• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.515-530
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• 2016

In this paper, five different quantitative parameters were proposed for the characterization of the primary roughness which is the component of surface morphology that prevails during large strike-slip faults of more than 50 m. These parameters are mostly the anisotropic properties of rock surface morphology at various scales: (i) coefficient ($k_a$) and degree (${\delta}_a$) of apparent structural anisotropy of surface; (ii) coefficient ($k_r$) and degree (${\delta}_r$) of real structural anisotropy of surface; (iii) surface anisotropy function P(${\varphi}$); and (iv) degree of surface waviness ($W_s$). The coefficient and degree of apparent structural anisotropy allow qualifying the anisotropy/isotropy of a discontinuity according to a classification into four classes: anisotropic, moderately anisotropic/isotropic and isotropic. The coefficient and degree of real structural anisotropy of surface captures directly the actual surface anisotropy using geostatistical method. The anisotropy function predicts directional geometric properties of a surface of discontinuity from measurements in two orthogonal directions. These predicted data may subsequently be used to highlight the anisotropy/isotropy of the surface (radar plot). The degree of surface waviness allows qualifying the undulation of anisotropic surfaces. The proposed quantitative parameters allows their application at both lab and field scales.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.287-297
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• 2020

This paper investigates the stability of a three-dimensional (3D) wedge under the pseudo-static action of an earthquake based on the nonlinear Barton-Bandis (B-B) failure criterion. The influences of the mechanical parameters of the discontinuity surface, the geometric parameters of the wedge and the pseudo-static parameters of the earthquake on the stability of the wedge are analyzed, as well as the sensitivity of these parameters. Moreover, a stereographic projection is used to evaluate the influence of pseudo-static direction on instability mode. The parametric analyses show that the stability coefficient and the instability mode of the wedge depend on the mechanical parameter of the rock mass, the geometric form of the wedge and the pseudo-static state of the earthquake. The friction angle of the rock φ_b, the roughness coefficient of the structure surface JRC and the two angles related to strikes of the joints θ₁ and θ₂ are sensitive to stability. Furthermore, the sensitivity of wedge height h, the compressive strength of the rock at the fracture surface JCS and the slope angle α to the stability are insignificant.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.1
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• pp.53-67
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• 2018

The changes of parameters of pressure and velocity of propagation of elastic pressure and shear waves in uniformly deformed solid compressible media are studied within the nonclassically linearized approach (NLA) of nonlinear elastodynamics to create a new theoretical basis of the geomechanical interpretation of various groups of geophysical observational and experimental data. The cases of small and large deformations are considered while their describing by various elastic potentials, i.e., problems considering the physical and geometric nonlinearity. Convenient analytical formulae are obtained to calculate the indicated parameters in the deformed isotropic media within the nonclassical linear and nonlinear solution in the NLA. Specific numerical experiments are conducted in case of overall compression of various materials. It is shown that the method (generally accepted in the studies of mechanics of standard constructional materials) of additional linearization (relative to the pressure parameter) in the basic correlations of the NLA introduces substantial quantitative and qualitative errors into the results at significant preliminary deformations. The influences of the physical and geometric nonlinearity on the studied characteristics of the medium are large in various materials and differ qualitatively. The contribution of nonlinear components to the values of the considered parameters prevails over linear components at large deformations. When certain critical values of compression deformations in the medium are achieved, elastic waves with actual velocity cannot propagate in it. The values of the critical deformations for pressure and shear waves differ within different elastic potentials and variants of the theory of initial deformations.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.645-657
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• 2018

The paper aims to analyze the behaviour of torsional type surface waves propagating through fluid saturated inhomogeneous porous media clamped between two inhomogeneous anisotropic media. We considered three types of inhomogeneities in upper anisotropic layer which varies exponentially, quadratically and hyperbolically with depth. The anisotropic half space inhomogeneity varies linearly with depth and intermediate layer is taken as inhomogeneous fluid saturated porous media with sinusoidal variation. Following Biot, the dispersion equation has been derived in a closed form which contains Whittaker's function and its derivative, for approximate result that have been expanded asymptotically up to second term. Possible particular cases have been established which are in perfect agreement with standard results and observe that when one of the upper layer vanishes and other layer is homogeneous isotropic over a homogeneous half space, the velocity of torsional type surface waves coincides with that of classical Love type wave. Comparative study has been made to identify the effects of various dimensionless parameters viz. inhomogeneity parameters, anisotropy parameters, porosity parameter, and initial stress parameters on the torsional wave propagation by means of graphs using MATLAB. The study has its own relevance in connection with the propagation of seismic waves in the earth where fluid saturated poroelastic layer is present.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.527-538
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• 2018

