• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.479-489
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• 2014

In the present study a parametric analysis is conducted to study the effect of pile dimension and soil properties on the nonlinear dynamic response of pile subjected to lateral sinusoidal load at the pile head. The study is conducted on soil-pile model of different pile diameter, pile length and soil modulus, and results are compared to get the effect. The soil-pile system is modelled using Finite element method. The programming is done in MATLAB. Time history analysis of model is done for varying non-dimensional frequency of load and the results are compared to get the non-dimensional frequency at which pile head displacement is maximum in each case. Maximum possible bending moment and soil-pile interacting forces for the dynamic excitation of the pile is also compared. When results are compared with the linear response, it is observed that non-dimensional frequency is reduced in nonlinear response on account of reduction in the soil stiffness due to yielding. Nonlinear response curve shows high amplitude as compared to linear response curve.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.6-11
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• 2011

In this report, we provide experimental evidence that heavy metal ions could be removed using Pachymeniopsis sp., particularly soluble arsenic in leachate from soil contaminated by arsenic. We performed pilot scale of soil washing process based on our results. The adsorption of arsenic by Pachymeniopsis sp. indicated that it could be described with the Langmuir Model and the maximum adsorption capacity increased with decreasing pH (pH 3: 102.48 mg/g, pH 5: 98.32 mg/g, pH 7: 57.70 mg/g, pH 9: 43.34 mg/g) and increasing temperature (10$^{\circ}C$ : 60.38 mg/g, 20$^{\circ}C$ : 76.39 mg/g, 30$^{\circ}C$ : 112.12 mg/g). Our results revealed that soluble arsenic in leachate was removed from 24.03 mg/L to 0.6 ${\pm}$ 0.1 mg/L by Pachymeniopsis sp. for 48hours on pilot scale of soil washing process.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.85-107
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• 2012

The building frame and its foundation along with the soil on which it rests, together constitute a complete structural system. In the conventional analysis, a structure is analysed as an independent frame assuming unyielding supports and the interactive response of soil-foundation is disregarded. This kind of analysis does not provide realistic behaviour and sometimes may cause failure of the structure. Also, the conventional analysis considers infill wall as non-structural elements and ignores its interaction with the bounding frame. In fact, the infill wall provides lateral stiffness and thus plays vital role in resisting the seismic forces. Thus, it is essential to consider its effect especially in case of high rise buildings. In the present research work the building frame, infill wall, isolated column footings (open foundation) and soil mass are considered to act as a single integral compatible structural unit to predict the nonlinear interaction behaviour of the composite system under seismic forces. The coupled isoparametric finite-infinite elements have been used for modelling of the interaction system. The material of the frame, infill and column footings has been assumed to follow perfectly linear elastic relationship whereas the well known hyperbolic soil model is used to account for the nonlinearity of the soil mass.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.1021-1046
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• 2017

The assessment of slope stability is an essential task in geotechnical engineering. In this paper, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA) was employed to investigate the performance of different shear pin arrangements to increase the stability of a soil block resting on an inclined plane with a low-interface friction plane. In the numerical models, the soil block was modeled by volume elements with linear elastic perfectly plastic material in a drained condition, while the shear pins were modeled by volume elements with linear elastic material. Interface elements were used along the bedding plane (bedding interface element) and around the shear pins (shear pin interface element) to simulate the soil-structure interaction. Bedding interface elements were used to capture the shear sliding of the soil on the low-interface friction plane while shear pin interface elements were used to model the shear bonding of the soil around the pins. A failure analysis was performed by means of the gravity loading method. The results of the 3D FEA with the numerical models were compared to those with the physical models for all cases. The effects of the number of shear pins, the shear pin locations, the different shear pin arrangements, the thickness and the width of the soil block and the associated failure mechanisms were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.245-252
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• 2013

Leaf area index (LAI) is important in explaining the ability of crops to intercept solar energy for biomass production, amount of plant transpiration, and in understanding the impact of crop management practices on crop growth. This paper describes a procedure for estimating LAI as a function of image-derived vegetation indices from temporal series of RapidEye imagery obtained from 2010 to 2012 using empirical models in a rice plain in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do. Rice plants were sampled every two weeks to investigate LAI, fresh and dry biomass from late May to early October. RapidEye images were taken from June to September every year and corrected geometrically and atmospherically to calculate normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Linear, exponential, and expolinear models were developed to relate temporal satellite NDVIs to measured LAI. The expolinear model provided more accurate results to predict LAI than linear or exponential models based on root mean square error. The LAI distribution was in strong agreement with the field measurements in terms of geographical variation and relative numerical values when RapidEye imagery was applied to expolinear model. The spatial trend of LAI corresponded with the variation in the vegetation growth condition.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.257-266
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• 1999

