published_or_final_version / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Applied Geosciences / Master / Master of Science

published_or_final_version / Earth Sciences / Master / Master of Science

published_or_final_version / Applied Geosciences / Master / Master of Science

No description available.

Experimental and analytical investigations were conducted to evaluate the overall stability for the final slope of the Pit Number One at El Encino mine, an iron ore property in Jalisco, Mexico. Shear strength of the intact rock and fractures was estimated from laboratory tests and back-analyses of previous slope failures. Back-analysis estimates were found to be more appropriate to represent the shear strength of fractures. Equal-area stereoplots were used to analyze geological structure data to differentiate structural domains with similar structural characteristics within the final slope. A kinematic analysis was performed for each structural domain using average joint set orientations and major discontinuities projected onto the final slope. The final pit walls were found to be stable, except for a 36,000 ton wedge and a 12,000 ton plane shear slide. These geometries and other potentially unstable areas were analyzed, and control measures and additional work suggested.

Rainier, Oregon, has experienced problems in the development of residential and commercial sites, utilities, and transportation facilities as a result of slope instability. This study of slope stability at Rainier was conducted at the request of city officials.

Effective-stress nonlinear dynamic analyses (NDA) were performed for piles in liquefiable sloped ground to assess how inertia and liquefaction-induced lateral spreading combine in long-duration vs. short-duration earthquakes. A parametric study was performed using input motions from subduction and crustal earthquakes covering a wide range of earthquake durations. The NDA results were used to evaluate the accuracy of the equivalent static analysis (ESA) recommended by Caltrans/ODOT for estimating pile demands. Finally, the NDA results were used to develop new ESA methods to combine inertial and lateral spreading loads for estimating elastic and inelastic pile demands. The NDA results showed that pile demands increase in liquefied conditions compared to nonliquefied conditions due to the interaction of inertia (from superstructure) and kinematics (from liquefaction-induced lateral spreading). Comparing pile demands estimated from ESA recommended by Caltrans/ODOT with those computed from NDA showed that the guidelines by Caltrans/ODOT (100% kinematic combined with 50% inertia) slightly underestimates demands for subduction earthquakes with long durations. A revised ESA method was developed to extend the application of the Caltrans/ODOT method to subduction earthquakes. The inertia multiplier was back-calculated from the NDA results and new multipliers were proposed: 100% Kinematic + 60% Inertia for crustal earthquakes and 100% Kinematic + 75% Inertia for subduction earthquakes. The proposed ESA compared reasonably well against the NDA results for elastic piles. The revised method also made it possible to estimate demands in piles that performed well in the dynamic analyses but could not be analyzed using Caltrans/ODOT method (i.e. inelastic piles that remained below Fult on the liq pushover curve). However, it was observed that the pile demands became unpredictable for cases where the pile head displacement exceeded the displacement corresponding to the ultimate pushover force in liquefied conditions. Nonlinear dynamic analysis is required for these cases to adequately estimate pile demands.

[Truncated abstract] The feasibility of using interlocked light gauge sheet piles to form a deep cross-sectional wall embedded in a residual slope or with a berm support is explored. This thesis compares the performance of a large section modulus sheet pile wall as an alternative to a concrete diaphragm wall, acting as an embedded cantilever wall on a slope (ECWS) by means of experimental centrifuge tests, numerical models and analytical methods. Abaqus (Hibbitt, Karlsson and Sorensen Inc, 1997) was used to conduct extensive numerical trials on the structural performance of the sheet pile wall model prior to the actual physical testing. The Abaqus results showed that the integrity of the interlock and reduced modulus action (RMA) due to slippage along the interlocked joint did not cause premature buckling of the thin wall even at the ultimate load. Further, a comparative study using centrifuge tests on 1:30 scaled models and Plaxis analysis demonstrated that under the worst condition with high water table, the rigid sheet pile wall of 1.32 m cross-sectional width carried a higher ultimate surcharge load with a much lower top of wall deflection, compared to a more flexible 0.6 m thick cracked concrete diaphragm wall. The analysis of the wall/soil/slope interactions for an ECWS involves many inter-dependent variables in addition to the complications of considering an adjacent slope or a berm support. It is difficult for existing analytical approaches to take all these factors into account, and some form of numerical analysis, calibrated through field data and results from centrifuge model tests is necessary. From the observations of the centrifuge tests and finite element analysis, major assumptions about the failure of a stiff ECWS in a rotational mode were deduced and adopted in the proposed limiting equilibrium method (Leq). The plane strain Leq ECWS Abstract ii analysis is based on the framework of minimum upper bound limiting equilibrium with planar failure planes and a Mohr-Coulomb soil model. As compared to the traditional limit equilibrium analysis, the Leq method is a fully coupled analysis using the shear strength reduction technique (SSR). New formulations are proposed for the development of horizontal active and passive pressure distributions based on the experimental and FE models. The proposed active pressure profile used is derived by combining the Coulomb and Krey method, and empirically back-figured to curve-fit the centrifuge tests by Morris (2005). The proposed passive pressure profile of a rigid rotational wall in failure is adjusted to allow for an adjacent slope or berm support through a presumed elasto-plastic deformation instead of a linear rigid translation of the passive wedge. ... A parametric study was later undertaken using the Leq method to develop a series of non-dimensionalised graphs to study and draw summarised conclusions on the behaviour of the ECWS. The final conclusions on the comparative study of the centrifuge tests, Plaxis and Leq analyses demonstrated that the alternative light gauge steel sheet pile performed very well as an ECWS. A key factor in the performance of the sheet pile wall was attributed to the large 1.32 m cross-sectional width of the interlocked sections. This provided high bending stiffness and high moment stability from shear stresses acting on the back and front faces of the wall.

Thesis (M.L.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes special study report entitled: Influence of vegetation on slope stabilization and landscape development on slope. Includes bibliographical references.