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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

Buckling and geometric nonlinear FE analysis of pitched large-spanroof structure of wood

Filchev, Ivan January 2016 (has links)
An arched structure provides an effective load carrying system for large span structures. When it comes to long span roof structures, timber arches are one of the best solutions from both structural and aesthetical point of view. Glulam arched structures are often designed using slender elements due to economic consideration. Such slender cross-section shape increases the risk of instability. Instability analysis of straight members such as beam and column are explicitly defined in Eurocode. However, for instability of curved members no analytical approach is provided in the code, thus some numerical method is required. Nonetheless, an approximation is frequently used to obtain the effective buckling length for the arched structures in the plane of arches. In this master thesis a linear buckling analysis is carried out in Abaqus to obtain an optimal effective buckling length both in-plane and out-of-plane for circular glulam arched structures. The elastic springs are used to simulate the overall stiffness of the bracing system. The results obtained by the FE simulations are compared with a simple approximation method. Besides, the forces acting on the bracings system is obtained based on 3D geometric nonlinear stress analysis of the timber trusses. Our findings conclude that the approximation method overestimates the effective buckling length for the circular glulam arched structures. In addition, the study indicates that the position of the lateral supports along the length of the arch is an important design aspect for buckling behaviour of the arched structures. Moreover, in order to acquire an effective structure lateral supports are needed both in extrados and intrados. Furthermore, instead of using elastic spring elements to simulate the overall stiffness of the bracing system, a full 3D simulation of two parallel arches was performed. It was shown that the springs are stronger than the real bracing system for the studied arch.
2

Design of Bridging Layers in Geosynthetic-Reinforced Column-Supported Embankments

Smith, Miriam E. 04 August 2005 (has links)
Column-supported geosynthetic-reinforced embankments have great potential for application in soft ground conditions when there is a need to accelerate construction and/or protect adjacent facilities from the settlement that would otherwise be induced by the new embankment load. The columns in column-supported embankments can be driven piles, vibro-concrete columns, deep-mixing-method columns, stone columns, or any other suitable type of column. A bridging layer consisting of several feet of sand or sand and gravel is also used to help transfer the embankment load to the columns. Geosynthetic reinforcement is often employed in bridging layers to enhance load transfer to the columns and increase the spacing between columns. Several methods have been developed to calculate the load on the geosynthetic reinforcement, but the calculated loads differ by over an order of magnitude in some cases, and there is not agreement on which method is correct. In this research, a new method was developed for calculating the load on the geosynthetic reinforcement. The new method employs one of the existing mechanistically-based approaches, and combines it with consideration of the stiffnesses of the embankment, geosynthetic, column, and subgrade soil. The new method was verified against the results of a large numerical parameter study, for which the numerical procedures themselves were verified against closed-form solutions for membranes, pilot-scale experiments, and instrumented field case histories. The results of the numerical analyses and the new calculation procedure indicate that the net vertical load on the portion of the geosynthetic reinforcement between columns increases with increasing clear spacing between columns and increasing geosynthetic stiffness. The net vertical load on the geosynthetic decreases with increasing stiffness and strength of the foundation and embankment soils and with increasing elevation of the geosynthetic above the top of the columns or pile caps. A key finding of the research is that, if the subgrade support is good, geosynthetic reinforcement does not have a significant effect on system performance. The new calculation procedure is implemented in an easy-to-use spreadsheet, and recommendations for designing geosynthetic-reinforced bridging layers are provided. / Ph. D.
3

Avaliação da resistência e modos de ruptura em modelos de maçicos rochosos fraturados com base em análise numérica / Evaluation of strength and failure modes of jointed rock mass models based on numerical analyses

