelation functions (ACFs), the effects of the ACF, COV and ACD of concrete materials on the uncertain thermodynamic properties of SLC are analyzed. The results show that the spatial variability of concrete materials is subsistent. The average temperatures and standard deviation (SD) of inner SLC are the lowest while the outer SLC is the highest. The effects of five 3-D ACFs of concrete materials on uncertain thermodynamic properties of SLC are insignificant. The larger the COV of concrete materials is, the larger the SD of SLC will be. On the contrary, the longer the ACD of concrete materials is, the smaller the SD of SLC will be. The SD of temperature of SLC increases first and then decreases. This study can provide a reliable reference for the thermodynamic properties of SLC considering spatial variability of concrete materials.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.373-383
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• 2016

As one natural material, the physical and mechanical properties of rock will be affected very largely by chemical erosion environment. Under chemical environment, the strength of rock will be reduced. Considering the effect of the chemical erosion, fracture factor of rock is reduced. The damage variable is applied to express the change of fracture stress. Therefore, the fracture criterion of rock under chemical environment is constructed. By one experiment of rock fracture under chemical erosion environment, the proposed fracture criterion is verified. The results show that, the fracture path by theory is agree with the testing one well.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.373-389
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• 2019

It is important to study the problem of durability for tunnel structures. As a main influence on the durability of tunnel structures, carbonation-induced corrosion is studied. For the complicated environment of tunnel structures, based on the data samples from real engineering examples, the intelligent method (genetic programming) is used to construct the service life prediction model of tunnel structures. Based on the model, the prediction of service life for tunnel structures in carbonation environments is studied. Using the data samples from some tunnel engineering examples in China under carbonation environment, the proposed method is verified. In addition, the performance of the proposed prediction model is compared with that of the artificial neural network method. Finally, the effect of two main controlling parameters, the population size and sample size, on the performance of the prediction model by genetic programming is analyzed in detail.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.215-225
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• 2019

The mechanical behavior of rock is essential to estimate the capacity and long-term stability of $CO_2$ storage in deep saline aquifers. As the depth of reservoir increases, the pressure and temperature that applied on the rock increase. To answer the question of how the confining pressure and temperature influence the mechanical behavior of reservoir rock, triaxial compression experiments were carried out on brine-saturated sandstone at elevated temperature. The triaxial compressive strength of brine-saturated sandstone was observed to decrease with increasing testing temperature, and the temperature weakening effect in strength enhanced with the increase of confining pressure. Sandstone specimens showed single fracture failures under triaxial compression. Three typical regions around the main fracture were identified: fracture band, damaged zone and undamaged zone. A function was proposed to describe the evolution of acoustic emission count under loading. Finally, the mechanism of elevated temperature causing the reduction of strength of brine-saturated sandstone was discussed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.405-411
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• 2019

A significant influence of the particle size distribution on the resilient behaviour of granular aggregates was usually observed in laboratory tests. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon were rarely reached. In this study, a mechanistic model considering particle breakage is proposed. It is found to be the combined effects of the coefficient of uniformity and the size range between maximum and minimum particle sizes that influences the resilient modulus of granular aggregates. The resilient modulus is found to undergo reduction with evolution of particle breakage by shifting the initial particle size distribution to a broader one.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.583-598
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• 2022

The Compaction effect is important for evaluating the subgrade construction. However, there is little research exploring the compaction quality of deep soil using hydraulic compaction. According to reinforcement effect analysis, dimensional analysis is adopted in this work to analyze subgrade compactness within the effective reinforcement depth, and a prediction model is obtained. A hydraulic compactor is then employed to carry out an in-situ reinforcement test on gravel soil subgrade, and the subgrade parameters before and after reinforcement are analyzed. Results show that a reinforcement difference exists inside the subgrade, and the effective reinforcement depth is defined as increasing compactness to 90% in the depth direction. Layered compactness within the effective reinforcement depth is expressed by parameters including the drop distance of the rammer, peak acceleration, tamping times, subgrade settlement, and properties of rammer and filler. Finally, a field test is conducted to verify the results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.517-532
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• 2023

Tower structures have been widely used in communication and transmission engineering. The failure of joints is the leading cause of structure failure, which make it play a crucial role in tower structure engineering. In this study, the aluminum alloy three tube tower structure is taken as the prototype, and the middle joint of the tower was selected as the research object. Three different stainless steel-aluminum alloy composite joints (SACJs), denoted by TA, TB and TC, were designed. Finite element (FE) modeling analysis was used to compare and determine the TC joint as the best solution. Detail requirements of fasteners in the TC stainless steel-aluminum alloy composite joint (TC-SACJ) were designed and verified. In order to systematically and comprehensively study the mechanical properties of TC-SACJ under multi-directional loading conditions, the full-scale experiments and FE simulation models were all performed for mechanical response analysis. The failure modes, load-carrying capacities, and axial load versus displacement/stain testing curves of all full-scale specimens under tension/compression loading conditions were obtained. The results show that the maximum vertical displacement of aluminum alloy tube is 26.9mm, and the maximum lateral displacement of TC-SACJs is 1.0 mm. In general, the TC-SACJs are in an elastic state under the design load, which meet the design requirements and has a good safety reserve. This work can provide references for the design and engineering application of aluminum alloy tower structures.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.173-185
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• 2020

Calcareous soil is originated from marine biogenic sediments and weathering of carbonate rocks. The formation history for calcareous sediment includes complex physical, biological and chemical processes. It is preferably selected as the major fill materials for hydraulic reclamation and artificial island construction. Calcareous sands possess inter pores and complex shape are liable to be damaged at normal working stress level due to its fragile nature. Thus, the engineering properties of calcareous soil are greatly affected by its high compressibility and crushability. A series of triaxial shear tests were performed on calcareous sands derived from South China Sea under different test conditions. The effects of confining pressure, particle size, grading, compactness, drainage condition, and water content on the total amount of particle breakage for calcareous soil were symmetrically investigated. The test results showed that the crushing extent of calcareous sand with full gradation was smaller than that a single particle group under the same test condition. Large grains are cushioned by surrounding small particles and such micro-structure reduces the probability of breakage for well-graded sands. The increasing tendency of particle crushing for calcareous sand with a rise in confining pressure and compactness is confirmed. It is also evident that a rise in water content enhances the amount of particle breakage for calcareous sand. However, varying tendency of particle breakage with grain size is still controversial and requires further examination.