The self-potential method responds to the electrokinetic phenomenon of streaming potential and has been applied in hydrogeologic and engineering investigations to aid in the evaluation of subsurface hydraulic conditions. Of specific interest is the application of the method to embankment dam seepage monitoring and detection. This demands a quantitative interpretation of seepage conditions from the geophysical data. To enable the study of variably saturated flow problems of complicated geometry, a three-dimensional finite volume algorithm is developed to evaluate the self-potential distribution resulting from subsurface fluid flow. The algorithm explicitly calculates the distribution of streaming current sources and solves for the self-potential given a model of hydraulic head and prescribed distributions of the streaming current cross-coupling conductivity and electrical resistivity. A new laboratory apparatus is developed to measure the streaming potential coupling coefficient and resistivity in unconsolidated soil samples. Measuring both of these parameters on the same sample under the same conditions enables us to properly characterize the streaming current cross-coupling conductivity coefficient. I present the results of a laboratory investigation to study the influence of soil and fluid parameters on the cross-coupling coefficient, and characterize this property for representative well-graded embankment soils. The streaming potential signals associated with preferential seepage through the core of a synthetic embankment dam model are studied using the forward modelling algorithm and measured electrical properties to assess the sensitivity of the self-potential method in detecting internal erosion. Maximum self-potential anomalies are shown to be linked to large localized hydraulic gradients that develop in response to piping, prior to any detectable increase in seepage flow through the dam. A linear inversion algorithm is developed to evaluate the three-dimensional distribution of hydraulic head from self-potential data, given a known distribution of the cross-coupling coefficient and electrical resistivity. The inverse problem is solved by minimizing an objective function, which consists of a data misfit that accounts for measurement error and a model objective function that incorporates a priori information. The algorithm is suitable for saturated flow problems or where the position of the phreatic surface is known. / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate

Internal instability of a widely graded cohesionless soil refers to a phenomenon in which its finer particles migrate within the void network of its coarser particles, as a result of seepage flow. Onset of internal instability of a soil is governed by a combination of geometric and hydromechanical constraints. Much concern exists for embankment dams and levees built using soils with a potential for internal instability. Migration of finer particles to a boundary where they can exit, by washing out, may cause erosion or piping failure and, occasionally, induce collapse of these soil structures. There is a need, in professional practice, to better understand the phenomenon and to develop improved methods to evaluate the susceptibility of a soil. A series of permeameter tests was performed on six widely-graded cohesionless materials. The objectives are to assess the geometric indices proposed for evaluation of susceptibility, and examine hydromechanical factors influence the onset of internal instability. A modified slurry mixing technique, with discrete deposition, was found satisfactory for reconstitution of the homogeneous saturated test specimens. The onset of internal instability was founded to be triggered by a combination of effective stress and hydraulic gradient. The finding yields a hydromechanical envelope, unique for a particular gradation shape, at which internal instability initiated. Three commonly used geometric criteria were comprehensively evaluated with reference to these experimental data and also a database compiled from the literature. The relative conservatism of each criterion was examined and a modified semi-empirical geometric rule then proposed based on the capillary tube model. A theoretical framework for plotting the hydromechanical envelope was established based on an extension of the α concept of Skempton and Brogan, and subsequently verified by test data. Finally, a novel unified approach was proposed to assess the onset of internal instability, based on combining geometric and hydromechanical indices of a soil. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第23476号 / 工博第4888号 / 新制||工||1764(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科社会基盤工学専攻 / (主査)教授 渦岡 良介, 教授 三村 衛, 教授 肥後 陽介 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

No description available.