García Núñez, Jean Carlo 04 March 2005 (has links)
Neste trabalho são abordados dois aspectos relacionados com modelos físicos fraturados: o primeiro, referido à resistência, é abordado através da avaliação de ensaios triaxiais em modelos fraturados pelo critério empírico de resistência de Hoek-Brown, e por análise numérica através do Código Universal de Elementos Distintos (UDEC). O segundo, referido a modos de ruptura, é abordado através da simulação em termos de deformabilidade e resistência de modelos fraturados e a simulação de taludes de diferentes alturas com o intuito de estudar a influência do tamanho do bloco no modo de ruptura. Ambos aspectos estão baseados nos resultados experimentais de Brown (1970) e de Singh (1997). A influêcia do tamanho do bloco no modo de ruptura foi estudada utilizando RMR89\", levando em consideração a escala do maciço (altura do talude). Através de análises numéricas preliminares e de um processo de retroanálises, foi simulado o comportamento mecânico dos modelos fraturados referidos. A avaliação da resistência aplicando o critério de resistência empírica de Hoek-Brown mostrou resultados coerentes quando comparados com os resultados experimentais de Brown (1970). Através de RMR89\" foi possível observar a influência do tamanho do bloco nos modos de ruptura e na estabilidade dos taludes de diferentes alturas. / This works treats about two aspects related to jointed physical models: one related to strength, by back-analyzing data using the Hoek-Brown criterion by means of numerical analyses with the Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC). The record refers to failure modes, is analyzed by means of numerical simulations taking into account deformability and strength of jointed physical models, as well as the simulation of slopes in jointed rock masses. Slopes of different heigths and different block sizes were analyzed to investigate scale effects. The analyses were made taking experimental results obtained by Brown (1970) and Singh (1997). The influence of the block size was studied using RMR89\", taking the rock mass scale into consideration. Strength evaluation adopting Hoek-Brown empirical strength criterion proved consistent with Brown\'s model test results. By means of RMR89\" the influence of the block size could be analyzed on failure models and in the stability of slopes with different heights.
4

Estudo do comportamento de túneis: análise numérica tridimensional com modelos elasto-plásticos. / Study of the behaviour of tunnels: elasto-plastic constitutive model three-dimensional numerical analyses.

França, Pedro Teodoro 15 August 2006 (has links)
O presente trabalho aborda o estudo do comportamento de túneis em maciços de solo. É dada ênfase na aplicação de análises numéricas com emprego de diferentes modelos constitutivos elasto-plásticos para solos. São apresentadas análises numéricas tridimensionais de um túnel amplamente instrumentado pertencente à Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo. As análises são realizadas com auxílio de um programa computacional de elementos finitos. O comportamento do maciço em pontos situados ao redor da escavação é minuciosamente estudado e a capacidade dos modelos em representar adequadamente o comportamento verificado na obra pelas instrumentações é avaliada. Além das análises numéricas o trabalho aborda os principais conceitos relacionados com escavações de túneis em maciços de solo. Conceitos relacionados com a engenharia prática de túneis são apresentados de maneira qualitativa, sem formulações teóricas e matemáticas. Uma revisão bibliográfica com publicações recentes das principais revistas e periódicos que tratam do tema de análise numérica aplicada a túneis é apresentada. O trabalho também apresenta uma revisão dos principais conceitos relacionados com os modelos constitutivos comumente utilizados para análise de problemas de geotecnia. Além do modelo elástico são apresentados os modelos elasto-plásticos de Tresca, von Misses, Drucker-Prager e Mohr-Coulomb. Uma breve introdução aos conceitos básicos de estado crítico, juntamente com as equações do modelo Cam-Clay original e Cam-Clay modificado são apresentadas. Antes da apresentação das equações desses modelos constitutivos, são introduzidos os conceitos básicos relacionados com o comportamento dos materiais elasto-plásticos. Os conceitos de material elástico perfeitamente plástico e de material com endurecimento (ou hardening) e amolecimento (ou softening) são apresentados. Os conceitos de superfície de plastificação e de superfície de potencial plástico também são apresentados. Por fim, são sintetizados os pontos mais relevantes da pesquisa realizada, apontando as limitações do trabalho com sugestões de novos estudos a serem realizados nessa mesma linha de pesquisa. / The present research approaches the study of the behaviour of tunnels in soil. It is given emphasis in the application of numerical analyses using different elasto-plastic constitutive models for soils. Three-dimensional numerical analyses of a widely instrumented tunnel belonging to the Company of the Metropolitan of São Paulo are presented. The analyses are carried through with aid of a computational program of finite elements. The behaviour of the soil mass in points located around the excavation is thoroughly studied and the capacity of the models in adequately representing the field behavior verified by the instrumentations is evaluated. Furthermore, the work approaches the main concepts related to tunneling in soils. Concepts related to practical engineering of tunnels are presented in a qualitative way, without theoretical and mathematical formulations. A literature review of recent publications of the most important periodic magazines and that deal with the subject of numerical analysis applied to tunnels is presented. The work also presents a revision of the main concepts related to the constitutive models normally used for analysis of geotechnical problems. Beyond the elastic model the elasto-plastics models of Tresca, von Misses, Drucker-Prager and Mohr-Coulomb are presented. Brief introductions to the basic concepts of critical state, together with the equations of the (original) Cam-Clay original and (modified) Cam-Clay modified models are presented. Before the presentation of the equations of these constitutive models, the basic concepts of the behaviour of the elasto-plastics materials are introduced. The concepts of perfectly plastic elastic material and material with hardening and softening are presented. The concepts of plastic surface and plastic potencial surface are also presented. Finally, the most relevant points of the research are synthesized, pointing the limitations of the developed work along with suggestions for new studies to be carried through in this line of research.
5

