Acta Geotechnica最新文献

Existing numerical methods for modeling slurry infiltration often employ a fluid continuity equation commonly used in groundwater flow analysis. However, it is essential to account for the changes in fluid density and viscosity due to shifts in slurry concentration. In view of this, a multi-field numerical model is developed to simulate the slurry infiltration in saturated soil considering the coupling relationship between particle transportation, fluid seepage, and soil deformation. The governing equations of slurry infiltration are derived based on the mass conservation law. The permeability coefficient is modified through spatiotemporal variation of slurry viscosity, which is governed by concentration modifications. The calculated results are validated using the existing test data, which rectifies the issue of non-conservation of mass in the existing model based on the continuity condition of the liquid phase. Finally, the method is applied to a model of a slurry trench to simulate the process of slurry infiltration, including the spatiotemporal variation of deposition, fluid pressure, and concentration. The time of mud cake formation is determined based on the pressure–time distribution. It is found that the time of mud cake formation in the slurry trench can be shortened by increasing the slurry concentration.

A comprehensive analysis of the evolutionary dynamics of soil arches is crucial for accurately predicting soil deformations above sinkholes and assessing stability of underground structures. In this study, a series of trapdoor tests were conducted to investigate the progressive development of soil arching in dense sand. The particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique was utilized to capture soil deformation patterns, while fiber optic strain sensing cables were used to validate the displacement influence zone of soil by measuring strain profiles of the foundation. The ground reaction curves, derived from the measurements of earth pressure cells, shed light on the evolution process of stress redistribution and the rotation of principal stresses. The test results reveal that the formation of soil arching alters the overlying pressure on the trapdoor, transferring loads from yielding soil to adjacent stationary soil. The development of soil failure surfaces corresponded with vertical stress variations on the trapdoor. The strain profiles exhibited a characteristic trough above the trapdoor, along with double peaks at its edges. The measurements of micro-anchored strain sensing cables with small anchor spacings provided more accurate distributions of soil shear deformation. Furthermore, the orientation and magnitude of soil arching was inferred from principal stress rotations. The insights gained in this study are valuable for understanding the propagation of soil arching, offering potential implications for the execution of rational geotechnical design and the mitigation of related geological hazards.

Fluid injection into subsurface reservoirs may cause existing faults/fractures to slip seismically. To study the effect of temperature on injection-induced fault slip, at a constant confining pressure of 10 MPa, we performed a series of injection-induced shear slip experiments on critically stressed sandstone samples containing saw-cut fractures (laboratory-simulated faults) under varying fluid pressurization rates (0.1 and 0.5 MPa/min, respectively) and temperatures (25, 80, and 140 °C, respectively). At 25 °C, slow fault slip events with a peak slip velocity of about 0.13 μm/s were observed on a tested sample in response to a low fluid pressurization rate of 0.1 MPa/min. In contrast, fluid injection with a high pressurization rate of 0.5 MPa/min caused fault slip events with a peak slip rate up to about 0.38 μm/s. In response to a given fluid pressurization rate, several episodes of slip events with a higher slip velocity were induced at an elevated temperature of 140 °C, indicating an appreciable weakening effect at elevated temperatures. We also experimentally constrained the rate-and-state frictional (RSF) parameters at varying effective normal stresses and temperatures by performing velocity-stepping tests. The obtained RSF parameters demonstrate that for a relatively high normal stress, increasing temperature tends to destabilize fault slip. Post-mortem microstructural observations reveal that elevated temperatures promote the generation of abundant fine-grained gouge particles associated with injection-induced shear slip. Our experiments highlight that injection-induced fault slip is affected by temperature-related wear production over the fault surface.

