• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.479-489
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• 2018

In this paper, a comparative study of the effects of soil modelling on the interaction between tunnelling in soft soil and adjacent piled structure is presented. Several three-dimensional finite element analyses are performed to study the deformation of pile caps and piles as well as tunnel internal forces during the construction of an underground tunnel. The soil is modelled by two material models: the simple, yet approximate Mohr Coulomb (MC) yield criterion; and the complex, but reasonable hardening soil (HS) model with hyperbolic relation between stress and strain. For the former model, two different values of the soil stiffness modulus ($E_{50}$ or $E_{ur}$) as well as two profiles of stiffness variation with depth (constant and linearly increasing) were used in attempts to improve its prediction. As these four attempts did not succeed, a hybrid representation in which the hardening soil is used for soil located at the highly-strained zones while the Mohr Coulomb model is utilized elsewhere was investigated. This hybrid representation, which is a compromise between rigorous and simple solutions yielded results that compare well with those of the hardening soil model. The compared results include pile cap movements, pile deformation, and tunnel internal forces. Problem symmetry is utilized and, therefore, one symmetric half of the soil medium, the tunnel boring machine, the face pressure, the final tunnel lining, the pile caps, and the piles are modelled in several construction phases.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.12 no.3 s.29
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• pp.19-30
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• 1998

In this paper, the dynamic analysis of a dolphin system for mooring a floating structure such as barge mounted plant is studied. The characteristics of the soil-pile system are simplified by a set of equivalent spring elements at the mudline. To evaluate the equivalent spring constants, the finite difference method is used. Since the characteristics of the soil-pile system are nonlinear in case of soft foundation, the nonlinear dynamic analysis technique is needed. The Newmark $beta$ method incorporating the modified Newton-Raphson method(initial stiffness method) is used. A numerical analysis is performed on two mooring dolphin systems on soft foundation and rock foundation. In case of the rock foundation, the characteristics are found to be nearly linear, so the linear dynamic analysis may be sufficient to consider the foundation effect. But in case of soft foundation, the non-linearity of the foundation appears to be very signigicant, so the nonlinear dynamic analysis si needed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2013

The seismic response of RC space frame structures with isolated footing resting on a shallow soil stratum on rock is presented in this paper. Homogeneous soil stratum of different stiffness in the very soft to stiff range is considered. Soil, footing and super structure are considered to be the parts of an integral system. A finite element model of the integrated system is developed and subjected to scaled acceleration time histories recorded during two different real earthquakes. Dynamic analysis is performed using mode superposition method of transient analysis. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effect of flexibility of soil in the dynamic behaviour of low-rise building frames. The time histories and Fourier spectra of roof displacement, base shear and structural response quantities of the space frame on compliant base are presented and compared with the fixed base condition. Results indicate that the incorporation of soil flexibility is required for the realistic estimate of structural seismic response especially for single storey structures resting on very soft soil.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.417-439
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• 2017

The stone columns are increasingly being used as a soil improvement method for supporting a wide variety of structures (such as road embankment, buildings, storage tanks etc.) especially built on soft soil. Soil improvement by the stone column method overcomes the settlement problem and low stability. Nevertheless, stone column in very soft soils may not be functional due to insufficient lateral confinement. The required lateral confinement can be overcome by encasing the stone column with a suitable geosynthetic. Encasement of stone columns with geogrid is one of the ideal forms of improving the performance of stone columns. This paper presents the results of a series of experimental tests and numerical analysis to investigate the behavior of stone columns with and without geogrid encasement in soft clay deposits. A total of six small scale laboratory tests were carried out using circular footing with diameters of 0.05 m and 0.1 m. In addition, a well-known available software program called PLAXIS was used to numerical analysis, which was validated by the experimental tests. After good validation, detailed of parametric studies were performed. Different parameters such as bearing capacity of stone columns with and without geogrid encasement, stiffness of geogrid encasement, depth of encasement from ground level, diameter of stone columns, internal friction angle of crushed stone and lateral bulging of stone columns were analyzed. As a result of this study, stone column method can be used in the improvement of soft ground and clear development in the bearing capacity of the stone column occurs due to geogrid encasement. Moreover, the bearing capacity is effected from the diameter of the stone column, the angle of internal friction, rigidity of the encasement, and depth of encasement. Lateral bulging is minimized by geogrid encasement and effected from geogrid rigidity, depth of encasement and diameter of the stone column.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.93-101
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• 2024

This paper presents an experimental and analytical study on a steel slit damper designed as an energy dissipative device for earthquake protection of structures considering soil-structure interaction. The steel slit damper is made of a steel plate with a number of slits cut out of it. The slit damper has an advantage as a seismic energy dissipation device in that the stiffness and the yield force of the damper can be easily controlled by changing the number and size of the vertical strips. Cyclic loading tests of the slit damper are carried out to verify its energy dissipation capability, and an analytical model is developed validated based on the test results. The seismic performance of a case study building is then assessed using nonlinear dynamic analysis with and without soil-structure interaction. The soil-structure system turns out to show larger seismic responses and thus seismic retrofit is required to satisfy a predefined performance limit state. The developed slit dampers are employed as a seismic energy dissipation device for retrofitting the case study structure taking into account the soil-structure interaction. The seismic performance evaluation of the model structure shows that the device works stably and dissipates significant amount of seismic energy during earthquake excitations, and is effective in lowering the seismic response of structures standing on soft soil.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2018