Simulação numérica do processo de alteamento de áreas de deposição de resíduos pelo método a montante. / Numerical simulation of residues areas during the upstream operation.

Juliano de Lima 14 August 2008 (has links)
A previsão do comportamento de resíduos constituiu-se em um desafio geotécnico, uma vez que estes materiais apresentam uma resposta distinta dos materiais usualmente encontrados em depósitos naturais. A análise dos recalques da fundação, decorrentes da sobrecarga imposta pelo alteamento, é complexa, tendo em vista que o adensamento de resíduos pressupõe grandes deformações, invalidando o uso de teorias clássicas de adensamento. Atualmente, no Brasil, a técnica de disposição de resíduos de bauxita prevê uma operação inicial de lançamento no interior de lagos artificiais, em forma de polpa. Após o esgotamento do lago e ressecamento do resíduo, inicia-se o lançamento pelo método a montante. Neste método, a polpa é lançada sobre o resíduo pré-existente, que se encontra em processo de adensamento. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo reproduzir numericamente o comportamento de áreas de resíduos durante a etapa de alteamento a montante. A pesquisa tem como enfoque 2 áreas de resíduos de bauxita. Uma delas encontra-se em fase de reabilitação e dispõe de instrumentação de campo (recalques e deslocamentos horizontais). A outra se encontra em fase de operação do alteamento e dispõe de dados experimentais. Desta forma, a metodologia consistiu na reprodução numérica do processo de alteamento da área instrumentada e comparação dos resultados com a instrumentação de campo, com objetivo de avaliar o modelo numérico e os parâmetros do resíduo. Posteriormente, realizou-se a previsão do comportamento do resíduo de fundação da área em fase de alteamento. Os parâmetros geotécnicos foram definidos a partir de um extenso programa de ensaios de campo e laboratório, executado no local em estudo, fazendo-se uso de um tratamento estatístico dos dados experimentais. Os resultados numéricos mostraram a potencialidade do programa na previsão do comportamento de áreas de resíduos durante o alteamento a montante, com previsões de recalques e deslocamentos horizontais coerentes com a instrumentação de campo. / The prediction of solid wastes behavior is a challenge for geotechnical engineers, since its response differ from the materials usually found in natural deposits. The analysis of the settlements of the foundation, due to the embankment raising is complex. Tailings undergo large settlements, which cannot be evaluated by ordinary consolidation theories. In Brazil, bauxite tailings are initially discharged into impoundment areas in a slurry form. After achieving the storage capacity of the reservoir, the tailing is allowed to dry, in order to enhance its resistance. Subsequently, the embankment is raised by the upstream method, and the mud is discharged on top of a material which is undergoing a consolidation process. The present research aims at reproducing numerically the response of bauxite tailings due to an upstream raising operation. The research focused 2 impoundment areas at same site. One area is being environmentally rehabilitated and is instrumented with vertical and horizontal gauges. The other is still in operation and an experimental investigation was carried out at this site. The methodology consisted of simulating the sequence of embankment raises and comparing the results with field instrumentation, in order to evaluate the numerical model and waste parameters. Subsequently, the behavior of the foundation of the area undergoing a raising embankment operation was evaluated. The geotechnical parameters were defined according to a statistical treatment of results of the experimental program (field and laboratory). The vertical and horizontal displacements, predicted by the numerical simulation, fitted reasonably well with field instrumentation and showed the inherent potential of the numerical modeling.
6

