[Formulae and special characters can not be reproduced here. Please see the pdf version of the Abstract for an accurate reproduction.] The thesis provides a comprehensive study on the behaviour of sand with a small amount of fines [i.e.1/3 plastic fines and 2/3 non-plastic fines]. The work is carried out experimentally under axi-symmetric conditions using the triaxial apparatus. Conventional drained triaxial tests are conducted on isotropic consolidated specimens and all the tests indicate that sand with fines does not manifest any unusual behaviour under drained conditions. However in undrained shearing the so-called ???reverse behaviour??? is noted. The study demonstrates that the reverse behaviour conforms to the critical state framework because significant changes in the position and geometry of the critical state [CS] and isotropic consolidation [IL] lines are caused by the presence of fines. These changes cannot be adequately modelled by the intergranular void ratio as proposed by Thevanayagam and Mohan (2000). This study also demonstrates that the original state parameter [special character] as proposed by Been and Jefferies (1985) is not an adequate parameter to predict the undrained behaviour trend. A new parameter termed ???modified state parameter??? [special character] is proposed to account for the combined effects of density and confining pressure. The suitability of the modified state parameter to characterise the response of parent sand and sand with fines is assessed for a range of void ratios and confining pressures. The effect of drained stress history is an important factor affecting the subsequent undrained response. Drained pre-shearing to failure is found to improve considerably the subsequent undrained response to the extent that liquefaction may not occur. Different drained pre-shearing histories have different effects on the undrained response. However in these tests [special character] has limitations in quantifying the subsequent undrained stress-strain response. Hence, a new framework of ???yielding parameter??? [special character] extends the capability of [special character] and additional data is presented to demonstrate the suitability of this concept. The implementation of [special character] depends on whether the previous stress state reached during the stress history is below or at failure. The effects of drained pre-shearing on the position and movement of failure surface are investigated. It is found that drained pre-shearing to failure at larger confining pressures has the effect of shifting upwards part of the drained failure surface. The shift at larger stress ratios [special character] may be described in terms of dilatancy and modified state parameter at failure. The so-called strain path tests are conducted to study the influence of strain increment ratio on the deformation behaviour of sand with fines. It is found that the value of [special character] has significant effects on the stress-strain behaviour. Along negative [special character] paths the soil strain softens in the form of decreasing the shear resistance before reaching the failure state. In contrast, along positive [special character] paths the soil strain hardens to an asymptotic stress ratio. The asymptotic stress ratio decreases with increasing [special character] along a linear relationship. The framework of [special character] cannot quantify the stress-strain response along positive and negative strain paths. Consequently an ???instability parameter??? [special character] is proposed to extend the capabilities of [special character] and the reliability of this parameter is further assessed. The behaviour along a range of positive and negative [special character] paths is investigated on pre-sheared specimens. In negative [special character] the effective stress paths reach a surface located higher than the monotonic failure surface on which they trace downward towards the origin of stress space. The results indicate this surface may be the same as the drained failure envelope which has been shifted as a result of drained pre-shearing. In positive [special character] paths a large improvement is noted in both the strength and stiffness of the soil. Note The parameters [special character] and [special character] are all generalisations of [special character] so that the behaviour under complex conditions can be characterised.

A formulation is proposed for the boundary element analysis of poro-elastic media with axi-symmetric geometry. The boundary integral equation is reduced to a set of line integral equations in the generating plane for each of the Fourier coefficients, through complex Fourier series expansion of boundary quantities in circumferential direction. The method is implemented into a computer program, where the fundamental solutions are integrated by Gaussian Quadrature along the generator, while Fast Fourier Transform algorithm is employed for integrations in circumferential direction. The strongly singular integrands in boundary element equations are regularized by a special technique. The Fourier transform solution is then inverted in to R&amp / #952 / z space via inverse FFT. The success of the method is assessed by problems with analytical solutions. A good fit is observed in each case, which indicates effectiveness and reliability of the present method.