Column-supported embankments with or without basal geosynthetic reinforcement can be used in soft ground conditions to reduce settlement by transferring the embankment load to the columns through stress redistribution above and below the foundation subgrade level. Column-supported embankments are typically used to accelerate construction and/or protect adjacent facilities from additional settlement. The column elements consist of driven piles or formed-in-place columns that are installed in an array to support a bridging layer or load transfer platform. The bridging layer is constructed to enhance load transfer using several feet of compacted sand or sand and gravel that may include one or more layers of high-strength geotextile or geogrid reinforcement. Mobilization of the mechanisms of load transfer in a column-supported embankment requires some amount of differential settlement between the columns and the embankment as well as between the columns and the foundation soil. When the embankment height is low relative to the clear spacing between columns, there is the risk of poor ride quality due to the reflection of the differential foundation settlement at the surface of the embankment. The minimum embankment height where differential surface settlement does not occur for a particular width and spacing of column is the critical height. The conventional approach is to express critical height as a fixed ratio of the clear span between adjacent columns; however, there is no consensus on what ratio to use and whether a single ratio is applicable to all realistic column arrangements. The primary objective of this research is to improve the understanding of how column-supported embankments deform in response to differential foundation settlement. A bench-scale experimental apparatus was constructed and the equipment, materials, instrumentation, and test procedures are described. The apparatus was able to precisely measure the deformation occurring at the sample surface in response to differential settlement at the base of the sample. Critical heights were determined for five combinations of column diameter and spacing representing a wide range of possible column arrangements. In addition, tests were performed using four different column diameters in a single column configuration with ability to measure the load acting on the column and apply a surcharge pressure to the sample. In total, 183 bench-scale tests were performed over a range of sample heights, sample densities, and reinforcement stiffnesses. Three-dimensional numerical analyses were conducted to model the experiments. The critical heights calculated using the numerical model agreed with the experimental results. The results of the laboratory tests and numerical analyses indicate that critical height depends on the width and spacing of the columns and is not significantly influenced by the density of the embankment fill or the presence of reinforcement. A new method to estimate critical height was developed and validated against extensive case histories as well as experimental studies and numerical analyses performed by others. / Ph. D.

The previous E4 Råneå road embankment was prone to flooding. Risk of flooding in combination with settlements of the road due to the weak underlying sulphide soil was problematic. The Swedish Transportation Administration improved the length section E4 Råneå by rebuilding the road using the method light embankment piling. The centre-to-centre pile distance was chosen to 1.1 m and embankment height 1.8 m. The embankment is reinforced with geosynthetic reinforcements resting on timber piles, which were installed on till stratum. Two geosynthetics were installed, with their strength properties in opposite direction from each other. Their purpose was to stiffen the soil and reduce loading on the weak sulphide subsoil. Field monitoring equipment were placed in the road to measure the behavior before and after consolidation. To validify the results, used instruments in this thesis concerns: pressure cells, extensometers, piezometers and a hydrostatic profile gauge. The Swedish Transport administration wants to evaluate if an increase in piling distance is possible. From the conventional practice of maximum 1.2 m to 1.4 m. It is also interesting if the increased pile distance holds for a taller embankment of 2.5 m. Answering this would aid in increasing the cost-effectiveness of light embankment piling. The performed investigation has been done in the finite element analysis program Plaxis 3D 2021 by simulating half of an embankment with supplementary load model.  To capture field behavior, PLAXIS SoilTest has been used to calibrate the compressive material parameters obtained in oedometer testing. The geosynthetics have been modeled with regards to creep and their stiffness increase on surrounding soil due to interlocking of soil particles. Guaranteeing the reliability of the numerical analysis was made by a comparison of the base model to field monitoring equipment before conducting the parametric study. The base numerical model was reliable in capturing the result of field monitoring equipment. Deviations in pile loads was observed beneath the light trafficked road lane. Conducting the parametric study, the results indicated an increase in pile head loading, total settlements, differential settlements, and deformations in the geosynthetic reinforcement when pile distance and embankment height increased. With a taller embankment of 2.5 m and increased pile distance of 1.4 m numerical simulated pile head loads were in sizes of the design pile strength. Tensile stress in the geosynthetic reinforcement was below long-term design strength. The ratio pile efficacy, that is how effective the structure is at reducing sub soil load has been evaluated in the parametric study at three unit cells. A logarithmic growth is observed when reducing the pile distance at the middle of the road with consistent behavior between embankment height. When studying cells beneath the heavy trafficked lane a linear relationship could be seen instead. This study suggests it is possible to perform the increase in pile distance of 1.4 m for the current embankment height 1.8 m, but needs to be investigated further for the 2.5 m high embankment.