Simulação numérica do processo de alteamento de áreas de deposição de resíduos pelo método a montante. / Numerical simulation of residues areas during the upstream operation.

Juliano de Lima 14 August 2008 (has links)
A previsão do comportamento de resíduos constituiu-se em um desafio geotécnico, uma vez que estes materiais apresentam uma resposta distinta dos materiais usualmente encontrados em depósitos naturais. A análise dos recalques da fundação, decorrentes da sobrecarga imposta pelo alteamento, é complexa, tendo em vista que o adensamento de resíduos pressupõe grandes deformações, invalidando o uso de teorias clássicas de adensamento. Atualmente, no Brasil, a técnica de disposição de resíduos de bauxita prevê uma operação inicial de lançamento no interior de lagos artificiais, em forma de polpa. Após o esgotamento do lago e ressecamento do resíduo, inicia-se o lançamento pelo método a montante. Neste método, a polpa é lançada sobre o resíduo pré-existente, que se encontra em processo de adensamento. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo reproduzir numericamente o comportamento de áreas de resíduos durante a etapa de alteamento a montante. A pesquisa tem como enfoque 2 áreas de resíduos de bauxita. Uma delas encontra-se em fase de reabilitação e dispõe de instrumentação de campo (recalques e deslocamentos horizontais). A outra se encontra em fase de operação do alteamento e dispõe de dados experimentais. Desta forma, a metodologia consistiu na reprodução numérica do processo de alteamento da área instrumentada e comparação dos resultados com a instrumentação de campo, com objetivo de avaliar o modelo numérico e os parâmetros do resíduo. Posteriormente, realizou-se a previsão do comportamento do resíduo de fundação da área em fase de alteamento. Os parâmetros geotécnicos foram definidos a partir de um extenso programa de ensaios de campo e laboratório, executado no local em estudo, fazendo-se uso de um tratamento estatístico dos dados experimentais. Os resultados numéricos mostraram a potencialidade do programa na previsão do comportamento de áreas de resíduos durante o alteamento a montante, com previsões de recalques e deslocamentos horizontais coerentes com a instrumentação de campo. / The prediction of solid wastes behavior is a challenge for geotechnical engineers, since its response differ from the materials usually found in natural deposits. The analysis of the settlements of the foundation, due to the embankment raising is complex. Tailings undergo large settlements, which cannot be evaluated by ordinary consolidation theories. In Brazil, bauxite tailings are initially discharged into impoundment areas in a slurry form. After achieving the storage capacity of the reservoir, the tailing is allowed to dry, in order to enhance its resistance. Subsequently, the embankment is raised by the upstream method, and the mud is discharged on top of a material which is undergoing a consolidation process. The present research aims at reproducing numerically the response of bauxite tailings due to an upstream raising operation. The research focused 2 impoundment areas at same site. One area is being environmentally rehabilitated and is instrumented with vertical and horizontal gauges. The other is still in operation and an experimental investigation was carried out at this site. The methodology consisted of simulating the sequence of embankment raises and comparing the results with field instrumentation, in order to evaluate the numerical model and waste parameters. Subsequently, the behavior of the foundation of the area undergoing a raising embankment operation was evaluated. The geotechnical parameters were defined according to a statistical treatment of results of the experimental program (field and laboratory). The vertical and horizontal displacements, predicted by the numerical simulation, fitted reasonably well with field instrumentation and showed the inherent potential of the numerical modeling.
7

