In this study, finite element (FE)-based primary pavement response models are employed for investigating the early-age deformation characteristics of jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP) under environmental effects. The FE-based ISLAB (two-and-one-half-dimensional) and EverFE (three-dimensional) software were used to conduct the response analysis. Sensitivity analyses of input parameters used in ISLAB and EverFE were conducted based on field and laboratory test data collected from instrumented pavements on highway US-34 near Burlington, Iowa. Based on the combination of input parameters and equivalent temperatures established from preliminary studies, FE analyses were performed and compared with the field measurements. Comparisons between field measured and computed deformations showed that both FE programs could produce reasonably accurate estimates of actual slab deformations due to environmental effects using the equivalent temperature difference concept.

Rapid drawdown is a critical design condition for the upstream or riverside slope of earth dams and levees. A new total stress rapid drawdown method based on finite element analysis is used to analyze the rapid drawdown failure that occurred at Pilarcitos Dam in 1969. Effective consolidation stresses in the slope prior to drawdown are determined using linear elastic finite element analysis. Undrained strengths from isotropically consolidated undrained (ICU) triaxial compression tests are related directly to the calculated consolidation stresses and assigned to the elements in the model by interpolation. Two different interpretations of the undrained strength envelope are examined. Strength reduction finite element analyses are used to evaluate stability of the dam. Back analysis suggests that undrained strengths from ICU tests must be reduced by 30% for use with this rapid drawdown method. The failure mechanism predicted for Pilarcitos Dam is sensitive to the relationship between undrained strength and consolidation stress.

This paper is focused on the behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced and column-supported (GRCS) earth platforms in soft soil. By analyzing the data of a 15-month long field monitoring project, the bearing behavior and effectiveness of GRCS earth platforms are discussed in detail. It can be found that the soil arching is generated when the filling reaches a certain height. The measured pressure acting on the soil in the center of four piles was smaller than that acting on the soil between two piles. The elongation and the tension of the geogrid located in the soil between piles are both larger than the corresponding values on the pile top. The skin friction of piles is relatively small in the soil layer with low strength and the load transfer of the axial force in those layers is significant; meanwhile, the opposite situation occurs in the soil layer with high strength. The pore water pressure at shallow locations increases slightly with the filling height and is greatly affected by the increasing filling load. The layered settlement is directly proportional to the filling height, and the corresponding amount is relevant to the locations and the properties of specific soil layers. Additionally, the lateral displacement of the embankment increases with greater loading and decreases with increased depth. These suggest that the use of GRCS system can reduce lateral displacements and enhance the stability of an embankment significantly.

Statically push-out tests of 20 steel reinforced concrete short columns (SRCSC) with stud connectors on the surface of shape steel after fire and two SRCSC under ambient temperature were carried out, in order to study the failure mode, load-slip relationship and the interfacial shear transfer of SRC members after fire. Experimental results show that the typical failure modes and load-slip curves of SRCSC after fire are almost the same as the case under ambient temperature. The interfacial shear transfer of SRCSC declines exponentially not only with the increase of the peak temperature the specimen experienced but also with the increase of the peak temperature duration. The interfacial shear transfer of the specimens with studs arranged at the steel web is much higher than those with studs arranged at the steel flange. Empirical formulas of SRCSC interfacial shear transfer after fire are proposed, and the calculated results generally agree well with the experimental results.

We propose a method to estimate the natural frequencies of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) embedded in an elastic medium. Each of the nested tubes is treated as an individual bar interacting with the adjacent nanotubes through the inter-tube Van der Waals forces. The effect of the elastic medium is introduced through an elastic model. The mathematical model is finally reduced to an eigen value problem and the eigen value problem is solved to arrive at the inter-tube resonances of the MWCNTs. Variation of the natural frequencies with different parameters are studied. The estimated results from the present method are compared with the literature and results are observed to be in close agreement.

Backward erosion piping is an important failure mechanism for cohesive water retaining structures which are founded on a sandy aquifer. At present, the prediction models for safety assessment are often based on 2D assumptions. In this work, a 3D numerical approach of the groundwater flow leading to the erosion mechanism of backward erosion piping is presented and discussed. Comparison of the 2D and 3D numerical results explicitly demonstrates the inherent 3D nature of the piping phenomenon. In addition, the influence of the seepage length is investigated and discussed for both piping initiation and piping progression. The results clearly indicate the superiority of the presented 3D numerical model compared to the established 2D approach. Moreover, the 3D numerical results enable a better understanding of the complex physical mechanism involved in backward erosion piping and thus can lead to a significant improvement in the safety assessment of water retaining structures.

Bridge girders exposed to aggressive environmental conditions are subject to time-variant changes in resistance. There is therefore a need for evaluation procedures that produce accurate predictions of the load-carrying capacity and reliability of bridge structures to allow rational decisions to be made about repair, rehabilitation and expected life-cycle costs. This study deals with the stability of damaged steel I-beams with web opening subjected to bending loads. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model using ABAQUS for the elastic flexural torsional analysis of I-beams has been used to assess the effect of web opening on the lateral buckling moment capacity. Artificial neural network (ANN) approach has been also employed to derive empirical formulae for predicting the lateral-torsional buckling moment capacity of deteriorated steel I-beams with different sizes of rectangular web opening using obtained FE results. It is found out that the proposed formulae can accurately predict residual lateral buckling capacities of doubly-symmetric steel I-beams with rectangular web opening. Hence, the results of this study can be used for better prediction of buckling life of web opening of steel beams by practice engineers.

This paper presents a constitutive model based on Ramberg-Osgood equation to describe the hysteresis material behavior of structural carbon steel with nominal yield strength between 235 to 420 N/mm². The proposed model was calibrated against a series of cyclic material tests with strain amplitude varying from 0.5% to 2.0%. A simple relationship between the modular parameter K and the yield strength f_y was proposed. The calibrated Ramberg-Osgood model revealed excellent agreement with the experimental results and captured further the experimental behavior of test specimens with nominal yield strength of 460 N/mm². The proposed constitutive model was also adopted in conjunction with the combined kinematic/isotropic materials description in ABAQUS to mimic a full scale experimental test under cyclic loading. The numerical results revealed close agreement with the experimental observations.

In connection with the practical project of Kunming Road station of Tianjin subway Line 3, the paper established a two-dimensional finite element model with visco-elastic boundary by using ANSYS and analyzed seismic responses of subway station with different distribution of soft soil. The nonlinear dynamic properties of soft soils are modeled by the KINH. And obtain the response rules about displacement and internal force on subway station in the general field soil and five different distributions of soft soil. Provide reference for improving the seismic performance of subway stations in Tianjin soft soil.

The paper presents a numerical study on the undrained lateral response of a single, free-head, reinforced concrete pile in soft clays. Soil conditions simulating normally consolidated clays are examined—undrained shear strength increasing with depth—and the pile-soil interaction under static lateral loading is analyzed. The nonlinear p?y curves proposed in literature for soft clays are imported into a beam-on-nonlinear-Winkler-foundation simulation in order to predict the pile head lateral load—displacement curve and the distribution of the horizontal displacement and bending moment along the pile. The striking differences among these methods require further investigation via 3D finite element analyses. The determination of the ultimate soil resistance p_ult from the results of the finite element analyses aims at providing the estimation of a range of values for the ultimate soil resistance coefficient N_p with depth and the comparison of the derived values to the corresponding ones proposed by existing methodologies.