• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.52 no.5
• /
• pp.889-901
• /
• 2014

Very long life fatigue tests were carried out on 16Mn steel base metal and its welded joint by using the ultrasonic fatigue testing technique. Specimen shapes (round and plate) were considered for both the base metal and welded joint. The results show that the specimens present different S-N curve characteristics in the region of $10^5-10^9$ cycles. The round specimens showed continuously decreasing tendency while plate specimens showed a steep decreasing step and an asymptotic horizontal one. The fatigue strength of round specimen was found higher than plate specimen. The fatigue strength of as-welded joint was 45.0% of the base material for butt joint and 40% for cruciform as-welded joint. It was found that fracture can still occur in butt joint beyond $5{\times}10^6$ cycles. The cruciform joint has a fatigue limit in the very long life fatigue regime ($10^7-10^9$ cycles). Fatigue strength of butt as-welded joint was much higher as compared to cruciform as-welded joint. Improvement in fatigue strength of welded joint was found due to UPT. The observation of fracture surface showed crack mainly initiated from welded toe at fusion areas or geometric discontinuity sites at the surface in butt joint and from welded toe in cruciform joint.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.141-160
• /
• 2016

This study elucidates the uplift behaviors of the straight-sided and belled shafts. The field uplift load tests were carried out on 18 straight-sided and 15 belled shafts at the three collapsible loess sites under an arid environment on the Loess Plateau in Northwest China. Both the site conditions and the load tests were documented comprehensively. In general, the uplift load-displacement curves of the straight-sided and belled shafts approximately exhibited an initial linear, a curvilinear transition, and a final linear region, but did not provide a well defined peak or asymptotic value of the load, and therefore their uplift resistances should be interpreted from the load test results using an appropriate criterion. Nine representative uplift resistance interpretation criteria were used to define the "interpreted failure load" for each of the load tests, and all of these interpreted uplift resistances were normalized by the failure threshold, $T_{L2}$, obtained using the $L_1-L_2$ method. These load test data were compared statistically and graphically. For the straight-sided and belled shafts, the normalized uplift load-displacement curves were respectively established by the plots that related the mean interpreted uplift resistance ratio against the mean displacement at the corresponding interpreted criteria, and the comparisons of the normalized load-displacement curves were made. Specific recommendations for the designs of uplift belled and straight-sided shafts in the loess were given, in terms of both capacity and displacement.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.111-122
• /
• 2009

Dissolution of some of geo-materials may yield the loss of the soil strength and the settlement of earth structures. The goal of this study is to monitor the several physical behaviors of soluble mixtures during dissolution. Sand-salt mixtures are used to monitor the meso to macro response including the settlements and shear waves. The mixtures of photoelastic and ice disks are used to monitor micro to meso behavior of soluble mixture including the void ratio, force chain, coordination number and horizontal force changes. In the sand-salt mixtures, shear waves are measured by using bender elements in conventional oedometer cells. In the photoelastic disk - ice disk mixtures, micro to meso response are measured by digital images and load cells. The shear wave velocity decreases at the initial stage of the dissolution, and then increases and approaches to asymptotic value. The larger dissoluble particle and the more random packing produces the severe horizontal fore change. After dissolution, the void increases and the coordination number decreases. This study demonstrates that the particle level behavior such as the changes of the force chain, void ratio, and coordination number affects the global behavior such as the change of the shear wave velocity and horizontal force of the system.