This paper presents a method of seismic analysis for a cylindrical liquid storage structure on/in horizontally layered half.space considering the effects of the interior fluid and exterior soil medium in the frequency domain. To capture the essence of fluid-structure-soil interaction effects effectively, a mixed finite element with two-field (u, p) approximation is employed to model the compressive inviscid fluid, while the structure and soil medium are presented by the 3-D axisymmetric finite elements and dynamic infinite elements. The present FE-based method can be applied to the system with complex geometry of fluid region as well as with inhomogeneous near-field soil medium, since it can directly model both the fluid and the soil. For the purpose of verification, dominant peak frequencies in transfer functions for horizontal motions of cylindrical fluid storage tanks with rigid massless foundation on a homogeneous viscoelastic half.space are compared with those by two different added mass approaches for the fluid motion. The comparison indicates that the Present FE-based methodology gives accurate solution for the fluid-structure-soil interaction problem. Finally, as a demonstration of versatility of the present study, a seismic analysis for a real-scale LNG storage tank embedded in layered half.space is carried out, and its member forces along the height of the structure are compared with those by an added mass approach developed by the present writers.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.571-587
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• 2012

This paper presents results of a numerical analysis performed on a corrugated steel plate (CSP) bridge during a backfilling process. The analysed bridge structure was a box culvert having a span of 12315 mm as well as a clear height of 3550 mm. Obtained calculation results were compared with the experimental ones. The paper is presented with the application of the Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC) program based on the finite differences method (FDM) to determine behaviour of the soil-steel bridge structure during backfilling. The assumptions of a computational 2D model of soil-steel structure with a non-linear interface layer are described. Parametric analysis of the interface element is also given in order to receive the most realistic calculation results. The method based on this computational model may be used with large success to design calculations of this specific type of structure instead of the conventional and fairly inaccurate analytical methods. The conclusions drawn from such analysis can be helpful mostly for the assessment of the behaviour of steel-soil bridge structures under loads of backfilling. In consideration of an even more frequent application of this type of structure, conclusions from the conducted analysis can be generalized to a whole class of similar structural bridge solutions.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.17-34
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• 2011

This paper deals with the modeling of the plane frame structure-foundation-soil system. The superstructure along with the foundation beam is idealized as beam bending elements. The soil medium near the foundation beam with stress concentrated is idealized by isoparametric finite elements, and infinite elements are used to represent the far field of the soil media. This paper presents the modeling of shear wall structure-foundation and soil system using the optimal membrane triangular, super and conventional finite elements. Particularly, an alternative formulation is presented for the optimal triangular elements aimed at reducing the programming effort and computational cost. The proposed model is applied to a plane frame-combined footing-soil system. It is shown that the total settlement obtained from the non-linear interactive analysis is about 1.3 to 1.4 times that of the non-interactive analysis. Furthermore, the proposed model was found to be efficient in simulating the shear wall-foundation-soil system, being able to yield results that are similar to those obtained by the conventional finite element method.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.462-473
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• 2018

The uranium ore residues from the legacies of past uranium mining and milling activities that resulted from the less stringent environmental standards along with the uranium residues from the existing nuclear power plants continue to be a cause of concern as the final uranium residues are not made safe from radiological and general safety point of view. The deposition of uranium in ponds increases the risk of groundwater getting contaminated as these residues essentially leach through the upper unsaturated geological formation. In this context, a numerical model has been developed in order to forecast the $^{238}U$ and its progenies concentration in an unsaturated soil. The developed numerical model is implemented in a hypothetical uranium tailing pond consisting of sandy soil and silty soil types. The numerical results show that the $^{238}U$ and its progenies are migrating up to the depth of 90 m and 800 m after 10 y in silty and sandy soil, respectively. Essentially, silt may reduce the risk of contamination in the groundwater for longer time span and at the deeper depths. In general, a coupled effect of sorption and hydro-geological parameters (soil type, moisture context and hydraulic conductivity) decides the resultant uranium transport in subsurface environment.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.239-253
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• 2022

Suitable techniques to stabilize organic soil and improve its engineering behaviour are in demand. Despite various alternatives, nano-additives proved to be an effective stabilizer owing to their strength enhancing properties. The study focuses on using nano-silica as a potential stabilizer to improve organic silt. Soil was treated with four dosages of nano-silica namely 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6% and 0.8% of dry weight of the soil. Nano-silica treated soil showed a strength increase of nearly 25% at a dosage of 0.4% after curing for two hours. Strength of the treated soil improved with age. Strength improved by nearly 62.9% after 28 days of curing and 221.4% after 180 days of curing due to formation of Calcium - Silicate - Hydrate (CSH) gel in the soil matrix. Dosage of 0.6% nano-silica is observed to be the optimum dosage. Coefficient of permeability and compression index showed an increase by 13.32 and 5.5 times respectively owing to aggregation of particles and creation of void spaces as visualized from the scanning electron micrographs. Further model foundation study and numerical parametric studies using PLAXIS 2D indicate that optimized and economic results can be obtained by varying the additive dosage with depth.