[Formulae and special characters can not be reproduced here. Please see the pdf version of the Abstract for an accurate reproduction.] The thesis provides a comprehensive study on the behaviour of sand with a small amount of fines [i.e.1/3 plastic fines and 2/3 non-plastic fines]. The work is carried out experimentally under axi-symmetric conditions using the triaxial apparatus. Conventional drained triaxial tests are conducted on isotropic consolidated specimens and all the tests indicate that sand with fines does not manifest any unusual behaviour under drained conditions. However in undrained shearing the so-called ???reverse behaviour??? is noted. The study demonstrates that the reverse behaviour conforms to the critical state framework because significant changes in the position and geometry of the critical state [CS] and isotropic consolidation [IL] lines are caused by the presence of fines. These changes cannot be adequately modelled by the intergranular void ratio as proposed by Thevanayagam and Mohan (2000). This study also demonstrates that the original state parameter [special character] as proposed by Been and Jefferies (1985) is not an adequate parameter to predict the undrained behaviour trend. A new parameter termed ???modified state parameter??? [special character] is proposed to account for the combined effects of density and confining pressure. The suitability of the modified state parameter to characterise the response of parent sand and sand with fines is assessed for a range of void ratios and confining pressures. The effect of drained stress history is an important factor affecting the subsequent undrained response. Drained pre-shearing to failure is found to improve considerably the subsequent undrained response to the extent that liquefaction may not occur. Different drained pre-shearing histories have different effects on the undrained response. However in these tests [special character] has limitations in quantifying the subsequent undrained stress-strain response. Hence, a new framework of ???yielding parameter??? [special character] extends the capability of [special character] and additional data is presented to demonstrate the suitability of this concept. The implementation of [special character] depends on whether the previous stress state reached during the stress history is below or at failure. The effects of drained pre-shearing on the position and movement of failure surface are investigated. It is found that drained pre-shearing to failure at larger confining pressures has the effect of shifting upwards part of the drained failure surface. The shift at larger stress ratios [special character] may be described in terms of dilatancy and modified state parameter at failure. The so-called strain path tests are conducted to study the influence of strain increment ratio on the deformation behaviour of sand with fines. It is found that the value of [special character] has significant effects on the stress-strain behaviour. Along negative [special character] paths the soil strain softens in the form of decreasing the shear resistance before reaching the failure state. In contrast, along positive [special character] paths the soil strain hardens to an asymptotic stress ratio. The asymptotic stress ratio decreases with increasing [special character] along a linear relationship. The framework of [special character] cannot quantify the stress-strain response along positive and negative strain paths. Consequently an ???instability parameter??? [special character] is proposed to extend the capabilities of [special character] and the reliability of this parameter is further assessed. The behaviour along a range of positive and negative [special character] paths is investigated on pre-sheared specimens. In negative [special character] the effective stress paths reach a surface located higher than the monotonic failure surface on which they trace downward towards the origin of stress space. The results indicate this surface may be the same as the drained failure envelope which has been shifted as a result of drained pre-shearing. In positive [special character] paths a large improvement is noted in both the strength and stiffness of the soil. Note The parameters [special character] and [special character] are all generalisations of [special character] so that the behaviour under complex conditions can be characterised.

No description available.

Structures acting as waveguides are quite common withexamples being, construction beams, fluid filled pipes, railsand extruded aluminium profiles. Curved structures like cartyres and pipe-bends may also be considered as waveguides. Wavesolutions in such structures may be found by a method calledthe Waveguide Finite Element Method or WFEM. This method uses afinite element approach on the cross-section of a waveguide tomodel the vibro-acoustic response as a set of linear, coupled,one dimensional, wave-equations. In this thesis six novel waveguide finite elements arederived and validated. These elements are, straight and curvedpre-stressed, orthotropic or anisotropic shell elements,straight and curved fluid elements, and straight and curvedfluid-shell coupling elements. Forced response and input power calculations for infiniteand periodic waveguides are presented. The assembled waveguidemodels can also serve as input for the Super Spectral FiniteElement Method, which enables forced response calculations formore complex boundaries. Furthermore, several properties ofdamped and undamped wave solutions are investigated. Finally, a car tyre model, encompassing for the highlyanisotropic material and the air cavity inside the tyre is setforth. A number of forced response calculations for this modelare presented and compared with measurements with goodagreement. Keywords:wave equation, wave solution, waveguide,finite element, spectral finite element, tyre noise, tyrevibration, input power, shells, pre-stress, fluid-shellcoupling axi-symmetric, two-and-half-dimensional

<p>Structures acting as waveguides are quite common withexamples being, construction beams, fluid filled pipes, railsand extruded aluminium profiles. Curved structures like cartyres and pipe-bends may also be considered as waveguides. Wavesolutions in such structures may be found by a method calledthe Waveguide Finite Element Method or WFEM. This method uses afinite element approach on the cross-section of a waveguide tomodel the vibro-acoustic response as a set of linear, coupled,one dimensional, wave-equations.</p><p>In this thesis six novel waveguide finite elements arederived and validated. These elements are, straight and curvedpre-stressed, orthotropic or anisotropic shell elements,straight and curved fluid elements, and straight and curvedfluid-shell coupling elements.</p><p>Forced response and input power calculations for infiniteand periodic waveguides are presented. The assembled waveguidemodels can also serve as input for the Super Spectral FiniteElement Method, which enables forced response calculations formore complex boundaries. Furthermore, several properties ofdamped and undamped wave solutions are investigated.</p><p>Finally, a car tyre model, encompassing for the highlyanisotropic material and the air cavity inside the tyre is setforth. A number of forced response calculations for this modelare presented and compared with measurements with goodagreement.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>wave equation, wave solution, waveguide,finite element, spectral finite element, tyre noise, tyrevibration, input power, shells, pre-stress, fluid-shellcoupling axi-symmetric, two-and-half-dimensional</p>