• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.545-561
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• 2024

Piled raft foundation has become widely used in the recent years because it can increase bearing capacity of foundation with control settlement. The design for a piled raft in terms vertical load and lateral load need to understands contribution load behavior to raft and pile in piled raft foundation system. The load-bearing behavior of the piled raft, especially concerning lateral loads, is highly complex and challenge to analyze. The complex mechanism of piled rafts can be clarified by using three dimensional (3-D) Finite Element Method (FEM). Therefore, this paper focuses on free-standing head pile group, on-ground piled raft, and embedded raft for the piled raft foundation systems. The lateral resistant of piled raft foundation was investigated in terms of relationship between vertical load, lateral load and displacement, as well as the lateral load sharing of the raft. The results show that both vertical load and raft position significantly impact the lateral load capacity of the piled raft, especially when the vertical load increases and the raft embeds into the soil. On the same condition of vertical settlement and lateral displacement, piled raft experiences a substantial demonstrates a higher capacity for lateral load sharing compared to the on-ground raft. Ultimately, regarding design considerations, the piled raft can reliably support lateral loads while exhibiting behavior within the elastic range, in which it is safe to use.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.511-525
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• 2024

Micropiled raft has been used to support the existing and new structures or to provide the seismic reinforcement of foundation systems. Recently, research on micropile or micropiled raft has been actively conducted as the usage of micropile has increased, and the reinforcement effect of pile for the raft, the pile installation methods, and methods for calculating the bearing capacity of micropiled raft have been proposed. In addition, existing research results show that the behavior of this foundation system is different depending on the pile conditions and can be greatly influenced by the characteristics of the upper or lower ground depending on the conditions of pile. In other words, considering that the micropile is a friction pile, it can be predicted that the reinforcing effect of micropile for the raft and the bearing capacity of micropiled raft may depend on the cohesion of upper soil layer depending on the pile conditions. However, existing studies have limitations in that they were conducted without taking this into account. However, existing studies have limitations as they have been conducted without considering these characteristics. Accordingly, this study investigated the reinforcing effect of micropile and the bearing characteristics of micropiled raft by varying the cohesion of upper soil layer and the stiffness of pile which affect the behavior of micropiled raft. In this results, the reinforcing effect of micropile on the raft also increased as the cohesion of soil layer increased, but the reinforcing effect of pile was more effective in ground conditions with decreased the cohesion. In addition, the relationship between the axial stiffness of micropile and the bearing capacity of micropiled raft was found to be a logarithmic linear relationship. It was found that the reinforcing effect of micropile can increase the bearing capacity of raft by 1.33~ 3.72 times depending on the cohesion of soil layer and the rigidity of pile.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.431-441
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• 2024

A newly developed line-style sand pluviator has been calibrated to prepare repeatable sand specimens of specific statuses of compactness and homogeneity for laboratory tests. Sand is falling via a bottom slot of a fixed hopper, and by moving the sample container under the slot, the container is evenly filled with sand. The pluviator is designed with high flexibility: The falling height of sand, the hopper's opening width and the relative moving speed between the hopper and the sample box can be easily adjusted. By changing these control factors, sand specimens of a wide range of densities can be prepared. A series of specimen preparation was performed using the coarse Merwede River sand. Performance of the pluviator was systematically evaluated by exploring the alteration of achievable density, as well as checking the homogeneity and fabric of the prepared samples by CT scanning. It was found that the density of prepared coarse sand samples has monotonic correlations with none of the three control factors. Furthermore, CT scanning results suggested that the prepared samples exhibited excellent homogeneity in the horizontal direction but periodical alteration of density in the vertical direction. Based on these calibration test results, a preliminary hypothesis is proposed to describe the general working principles of this type of pluviators a priori, illustrating the mechanisms dominating the non-monotonic correlations between control factors and the relative density as well as the vertically prevalent heterogeneity of specimens. Accordingly, practical recommendations are made in a unified framework in order to lessen the load of similar calibration work.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.453-465
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• 2024