[pt] O comportamento de um aterro sobre argila mole da Baixada Fluminense foi estudado. Este aterro foi executado para a implantação da Indústria Rio Polímeros, com 3 metros de espessura, assente sobre um colchão drenante. Antes da construção, a área foi coberta com uma manta de geotêxtil. Para acelerar os recalques do aterro, geodrenos foram instalados na argila mole. O aterro foi instrumentado com inclinômetros, placas de recalque e piezômetros. Durante a construção, foram observadas rupturas em áreas localizadas do aterro. Ensaios de palheta e piezocone foram realizados em diferentes etapas da obra. A resistência não drenada (Su) nos ensaios de palheta apresentaram-se dentro dos valores reportados em trabalhos anteriores. Nos ensaios de piezocone, Su apresentou um decréscimo com a profundidade. Os valores de OCR, estimados com o piezocone, situaram-se entre 1,5 e 3,0. O comportamento do aterro foi avaliado quanto a recalques e estabilidade. O método de Asaoka permitiu uma estimativa satisfatória do coeficiente de adensamento e dos recalques. Os recalques estimados pela teoria de Terzaghi foram cerca de 2,5 vezes maiores do que os registrados no campo, devido a incertezas na compressibilidade da argila mole. O método de Asaoka indicou, para drenagem puramente vertical, um valor de cv cerca de 100 vezes maior que os valores de ensaios de laboratório e 2 vezes menor que os valores estimados para drenagem combinada e para ensaios de piezocone. A estabilidade do aterro foi avaliada em análises por equilíbrio limite. Os resultados confirmaram a existência de uma potencial instabilidade em algumas regiões do aterro. / [en] The behavior of an embankment on a soft clay deposit at Baixada Fluminense was studied. This embankment was constructed for implantation of Rio Polimeros Industry. The embankment layer is 3m thick and is placed over a layer of granular material. Before construction the entire area was covered with a geotextil. Geodrains were also installed to accelerate clay layer settlements. Some localized embankment failures were observed during construction. Vane and CPTU tests were performed at different construction stages. Values of undrained strength (Su), provided by vane tests, are in agreement with results reported in literature, for soft clay deposits at Baixada Fluminense. On the other hand, CPTU tests indicated a Su profile decreasing with depth. OCR values were estimated between 1.5 and 3.0. The performance of the embankment construction was evaluated with respect to its stability and settlement. The Asaoka`s method allowed a suitable evaluation of both coefficient of consolidation and final settlements. However, settlements computed by Terzaghi`s theory were about 2.5 times greater than monitored field values. These differences were attributed to uncertainties related to the clay layer compressibility parameters. The vertical coefficient of consolidation, computed with Asaoka`s method, was 100 times greater than laboratory results and 2 times smaller than values estimated for combined consolidation and by CPTU data. The embankment stability was evaluated with limit equilibrium analyses. The results confirmed the occurrence of instability conditions at localized embankment areas.

The leading cause of bridge failure has often been identified as bridge scour, which is generally defined as the erosion or removal of streambed and/or bank material around bridge foundations due to flowing water. These scour critical bridges are particularly vulnerable during extreme flood events, and pose a major risk to human life, transportation infrastructure, and economic sustainability. Climate change is increasing the intensity and persistence of large flow events throughout the world, further straining bridge infrastructure. Retrofitting the thousands of undersized and scour critical bridges to more rigorous standards is prohibitively expensive, and current countermeasures inadequately address the core problems related to bridge scour. This research tested the efficacy of using approach embankments as intentional sacrificial "fuses" to protect the integrity of bridges with minimal damage during large flow events by allowing the streams to access their natural floodplain and reduce channel velocities. The concept was evaluated using the Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) models. Steady flow models were developed for three specific bridges on two river reaches. Bayesian streamflow return period estimators were developed for both river reaches using available United States Geological Survey (USGS) stream gauge data to evaluate sacrificial embankments under non-stationary climatic conditions. Fuse placement was determined to be a cost effective scour mitigation strategy for bridges with suboptimal hydraulic capacity and unknown or shallow foundations. Additional benefits of fuses include reductions in upstream flood stage and velocity.

