The P-y curve, used in current practice as an efficient Iine-load vs. soi displacement model for input into the finite difference method of laterally loaded pile analysis, is extended in this study for use with cohesionless soils in diaphragm wall analysis on the Personal Computer with the BMCOL7 program. An analogous W-y curve is proposed, an elastic-plastic model with line-load limits developed from classical earth-pressure theories. A new formula for predicting a horizontal walI modulus for cohesionless soiIs from the pressuremeter modulus is developed for use in predicting the displacements on the W-y curves. The resulting modulus values are shown to yield reasonable displacements values. A new procedure for modeling preloaded tie-back anchors and staged excavation for diaphragm walIs was developed, utiIizing multiple computer runs, updated the W-y curves, and superposition of deflections. These new developments were applied to a parametric study of a deflection-critical section of the new Bonnevilie Nav-Lock Buttress Diaphragm Wall, for which extensive high-quality pressuremeter test results were available. Deflection curves of the wall are presented, showing the effect of variations in anchor preload, walI cracking, anchor slip, at-rest pressure, and soiI modulus. The results indicate that preloading will reduce wall deflections by at least 4-fold, but that wall cracking can potentially double deflections. Safety factors against passive soil failure were determined to be about 5 at anchor preload, and more than 40 after fulI excavation.

Design of retaining structures depends upon the load which is transferred from backfill soil as well as external loads and also the resisting capacity of the structure. The traditional safety factor approach of the design of retaining structures does not address the variability of soils and loads. The properties of backfill soil are inherently variable and influence the design decisions considerably. A rational procedure for the design of retaining structures needs to explicitly consider variability, as they may cause significant changes in the performance and stability assessment. Reliability based design enables identification and separation of different variabilities in loading and resistance and recommends reliability indices to ensure the margin of safety based on probability theory. Detailed studies in this area are limited and the work presented in the dissertation on the Optimum design of retaining structures under static and seismic conditions: A reliability based approach is an attempt in this direction. This thesis contains ten chapters including Chapter 1 which provides a general introduction regarding the contents of the thesis and Chapter 2 presents a detailed review of literature regarding static and seismic design of retaining structures and highlights the importance of consideration of variability in the optimum design and leads to scope of the investigation. Targeted stability is formulated as optimization problem in the framework of target reliability based design optimization (TRBDO) and presented in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, TRBDO approach for cantilever sheet pile walls and anchored cantilever sheet pile walls penetrating sandy and clayey soils is developed. Design penetration depth and section modulus for the various anchor pulls are obtained considering the failure criteria (rotational, sliding, and flexural failure modes) as well as variability in the back fill soil properties, soil-steel pile interface friction angle, depth of the water table, total depth of embedment, yield strength of steel, section modulus of sheet pile and anchor pull. The stability of reinforced concrete gravity, cantilever and L-shaped retaining walls in static conditions is examined in the context of reliability based design optimization and results are presented in Chapter 5 considering failure modes viz. overturning, sliding, eccentricity, bearing, shear and moment failures in the base slab and stem of wall. Optimum wall proportions are proposed for different coefficients of variation of friction angle of the backfill soil and cohesion of the foundation soil corresponding to different values of component as well as lower bounds of system reliability indices. Chapter 6 presents an approach to obtain seismic passive resistance behind gravity walls using composite curved rupture surface considering limit equilibrium method of analysis with the pseudo-dynamic approach. The study is extended to obtain the rotational and sliding displacements of gravity retaining walls under passive condition when subjected to sinusoidal nature of earthquake loading. Chapter 7 focuses on the reliability based design of gravity retaining wall when subjected to passive condition during earthquakes. Reliability analysis is performed for two modes of failure namely rotation of the wall about its heel and sliding of the wall on its base are considering variabilities associated with characteristics of earthquake ground motions, geometric proportions of wall, backfill soil and foundation soil properties. The studies reported in Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 present a method to evaluate reliability for external as well as internal stability of reinforced soil structures (RSS) using reliability based design optimization in the framework of pseudo static and pseudo dynamic methods respectively. The optimum length of reinforcement needed to maintain the stability against four modes of failure (sliding, overturning, eccentricity and bearing) by taking into account the variabilities associated with the properties of reinforced backfill, retained backfill, foundation soil, tensile strength and length of the geosynthetic reinforcement by targeting various component and system reliability indices is computed. Finally, Chapter 10 contains the important conclusions, along with scope for further work in the area. It is hoped that the methodology and conclusions presented in this study will be beneficial to the geotechnical engineering community in particular and society as a whole.

