Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper the relation between dissipated energy and pore pressure is studied using 1 g shaking table test results. Toyoura sand is used for the physical models. Both one and two dimensional variable phase loadings are applied to the models. Shear work was calculated using accelerations and displacements and normalized to the mean effective stress. Pore water pressure was also normalized to the vertical effective stress. The results show that the pore pressure has a unique relationship to the shear work no matter whether the shaking is one or two dimensional. The results also show that the generated normalized pore pressure is independent of loading type and confinement. © 2006 Taylor &... 

Determination of soil shear modulus is one of the most controversial topics in unsaturated soil dynamics. Due to the fact that soils have an anisotropic response, the shear strength and stiffness of geological materials are greatly dependent on the principal stress direction and the intermediate principal stress. In this study, the effects of principal stress direction on shear modulus of unsaturated medium-dense sand have been investigated using cyclic hollow cylinder apparatus. Three series of stress-controlled cyclic tests with different fixed principal stress directions were carried out on the sand sample under different values of suction. Results reveal that shear modulus of unsaturated... 

Determination of soil shear modulus is one of the most controversial topics in unsaturated soil dynamics. Due to the fact that soils have an anisotropic response, the shear strength and stiffness of geological materials are greatly dependent on the principal stress direction and the intermediate principal stress. In this study, the effects of principal stress direction on shear modulus of unsaturated medium-dense sand have been investigated using cyclic hollow cylinder apparatus. Three series of stress-controlled cyclic tests with different fixed principal stress directions were carried out on the sand sample under different values of suction. Results reveal that shear modulus of unsaturated... 

During preliminary investigation phase of the national Chabahar-Zahedan railway line, serious geotechnical problems including non-uniform settlements, tensile cracks, and local collapse were reported in parts of the path near the coastline. A follow-up field investigation revealed that the in-situ soil at construction site has a metastable structure being sensitive to saturation and loading. Therefore, a comprehensive series of physical, chemical, electro-chemical, and geotechnical tests were conducted to classify and characterize the soil properties and behavior in its natural state. The natural soil was classified as a clayey loess with moderately dispersive to dispersive characteristics.... 

Real-time measurement of soil water pressure has been recognized as an essential part of investigating water ow in unsaturated soils. Tensiometry, amongst di erent measuring techniques, is a common method for direct evaluation of water pressure. However, the lower limit of measurable water pressure by a conventional tensiometer becomes even more limited by increasing its length in the vertical installation. This paper describes the development of a Vacuum-Re lled Tensiometer (VRT) for monitoring soil water pressure independent of installation depth. This is achieved by xing the distance between pressure sensor and ceramic cup together with incorporating an ancillary vacuum-re lling assembly... 

Real-time measurement of soil water pressure has been recognized as an essential part of investigating water ow in unsaturated soils. Tensiometry, amongst different measuring techniques, is a common method for direct evaluation of water pressure. However, the lower limit of measurable water pressure by a conventional tensiometer becomes even more limited by increasing its length in the vertical installation. This paper describes the development of a Vacuum-Refilled Tensiometer (VRT) for monitoring soil water pressure independent of installation depth. This is achieved by fixing the distance between pressure sensor and ceramic cup together with incorporating an ancillary vacuumre filling... 

In this paper, proper and safe planning of excavation method and design of support system in very weak rocks with case study of control room of Silveh dam are discussed. Silveh earth-storage dam, with 102 m height; is under construction in North-West of Iran. Due to numerous and various tectonic occurrences, the area of dam site is known as a high activity zone of Iran. In purposed location of control room, bedrock contains mostly weathered and crushed Shale and Schist. 60 m overburden and finite aquifers are another specific concern of this project. In this paper by using 3D finite element modeling, different stages of excavation and support system installation have been analyzed for the... 

Energy piles have been used around the world to harvest geothermal energy to heat and cool residential and commercial buildings. In order to design energy geo-structures, thermo-mechanical response of the geothermal pile must be carefully understood. In this paper, a small scale physical model is designed and a series of heating thermal cycles with various vertical mechanical loads are performed. The instrumented pile is installed inside a dry sand bed. Changes in pile head displacement, shaft strains and pile and sand temperatures are monitored using an LVDT, strain gauges and thermocouples, respectively. Prolonged heating cycles, which would continue until boundary temperature changes,... 

In this paper, physical modeling tests are conducted to study some aspects of the dynamic compaction method. The loose models are prepared with dry sand. Four cylindrical tampers with different weight and cross section areas are used for compaction of the models and dropped from various heights. Strain gage type total stress measuring sensors are placed at different levels inside the model to measure the transferred vertical stresses due to collision of the tamper with the surface of the models. The typical stress time histories are presented. Improvement depth and crater depth and diameter created on the model surface are studied, among the various parameters affecting the phenomena. Using... 

Surface waves generated during vibration of machine foundations are sometimes troublemaking and cause some damages to the nearby sensitive structures or people. Considering the function of the machines located on the foundations the dynamic loading could be harmonic or impact type. The main part of the generated energy is transferred to the ground by Rayleigh surface waves. One of the most reliable and economic methods for reduction of the effects of these generated waves is using open trenches around the dynamic sources, so called active isolation in literature. In this paper applicability and affecting parameters of the open trenches around the impact dynamic source is studied using... 