Estudo do comportamento de túneis: análise numérica tridimensional com modelos elasto-plásticos. / Study of the behaviour of tunnels: elasto-plastic constitutive model three-dimensional numerical analyses.

Pedro Teodoro França 15 August 2006 (has links)
O presente trabalho aborda o estudo do comportamento de túneis em maciços de solo. É dada ênfase na aplicação de análises numéricas com emprego de diferentes modelos constitutivos elasto-plásticos para solos. São apresentadas análises numéricas tridimensionais de um túnel amplamente instrumentado pertencente à Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo. As análises são realizadas com auxílio de um programa computacional de elementos finitos. O comportamento do maciço em pontos situados ao redor da escavação é minuciosamente estudado e a capacidade dos modelos em representar adequadamente o comportamento verificado na obra pelas instrumentações é avaliada. Além das análises numéricas o trabalho aborda os principais conceitos relacionados com escavações de túneis em maciços de solo. Conceitos relacionados com a engenharia prática de túneis são apresentados de maneira qualitativa, sem formulações teóricas e matemáticas. Uma revisão bibliográfica com publicações recentes das principais revistas e periódicos que tratam do tema de análise numérica aplicada a túneis é apresentada. O trabalho também apresenta uma revisão dos principais conceitos relacionados com os modelos constitutivos comumente utilizados para análise de problemas de geotecnia. Além do modelo elástico são apresentados os modelos elasto-plásticos de Tresca, von Misses, Drucker-Prager e Mohr-Coulomb. Uma breve introdução aos conceitos básicos de estado crítico, juntamente com as equações do modelo Cam-Clay original e Cam-Clay modificado são apresentadas. Antes da apresentação das equações desses modelos constitutivos, são introduzidos os conceitos básicos relacionados com o comportamento dos materiais elasto-plásticos. Os conceitos de material elástico perfeitamente plástico e de material com endurecimento (ou hardening) e amolecimento (ou softening) são apresentados. Os conceitos de superfície de plastificação e de superfície de potencial plástico também são apresentados. Por fim, são sintetizados os pontos mais relevantes da pesquisa realizada, apontando as limitações do trabalho com sugestões de novos estudos a serem realizados nessa mesma linha de pesquisa. / The present research approaches the study of the behaviour of tunnels in soil. It is given emphasis in the application of numerical analyses using different elasto-plastic constitutive models for soils. Three-dimensional numerical analyses of a widely instrumented tunnel belonging to the Company of the Metropolitan of São Paulo are presented. The analyses are carried through with aid of a computational program of finite elements. The behaviour of the soil mass in points located around the excavation is thoroughly studied and the capacity of the models in adequately representing the field behavior verified by the instrumentations is evaluated. Furthermore, the work approaches the main concepts related to tunneling in soils. Concepts related to practical engineering of tunnels are presented in a qualitative way, without theoretical and mathematical formulations. A literature review of recent publications of the most important periodic magazines and that deal with the subject of numerical analysis applied to tunnels is presented. The work also presents a revision of the main concepts related to the constitutive models normally used for analysis of geotechnical problems. Beyond the elastic model the elasto-plastics models of Tresca, von Misses, Drucker-Prager and Mohr-Coulomb are presented. Brief introductions to the basic concepts of critical state, together with the equations of the (original) Cam-Clay original and (modified) Cam-Clay modified models are presented. Before the presentation of the equations of these constitutive models, the basic concepts of the behaviour of the elasto-plastics materials are introduced. The concepts of perfectly plastic elastic material and material with hardening and softening are presented. The concepts of plastic surface and plastic potencial surface are also presented. Finally, the most relevant points of the research are synthesized, pointing the limitations of the developed work along with suggestions for new studies to be carried through in this line of research.
8

