Laboratory characterization of subgrade soils and unbound granular materials is an essential component of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (Pavement ME). The design thickness and performance of a pavement structure are highly dependent on the deformation behaviour of subgrade and granular material. Specifications for granular materials vary among transportation agencies based on the availability of materials, climatic conditions, and function. Specifications aim to provide durable materials that meet design requirements and achieve the target design life with cost effective materials. The objectives of the research are to: • evaluate resilient modulus of typical fine-grained soils under traffic loading. • evaluate resilient modulus, permanent deformation, and permeability of typical unbound granular materials. • evaluate the effect of moisture and fines fraction on the performance of unbound granular materials and subgrade soil. • develop prediction models for resilient modulus to improve reliability of Level 2 inputs in the Pavement ME. • provide test data in support of updating Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation specifications for unbound granular materials to improve the performance of pavement structures. Resilient modulus tests were conducted on three types of subgrade soil (high plastic clay, sandy clay, and silty sand/sandy silt) at four levels of moisture content. Resilient modulus, permanent deformation and permeability tests were conducted on six gradations representing two types of granular material (100% crushed limestone and gravel) at two levels of moisture content. Prediction models were developed for resilient modulus and compared to the models developed under the Long Term Pavement Performance program. The proposed models provided more reliable predictions with lower root mean square error. The deformation behaviour of the granular materials was classified according to the shakedown and dissipated energy approaches. Among the tested fines contents, limestone and gravel materials with optimum fines contents of 4.5% and 9%, respectively, had better resistance to plastic deformation and higher resilient modulus. The dissipated energy approach can be used to determine the stress ratio for the boundary between post compaction and stable zones from multistage triaxial testing. Result of permeability tests showed that the hydraulic conductivity of unbound granular material increased as the fines content decreased. / February 2016

Disertaciniame darbe išplėtota vieninga tamprių-plastinių prisitaikančių sistemų optimizavimo su stiprumo, standumo ir klumpamosios galios sąlygomis, taikant ekstreminius energinius principus, matematinio programavimo teoriją, šiuolaikines kompiuterines technologijas ir sąsajas su projektavimo standartais, metodika. Darbe parodyta, kad prisitaikomumo teorija yra bendriausias metodinis įrankis skirtas statybinių konstrukcijų skaičiavimui nuo įvairių apkrovų, įgalinantis išvengti detalios apkrovimo istorijos nagrinėjimo. Disertaciją sudaro įvadas, penkeri skyriai, rezultatų apibendrinimas, naudotos literatūros ir autoriaus publikacijų disertacijos tema sąrašai ir keturi priedai. Įvadiniame skyriuje aptariama tiriamoji problema, darbo aktualumas, aprašomas tyrimų objektas, formuluojamas darbo tikslas bei uždaviniai, aprašoma tyrimų metodika, darbo mokslinis naujumas, darbo rezultatų praktinė reikšmė, ginamieji teiginiai. Įvado pabaigoje pristatomos disertacijos tema autoriaus paskelbtos publikacijos ir pranešimų konferencijose sąrašas bei disertacijos struktūra. Pirmasis skyrius skirtas literatūros apžvalgai. Jame atlikta prisitaikančių konstrukcijų optimizavimo metodų apžvalga, išryškinta būtinybė pasitelkti sąsajas tarp teorinių optimizavimo metodų ir projektavimo standartų. Antrajame skyriuje aptariama konstrukcijų diskretizacija, sudaryti patobulinti projektinio ir patikrinamojo uždavinių matematiniai modeliai. Trečiajame skyriuje parodyta sąsaja tarp statybos inžinerijoje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The optimization methodology of shakedow structures evaluating strength, stiffness and stability constraints and unifying extremum energy principles, mathematical programming theory, stat-of-the-art computer technologies and design standards was developed in the dissertation. There are shown in the work that shakedown theory is a generalized tool for calculation of civil engineering structures under different loading conditions that avoid detailed investigation of loading history. The dissertation consists of six parts including Introduction, 5 chapters, Conclusions, References and 4 Annexes. The introduction reveals the investigated problem, importance of the thesis and the object of research and describes the purpose and tasks of the paper, research methodology, scientific novelty, the practical significance of results examined in the paper and defended statements. The introduction ends in presenting the author’s publications on the subject of the defended dissertation, offering the material of made presentations in conferences and defining the structure of the dissertation. Chapter 1 revises used literature. The optimization methods of shakedown structures are reviewed and a demand of linkage between theoretical optimization methods and standards is highlighted. Chapter 2 describes the discretization of structures, the mathematical models for improved design and check problems was created. In the Chapter 3 the equivalence between load combinations of civil engineering... [to full text]

The loads applied to pile foundations installed offshore vary greatly from those encountered onshore, with more substantial lateral and torsional loads. For combined axial and lateral loading the current design practice involves applying an axial load to a deep foundation and assessing the pile behaviour and then considering a lateral load separately. For the problem of an altering directions of lateral loads (e.g. due to changes in the wind directions acting on offshore wind turbines) a clear design procedure is not available. There is thus a need for a clearly established methodology to effectively introduce the interaction between the four different loading directions (two lateral, one axial and one torsional). In this thesis, a model is presented that introduces a series of Winkler elasto-plastic elements coupled between the different directions via local interaction yield surfaces along the pile. The energy based method that is used allows the soil-pile system to be defined explicitly using two equations: the energy potential and the dissipation potential. One of the most interesting applications of this model is to piles subjected to a change in lateral loading direction, where the loading history can significantly influence the pile behaviour. This effect was verified by a series of experimental tests, undertaken using the Geotechnical Centrifuge at UWA. The same theory was then applied to cyclic loading in two dimensions, leading to some very useful conclusions regarding shakedown behaviour. A theoretically based relationship was applied to the local yielding behaviour for a pile subjected to a combination of lateral and axial loading, allowing predictions to be made of the influence of load inclination on the pile behaviour. The ability of this model to represent interaction between four degrees of freedom allows a more realistic approach to be taken to this problem than that considered in current design practice.

