• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.173-184
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• 2005

For reducing construction cost, two-plate-girder bridges are getting popular in Japan. This type of bridge employs a PC slab, which is often cast-in-place. In such a case, concrete is not usually cast over the whole slab at one time: some portions are constructed earlier than the rest. Therefore, a construction joint is inevitably created. Due to the drying shrinkage of concrete, tension stress may occur in concrete slab. High tensile stress can be expected near the construction joint where concretes with different ages meet. Moreover, prestressing is not applied over the whole length of slab at one time. This may also serve as a source of tensile stress in the slab. Thus there is a chance that cast-in-place PC slab, especially near the construction joint, may be subjected to tensile cracking. In the present study, stress states near the construction joint in the cast-in-place PC slab of a two-plate-girder bridge are investigated numerically. The finite element method is employed and the three-dimensional analysis is conducted to see the influence of dry shrinkage and prestressing. The stress states in the PC slab thus obtained are discussed. The simplified model of a plate girder for this class of analysis is also proposed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2010

This paper describes the compaction and strength behavior of black cotton soil (BC soil) reinforced with coir fibers. Coir used in this study is processed fiber from the husk of coconuts. BC soil reinforced with coir fiber shows only marginal increase in the strength of soil, inhibiting its use for ground improvement. In order to further increase the strength of the soil-coir fiber combination, optimum percentage of 4% of lime is added. The effect of aspect ratio, percentage fiber on the behavior of the composite soil specimen with curing is isolated and studied. It is found that strength properties of optimum combination of BC soil-lime specimens reinforced with coir fibers is appreciably better than untreated BC soil or BC soil alone with coir fiber. Lime treatment in BC soil improves strength but it imparts brittleness in soil specimen. BC soil treated with 4% lime and reinforced with coir fiber shows ductility behavior before and after failure. An optimum fiber content of 1% (by weight) with aspect ratio of 20 for fiber was recommended for strengthening BC soil.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.59-76
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• 2016

Penetration problems in geomechanics are common. Usually the soil is heavily disturbed around the penetrating bodies and large deformations and distortions can occur. The simulation of the installation of displacement piles is a good example of the interest of these types of problems for geomechanics. In this paper the Material Point Method is used to overcome the difficulties associated with the simulations of problems involving large deformation and full displacement type penetration. Recent modifications of the Material Point Method known as Generalized Interpolation Material Point and the Convected Particle Domain Interpolation are also used and evaluated in some of the examples. Herein a footing submitted to large settlements is presented and simulated, together with the processes associated to a driven pile under undrained conditions. The displacements of the soil surrounding the pile are compared with those obtained by the Small Strain Path Method. In addition, the Modified Cam Clay model is implemented in a code of MPM and used to simulate the process of driving a pile in dry sand. Good and rather encouraging agreement is found between compared data.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.771-785
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• 2016

The thermal conductivity of soils is an important property in energy-related geotechnical structures, such as underground heat pumps and underground electric power cable tunnels. This study explores the effects of geotechnical engineering properties on the thermal conductivity of soils. The thermal conductivities of quartz sands and Korean weathered silty sands were documented via a series of laboratory experiments, and its variations with effective stress, porosity, and water saturation were examined. While thermal conductivity was found to increase with an increase in the effective stress and water saturation and with a decrease in porosity, replacing air by water in pores the most predominantly enhanced the thermal conductivity by almost one order of magnitude. In addition, we have suggested an improved model for thermal conductivity prediction, based on water saturation, dry thermal conductivity, saturated thermal conductivity, and a fitting parameter that represents the curvature of the thermal conductivity-water saturation relation.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.277-289
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• 2019

In this study, an innovative anchoring approach has been developed dealing with all relevant aspects in consideration of previous works. An ultimate pulling force calculation of anchor is presented from a geotechnical point of view. The proposed umbrella anchor focuses not only on the friction resistance capacity, but also on the axial capacity of the composite end structure and the friction capacity occurring around the wedge. Even though the theoretical background is proposed, in-situ application requires high-level mechanical design. Hence, the required parts have been carefully improved and are composed of anchor body, anchor cap, connection brackets, cutter vanes, open-close ring, support elements and grouting system. Besides, stretcher element made of aramid fabric, interior grouting system, guide tube and cable-locking apparatus are the unique parts of this design. The production and placement steps of real sized anchors are explained in detail. Experimental results of 52 pullout tests on the weak dry soils and 12 in-situ tests inside natural soil indicate that the proposed approach is conservative and its peak pullout value is directly limited by a maximum strength of anchored soil layer if other failure possibilities are eliminated. Umbrella anchor is an alternative to conventional anchor applications used in all types of soils. It not only provides time and workmanship benefits, but also a high level of economic gain and safe design.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.471-480
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• 2019

