Frost heave can cause uneven ground uplift that may damage geo-infrastructure. To assist damage-prevention strategies, standard frost heave testing methods and frost susceptibility criteria have been established and used in various countries. ASTM International standard testing method is potentially the most useful standard, as abundant experimental data have been acquired through its use. ASTM International provides detailed recommendations, but the method is expensive and laborious because of the complex testing procedure requiring a freezing chamber. A simple frost heave testing method using a temperature-controllable cell has been proposed to overcome these difficulties, but it has not yet been established whether a temperature-controllable cell can adequately replace the ASTM International recommended apparatus. This paper reviews the applicability of the ASTM International testing method using the temperature-controllable cell. Freezing tests are compared using various soil mixtures with and without delivering blow to depress the freezing point (as recommended by ASTM International), and it is established that delivering blow does not affect heave rate, which is the key parameter in successful characterization of frost susceptibility. As the freezing temperature decreases, the duration of supercooling of pore water shortens or is eliminated; i.e., thermal shock with a sufficiently low freezing temperature can minimize or possibly eliminate supercooling.

Evaluation and optimization of tunnel wall convergence (TWC) plays a vital role in preventing potential problems during tunnel construction and utilization stage. When convergence occurs at a high rate, it can lead to significant problems such as reducing the advance rate and safety, which in turn increases operating costs. In order to design an effective solution, it is important to accurately predict the degree of TWC; this can reduce the level of concern and have a positive effect on the design. With the development of soft computing methods, the use of deep learning algorithms and neural networks in tunnel construction has expanded in recent years. The current study aims to employ the long-short-term memory (LSTM) deep neural network predictor model to predict the TWC, based on 550 data points of observed parameters developed by collecting required data from different tunnelling projects. Among the data collected during the pre-construction and construction phases of the project, 80% is randomly used to train the model and the rest is used to test the model. Several loss functions including root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R²) were used to assess the performance and precision of the applied method. The results of the proposed models indicate an acceptable and reliable accuracy. In fact, the results show that the predicted values are in good agreement with the observed actual data. The proposed model can be considered for use in similar ground and tunneling conditions. It is important to note that this work has the potential to reduce the tunneling uncertainties significantly and make deep learning a valuable tool for planning tunnels.

Landslides are often triggered by weak interlayers initiated in tailings dam foundations, and hazards gradually occur. This is serious for landslides in high tailings dams due to their high potential energy. Tailing samples with a fine-grained interlayer at a set dip angle were prepared. Consolidated undrained (CU) triaxial shear tests were carried out by using a high-pressure triaxial apparatus. The results were compared with the results under a low confining pressure. Four reasons were summarized for high tailings dams more prone to instability than low dams. The shear strength of the samples with dipping interlayers decreases with increasing dip angle. An obvious straight drop in the stress path after the peak occurs in samples with dipping interlayers at an angle of 60°. The effect of the interlayer on the mechanical behaviour of tailings is very sensitive, especially for the sample with a dipping interlayer at an angle of 60°. Shear slipping along the interlayer should be given more attention in tailings dams. Compared with the results under low confining pressure, the stress decreases continuously for the samples with dipping interlayers at large angles under high confining pressure. The positive pore pressure, which reduces the effective stress, occurred in tailings samples under high confining pressure. The residual strength of tailings under high confining pressure is smaller than that under low confining pressure. These factors increase the dam break risk and the disaster impact for high tailings dams.

The geometry of the gravity-type anchorage changes depends on various factors such as the installation location, ground type, and relationship with the upper structure. In particular, the anchorage geometry embedded in the ground is an important design factor because it affects the pull-out resistance of the anchorage. This study examined the effect of four parameters, related to anchorage geometry and embedded ground conditions, on the pull-out resistance in the gravity-type anchorage through two-dimensional finite element analysis, and presented a guide for major design variables. The four parameters include the 1) flight length of the stepped anchorage (m), 2) flight height of the stepped anchorage (n), 3) the anchorage heel height (b), and 4) the thickness of the soil (e). It was found that as the values of m increased and the values of n decreased, the pull-out resistance of the gravity-type anchorage increased. This trend is related to the size of the contact surface between the anchorage and the rock, and it was confirmed that the value of n, which has the largest change rate of the contact surface between the anchorage and the rock, has the greatest effect on the pull-out resistance of the anchorage. Additionally, the most effective design was achieved when the ratio of the step to the bottom of the anchorage (m) was greater than 0.7, and m was found to be an important factor in the pull-out resistance behavior of the anchorage.