Master of Science / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / Mitchell L. Neilsen / In recent years, headline news has been overwhelmed with stories about dam and levee failures including the 2005 levee breaches in New Orleans and the 2006 Kaloko Damfailure in Hawaii that resulted in seven deaths. Since 2000, state and federal agencies have reported 92 dam failures in the United States to the National Performance of Dams Program. Incidents such as these have brought both national and worldwide attention to the need for improved flood warning systems and breach prediction tools for dam embankment and levee failures. (G. J. Hanson, 2010) IESIMBA 2012 is an upgraded version of SIMBA, which has been upgraded from VB6 to C#.NET. The Microsoft Windows-based SIMplified Breach Analysis software (SIMBA) was developed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in cooperation with Kansas State University. The software was developed for the purpose of analyzing internal erosion, earth embankment breach test data and extending the understanding of the underlying physical processes of breach of an overtopped earth embankment. It is a research tool that is modified routinely to test the sensitivity of the output to various sub-models and assumptions. This software is a test version for use in validation testing of the simplified breach model based on stress and mass failure driven headcut movement. It runs under Microsoft Windows 98SE, Windows 2000, NT, XP, or Vista. The following Input Screens are used to guide the user through development of input data sets.  Model Properties , Dam Profile , Structure Table, Spillway Rating and Hydrograph Data After an input data set has been entered, the data is saved and simulation can be performed on the data stored in memory at any time by selecting Build option. Input and output files are stored in a fixed ASCII text format. The results of the simulation can be viewed in graphical format which are of interest to the researchers at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater by selecting View option.

O crescimento econômico acarreta na necessidade de aumento de capacidade de rodovias existentes. Quando localizadas em meia-encostas, muitas vezes estão vinculadas a ocorrências de instabilidade de modo que obras de aumento da capacidade geram grande impacto. O objetivo desta pesquisa é avaliar o aumento de capacidade de um trecho da Rodovia ERS/122, minimizando os impactos através da definição da seção-tipo com dimensões mínimas, segurança para o usuário, e utilização de um material leve como aterro a ser construído na meia encosta. O principal material avaliado para utilização como aterro são restos de pneus triturados, já encontrados no mercado atual. A avaliação desta solução de aterro em meia encosta decorre principalmente do fato de evitar desmontes de rocha que ocasionariam a interrupção do tráfego em uma importante rodovia do estado. Aliado a isso, é baixa a ocorrência de solos de boa qualidade no trecho, de modo que o aterro é geralmente realizado com materiais rochosos de ocorrência local ou materiais importados. A possibilidade de diminuir a utilização de um material nobre a ser explorado na natureza, juntamente com a utilização de materiais que ainda não possuem 100% de destinação adequada, aliada ao baixo peso específico e adequada resistência ao cisalhamento, incentivaram a realização dos estudos. Ensaios de resistência ao cisalhamento e comportamento de compressão foram realizados para avaliar os parâmetros geotécnicos, a fim de obter um modelo geomecânico. Devido aos resultados de teste satisfatórios, tem sido considerado possível o uso de tais materiais. Os parâmetros obtidos em condições de confinamento foram aceitáveis para aterros de rodovias especialmente quando as aparas de pneus foram misturadas com agregados rochosos. Seu uso como um material de aterro pode ser incentivado, a fim de reduzir o uso de rochas naturais, para obter uma utilização adequada de restos de pneus e para gerar uma maior estabilidade dos aterros com a substituição de solos com comportamento geotécnico pobre. Isto é conseguido principalmente pela diminuição do peso do aterro, pela melhoraria das condições de drenagem e pela definição de uma seção transversal geometricamente segura. / Economic growth leads to the need to increase the capacity of existing highways. When crossing natural slopes often are linked to occurrences of instability so that increased work capacity generate big impact. The objective of this research is to evaluate the increase in capacity of a highway stretch ERS / 122, minimizing impacts by setting the standard section with minimum dimensions, but safe for the user, using a lightweight material as fill. The main material evaluated for use as embankment is shredded tire debris, already found on the market. The evaluation of this embankment solution on natural slopes is mainly to avoid rock blasting which would interrupt the traffic on this important State highway. As there is few occurrences of good quality soil near the construction sites, the fills are usually built with local or imported rock materials. The ability to reduce the use of rock to be exploited from nature by the use of recycled materials combined with its low specific weight and adequate shear strength encouraged this study. Tests of shear strength and compression behavior were carried out to evaluate geotechnical parameters in order to obtain a geomechanical model. Due to satisfactory test results the use of such materials has been considered possible. The parameters obtained on confined conditions were acceptable for road fills especially when scrab tires were mixed with rock aggregates. Its use as an embankment material can be incentivatedf in order to reduce the use natural rocks, to obtain an adequate use for tire scraps and to generate a greater stability for embankments as replacement of soils with poor geotechnical behavior. This is achieved mainly by decreasing landfill weight, improving the drainage conditions and definition of geometrically safe embankment cross-section.