This paper presents a logarithmic shear deformation theory to study the thermal buckling response of power-law FG one-dimensional structures in thermal conditions with different boundary conditions. It is assumed that the functionally graded material and thermal properties are supposed to vary smoothly according to a contentious function across the vertical direction of the beams. A P-FG type function is employed to describe the volume fraction of material and thermal properties of the graded (1D) beam. The Ritz model is employed to solve the thermal buckling problems in immovable boundary conditions. The outcomes of the stability analysis of FG beams with temperature-dependent and independent properties are presented. The effects of the thermal loading are considered with three forms of rising: nonlinear, linear and uniform. Numerical results are obtained employing the present logarithmic theory and are verified by comparisons with the other models to check the accuracy of the developed theory. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of various parameters on the critical thermal stability of P-FG beams. These parameters included support type, temperature fields, material distributions, side-to-thickness ratios, and temperature dependency.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.475-498
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• 2024

The prediction of the susceptibility of soil to liquefaction using a limited set of parameters, particularly when dealing with highly unbalanced databases is a challenging problem. The current study focuses on different ensemble learning classification algorithms using highly unbalanced databases of results from in-situ tests; standard penetration test (SPT), shear wave velocity (V_s) test, and cone penetration test (CPT). The input parameters for these datasets consist of earthquake intensity parameters, strong ground motion parameters, and in-situ soil testing parameters. liquefaction index serving as the binary output parameter. After a rigorous comparison with existing literature, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), bagging, and random forest (RF) emerge as the most efficient models for liquefaction instance classification across different datasets. Notably, for SPT and V_s-based models, XGBoost exhibits superior performance, followed by Light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM) and Bagging, while for CPT-based models, Bagging ranks highest, followed by Gradient boosting and random forest, with CPT-based models demonstrating lower G_mean(error), rendering them preferable for soil liquefaction susceptibility prediction. Key parameters influencing model performance include internal friction angle of soil (ϕ) and percentage of fines less than 75 µ (F₇₅) for SPT and V_s data and normalized average cone tip resistance (q_c) and peak horizontal ground acceleration (a_max) for CPT data. It was also observed that the addition of V_s measurement to SPT data increased the efficiency of the prediction in comparison to only SPT data. Furthermore, to enhance usability, a graphical user interface (GUI) for seamless classification operations based on provided input parameters was proposed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2024

The construction adit plays a pivotal role in enhancing the working face during the excavation of long-distance and deep hydraulic tunnels. However, the intersection zone between the main tunnel and the construction adit exhibits more intricate deformation patterns in surrounding rock, posing a significant threat to stability during excavation. Taking the Xianglushan tunnel in Yunnan Province, China, as a case study, the FLAC3D software is employed to simulate the excavation process at the intersection. The simulation results are verified combined with the field deformation monitoring results, and the spatial distribution of tunnel rock deformation in the intersection area are analyzed. Five excavation conditions with different intersection angles are simulated, and the surrounding rock deformation of the tunnel intersection area with different intersection angles is analyzed, and its influence range is discussed. The results show that: (1) The surrounding rock deformation in the intersection area increases rapidly during the tunnel excavation. With the increase of construction distance, the deformation of intersection area is gradually stable. (2) The deformation distribution of the tunnel rock is uneven, and the deformation of main tunnel near the intersection area is larger than that far away from the intersection area. (3) With the increase of the intersection angle, the surrounding rock deformation of the tunnel intersection and its influence range decreases gradually. The research results have certain guiding significance for the construction safety of the tunnel intersection area.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.107-123
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• 2024

The drilling angle of the well is an important factor that can affect the sand production process and make its destructive effects more severe or weaker. This study investigated the effect of different well angles on sand production for the Asmari Formation, located in one of the oil fields southwest of Iran. For this purpose, a finite difference model was developed for three types of vertical (90°), inclined (45°), and horizontal (0°) wells with casing and perforations in the direction of minimum and maximum horizontal stresses, then coupled with fluid flow. Here, finite element meshing was used, because the geometry of the model is so complex and the implementation of finite difference meshes is impossible or very difficult for such models. Using a combined FDM-FEM model with fluid flow, the sand production process in three different modes with different flow rates for the Asmari sandstone was investigated in this study. The results of numerical models show that the intensity of sand production is directly related to the in-situ stress state of the oil field and well drilling angle. Since the stress regime in the studied oil field is normal, the highest amount of produced sand was in inclined wells (especially wells drilled in the direction of minimum horizontal stress) and the lowest amount of sand production was related to vertical wellbore. Also, the Initiation time of sand production in inclined wells was much shorter than in other wellbores.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.307-317
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• 2024