The reliability analysis of plates and shells with respect to plastic collapse or to inadaptation is formulated on the basis of limit and shakedown theorems. The loading, the material strength and the shell thickness are considered as random variables. Based on a direct definition of the limit state function, the nonlinear problems may be efficiently solved by using the First and Second Order Reliability Methods (FORM/SORM). The sensitivity analyses in FORM/SORM can be based on the sensitivities of the deterministic shakedown problem. The problem of reliability of structural systems is also handled by the application of a special barrier technique which permits to find all the design points corresponding to all the failure modes. The direct plasticity approach reduces considerably the necessary knowledge of uncertain input data, computing costs and the numerical error. / Die Zuverlässigkeitsanalyse von Platten und Schalen in Bezug auf plastischen Kollaps oder Nicht-Anpassung wird mit den Traglast- und Einspielsätzen formuliert. Die Lasten, die Werkstofffestigkeit und die Schalendicke werden als Zufallsvariablen betrachtet. Auf der Grundlage einer direkten Definition der Grenzzustandsfunktion kann die Berechnung der Versagenswahrscheinlichkeit effektiv mit den Zuverlässigkeitsmethoden erster und zweiter Ordnung (FROM/SORM) gelöst werden. Die Sensitivitätsanalysen in FORM/SORM lassen sich auf der Basis der Sensitivitäten des deterministischen Einspielproblems berechnen. Die Schwierigkeiten bei der Ermittlung der Zuverlässigkeit von strukturellen Systemen werden durch Anwendung einer speziellen Barrieremethode behoben, die es erlaubt, alle Auslegungspunkte zu allen Versagensmoden zu finden. Die Anwendung direkter Plastizitätsmethoden führt zu einer beträchtlichen Verringerung der notwendigen Kenntnis der unsicheren Eingangsdaten, des Berechnungsaufwandes und der numerischen Fehler.

Les matériaux granulaires sont souvent utilisés dans les chaussées à faible trafic, pour la réalisation des couches d'assise non liées. L'objectif de la thèse est une meilleure compréhension du comportement hydromécanique des matériaux granulaires insaturés sous charge répétée en tenant compte des différents effets couplés: teneur en eau et teneur en fines. Une série d'essais triaxiaux à chargements répétés (TCR) est réalisée avec les différents échantillons de sable de Missillac remodelés à différentes teneurs en eau et en fines pour caractériser les comportements de déformation permanent et résilient. En outre, les courbes de rétention sont obtenues par des essais de succion. Puis, sur la base des résultats expérimentaux, les modèles de déformations permanentes et réversibles existants sont améliorés pour prendre en compte les teneurs en fines et en eau variables. Finalement, le comportement de l'état limite du sable Missillac est estimé avec les effets des teneurs en fines et en eau. / Granular materials are often used in low traffic pavement structures as unbound granular base and sub-base layers. The objective of this context is a better understanding of hydromechanical behaviour (deformation behaviour mainly) of the unsaturated granular materials under repeated loading taking into account the various coupled effects: water content and fine content. A series of RLTTs are conducted with the different remolded Missillac sand samples at different water contents and fine contents to characterize the permanent and resilient deformation behaviour. Besides, the soil water retention curves (SWRCs) are obtained by suction measurement. Then, based on the experimental results, the existing permanent and resilient deformation models are improved to accommodate to the changeable fine content and water content. In the end, the shakedown behaviour of Missillac sand is estimated with the effects of fine content and water content.

The reliability analysis of plates and shells with respect to plastic collapse or to inadaptation is formulated on the basis of limit and shakedown theorems. The loading, the material strength and the shell thickness are considered as random variables. Based on a direct definition of the limit state function, the nonlinear problems may be efficiently solved by using the First and Second Order Reliability Methods (FORM/SORM). The sensitivity analyses in FORM/SORM can be based on the sensitivities of the deterministic shakedown problem. The problem of reliability of structural systems is also handled by the application of a special barrier technique which permits to find all the design points corresponding to all the failure modes. The direct plasticity approach reduces considerably the necessary knowledge of uncertain input data, computing costs and the numerical error. / Die Zuverlässigkeitsanalyse von Platten und Schalen in Bezug auf plastischen Kollaps oder Nicht-Anpassung wird mit den Traglast- und Einspielsätzen formuliert. Die Lasten, die Werkstofffestigkeit und die Schalendicke werden als Zufallsvariablen betrachtet. Auf der Grundlage einer direkten Definition der Grenzzustandsfunktion kann die Berechnung der Versagenswahrscheinlichkeit effektiv mit den Zuverlässigkeitsmethoden erster und zweiter Ordnung (FROM/SORM) gelöst werden. Die Sensitivitätsanalysen in FORM/SORM lassen sich auf der Basis der Sensitivitäten des deterministischen Einspielproblems berechnen. Die Schwierigkeiten bei der Ermittlung der Zuverlässigkeit von strukturellen Systemen werden durch Anwendung einer speziellen Barrieremethode behoben, die es erlaubt, alle Auslegungspunkte zu allen Versagensmoden zu finden. Die Anwendung direkter Plastizitätsmethoden führt zu einer beträchtlichen Verringerung der notwendigen Kenntnis der unsicheren Eingangsdaten, des Berechnungsaufwandes und der numerischen Fehler.