Avaliação da resistência e modos de ruptura em modelos de maçicos rochosos fraturados com base em análise numérica / Evaluation of strength and failure modes of jointed rock mass models based on numerical analyses

Jean Carlo García Núñez 04 March 2005 (has links)
Neste trabalho são abordados dois aspectos relacionados com modelos físicos fraturados: o primeiro, referido à resistência, é abordado através da avaliação de ensaios triaxiais em modelos fraturados pelo critério empírico de resistência de Hoek-Brown, e por análise numérica através do Código Universal de Elementos Distintos (UDEC). O segundo, referido a modos de ruptura, é abordado através da simulação em termos de deformabilidade e resistência de modelos fraturados e a simulação de taludes de diferentes alturas com o intuito de estudar a influência do tamanho do bloco no modo de ruptura. Ambos aspectos estão baseados nos resultados experimentais de Brown (1970) e de Singh (1997). A influêcia do tamanho do bloco no modo de ruptura foi estudada utilizando RMR89\", levando em consideração a escala do maciço (altura do talude). Através de análises numéricas preliminares e de um processo de retroanálises, foi simulado o comportamento mecânico dos modelos fraturados referidos. A avaliação da resistência aplicando o critério de resistência empírica de Hoek-Brown mostrou resultados coerentes quando comparados com os resultados experimentais de Brown (1970). Através de RMR89\" foi possível observar a influência do tamanho do bloco nos modos de ruptura e na estabilidade dos taludes de diferentes alturas. / This works treats about two aspects related to jointed physical models: one related to strength, by back-analyzing data using the Hoek-Brown criterion by means of numerical analyses with the Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC). The record refers to failure modes, is analyzed by means of numerical simulations taking into account deformability and strength of jointed physical models, as well as the simulation of slopes in jointed rock masses. Slopes of different heigths and different block sizes were analyzed to investigate scale effects. The analyses were made taking experimental results obtained by Brown (1970) and Singh (1997). The influence of the block size was studied using RMR89\", taking the rock mass scale into consideration. Strength evaluation adopting Hoek-Brown empirical strength criterion proved consistent with Brown\'s model test results. By means of RMR89\" the influence of the block size could be analyzed on failure models and in the stability of slopes with different heights.
9