The constructions of engineering structures such as airports, highways and railway on clayey soils may create many problems. The economic losses and damages caused by these soils have led researchers to do many studies using different chemical additives for the stabilization of them. Lime is a popular additive used to stabilize the clayey soils. When the base course is stabilized by mixing with an additive, inevitable delays may occur during compaction due to reasons like insufficient workers, breakdown of compaction equipment, etc. The main purpose of this study is to research the effect of compaction delay time (7 days) on the strength, compaction, and dynamic properties of a clay soil stabilized with lime content of 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15% by dry weight of soil. Compaction characteristics of these mixes were determined immediately after mixing, and after 7 days from the end of mixing process. Within this context, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) under the various curing periods (uncured, 7 and 28 days) and dynamic triaxial tests were performed on the compacted specimens. The results of UCS and dynamic triaxial tests showed that delayed compaction on the strength of the lime-stabilized clay soil were significantly effective. Especially with the lime content of 9%, the increase in the shear modulus (G) and UCS of 28 days curing were more prominent after 7 days mellowing period. Because of the complex forms of hysteresis loops caused by the lime additive, the damping ratio (D) values differed from the trends presented in the literature and showed a scattered relationship.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.195-206
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• 2019

The gypsiferous soils are significantly sensitive to moisture and the water has a severe destructive effect on them. Therefore, the effect of lime and silica fume addition on their mechanical properties, when subjected to water, is investigated. Gypsiferous soil specimens were mixed with 1, 2 and 3% lime and 1, 3, 5 and 7% silica fume, in terms of the dry weight of soil. The specimens were mixed at optimum moisture content and cured for 24 hours, 7 and 28 days. 86 specimens in the sizes of unconfined compression strength test mold were prepared to perform unconfined compressive strength and durability tests. The results proved that adding even 1% of each of these additives can lead to a 15 times increase in unconfined compressive strength, compared with untreated specimen, and this increases as the curing time is prolonged. Also, after soaking, the compressive strength of the specimens stabilized with 2 and 3% lime plus different percentages of silica fume was considerably higher than before soaking. The durability of the treated specimens increased significantly after soaking. Direct shear tests showed that lime treatment is more efficient than silica fume treatment. Moreover, it is concluded that the initial tangent modulus and the strain at failure increased as the normal stress of the test was increased. Also, the higher lime contents, up to certain limits, increase the shear strength. Therefore, simultaneous use of lime and silica fume is recommended to improve the geotechnical properties of gypsiferous soils.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.81-95
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• 2019

The unexpected seismic interaction of dry-assembled precast concrete frame structures typical of the European heritage with their precast cladding panels brought to extensive failures of the panels during recent earthquakes due to the inadequateness of their connection systems. Following this recognition, an experimental campaign of cyclic and pseudo-dynamic tests has been performed at ELSA laboratory of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission on a full-scale prototype of precast structure with vertical and horizontal cladding panels within the framework of the Safecladding project. The panels were connected to the frame structure by means of innovative arrangements of fastening systems including isostatic, integrated and dissipative. Many of the investigated configurations involved a strong frame-cladding interaction, modifying the structural behaviour of the frame turning it into highly non-linear since small deformation. In such cases, properly modelling the connections becomes fundamental in the framework of a design by non-linear dynamic analysis. This paper presents the peculiarities of the numerical models of precast frame structures equipped with the various cladding connection systems which have been set to predict and simulate the experimental results from pseudo-dynamic tests. The comparison allows to validate the structural models and to derive recommendations for a proper modelling of the different types of existing and innovative cladding connection systems.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.85-101
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• 2019

The effects of foundation scour depth and riverbed condition on the natural frequencies of a typical cross-river integral abutment bridge have been studied. The conventional operational modal analysis technique has been employed in order to extract the modal properties of the bridge and the results have been used in the Finite Element (FE) model updating procedure. Two tests have been carried out in two different levels of water and wet condition of the riverbed. In the first test, the riverbed was in dry condition for two subsequent years and the level of water was 10 meter lower than the natural riverbed. In the second test, the river was opened to water flow from the upstream dam and the level of water was 2 meter higher than the natural riverbed. The results of these two tests have also been used in order to find to what extend the presence of water flow in the river and saturation of the surrounding soil affect the bridge natural frequencies. Finally, the updated FE model of the bridge has been applied in a series of parametric analyses incorporating the effect of piles' relative scour depth on the bridge natural frequency of the first four vibration modes.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.537-546
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• 2020

Exterior walls in buildings are exposed to various forms of thermal loads, which depend on the positions of walls. Therefore, one of the efficient methods for improving the energy competence of buildings is improving the thermal properties of insulation plaster mortar. In this study, lightweight fine aggregate (LWFA) and micro rubber ash (MRA) from recycled tires were used as partial replacements for sand. The flow ability, unit weight, compressive strength, tensile strength, thermal conductivity (K-value), drying shrinkage and microstructure scan of lightweight rubberized mortar (LWRM) were investigated. Ten mixtures of LWRM were prepared as follows: traditional cement mortar (control mixture); three mixes with different percentages of LWFA (25%, 50% and 75%); three mixes with different percentages of MRA (2.5%, 5% and 7.5%); and three mixes consisting both types with determined ratios (25% LWFA+5% MRA, 50% LWFA+5% MRA and 75% LWFA+5% MRA). The flow ability of the mortars was 22±2 cm, and LWRM contained LWFA and MRA. The compressive and tensile strength decreased by approximately 64% and 57%, respectively, when 75% LWFA was used compared with those when the control mix was used. The compressive and tensile strength decreased when 5% MRA was used. By contrast, mixes with determined ratios of LWFA and MRA affected reduced unit weight, K-value and dry shrinkage.