To get a better understanding of the effect of drying-wetting cycles (DWC) on the mechanical behaviors of silty clay hiving different initial moisture content (IMC), the direct shear tests were performed on sliding band soil taken from a reservoirinduced landslide at the Three Gorges Reservoir area. The results indicated that, as the increasing number of DWC, the shear stress-displacement curves type changed from strain-hardening to strain-softening, and both the soil peak strengths and strength parameters reduced first and then nearly remain unchanged after a certain number of DWC. The effects of DWC on the cohesion were predominated that on the internal friction angle. The IMC of 17% is regarding as the critical moisture content, and the evolution laws of both peak shear strength and strength parameters presented a reversed 'U' type with the rising of the IMC. Based on it, a strength deterioration evolution model incorporating the influence of IMC and DWC was developed to describe the total degradation degree and degradation rate of strength parameters, and the degradation of strength parameters caused by DWC could be counterbalanced to some extent as the soil IMC close to critical moisture content. The microscopic mechanism for the soil strength caused by the IMC and DWC were discussed separately. The research results are of great significance for further understanding the water-weakening mechanicals of the silty clay subjected to the water absorption/desorption.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 2024

In paste backfill mining, cemented coal gangue-fly ash backfill (CGFB) can effectively utilize coal-based solid waste, such as gangue, to control surface subsidence. However, given the pressurized water accumulation environment in goafs, CGFB is subject to coupling effects from water pressure and chloride ions. Therefore, studying the influence of pressurized water on the chlorine salt erosion of CGFB to ensure green mining safety is important. In this study, CGFB samples were soaked in a chloride salt solution at different pressures (0, 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 MPa) to investigate the chloride ion transport characteristics, hydration products, micromorphology, pore characteristics, and mechanical properties of CGFB. Water pressure was found to promote chloride ion transfer to the CGFB interior and the material hydration reaction; enhance the internal CGFB pore structure, penetration depth, and chloride ion content; and fill the pores between the material to reduce its porosity. Furthermore, the CGFB peak uniaxial compression strain gradually decreased with increasing soaking pressure, whereas the uniaxial compressive strength first increased and then decreased. The resulting effects on the stability of the CGFB solid-phase hydration products can change the overall CGFB mechanical properties. These findings are significant for further improving the adaptability of CGFB for coal mine engineering.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.139-155
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• 2024

The piled raft foundations are subjected to lateral loading under the action of wind and earthquake loads. Their bearing behavior and flexural responses under these loadings are of prime concern for researchers and practitioners. The insufficient experimental studies on piled rafts subjected to lateral loading lead to a limited understanding of this foundation system. Lateral load sharing between pile and raft in a laterally loaded piled raft is scarce in literature. In the present study, lateral load-displacement, load sharing, bending moment distribution, and raft inclinations of the piled raft foundations have been discussed through an instrumented scaled down model test in 1 g condition. The contribution of raft in a laterally loaded piled raft has been evaluated from the responses of pile group and piled raft foundations attributing a variety of influential system parameters such as pile spacing, slenderness ratio, group area ratio, and raft embedment. The study shows that the raft contributes 28-49% to the overall lateral capacity of the piled raft foundation. The results show that the front pile experiences 20-66% higher bending moments in comparison to the back pile under different conditions in the pile group and piled raft. The piles in the piled raft exhibit lower bending moments in the range of 45-50% as compared to piles in the pile group. The raft inclination in the piled raft is 30-70% less as compared to the pile group foundation. The lateral load-displacement and bending moment distribution in piles of the single pile, pile group, and piled raft has been presented to compare their bearing behavior and flexural responses subjected to lateral loading conditions. This study provides substantial technical aid for the understanding of piled rafts in onshore and offshore structures to withstand lateral loadings, such as those induced by wind and earthquake loads.