• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.517-529
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• 2023

Using a device composed of two lateral pressure plates (LPPs) and a steel reinforcement bar to apply horizontal pressure on slope surfaces, a newly developed prestress-reinforced embankment (PRE) is proposed, to which can be adopted in strengthening railway subgrades. In this study, an analytical model, which is available of calculating additional confining stress (σ_H) at any point in a PRE, was established based on the theory of elasticity. In addition, to verify the proposed analytical model, three dimensional (3D) finite element analyses were conducted and the feasibility in application was also identified and discussed. In order to study the performance of the PRE, the propagation of σ_H in a PRE was analyzed and discussed based on the analytical model. For the aim of convenience in application, calculation charts were developed in terms of three dimensionless parameters, and they can be used to accurately and efficiently predict the σ_H in a PRE regardless of the embankment slope ratio and LPP side length ratio. Finally, the potential applications of the proposed analytical model were discussed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.411-426
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• 2023

Soft clay is widely distributed in the southeast coastal areas of China. Many large underground structures, such as subway stations and underground pipe corridors, are shallow buried in the soft clay foundation, so the dynamic characteristics of the soft clay must be considered to the seismic design of underground structures. In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of saturated soft clay in Shanghai under the bidirectional excitation for earthquake loading are studied by dynamic triaxial tests, comparing the backbone curve and hysteretic curve of the saturated soft clay under different confining pressures with those under different vibration frequencies. Considering the coupling effects of the confining pressure and the vibration frequency, a fitting model of the maximum dynamic shear modulus was proposed by the multiple linear regression method. The M-D model was used to fit the variations of the dynamic shear modulus ratio with the shear strain. Based on the Chen model and the Park model, the effects of the consolidation confining pressure and the vibration frequency on the damping ratio were studied. The results can provide a reference to the earthquake prevention and disaster reduction in soft clay area.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.151-166
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• 2004

The interaction between concrete core expansion and deformation of perimeter ties has been known to have a significant effect on the effective confinement of rectangular reinforced concrete (RC) tied columns. This interaction produces passive confining pressure to the concrete core. Most existing models for determining the response of RC tied columns do not directly account for the influence of flexural stiffness of the ties and the variation of confining stress along the column height. This study presents a procedure for determining the confined compressive strength of RC square columns confined by rectilinear ties with various tie configurations considering directly the influence of flexural flexibility of the ties and the variation of confining stress along the vertical direction. The concept of area compatibility is employed to ensure compatibility of the concrete core and steel hoop in a global sense. The proposed procedure yields satisfactory predictions of confined strengths compared with experimental results, and the influence of tie flexibility, tie configuration and degree of confinement can be well captured.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제85권6호
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• pp.781-791
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• 2023

Lateral pressure plays a significant role in the stress-strain relationship of compressed concrete. Concrete's internal cracking resistance, ultimate strain, and axial strength are improved by confinement. This phenomenon influences the nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete columns. Utilizing behavior factors to predict the nonlinear seismic responses of structures is prevalent in seismic codes, and this factor plays a vital role in the seismic responses of structures. This study aims to evaluate the confining action on the behavior factor of reinforced concrete moment resisting frames (RCMRFs) with shear walls (SWRCMRFs). To this end, a diverse range of mid-rise SW-RCMRFs was initially designed based on the Iranian national building code criteria. Second, the stress-strain curve of each element was modeled twice, both with and without the confinement phenomenon. Each frame was then subjected to pushover analysis. Finally, the analytical behavior factors of these frames were computed and compared to the Iranian seismic code behavior factor. The results demonstrate that confining action increased the behavior factors of SW-RCMRFs by 7-12%.

• 한국농공학회논문집
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• 제54권4호
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• pp.93-103
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• 2012

A suction-saturation control technique based on flow pump system was developed to investigate hydraulic properties in unsaturated soils. The flow pump system is designed based on the principle of the axis-translation technique and triaxial equipment, and gives the suction-time and suction-saturation curves, the primary relationship needed for interpreting the response of unsaturated soils and link between theory and the material properties in unsaturated soil mechanics. Using the suction-saturation control technique, suction-time relationship and soil-water retention curve (SWRC) during hydraulic hysteresis were investigated with different net confining pressures and porosities. Three types of soils-two sands and a silt were used in this paper. This paper showed the effect of the hysteresis on the SWRC due to different net confining pressures and porosities. This means that a careful decision must be made as to which condition is to be modeled, since the delicate difference of the conditions in physical modeling can cause the different experimental output.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제68권1호
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• pp.95-101
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• 2018