One of the methods of stabilizing retaining walls, embankments, and deep excavations is the implementation of plate anchors (like the Geolock wall anchor systems). Back-to-back Mechanically Stabilized Earth (BBMSE) walls are common stabilized earth structures that can be used for bridge ramps. But so far, the analysis of the interactive behavior of two back-to-back anchored walls (BBAW) by double-plates anchors (constructed closely from each other and subjected to the limited-breadth vertical loading) including interference of their failure and sliding surfaces has not been the subject of comprehensive studies. Indeed, in this compound system, the interaction of sliding wedges of these two back-to-back walls considering the shear failure wedge of the foundation, significantly impresses on the foundation bearing capacity, adjacent walls displacements and deformations, and their stability. In this study, the effect of horizontal distance between two walls (W), breadth of loading plate (B), and position of vertical loading was investigated experimentally. In addition, the comparison of using single and equivalent double-plate anchors was evaluated. The loading plate bearing capacity and displacements, and deformations of BBAW were measured and the results are presented. To evaluate the shape, form, and how the critical failure surfaces of the soil behind the walls and beneath the foundation intersect with one another, the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was applied. The experimental tests results showed that in this composite system (two adjacent-loaded BBAW) the effective distance of walls is about W = 2.5*H (H: height of walls) and the foundation effective breadth is about B = H, concerning foundation bearing capacity, walls horizontal displacements and their deformations. For more amounts of W and B, the foundation and walls can be designed and analyzed individually. Besides, in this compound system, the foundation bearing capacity is an exponential function of the System Geometry Variable (SGV) whereas walls displacements are a quadratic function of it. Finally, as an important achievement, doubling the plates of anchors can facilitate using concrete walls, which have limitations in tolerating curvature.

In this paper, considering the temperature dependence of material physical parameters as well as the effects of thermal effect and shear deformation, we have conducted an in-depth study on the wave propagation of functionally graded (FG) materials circular plate in thermal environment based on the physical neutral surface concept. The dynamic governing equations of functionally graded plates are established, and the dispersion relation of wave propagation is derived. The influence of different temperature fields on the propagation characteristics of flexural waves in FG circular plates is discussed in detail. It can be found that the phase velocity and group velocity of wave propagation in the plate decrease with the increase of temperature.

This paper presents the re-evaluation of existing piezocone penetration test (CPTu)-based shear wave velocity (V_s) equations through their application into well-documented data obtained at nine sites in six countries. The re-evaluation indicates that the existing equations are appropriate to use for any specific soil, but not for various types of clays. Existing equations were adjusted to suit all nine clays and show that the correlations between the measured and predicted V_s values tend to improve with an increasing number of parameters in the equations. An adjusted equation, which comprises a CPTu parameter and two soil properties (i.e., effective overburden stress and void ratio) with the best correlation, can be converted into a CPTu-based equation that has two CPTu parameters and depth by considering the effect of soil cementation. Then, the developed equation was verified by application to each of the nine soils and nine other worldwide clays, in which the predicted V_s values are comparable with the measured and the stochastically simulated values. Accordingly, the newly developed CPTu-based equation, which is a time-saving and economical method and can estimate V_s indirectly for any type of naturally deposited clay, is recommended for practical applications.

The seismic design of embankment dams requires more comprehensive studies to understand the behaviour of dams. Deformations primarily control this behaviour occur during or after earthquake loading. Dam failures and incidents show that the impacts of deformations should be reviewed for existing and new embankment dams. Overtopping erosion failure can occur if crest deformations exceed the freeboard at the time of the deformations. Therefore, crest settlement is one of the most critical deformations. This study developed empirical formulas using Gene Expression Programming (GEP) based on 88 cases. In the analyses, dam height (H_d), alluvium thickness (H_a), the magnitude-acceleration-factor (MAF) values developed based on earthquake magnitude (Mw) and peak ground acceleration (PGA) within this study have been chosen as variables. Results show that GEP models developed in the paper are remarkably robust and accessible tools to predict earthquake-induced crest settlement of embankment dams and perform superior to the existing formulation. Also, dam engineering professionals can use them practically because the variables of prediction equations are easily accessible after the earthquake.