Undrained Seismic Response of Underground Structures

Eimar A Sandoval Vallejo (6635912) 10 June 2019 (has links)
<div>Underground structures must be able to support static overburden loads, as well as to accommodate additional deformations imposed by seismic motions. Progress has been made in the last few years in understanding the soil-structure interaction mechanisms and the stress and displacement transfer from the ground to the structure during a seismic event. It seems well established that, for most tunnels, the most critical demand to the structure is caused by shear waves traveling perpendicular to the tunnel axis. Those waves cause distortions of the cross section (ovaling for a circular tunnel, and racking for a rectangular tunnel) that result in axial forces (thrusts) and bending moments. While all this has been well-studied for structures placed in linear-elastic ground, there is little information regarding the behavior of buried structures placed in nonlinear ground, especially under undrained conditions, i.e., when excess pore pressures generate and accumulate during the earthquake.</div><div><br></div><div><div>Two-dimensional dynamic numerical analyses are conducted to assess the seismic response of deep circular tunnels located far from the seismic source, under drained or undrained loading conditions. It is assumed that the liner remains elastic and that plane strain conditions apply. </div><div> A new cyclic nonlinear elastoplastic constitutive model is developed and verified, to simulate the nonlinear behavior and excess pore pressures accumulation with cycles of loading in the ground. The results of the numerical analyses show negligible effect of input frequencies on the normalized distortions of a tunnel for input frequencies smaller than 5 Hz (the distortions of the tunnel are normalized with respect to those of the free field); that is, for ratios between the wavelength of the seismic input and the tunnel opening larger than about eight to ten. The results also show that undrained conditions, compared with drained conditions, tend to reduce deformations for flexible liners and increase them for stiffer tunnels, when no accumulation of pore pressures with cycles of loading is assumed. However, when pore pressures increase with the number of cycles, the differences in distortions between drained and undrained loading are reduced, i.e., the normalized distortions increase for flexible and decrease for stiff tunnels, compared to those with drained conditions. </div></div><div><br></div><div><div>Undrained loading produces larger thrust in the liner than drained loading for stiff tunnels with flexibility ratio F ≤ 2.0.</div><div>For more flexible tunnels with F > 2.0, the behavior is the opposite, i.e., smaller axial forces are obtained for undrained loading than for drained loading. Including excess pore pressure accumulation does not introduce significant changes in the axial forces of the liner, irrespective of the flexibility of the tunnel, compared to those obtained from undrained loading without pore pressure accumulation.</div><div>The drainage loading condition (drained or undrained) or the magnitude of the free-field excess pore pressures during undrained loading do not affect the normalized bending moments for flexible tunnels, with F ≥ 2. For stiffer tunnels, with F < 2, the normalized bending moments increase from drained to undrained loading, and with the free field excess pore pressures.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div>It is found that the tunnel’s response is determined by the load on the liner, or by the distortions of the cross section, depending on the flexibility ratio. For stiff structures, with F ≤ 2.0, important axial forces and bending moments are produced in the structure, with larger magnitudes for the undrained case; while the distortions of the cross section are very small. When the tunnel becomes more flexible, the loading on the liner decreases, but the distortions of the cross section start to be important. For flexible structures with initial F ≥ 10 (for the cases investigated), the performance is largely determined by the distortions of the cross section, while the axial forces and bending moments are almost negligible. Such distortions are drastically affected by the drainage loading condition and by the magnitude of pore pressures in the free field. </div></div><div><br></div>
10

Multi-hazard modelling of dual row retaining walls

Madabhushi, Srikanth Satyanarayana Chakrapani January 2018 (has links)
The recent 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami served as a stark reminder of the destructive capabilities of such combined events. Civil Engineers are increasingly tasked with protecting coastal populations and infrastructure against more severe multi-hazard events. Whilst the protective measures must be robust, their deployment over long stretches of coastline necessitates an economical and environmentally friendly design. The dual row retaining wall concept, which features two parallel sheet pile walls with a sand infill between them and tie rods connecting the wall heads, is potentially an efficient and resilient system in the face of both earthquake and tsunami loading. Optimal use of the soil's strength and stiffness as part of the structural system is an elegant geotechnical solution which could also be applied to harbours or elevated roads. However, both the static equilibrium and dynamic response of these types of constructions are not well understood and raise many academic and practical challenges. A combination of centrifuge and numerical modelling was utilised to investigate the problem. Studying the mechanics of the walls in dry sand from the soil stresses to the system displacements revealed the complex nature of the soil structure interaction. Increased wall flexibility can allow more utilisation of the soil's plastic capacity without necessarily increasing the total displacements. Recognising the dynamically varying vertical effective stresses promotes a purer understanding of the earth pressures mobilised around the walls and may encourage a move away from historically used dynamic earth pressure coefficients. In a similar vein, the proposed modified Winkler method can form the basis of an efficient preliminary design tool for practice with a reduced disconnect between the wall movements and mobilised soil stresses. When founded in liquefiable soil and subjected to harmonic base motion, the dual row walls were resilient to catastrophic collapse and only accrued deformation in a ratcheting fashion. The experiments and numerical simulations highlighted the importance of relative suction between the walls, shear-induced dilation and regained strength outside the walls and partial drainage in the co-seismic period. The use of surrogate modelling to automatically optimise parameter selection for the advanced constitutive model was successfully explored. Ultimately, focussing on the mechanics of the dual row walls has helped further the academic and practical understanding of these complex but life-saving systems.

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