Designing with Limit Equilibrium Methods involve a factor of safety (FS) in order to maintain the stability and to keep the resisting structure away from limit state on the safe side. Finite Element Program (such as Plaxis) on the other hand, instead of an FS, reduces the shear strength of the soil by introducing a reduction factor that is applied to tan

The problem of passive earth pressure is one of the important topics in Geotechnical engineering. At attempt is made in this thesis to generate passive earth pressure coefficients for general c-Φ soils using logarithmic spiral failure surface by limit equilibrium approach. Method of slices for the determination of passive force in c-Φsoils is presented and the method is extended to a typical problem of two layered soil system. The application of passive earth pressure coefficients has been demonstrated for pullout capacity of inclined strip anchors in sloping ground. A semi-empirical approach for the determination of displacement-related passive earth pressure is presented. The thesis is organized in seven chapters. In Ch.2, a brief summary of relevant literature is presented along with the scope of the thesis. In Ch. 3, limit equilibrium approach for the determination of the passive earth pressure in soils is presented. The passive earth pressure coefficients are developed for δ/Φ= - 1, - ¾ , -2/3, - ½, 0, ½, ¾ 1; ψ = -60º, -45º, -30º, -20º, -10º, 0º,10º,20º,30º and 45º; i= -30º, -20º, -10º,0º,10º,20º and 30º where δ is the wall friction angle, Φ is the angle of internal friction, Ψ is the inclination of the wall with the vertical and i is the ground inclination with the horizontal. Ch.4 deals with the method of slices. Satisfying all the three equilibrium conditions and using interstice friction as a variable, passive earth pressure coefficients are obtained for soils. Extension of the method to a two layered soil system is demonstrated by an illustrative example. A generalised approach for the determination of uplift capacity of inclined strip anchors in sloping ground subjected to surcharge is presented in Ch. 5. Expressions are provided for the determination of pullout capacity of deep anchors. Displacement-related passive earth pressure is discussed in Ch. 6. Using the earlier experimental observations on the passive earth pressure measurements with displacements, expressions have been fitted for the determination of displacement-related passive earth pressure for the three modes of rigid body movements viz., translation, rotation about the top and rotation about the bottom. The conclusions drawn from the present investigations are listed in Ch 7. (Pl see the original document for abstract)

Load and resistance factor design (LRFD) (often called limit states design (LSD)) has been mandated in the AASHTO Bridge Design Specifications and will be adopted in future editions of Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code for all transportation-related structures including reinforced soil retaining walls. The ultimate objective of this thesis work was to carry out reliability-based analysis for load and resistance factor design calibration for rupture and pullout limit states for steel and geosynthetic reinforced soil walls under self-weight and permanent surcharge loading conditions. In order to meet this objective it was necessary to generate large databases of measured load and resistance data from many sources and in some cases to propose new design models that improve the accuracy of underlying deterministic load and resistance models. Numerical models were also developed to model reinforced soil wall performance. These models were used to investigate load prediction accuracy of current analytical reinforcement load models. An important feature of the calibration method adopted in this study is the use of bias statistics to account for prediction accuracy of the underlying deterministic models for load and resistance calculations, random variability in input parameter values, spatial variation and quality of data. In this thesis, bias is defined as the ratio of measured to predicted value. The most important end product of the work described in this thesis is tabulated resistance factors for rupture and pullout limit states for the internal stability of steel and geosynthetic reinforced soil walls. These factors are developed for geosynthetic reinforced soil wall design using the current AASHTO Simplified Method, a new modified Simplified Method, and the recently proposed K-Stiffness Method. Useful quantitative comparisons are made between these three methods by introducing the concept of computed operational factors of safety. This allows designers to quantify the actual margin of safety using different design approaches. The thesis format is paper-based. Ten of the chapters are comprised of journal papers that have been published (2), are in press (2), in review (3) and the remaining (3) to be submitted once the earlier background papers are accepted. / Thesis (Ph.D, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-01-28 18:07:22.284