The seismic response of soil depends on proper evaluation and use of soil dynamic properties, including shear modulus and damping ratio at various strain levels. Despite extensive studies on the shear modulus and damping ratio of saturated soils, research on the dynamic properties of unsaturated fine-grained soils — especially at high suction — is limited. This study aims to investigate the dynamic properties of loess at a variety of initial states resulting from different specimen preparation techniques (reconstituted, recompacted, and intact) and their evolutions due to suction-induced desiccation. Results of resonant column tests show that at initial states, the specimen preparation... 

To investigate the influences of microstructure changes on dilatancy of unsaturated loess at high suctions, a direct shear box device using the vapour equilibrium technique was used. Through conducting two series of direct shear tests on both intact and recompacted loess specimens and also investigating microstructural changes using the mercury intrusion porosim-etry (MIP) technique, a linear increase in dilatancy with suctions ranging from 8 to 230 MPa can be identified at different net stresses. The enhanced dilatancy observed is mainly attributed to desiccation-induced high suctions as the reduction in void ratio due to enhancement of suction was negligible. A macrovoid ratio, eM, may be... 

Soils have an anisotropic response, and changing the inclination and magnitude of the major principal stress will affect the collapse potential and brittleness and the shear strength and shear stiffness. A series of undrained cyclic tests on dense Babolsar and Toyoura sands with induced anisotropy were conducted using automatic hollow cylinder apparatus. Special attention was paid to the significant role of the principal stress direction (α). Results show that changes in α has significant effect on the type and the quantity of strains that directly affect the excess pore water pressure generation. Changes in α would change the deformation mode and soil stiffness. Stiffness reduction has led... 

Soils have an anisotropic response, and changing the inclination (α) and magnitude of the major principal stress will affect collapse potential and brittleness, as well as shear strength and shear stiffness. In this paper, the effect of the stress path, with changes in intermediate principal stress, on the dynamic behavior of Babolsar sand, is studied. A series of undrained monotonic and cyclic tests on loose sand with induced anisotropy were conducted by using automatic hollow cylinder apparatus. Special attention was paid to the significant role of the intermediate principal stress parameter (b) in the deformation behavior of the sand during cyclic loading. Results show that at constant α,... 

Cyclic drained and undrained tests were performed in a modified simple shear device in order to specifically investigate the effect of saturation ratio on shear modulus and damping parameters of sand. In addition to the degree of saturation, the effects of number of cycles, vertical consolidation stress, shear strain amplitude and relative density on dynamic properties of sand were investigated. Dynamic stiffness and damping characteristic were found to be substantially independent of saturation ratio in the range of 25-75%. However, by approaching the full saturation state, the values of modulus fall sharply and damping of loose samples increases dramatically from corresponding values of... 

In order to evaluate dynamic properties of Babolsar and Toyoura sands at saturation levels of 25, 50, 75 & 100%, a series of cyclic simple shear tests were carried out. The SGI type cyclic simple shear device was used to study the shear modulus, G, and damping ratio, D, of the above mentioned sands at cyclic shear strain of 0.5, 5 & 10%. The effect of degree of saturation (S), vertical consolidation stress (σ vc) and number of loading cycles (N) were investigated. On the basis of the tests results, the shear modulus approximately remains constant by change of degree of saturation from 25 to 50% and decreases when reaches the degree of saturation 75%. Damping ratio approximately is constant... 

It is well established that the main mechanism for the occurrence of liquefaction under seismic loading conditions is the generation of excess pore water pressure. The growth of the excess pore water pressure of saturated sand is dependent on several factors. Changing the inclination and magnitude of the major principal stress with respect to the depositional direction in most cases will increase the collapse potential and brittleness as well as reduce the shear strength and shear stiffness. An experimental program was carried out to study the variation of pore water pressure of cross-anisotropic deposits under anisotropic cyclic loading. A total of 30 undrained cyclic tests were performed... 

Strength parameters of asphalt concrete used in earth fill dams' core were studied by conducting cyclic and monotonic triaxial tests on asphalt concrete samples. Results obtained from more than 120 cyclic tests showed that asphalt concrete behaves properly under cyclic loading and specimens stay intact after applying 5000 cycles. Results of monotonic and post-cyclic loading proved that strength parameters of asphalt concrete samples does not change significantly after being subjected to seismic loads. © 2009 IOS Press  

In total, 55 undrained cyclic torsional shear tests were conducted at a constant mean confining stress, σ0m, constant intermediate principal stress ratios, b = (σ2 − σ3)/(σ1 − σ3), and principal stress directions, α. The cyclic resistance of loose, isotropically consolidated specimens exhibited a dip in strength, with the lowest values for α being 45°, an angle at which α was oriented such that the potential shear band directions dovetailed with the plane having the weakest strength (i.e. horizontal plane). For a given α, the cyclic resistance decreased to the lowest values for b = 0·5, at which the value of the principal stresses was different in the three major directions. For dense...