The study on the performance of the nonlinear friction tuned mass dampers (FTMD) for the mitigation of the seismic responses of the structures is a topic that still inspires the efforts of researchers. The present paper aims to carry out a numerical study on the optimum tuning of TMD and FTMD parameters using a multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm including soil-structure interaction (SSI) effects for seismic applications. Considering a 3-story structure, the performances of the optimized TMD and FTMD are compared with the uncontrolled structure for three types of soils and the fixed base state. The simulation results indicate that, unlike TMDs, optimum tuning of FTMD parameters for a large preselected mass ratio may not provide a best and optimum design. For low mass ratios, optimal selection of friction coefficient has an important key to enhance the performance of FTMDs. Consequently, a free parameter search of all FTMD parameters provides a better performance in comparison with considering a preselected mass ratio for FTMD in the optimum design stage of the FTMD. Furthermore, the SSI significant effects on the optimum design of the TMD and FTMD. The simulation results also show that the FTMD provides a better performance in reducing the maximum top floor displacement and acceleration of the building in different soil types. Moreover, the performance of the TMD and FTMD decrease with increasing soil softness, so that ignoring the SSI effects in the design process may give an incorrect and unrealistic estimation of their performance.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.631-640
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• 2024

In the traditional slope stability analysis, ignoring the spatial variability of slope soil will lead to inaccurate analysis. In this paper, the K-L series expansion method is adopted to simulate random field of soil strength parameters. Based on Random Limit Equilibrium Method (RLEM), the influence of variation coefficient and fluctuation range on reliability of soil slope supported by micro-pile is investigated. The results show that the fluctuation ranges and the variation coefficients significantly influence the failure probability of soil slope supported by micro-pile. With the increase of fluctuation range of soil strength parameters, the mean safety factor of the slope increases slightly. The failure probability of the soil slope increases with the increase of fluctuation range when the mean safety factor of the slope is greater than 1. The failure probability of the slope increases by nearly 8.5% when the fluctuation range is increased from δ_v=2 m to δ_v =8 m. With the increase of the variation coefficient of soil strength parameters, the mean safety factor of the slope decreases slightly, and the probability of failure of soil slope increases accordingly. The failure probability of the slope increases by nearly 31% when the variation coefficient increases from COV_c=0.2, COV_φ=0.05 to COV_c=0.5, COV_φ=0.2.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.595-613
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• 2015

An experimental investigation into the uplift capacity of horizontal square plate anchors in sand with and without geogrid reinforcement is reported. The parameters investigated are the effect of the depth of the single layer of geogrid, vertical spacing of geogrid layers, number of geogrid layers, length of geogrid layers, the effects of embedment depth, and relative density of sand. A series of three dimensional finite element analyses model was established and confirmed to be effective in capturing the behaviour of plate anchor-reinforced sand by comparing its predictions with experimental results. The results showed that the geogrid reinforcement had a considerable effect on the uplift capacity of horizontal square plate anchors in sand. The improvement in uplift capacity was found to be strongly dependent on the embedment depth and relative density of sand. A satisfactory agreement between the experimental and numerical results on general trend of behaviour and optimum geometry of reinforcement placement is observed. Based on the model test results and the finite element analyses, optimum values of the geogrid parameters for maximum reinforcing effect are discussed and suggested.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.17-31
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• 2015

An experimental program was performed to study the effects of cement stabilization on the geotechnical characteristics of sandy soils. Stabilizing agent included lime Portland cement, and was added in percentages of 2.5, 5 and 7.5% by dry weight of the soils. An analysis of the mechanical behavior of the soil is performed from the interpretation of results from unconfined compression tests and direct shear tests. Cylindrical and cube samples were prepared at optimum moisture content and maximum dry unit weight for unconfined compression and direct shear tests, respectively. Samples were cured for 7, 14 and 28 days after which they were tested. Based on the experimental investigations, the utilization of cemented specimens increased strength parameters, reduced displacement at failure, and changed soil behavior to a noticeable brittle behavior.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.229-241
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• 2012

In this paper, utilizing void ratio-effective stress and void ratio-permeability relationships, a system of two nonlinear partial differential equations is derived to predict the consolidation characteristics of normally consolidated (NC) and overconsolidated (OC) soft clays subjected to cyclic loading. A developed feature of the coefficient of consolidation containing two key parameters is emerged from the differential equations. Effect of these parameters on the consolidation characteristics of soft clays is analytically discussed. It is shown that the ratios between the slopes of e-$log{\sigma}^{\prime}$ and e-log k lines in the NC and OC states play a major role in the consolidation process. In the companion paper, the critical assumptions made in the analytical discussion are experimentally verified and a numerical study is carried out in order to examine the proposed theory.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.523-532
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• 2019

Based on the formation characteristics, wellbore parameters and insulated tubing (IT) parameters of the Shengli oilfield, Shandong, China, a geomechanical model is built to predict the temperature distributions of the wellbore and formation. The effects of the IT heat conductivity coefficient (HCC), well depth and IT joint on the temperature distribution of the IT, completion casing, cement sheath, and formation are investigated. Results show the temperature of the formation around the wellbore has an exponentially decreasing relation with the distance to the wellbore. The temperature of the formation around the wellbore has an inverse relation with the IT HCC when the temperatures of the steam and the formation are given. The temperature of the casing outer wall is mainly determined by the steam temperature and IT HCC rather than by the initial formation temperature. The temperature of the casing at the IT joint is much larger than that of the other location. Due to the IT joint having a small size, the effects of the IT joint on the casing temperature distribution are limited to a small area only.