Les travaux de recherche présentés dans ce manuscrit ont été menés dans le cadre d’une convention CIFRE avec le Groupe Dacquin. Le sous-sol rennais est composé, en majorité, de schistes datés du Briovérien. Ces terrains, qui peuvent être rencontrés sur une grande partie du massif armoricain, présentent des degrés d’altération et de fracturation extrêmement variables à l’échelle du bassin rennais. Cette variabilité est très difficile à prendre en compte dans le cadre de la réalisation de soutènement, tant au niveau de la conception qu’au niveau de l’exécution. Dans un premier temps, des modélisations basés sur la méthode des éléments finis (logiciel PLAXIS 2D ©) ont été entreprises afin d’évaluer l’influence de la prise en compte d’une anisotropie du terrain sur le comportement de la paroi, en termes de moments et de déplacements. Le modèle utilisé permettait de prendre en compte une anisotropie élastique combinée à un critère orienté de plasticité de type Mohr-Coulomb. Les résultats obtenus avec ce modèle, pour différentes orientations du critère de plasticité, ont été comparés à ceux obtenus avec un modèle élastique isotrope et critère de plasticité de type Mohr-Coulomb. La même étude a été menée avec un second logiciel éléments finis (CESAR-LCPC) afin de comparer les résultats obtenus. Dans les deux cas une influence importante de l’orientation du critère de plasticité a été observée pouvant conduire à des résultats plus défavorables, selon l’orientation, que ceux obtenus avec le modèle isotrope. Ces résultats ont confirmé la nécessité de mieux caractériser l’anisotropie dans des matériaux tels que les schistes Briovériens. La caractérisation du matériau a donc été menée dans un second temps sur des prélèvements répartis sur la ville de Rennes et ses alentours (lors de travaux d’excavations ou sur des talus). Elle a permis de balayer les caractéristiques des schistes de l’échelle microscopique jusqu’à l’échelle macroscopique. La caractérisation microscopique, basée sur des observations au microscope à balayage électronique, des essais de diffraction des rayons X et des observations de lames minces, a permis de mettre en évidence des variations dans la pétrographie des échantillons (schistosité, granulométrie, teneur en argiles) permettant de les différencier en deux types : grès et siltites. La caractérisation à l’échelle macroscopique a été divisée en trois axes : la caractérisation de la matrice rocheuse et de son anisotropie (essais de compression uniaxiale, mesures de vitesses de propagation d’ondes et essais au scléromètre), la caractérisation de discontinuités exprimées (cisaillement direct) et la caractérisation de la résistance à l’usure (essais de broyabilité et Micro-Deval modifiés). Les siltites se sont révélées être extrêmement sensibles à l’eau (forte diminution des caractéristiques mécaniques mesurées) tandis que les échantillons gréseux l’étaient dans une moindre mesure. L’ensemble des essais réalisés a permis d’établir des ordres de grandeurs de variations des propriétés mécaniques des schistes du Briovérien. Enfin la classification des schistes briovériens élaborés par des géotechniciens pour la seconde ligne de métro de Rennes a été complétée en vue de mieux définir les classes intermédiaires de résistance. / Research work presented in this phD thesis was financed by a CIFRE grant given to Groupe Dacquin. Ground from the city of Rennes is, for the majority of it, composed of schists from the Brioverian era. These schists which can be encountered in the entire Armorican massif, present a weathering and a fracturing degree highly variable. This variability is hardly considered for the construction of retaining structure whether during the design step or the execution step. First, modellings using the finite elements method (PLAXIS 2D ©) have been carried out in order to evaluate the influence of ground anisotropy on the retaining wall behaviour (horizontal displacements and bending moments). The model used combined elastic anisotropy with an oriented plasticity criterion (type Mohr-Coulomb). Results obtained with this model, for different orientations of the plasticity criterion, were compared with the ones from the elastic isotropic model (with a Mohr-Coulomb plastic criterion). The same study was carried out with another finite elements software (CESAR-LCPC) in order to compare the results between the two sofwares. In both cases, an important influence of the orientation of the plasticity criterion was noted and lead to higher efforts in the wall, for certain orientations, compared to the isotropic model. These results confirmed the need of a better characterization of the anisotropy in materials such as Brioverian schists. In a second time, the characterization of the material was carried out on samplings spread over the city of Rennes and its area (during excavation work or on natural banks). Characterization was conducted from the microscopic to the macroscopic scale. Microscopic characterization based on observations with a scanning electron microscope, XRD analyses and thin section observations showed variations in the petrography of the samples (schistosity, granulometry, clay content) that lead to the differentiation of two types: sandstone and siltstone. The characterization at the macroscopic scale was divided into three parts: characterization of the rock matrix and its anisotropy (uniaxial compression tests, ultrasonic wave velocities and Schmidt hammer test), characterization of opened discontinuities (direct shear test) and the characterization of wear resistance (grindability and Micro-Deval tests). Siltstone samples were extremely sensitive to the water content (important decrease of the mechanical characteristics measured) whereas sandstones were less sensitive. The tests carried out lead to the definition of ranges for the mechanical properties of the Brioverian schists. Classification of Brioverian schists established by geotechnical engineers for the second subway line of Rennes was completed in order to better define the transitional states of strength of the material.

