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Most railway embankments in the UK were built in the Victorian era and are of end-tipped construction using materials (usually cohesive) excavated from adjacent cuttings, resulting in a clod-and-matrix structure. Historically, there has been a lack in understanding of the mechanical behaviour of such railway embankments. In the next decade railway traffic in the UK, particularly freight, is forecast to grow considerably. Consequently, there is a need to improve the understanding of how increases in rail traffic loading may influence the mechanical behaviour of railway embankments and thus track performance. The Rail Safety and Standards Board in conjunction with Network Rail is currently undertaking a programme of applied research into this topic. As part of these studies a programme of physical model tests has been carried out. Physical model tests can provide high quality data on system performance under a large range of loading conditions and geometrical configurations. The data can be generated rapidly, with test periods of weeks or months rather than years or decades. Additionally, boundary conditions are well-defined and controlled, compared with the complex situations encountered in full scale embankments in the field. This paper summarises the physical model test programme, the development of the test set-up, the tests themselves and the conclusions drawn.
In this contribution, we consider two applications in which probabilistic approaches can potentially complement or enhance the design and assessment of offshore wind turbine foundations. First, we illustrate in a numerical example that probabilistic modelling can be helpful in dealing with chang-es in turbine locations during the planning phase of an offshore wind farm. In this case, spatial probabilistic modelling of the ground conditions enables (a) an inference of the soil properties at the modified turbine location from field data collected at different locations across an offshore wind farm site and (b) an optimisation of further site investigations. Second, we discuss the uncer-tainties and risks associated with the installation of large diameter monopiles in soils with hetero-geneities such as strong layers and/or embedded boulders. Subsequently, we present a concept for modelling, understanding, and managing these risks based on a probabilistic model of the subgrade conditions, monopile, and subgrade-pile-interaction.
The response of many geotechnical systems, whose structural behavior depends on shearing effect, is closely related to soil structure interaction phenomenon. Experimentally it is found that the localisation of these effect happens at a narrow soil layer next to the structure. Numerically, this behavior can be modelled through inter-face elements and adequate constitutive models. In this work, a constitutive model in the framework of Gen-eralized Plasticity for sandy soils has been chosen to be adapted for the interface zone. From the direct shear experiments a sandy soil at loose and dense states under different normal pressures is considered. The adapted constitutive model is able to reproduce contraction and dilatation of the soil according to its relative density and it shows a good agreement with the experimental data.
The structural performance of many geotechnical systems (e.g. axially-loaded pile foundations), depends on the shearing resistance at the soil interface, which may govern the load bearing capacity of the foundation. Experimental investigations have shown that this interaction is mainly localised within a narrow shear band next to the structure. Under cyclic loading, a contraction of the soil at the interface may arise (net volume loss), possibly leading to a stress relaxation and thus to a reduction of the load bearing capacity (the so-called friction fatigue). Based on the constitutive similarities between soil continua and interfaces, we propose here the adaption of a Generalized Plasticity model for sandy soils for the numerical analysis of interface problems. In this contribution, the results of an experimental campaign for the parameter calibration of the constitutive model are presented. The tests have been conducted with a ring shear device involving different normal stresses, roughness of the steel plates as well as cyclic loading. The new modelling approach shows promising results and has the additional practical advantage that the interface zone and the soil continuum can both be described with the same constitutive model in general boundary value problems.
In this paper a shear test, which helps to study local behavior of the soil-pile interaction, is modelled numerically with the Finite Element Method as a 2D plane strain problem. A normal pressure on top and shear displacement on side were applied. So far, the material behavior was considered elastic for the sake of simplicity.
The effect of thickness on contact elements and the presence of in plane stress has been highlighted. The purpose of the paper is to find a suitable contact element which represents more close to reality a soil-pile interaction problem under cyclic axial loading. Moreover, an insight on the presence of in-plane stress shows that it needs to be considered cautiously.
The shaft bearing capacity often plays a dominant role for the overall structural behaviour of axially loaded piles in offshore deep foundations. Under cyclic loading, a narrow zone of soil at the pile-soil interface is subject to cyclic shearing solicitations. Thereby, the soil may densify and lead to a decrease of confining stress around the pile due to microphenomena such as particle crushing, migration and rearrangement. This reduction of radial stress has a direct impact on the shaft capacity, potentially leading in extreme cases to pile failure. An adequate interface model is needed in order to model this behaviour numerically. Different authors have proposed models that take typical Interface phenomena in account such as densification, grain breakage, normal pressure effect and roughness. However, as the models become more complex, a great number of material parameters need to be defined and calibrated. This paper proposes the adoption and transformation of an existing soil bulk model (Pastor- Zienkiewicz) into an interface model. To calibrate the new interface model, the results of an experimental campaign with the ring shear device under cyclic loading conditions are here presented. The constitutive model shows a good capability to reproduce typical features of sand behaviour such as cyclic compaction and dilatancy, which in saturated partially-drained conditions may lead to liquefaction and cyclic mobility phenomena.
The aim of an ongoing research project is to develop a design approach for typical offshore driven piles (e.g. Jacket piles) based on the application of injections by compaction grouting directly at the pile shaft. The paper aims to present the results of laboratory and in-situ tests, which reveal the efficiency and the promising potential of the optimised foundation concept for a more economic dimensioning of pile foundations and to increase their bearing capacity in non-cohesive soil at any moment after installation.
The authors are currently investigating the possibility to apply compaction grouting for offshore pile foundations (Jacket piles as well as monopiles) as a possible retrofitting technique for an optimised foundation concept. In this research project, we are developing a design approach aiming to predict the ideal amount and properties of a grout for a specific soil situation and desired improvement of pile bearing capacity after Installation and during service time. Both numerical and experimental tests have been carried out to investigate the injection process during which a highly viscous grout is injected into the soil under high pressure to displace and compact the surrounding soil without fracturing it. The implicit Material Point Method (MPM) based on a mixed formulation is the numerical technique chosen to deal with the expected large deformations and the arbitrary shape of the developing grout bulb. The usage of MPM prevents both the need of remeshing and the numerical instability induced by extensive mesh distortion. For validation with experimental results, we have constructed a testing chamber with one transparent sidewall. This chamber enables us to observe the injection process directly at the transparent vertical window and to measure the in-plane soil displacements and strains by means of the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique.
The results already reveal the interrelation of soil and grout properties for a successful usage of this common ground improvement technique.
Pore-pressure accumulation and soil softening around pile foundations for offshore wind turbines
(2012)
Relevant factors for the liquefaction susceptibility of cyclically loaded offshore monopiles in sand
(2013)
The offshore foundations may exhibit a relatively high liquefaction susceptibility due to the full saturation of the porous seabed and the cyclic nature of the typical offshore loads. Here, the particular relevance of some of the main factors that affect the liquefaction susceptibility of an offshore monopile will be addressed, focusing on the possibility of a progressive accumulation of residual pore water pressure within the saturated soil around a monopile under cyclic lateral loading. The discussion is based on numerical results obtained with a coupled FE model of the offshore foundation which includes the Biot-Zienkiewicz u-p model. A constitutive model of the Generalized Plasticity type has been used for the soil in order to reproduce important features of its behaviour under cyclic loading. This paper presents the findings derived from a parametric study of the problem and shows that the accumulation of residual pore pressure can produce significant changes of the pile's behaviour under external loading. The paper also investigates the effects caused by the loading from a realistic storm of moderate magnitude and the consequential transient degradation of the foundation's stiffness.