Deep foundations like auger-cast piles and drilled shafts frequently extend through liquefiable sand layers and bear on non-liquefiable layers at depth. When liquefaction occurs, the skin friction on the shaft decreases to zero, and then increases again as the pore water pressure dissipates and the layer begins to settle, or compact. As the effective stress increases and the liquefiable layer settles, along with the overlaying layers, negative skin from the soil acts on the shaft. To investigate the loss of skin friction and the development of negative skin friction, soil-induced load was measured in three instrumented, full-scale auger-cast piles after blast-induced liquefaction at a site near Christchurch, New Zealand. The test piles were installed to depths of 8.5 m, 12 m, and 14 m to investigate the influence of pile depth on response to liquefaction. The 8.5 m pile terminated within the liquefied layer while the 12 m and 14 m piles penetrated the liquefied sand and were supported on denser sands. Following the first blast, where no load was applied to the piles, liquefaction developed throughout a 9-m thick layer. As the liquefied sand reconsolidated, the sand settled about 30 mm (0.3% volumetric strain) while pile settlements were limited to a range of 14 to 21 mm (0.54 to 0.84 in). Because the ground settled relative to the piles, negative skin friction developed with a magnitude equal to about 50% of the positive skin friction measured in a static pile load test. Following the second blast, where significant load was applied to the piles, liquefaction developed throughout a 6-m thick layer. During reconsolidation, the liquefied sand settled a maximum of 80 mm (1.1% volumetric strain) while pile settlements ranged from 71 to 104 mm (2.8 to 4.1 in). The reduced side friction in the liquefied sand led to full mobilization of side friction and end-bearing resistance for all test piles below the liquefied layer and significant pile settlement. Because the piles generally settled relative to the surrounding ground, positive skin friction developed as the liquefied sand reconsolidated. Once again, skin friction during reconsolidation of the liquefied sand was equal to about 50% of the positive skin friction obtained from a static load test before liquefaction.

Ce travail de thèse est principalement axé sur la création d'un nouveau réacteur biocompatible permettant l'encapsulation et l'étude de bactéries électroactives. Ce compartiment de taille millimétrique, réalisé par coextrusion, est une capsule à coeur liquide possédant une membrane d'hydrogel conducteur. La synthèse de ce bioréacteur a nécessité la formulation d'un hydrogel composite alginate/nanotubes de carbone en deux étapes. Une première étape rapide crée la matrice d'hydrogel par diffusion d'ions divalents dans un mélange Alginate/nanotubes de carbone. Une seconde étape, plus lente, permet la dialyse du tensioactif stabilisant les nanotubes et la création d'un réseau conducteur au sein de l'hydrogel pour des pourcentages massiques de charges supérieurs à 0,5 %. Ce matériau composite présente alors une conductivité macroscopique d'environ 0,1 S/m. Une étude du matériau par voie électrochimique permet entre autres de suivre cinétiquement la connexion des nanotubes de carbone. Des bactéries peuvent adhérer à la surface de cet hydrogel composite. Nous démontrons qu'il est alors possible de mesurer l'électroactivité d'un biofilm bactérien développé sur la paroi interne d'une capsule conductrice. Ce nouveau compartiment biocompatible ouvre la voie vers le développement d'un outil de criblage pour la sélection de bactéries électroactives mais offre également des perspectives innovantes pour la fabrication de piles bactériennes. / This work focuses on the creation of a new biocompatible reactor allowing the encapsulaion and the study of electroactive bacteria. Made by co-extrusion, this millimeter bioreactor is a liquid core capsule with a conducting hydrogel membrane. To create such an object, we formulate a composite hydrogel of alginate/carbon nanotubes in two steps. The first step is rapid and creates the hydrogel matrix by diffusion of divalent ions inside the alginate/carbon nanotubes mix. The second step is slower and permits the dialysis of the surfactant used to stabilize the nanotubes. During this last step, the carbone nanotube network percolates, creating a conducting network in the hydrogel for sufficient nanotube contents (above 0.5 %). This composite material has a macroscopic conductivity around 0.1 S/m. An electrochemical study of this material allows to follow the nanotube connection inside the hydrogel. Bacteria can adhere on this composite hydrogel. Then, we demonstrate that the electroactivity of a biofilm developped on the inner side of the conductive capsule shell can be measured. This new biocompatible and electron-conducting compartment opens the way towards the development of a screening tool for the selection of electroactive bacteria but also brings innovative perspectives in the field of microbial fuel cells fabrication.

Large diameter piles are widely used as foundations to support buildings, bridges, and other structures. As a result, it is critical for the field to have an optimized approach for quality control and efficiency purposes to measure the suggested number of load tests and the required measured capacities driven piles. In this thesis, an analysis of a load test program designed for proposed bridge replacements at Kentucky Lake is performed. It includes a detailed site exploration study with in-situ and laboratory testing. The pile load test program included monitoring of a steel H-pile and steel open ended pipe pile during driving and static loading. The pile load test program included static and dynamic testing at both pile testing locations. Predictions of both pile capacities were estimated using commonly applied failure criterion, and a load transfer analysis was carried out on the dynamic and static test data for both piles. The dynamic tests were then compared to the measured data from the static test to examine the accuracy. This thesis concludes by constructing t-z and q-z curves and comparing the load transfer analyses of the static and dynamic tests.