I detta examensarbete undersöks hur stödmurar av olika slag kan utföras på ett underhållsvänligare sätt. Med det menas att kostnaden för drift och underhåll ska hållas på en rimlig nivå med "normalt underhåll". Arbetet har genomförts på uppdrag av Nacka Kommun. Stödmurar har till uppgift att ta hand om jordtryck och även eventuella trafiklaster från vägar eller parkeringar. Detta ställer krav på att stödmuren är dimensionerad för de laster, och även för de olika typer av angrepp som kan förekomma med hänsyn till miljö. Stödmurar som är i stort behov av underhåll är idag ett problem för Nacka kommun som beställare. I dagens läge får kommunen sina stödmurar levererade av i princip samma typ och företag, vilket gör att kostnaderna för drift och underhåll också ligger på samma nivå. För att undersöka vilka typer av stödmurar som finns på marknaden, har en kategorisering gjorts av de vanligast förekommande stödmurarna, deras fördelar och nackdelar, samt användningsområden för de olika typerna. En LCC beräkning har gjorts för att lättare kunna se skillnaden mellan de olika stödmurarna med avseende på initialkostnader för produkten samt drift och underhållskostnader under dess livslängd. Betong som är det klart dominerande materialet som stödmurarna byggs av idag, har förklarats lite mer ingående med hänsyn till vilka skador som kan förekomma och även hur dessa kan undvikas. Ett av resultaten som är framtaget genom livscykelkostnadsberäkning visar, att gabioner som stödkonstruktion har minsta totalkostnad under dess livslängd. En av slutsatsen som arbetet har mynnat i är att med ett högre krav under projekteringsskedet kan skador som är ofta förekommande undvikas, eller hållas på en acceptabel nivå under stödmurens livslängd. Skadorna kan vara sprickbildning, avspjälkning eller korrosion av armering. / In this thesis an literature study have been done to examines how the retaining walls of various kinds can be performed in a maintenance friendly way. This means that the cost of operation and maintenance must be kept at a reasonable level with "normal maintenance". The work has been carried out on behalf of and supervised by Nacka Municipality. Retaining walls have the task of caring for earth pressure and also possible traffic loads from roads or parking areas. This demands that the retaining wall is dimensioned for the loads, and also for the different types of attacks that can occur with regard to the environment. Retaining walls that are in great need of maintenance is now a problem for Nacka municipality. At present, the municipality is getting all its retaining walls supplied by basically the same type and company. This means that the costs of operation and maintenance are also located on the same level. To examine the types of support walls that are available in the market today a categorization have been made of the most common retaining walls, their advantages, disadvantages and uses of the different types. An LCC calculation has been done to help identify the difference between the different support walls with respect to the initial cost of the product, and operation and maintenance costs over its lifetime. Concrete which is the dominant material that retaining walls are built of today have been explained more thoroughly with regard to the damage that may occur and also how they can be avoided. One of the results of the work is that with higher requirements during the design stage can damages that are frequently be avoided, or kept at an acceptable level during retaining walls durability. Effects may be cracking, spalling and corrosion of reinforcement.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1979. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Kamran Zarrabi-Kashani. / M.S.

The potential of digitally fabricated concrete (DFC) to produce terrain responsive designs has not been thoroughly investigated. Existing research indicates diverse benefits of DFC, such as the rapid fabrication of customized geometries. This research clarifies the advantages and design processes involved in creating site-specific DFC structures. Existing literature is analyzed to provide an overview of fabrication methods and their impacts and constraints on design. Parametric scripting is used to develop an interactive toolkit that integrates aesthetic, structural, and fabrication considerations into the design process. This toolkit specifically focuses on unreinforced retaining walls with interchangeable modules for terrain analysis, wall form generation, structural analysis, and fabrication analysis. The toolkit provides valuable feedback, such as identifying optimum wall proportions, and enables rapid design explorations. The findings affirm the value of exploratory design tools in managing fabrication complexities. Additionally, by recreating an existing amphitheater, the research indicates that DFC can create site-specific geometries that draw from the surrounding terrain.

No description available.