The low rate of penetration and short lifetime of drilling bit served as the most common problems encountered in hard formation drilling, thus leading to severe restriction of drilling efficiency in oil and gas reservoir. This study developed a new local impact drilling method to enhance hard formation drilling efficiency. The limitation length formulas of radial/lateral cracks under static indentation and dynamic impact are derived based on the experimental research of Marshall D.B considering the mud column pressure and confining pressure. The local impact rock breaking simulation model is conducted to investigate its ROP raising effect. The results demonstrate that the length of radial/lateral cracks will increase as the decrease of mud pressure and confining pressure, and the local impact can result in a damage zone round the impact crater which helps the rock cutting, thus leading to the ROP increase. The numerical results also demonstrate the advantages of local impact method for raising ROP and the vibration reduction of bit in hard formation drilling. This study has shown that the local impact method can help raising the ROP and vibration reduction of bit, and it may be applied in drilling engineering.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제5권3호
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• pp.241-261
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• 2013

The bearing mechanism of pile during installation and loading process which controls the deformation and distribution of strain and stress in the soil surrounding pile tip is complex and full of much uncertainty. It is pointed out that particle crushing occurs in significant stress concentrated region such as the area surrounding pile tip. The solution to this problem requires the understanding and modeling of the mechanical behavior of granular soil under high pressures. This study aims to investigate the sand behavior around pile tip considering the characteristics of sand crushing. The numerical analysis of model pile loading test under different surcharge pressure with constitutive model for sand crushing is presented. This constitutive model is capable of predicting the dilatancy of soil from negative to positive under low confining pressure and only negative dilatancy under high confining pressure. The predicted relationships between the normalized bearing stress and normalized displacement are agreeable with the experimental results during the entire loading process. It is estimated from numerical results that the vertical stress beneath pile tip is up to 20 MPa which is large enough to cause sand to be crushed. The predicted distribution area of volumetric strain represents that the distributed area shaped wedge for volumetric contraction is beneath pile tip and distributed area for volumetric expansion is near the pile shaft. It is demonstrated that the finite element formulation incorporating a constitutive model for sand with crushing is capable of producing reasonable results for the pile loading problem.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.111-135
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• 2013

An experimental study has been carried out on square plain concrete (PC) and reinforced concrete (RC) columns strengthened with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. A total of 78 specimens were loaded to failure in axial compression and investigated in both axial and transverse directions. Slenderness of the columns, number of wrap layers and concrete strength were the test parameters. Compressive stress, axial and hoop strains were recorded to evaluate the stress-strain relationship, ultimate strength and ductility of the specimens. Results clearly demonstrate that composite wrapping can enhance the structural performance of square columns in terms of both maximum strength and ductility. On the basis of the effective lateral confining pressure of composite jacket and the effective FRP strain coefficient, new peak stress equations were proposed to predict the axial strength and corresponding strain of FRP-confined square concrete columns. This model incorporates the effect of the effective circumferential FRP failure strain and the effect of the effective lateral confining pressure. The results show that the predictions of the model agree well with the test data.

• 한국콘크리트학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국콘크리트학회 2003년도 가을 학술발표회 논문집
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• pp.351-354
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• 2003

Triaxial behavior of concrete cylinders wrapped with FRP material has been investigated for the increase of concrete strength by lateral confinement. Using the model by Richart et al., a modified empirical equation was proposed to estimate the strength of concrete cylinders with FRP confinement based on the linear relationship between the concrete strength and lateral confining pressure. From the experimental stress-strain result of the cylinder specimens having similar confining pressure, less ductility was observed for higher strength concrete. But the compressive strength of the specimen was linearly increased by lateral confinement. The confinement effectiveness coefficient for the strength enhancement of the cylinders by FRP wrap was obtained as 2.27 from the regression analysis.

• 한국농공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국농공학회 2000년도 학술발표회 발표논문집
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• pp.451-457
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• 2000

A series of consolidated undrained triaxial tests for compacted short fiber reinforced clay were performed to increase the field applications, e.g. retaining wall, waste landfill, soft ground etc. of soil admixtures mixed with short fiber. Kaolin clay and three types of fiber were selected. To acquire reliable length of fibers, an auto cutter was used and a helical mixer was also used to avoid floating of fibers during mixing soil and fibers. It is found that reinforcing effect by aspect ratio and mixing ratio of short fiber decreases as confining pressure is increased. Reinforcing effect has a maximum value at the aspect ratio of 120 and the fiber content of 0.6%∼1.2% and low confining pressure like 50kPa.