There are over 602,000 bridges in the United States, of which 12.5% are classified as functionally obsolete and 11.2% are structurally deficient. The functionally obsolete bridges will require expansion or replacement to increase the service capacity of the bridge. The structurally deficient bridges will either need remediation of the load carrying elements which are damaged or deteriorated or will need to be replaced completely. Replacement of the bridges means new construction; new construction means better design and quality assurance to meet the 100+ year service life requirement in place now. Rehabilitation of bridges will require better design and quality assurance to increase the current service life of the structure. This dissertation presents new design, testing, and repair methods developed to extend the life of new and existing bridges through pressure grouting, thermal integrity testing of drilled shafts, and the bond enhancement of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) repair materials bonded to concrete with vacuum bagging and pressure bagging, respectively. Pressure grouting of drilled shaft tips has been used for over five decades to improve the end bearing capacity, but no rational design procedure had ever been published until this study. The research outlined in this dissertation analyzed nine grouted shafts and compared them to standard design procedures to determine the improvement in end bearing. Improvements ranged from 60% to 709% increase in end bearing capacity. From these improvements, a design procedure was developed for pressure grouted drilled shafts. Post construction inspection of drilled shafts relies largely on non-visual techniques dealing with measured concrete quantities, acoustic wave speed or frequency, gamma radiation attenuation and now the internal temperature of the curing concrete. Thermal Integrity Profiling (TIP), developed at USF, utilizes the heat of hydration of curing concrete to evaluate the concrete cover, foundation shape, cage alignment, and concrete mix design performance. This research developed standard test equipment and procedures for thermal integrity testing. Comparing the results of the different types of integrity tests is difficult due to the varied nature of the different tests. The dissertation looked at various shafts constructed across the nation which were tested with thermal and at least one other integrity test method. When compared to acoustic and gamma radiation test results, TIP agreed with 4 of 6 cases for acoustic and 2 of 5 cases using gamma radiation. In the one case were both sonic caliper and inclination data were available, TIP showed good agreement. Vacuum bagging and pressure bagging are techniques for improving the FRP-concrete bond in the repair of partially submerged piles. Prototype vacuum bagging and pressure bagging systems were developed and bond improvement assessed from results of pullout tests on full size piles repaired under simulated tidal exposures in the laboratory. Pressure bagging gave better bond and was found to be simpler because it did not require an airtight seal. A field demonstration project was conducted in which pressure bagging was used in combination with two different glass FRP systems to repair two corroding piles supporting the Friendship Trails Bridge across Tampa Bay. Inspection of the post-cured wrap showed no evidence of air voids.

Ce mémoire porte sur la synthèse de matériaux composites nanostructurés à base de polyoxométallates pour la conversion de l'énergie et des applications à des problèmes environnementaux. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, de nombreux composés nouveaux de cette famille d'oxydes moléculaires ont été synthétisés puis ont été associés à différentes matrices éco-compatibles dans le respect des principaux critères de la Chimie Verte. Les principales techniques d'étude sont l'électrochimie, la photochimie et la spectroscopie UV-visible. Dans le domaine de l'énergie, les catalyseurs obtenus se sont révélés très efficaces dans des réactions très importantes mais difficiles à réaliser, comme la production de l'hydrogène, la réduction de l'oxygène et l'oxydation de l'eau. De même, parmi les applications aux problèmes de dépollution, ces nanomatériaux ont montré une forte activité électrocatalytique et photocatalytique pour la réduction des oxydes d'azote, des bromates et la photodégradation d'un colorant textile toxique, l'Acide Orange 7. Les performances de ces nouveaux catalyseurs sont comparables à celles des meilleurs systèmes connus.

Augmenter la durée de vie des piles à combustible de type SOFC en abaissant leur température de fonctionnement tout en maintenant un prix de fabrication raisonnable est un des enjeux du secteur énergétique. Ces travaux de recherche entrent dans ce cadre par l'utilisation de la projection plasma de suspensions pour fabriquer des couches céramiques ou cermets finement structurées sur support métallique poreux. Dans cet objectif, la compréhension du procédé s'est avérée être une étape indispensable. A cette fin l'utilisation de la Vélocimétrie par Image de Particules spécialement adaptée aux contraintes de la projection plasma a permis une meilleure caractérisation des jets injectés mais aussi une compréhension plus poussée des phénomènes régissant le traitement des particules. Fort de ces informations, les couches composant le cœur de pile ont été élaborées : l'anode et l'électrolyte, constituée respectivement d'un cermet nickel-zircone yttriée et de zircone yttriée et enfin la cathode composée d'un conducteur mixte La2NiO4.