The coefficient of earth pressure at rest (K₀) is a crucial parameter in geotechnical design. In this study, coral sands with various initial relative densities were subjected to K₀ consolidation tests and consolidated-drained triaxial compression tests to investigate the impact of the relative density, stress level, and particle breakage on K₀. Based on the Mohr–Coulomb failure law and experimental data, a formula for estimating K₀ related to the effective stress and effective friction angle was proposed. The results revealed that the K₀ of coral sand decreased with an increase in effective stresses, while the impact of the initial relative density on K₀ was more obvious. At the same effective stress, the smaller the initial relative density was, the larger the K₀ can be. In the tested stress range, minimal particle breakage was observed during the K₀ consolidation, whereas a greater degree of particle breakage occurred during triaxial shear. This particle breakage has the potential to undermine the stress-dilatancy and interparticle locking characteristics in coral sands, leading to a diminished effective friction angle and potentially affecting K₀. The proposed formula for estimating K₀ can be expressed as a function of the effective stresses and effective friction angle, and the effect of initial relative density on K₀ can be reflected by the function parameters. This formula provides a reasonable estimate of the K₀ value for coral sand within a certain range of relative densities and stress levels. Furthermore, it demonstrates favorable applicability to other types of granular soils, such as quartz sand and rockfills.

Municipal solid wastes (MSWs) disposed in landfills are generally exposed to drying and wetting cycles because of the variation in environmental conditions, decomposition of organics and leachate recirculation. This paper studies the water retention curves (WRCs) of fresh and degraded MSWs under various numbers of drying and wetting cycles with water and leachate exposure. The result indicates that the water retention capacities of MSWs decrease with drying and wetting cycles. The maximum hysteresis between the drying and wetting cycles is observed in the first cycles for all MSW samples. The WRCs of medium to highly decomposed MSWs under drying and wetting cycles are similar to those of soils. The WRCs of fresh MSWs can undergo substantial changes due to the discharge of intra-particle moisture caused by decomposition and compression. For both fresh and decomposed MSWs, the WRCs stabilize after 3 drying and wetting cycles. However, only the MSWs of one initial composition with similar void ratios were investigated. Further research should be conducted to investigate the water retention behavior of MSWs with diverse initial compositions (e.g., food contents) and void ratios.

The stability of gentle slopes is rarely accessed in existing studies, which are at risk of below-toe failure in soils with low shear strength. The inherent spatial variability of soil shear strength poses a huge complication to the probabilistic stability evaluation of large-scale three-dimensional gentle slopes, which usually forces a trade-off between precision and efficiency. In view of this, a semi-analytical method is developed in the framework of discretized limit analysis, which gives a unified mathematical representation of toe failure and below-toe failure of slopes. The proposed method inherits the high efficiency of analytical methods and has the ability to integrate spatially variable shear strengths into the slope mechanical model. The model validation is conducted by comparisons with a widely recognized analytical method developed for uniform soils. The random fields are introduced to achieve a relatively accurate characterization of soil shear strength, and the Monte Carlo simulation is employed to obtain a sufficient number of factors of safety of slopes for the subsequent statistical analyses. In the parametric study, spatial variability-related parameters, including the coefficient of variation of soil cohesion cov_c or internal friction angle cov_φ, the autocorrelation lengths along vertical and horizontal directions ξ and k, the cross-correlation coefficient ρ_cφ, are varied systematically to reveal their influences on the slope stability from a statistical perspective. It is found that the ranking of the impact on the probabilistic stability of a gentle slope is given as: cov_c or cov_φ > ξ > k > ρ_cφ. Finally, the failure probabilities of the gentle slope are computed considering the variations of key parameters, which may have implications for practical slope designs.

The objective of this study is to assess the impact of spatial variability in the subgrade layer on the critical response of pavements and the effectiveness of geogrid reinforcement, employing the random field finite difference analysis (RFFDA). A comprehensive parametric study was conducted to examine the influence of two crucial factors: the coefficient of variation (({{text{COV}}}_{E})) and scale of fluctuation (SOF) of the subgrade modulus. Further investigation was conducted to uncover the statistical and mechanical mechanisms underlying the impact of subgrade spatial variability with emphasis on the critical strain distributions and their correlation with both the overall modulus and the local spatial variability of the key influence zone. Furthermore, this study explored the influence of subgrade spatial variability on the effectiveness of geogrid in reducing critical strains, considering various placement positions and geogrid moduli. The following main conclusions are drawn: (a) subgrade spatial variability has a substantial amplifying effect on critical pavement strains due to low modulus dominating effect, (b) there exists a worst value of SOF that results in the most unfavorable statistics of critical subgrade strain, (c) the effect of subgrade spatial variability on critical subgrade strain is more pronounced compared to its effect on critical asphalt strain, (d) the mean value of critical subgrade strain in RFFDA can be significantly underestimated when assuming fixed location for the strain, and (e) the effectiveness of geogrid in reducing critical strains is impacted by subgrade spatial variability, with the impact varying with the type of critical strain and geogrid location. Specifically, when placed at the base course–subgrade interface, the ability of geogrid to reduce critical subgrade strain is significantly compromised due to the subgrade spatial variability.