Applicability of constructing piled raft foundations on soft clay has been given attention in recent years. Lack of sufficient stiffness for soil and thus excessive settlements to allow higher contribution of piles is the major concern in this regard. This paper presents a numerical investigation of performance of piled-raft foundations on soft clay with focusing on a case study. A 3D FEM numerical model is developed using ABAQUS. The model was calibrated by comparing physical and numerical modeling results of other researchers. Then the possibility of using piled-raft system in construction of foundation for a water storage tank in Sarbandar, Iran is assessed. Soil strength parameters in the numerical model were calibrated using the instrumentation data of a heavily instrumented preloading project at the construction site. The results indicate that choosing the proper combination of length and spacing for piles can lead to acceptable differential and total settlements while a high percentage of total bearing capacity of piles can be mobilized, which is an efficient solution for the project. Overall, the construction of piled-rafts on soft clays is promising as long as the total settlement of the structure is not imposing restrictions such as the common 25 mm allowable settlement. But instead, if higher allowable settlements are adopted, for example in the case of rigid steel tanks, the method shall be applicable with considerable cost savings.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.153-162
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• 2007

For the reinforced earth wall constructed on a soft ground in parallel with replacing soft soils, the behavior of the wall according to variations of thickness and stiffness of soft layer, replacement depth, and wall height is investigated using a finite element method, in which incremental construction steps including consolidation of soft soil layer are considered. The behavior of wall is characterized by investigating displacements and settlements developing at the wall, and shear strains developing in a soil deposit. The stability of wall is, then, evaluated by comparing these values with the safety criteria determined on the basis of the literature. Based on the investigation, it is shown that the behavior of wall is influenced naturally from soft soil thickness(t), replacement depth(d) and wall height(h), but more significantly from d and h. In addition, it is also shown that the normalized replacement depth, d/h, required for the safety of wall is not influenced significantly by the variations of t and h. Consequently, it can be concluded that the proper replacement depth can be suggested in an equivalent value in terms of d/h, even for the cases where the wall height is varying with stations, but the variation is not significant.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.480-488
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• 2010

The CGS method is non-discharge replacement method improving ground stiffness by the effect of static compaction with injecting very low slump mortar into ground, and is applied for increasing bearing capacity and filling ground cavity by lifting or restoring differential settled structures and preventing differential settlement. This paper suggests design of ground improvement and construction case history for civil engineering structures by CGS method. This method can be used for reinforcing soft ground and liquefaction of loose sandy soil. This method was used in SongDo area in Incheon Economic Free Zone due to its low vibration of ground while it can improve the soft soil where underground structures(subway and box culvert) are already existed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.403-423
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• 2016

The challenges involved with fatigue damage assessment of steel catenary riser (SCR) in the touchdown zone (TDZ) are primarily due to the non-linear behaviour of the SCR-seabed interaction, considerable uncertainty in SCR-seabed interaction modelling and geotechnical parameters. The issue of fatigue damage induced by the cyclic movements of the SCR with the seabed has acquired prominence with the touch down point (TDP) interaction in the TDZ. Therefore, the SCR-seabed response is critical for reliable estimation of fatigue life in the TDZ. Various design approaches pertaining to the lateral pipe-soil resistance model are discussed. These techniques have been applied in the finite element model that can be used to analyse the lateral SCR-seabed interaction under hydrodynamic loading. This study investigates the sensitivity of fatigue performance to geotechnical parameters through a parametric study. In this study, global analyses are performed to assess the influence of vertical linear seabed springs, the lateral seabed model and the non-linear seabed model, including trench evolution into seabed, seabed normalised stiffness, re-penetration offset parameter and soil suction resistance ratio, on the fatigue life of SCRs in the TDZ.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.663-674
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• 2015

Many seismically vulnerable regions in India and worldwide are located on deep soil deposits which extend to several hundred meters of depth. It has been well recognized that the earthquake shaking is altered by geological conditions at the location of building. As seismic waves propagates through uppermost layers of soil and rock, these layers serve as filter and they can increase the duration and amplitude of earthquake motion within narrow frequency bands. The amplification of these waves is largely controlled by mechanical properties of these layers, which are function of their stiffness and damping. Stiffness and damping are further influenced by soil type and thickness. In the current study, an attempt has been made to study the seismic site response of deep soils. Three hypothetical homogeneous soil models (e.g., soft soil, medium soil and hard soil) lying on bedrock are considered. Depth of half space is varied from 30 m to 2,000 m in this study. Controlled synthetic motions are used as input base motion. One dimensional equivalent linear ground response analyses are carried out using a computer package DEEPSOIL. Conventional approach of analysing up to 30 m depth has been found to be inadequate for deep soil sites. PGA values are observed to be higher for deeper soil profiles as compared to shallow soil profiles indicating that deeper soil profiles are more prone to liquefaction and other related seismic hazards under earthquake ground shaking. The study recommends to deal the deeper soil sections more carefully for estimating the amplification factors for seismic hazard assessment at the surface.