Cette thèse propose une approche de modélisation de la dégradation chimique par attaque radicalaire de la membrane dans les piles à combustibles à membrane électrolyte polymère, ainsi que à son impact sur la dégradation de la performance électrochimique. La membrane considérée dans cette étude est de type perfluorosulfonique, avec une structure dépen-dant fortement de son humidification et conditionnant les propriétés de transport. Afin d'étudier la dégradation de la membrane, il faut dans un premier temps établir un modèle de transport, qui sera utilisé aussi bien dans le modèle de dégradation que par les modèles de performance de cellule déjà existants. Une fois ce modèle établi, nous nous focalisons sur la partie dégradation chimique. Après une compréhension globale des phénomènes physico-chimiques se déroulant lors de la dégradation, une mise en équation détaillée est nécessaire. Même les concepts utilisés sont relativement simples, le besoin de nombreux paramètres nous a contraint à simplifier le modèle sur certains points, notamment le mécanisme de dégradation chimique, tant la complexité du phénomène est un frein à la paramétrisa-tion du modèle. Ce modèle, avec ses simplifications et ses hypothèses, est ensuite validé, aussi bien d'un point de vue performance que d'un point de vue dégradation. Il est pour finir exploité dans différents cas de figures, allant de l'utilisation ininterrompue à courant constant (test purement utilisé en laboratoire) à un cyclage plus représentatif de conditions de fonctionnement réelles.

Bridges and other coastal structures in Georgia and throughout the Southeast are deteriorating prematurely due to corrosion. Numerous corrosion initiated failures have occurred in precast prestressed concrete (PSC) piles and reinforced concrete (RC) pile caps, leading to the costly repair and replacement of either the entire bridge or the affected members. With the Federal Highway Administration's goal of a 100-year bridge service life and recent legislative action such as the Bridge Life Extension Act, new emphasis has been placed on the development and implementation of new corrosion mitigation techniques. This thesis involves the mechanical testing, and proposed future test program of high-strength stainless steel (HSSS) prestressing strand to be used in prestressed marine bridge piles. The metallurgy for two types of HSSS strand was selected from a previous study of the corrosion resistance, mechanical properties, and feasibility of 6 candidate HSSS drawn wire samples. Duplex stainless steel (DSS) grades 2205 and 2304 were selected for production of 7-wire 1/2" diameter prestressing strand. DSS wire rod was drawn, stranded, and heat-treated using the same production methods and equipment as used for standard of practice, high carbon prestressing strand. The production process was documented to analyze the problems facing this production method and suggest improvement and optimization. After production, the strands were subjected to a series of mechanical tests. Tension testing was performed to provide a stress-strain curve for the strands and related mechanical properties. Wire samples were also taken at varying points in the drawing process to give more information about the work hardening of the stainless steels. Stress relaxation testing was performed on both strand and wire samples to assess the overall losses and to provide comparisons between strand and wire test results as well as drawn wires before and after heat-treatment. An experimental program for future study was designed to assess the HSSS prestressing strand behavior in precast piles. This testing involves assessment of pile driving performance, pile flexural and shear behavior, strand transfer and development length, long-term prestressing force losses, and material durability.

In this study, bending moment distributions developed in laterally loaded passive pile and passive pile groups in cohesionless soil were investigated in laboratory conditions through model pile experiments. Different from the active pile loading, the lateral load was given directly to the piles using a movable large direct shear box. In these experiments strain gauges fastened to the piles and a computer based data reading system were used. The strain values were measured at five levels on the piles. The behavior of a single pile and a pile group having five piles were investigated through strain measurements in order to observe bending moment distribution on the piles. After evaluating the test results, the behavior of passive single pile was found to be similar to the results obtained in early studies. Negative bending moments were observed at the specified depths above the shear plane and positive bending moments were measured at the level of the shear plane and below the shear plane. Maximum bending moments were obtained at 0.7L (L: Length of Pile) for single piles and piles in the group. Above the shear plane, maximum bending moments within the pile group were found to be developed on the piles nearest to the loading. On the shear plane maximum bending moments were developed on the piles farthest from the loading just like active piles. Below the shear plane, maximum bending moments were developed mainly on the piles nearest to the loading.

Two different concepts and design procedures namely settlement reducing piles and piled raft foundations have been studied independently in this thesis. A laboratory study is conducted on model rafts with differing number of model settlement reducing piles. Pile length, pile diameter, type of soil and size of raft are kept constant and settlements are measured under sustained loading. Remolded kaolin is consolidated under controlled stresses before tests are performed in model boxes. The tests are conducted under two sustained loadings of 75 kPa and 40 kPa. 0(raft), 16 and 49 number of piles are used. During the tests, all of the skin friction is mobilized. Several tests are conducted for each combination to see the variability. It is concluded that increasing the pile number beyond an optimum value is inefficient as far as the amount of settlement is considered. Also an analytical procedure has been followed to calculate settlements with increasing number of piles. In the second part of this thesis, finite element analyse have been performed on a piled raft foundation model, using Plaxis 3D Foundation Engineering software. This analyse are supported with analytical methods. The piled raft model is loaded with 450 kPa raft pressure. The studies are conducted in two sets in which different pile lengths are used / 25 m and 30 m respectively. The numbers of piles are increased from 63 to 143. All other parameters are kept constant. The results showed that again an optimum number of piles will be sufficient to reduce the settlement to the acceptable level. The analytical methods indicate a similar behavior. The comparison and results are presented in the study.