• 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.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.401-420
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• 2016

The stability of deep coal roadways with large sections and thick top coal is a typical challenge in many coal mines in China. The innovative Universal Discrete Element Code (UDEC) trigon block is adopted to create a numerical model based on a case study at the Dongtan coal mine in China to better understand the failure mechanism and stability control mechanism of this kind of roadway. The failure process of an unsupported roadway is simulated, and the results suggest that the deformation of the roof is more serious than that of the sides and floor, especially in the center of the roof. The radial stress that is released is more intense than the tangential stress, while a large zone of relaxation appears around the roadway. The failure process begins from partial failure at roadway corners, and then propagates deeper into the roof and sides, finally resulting in large deformation in the roadway. A combined support system is proposed to support roadways based on an analysis of the simulation results. The numerical simulation and field monitoring suggest that the availability of this support method is feasible both in theory and practice, which can provide helpful references for research on the failure mechanisms and scientific support designing of engineering in deep coal mines.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.339-348
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• 2020

The uncertain geotechnical properties of frozen soil are important evidence for the design, operation and maintenance of the frozen ground. The complex geological, environmental and physical effects can lead to the spatial variations of the frozen soil, and the uncertain mechanical properties are the key factors for the uncertain analysis of frozen soil engineering. In this study, the elastic modulus, strength and Poisson ratio of warm frozen soil were measured, and the statistical characteristics under different temperature conditions are obtained. The autocorrelation distance (ACD) and autocorrelation function (ACF) of uncertain mechanical properties are estimated by random field (RF) method. The results show that the mean elastic modulus and mean strength decrease with the increase of temperature while the mean Poisson ratio increases with the increase of temperature. The average values of the ACD for the elastic modulus, strength and Poisson ratio are 0.64m, 0.53m and 0.48m, respectively. The standard deviation of the ACD for the elastic modulus, strength and Poisson ratio are 0.03m, 0.07m and 0.03m, respectively. The ACFs of elastic modulus, strength and Poisson ratio decrease with the increase of ratio of local average distance and scale of fluctuation. The ACF of uncertain mechanical properties is different when the temperature is different. This study can improve our understanding of the spatial autocorrelation variations of uncertain geotechnical properties and provide a basis and reference for the uncertain settlement analysis of frozen soil foundation.