Long integral bridges experience an enhanced cyclic soil structure interaction with their granular backfills, especially due to seasonal thermal loading. For numerical modelling of this interaction behaviour under cyclic loading, it is important to employ a suitable constitutive model and calibrate it thoroughly. However, up to the present, experimental data and calibrated soil models for this purpose with focus on typical well-graded coarse-grained bridge backfill materials are rarely available in the literature. Therefore, one aim of this paper is to present results of a comprehensive cyclic laboratory testing programme on highly compacted gravel backfill material. Based on this, a hypoplastic constitutive model with intergranular strain extension for small strain and cyclic behaviour is calibrated and evaluated against the experimental test data. The soil model’s abilities and limitations are discussed at element test level. In addition, cyclic FE analyses of an integral bridge are conducted with several hypoplastic parameter sets from the literature and compared to the calibrated gravel backfill material. The investigation highlights that poorly-graded sands show significantly smaller cyclic earth pressures compared to well-graded gravels intended for the backfilling of a bridge. The soil structure interaction behaviour is clearly governed by the general soil model stiffness, including the small strain stiffness.

Flow of suspensions through the complex porous network is typically characterized by the initial spurt and then the formation of internal/ external filter cake which impedes the flow velocity. The transient mechanisms involved during the particle migration phenomenon need to be studied carefully as it is crucial for effectively managing the flow characteristics of drilling fluids and their impact on subsurface reservoirs. In this study, constant pressure permeation experiments are carried out using a specially designed apparatus to quantify the formation and evolution of particle migration zones using advanced image processing algorithms. Additionally, a comprehensive pre-test and post-test characterization of drilling fluids/ filtrates and the porous medium revealed intricate insights into the dynamics of particle migration. Four distinct particle migration/ filtration zones such as internal filter cake, primary filtration, secondary filtration and fluid loss are identified based on the change in the concentration gradient. The influence of additives on the growth of these zones is quantified during the filtration process. The concentration of barite/ micronized calcium carbonate and xanthan gum predominantly controls the filtration process by enhancing the particle plugging and retention time, respectively. In addition to the in-depth understanding of the particle migration zones, the transition from kinetic to capillary flow is identified by performing the fractal analysis. The analysis revealed that drilling fluid containing more barite exhibits a dominant capillary flow. Finally, an analytical model has been modified by considering the influence of different additives to predict the depth of penetration, which is comparable with the experimental results.

The dynamic effects in soil water retention curves (SWRCs) have been the focus of much research. However, most studies implemented short column tests in a few centimeters, under which a semi-permeable porous media inevitably minimizes or magnifies the dynamic effects. In this study, full-scale sand column tests were conducted to eliminate this flaw by preparing a saturated zone under the unsaturated one. The soil suction and moisture profiles were monitored using high-precision tensiometers and spatial time-domain reflectometry, thereby providing a rational overshooting range of the dynamic SWRC. The results confirm that the dynamic primary drainage curve overshoots the static one. The dynamic effects were estimated quantitatively from the soil moisture re-equilibrium time (τ_S) and dynamic coefficient (τ_p), falling within reasonable ranges from previous studies. The τ_p increases log-linearly with decreasing moisture content and can be estimated well from the corresponding τ_S and the first derivative of SWRC. Also, the τ_p increases as the soil becomes finer and better graded, which agrees with more-prominent dynamic effects for lower-permeability reservoirs from petroleum studies but disagrees with more-significant dynamic effects for higher-permeability sand from soil-hydrology studies. The analysis shows that the dynamic effects are not dominated solely by the τ_p or permeability but also by the groundwater dynamics, which can be seen as a pressure boundary from the saturated zone. This finding explains the significant dynamic effects for both high- and ultra-low-permeability geomaterial. Therefore, the present full-scale soil column setup with a prepared saturated zone is recommended for academic investigations of dynamic SWRCs.