AbstractA geophysical study using seismic wave velocities data, including compressional and shear wave velocity (Vp and Vs) values, for 14 sites has been carried out. These sites are located within the Mesopotamian plain and surroundings. Both seismic and geotechnical data have been conducted by the National Center for Construction Laboratories and Research (NCCLR) in Iraq. Some geotechnical parameters have been deduced from seismic velocities either from Vp or Vs. Correlations between seismic velocities (Vp and Vs) and geotechnical properties have been derived. These relations show direct proportionalities between Vp and Vs with standard penetration test (SPT-N value). LiuefyPro software has been utilized for two selected Iraqi sites to investigate the liquefaction potential. Input data of the program will be based on those derived from the compressional and shear wave velocities. The application shows a total settlement for saturated and dry sand of 32 mm for the first site while no settlement has been indicated for the second site. It was found that the high value of both wave velocities for a cohesionless fully saturated soil gives an indication that this soil is unable to liquefy and settle under earthquake excitation and vice versa.
ABSTRACTStudies in geotechnical engineering have the nonlinear behavior of soils. An experimental study was carried out on models of piled rafts, and four piles with a diameter of 25 mm and a length of (300, 400, and 500) mm were taken, with a raft of (180x180) mm, and compared with the piled-raft system of 180 × 180 raft and nine piles of 19 mm and 500 mm in diameter and length respectively. They were tested for raft resistance, number of piles, length, and diameter while maintaining the spacing between piles. Test results showed the raft performance improved by 76% when adding piles. The increase in the (L/D) ratio for variable (L) length leads to an increase in pile share of 87% for the groups (2×2). Also, pile share was increased by 10% with a decrease in the diameter of piles and an increase in the number of piles in the group. Therefore, the increment in each pile’s skin friction results in an increase in the bearing capacity of each pile.
The evaluation of undrained shear strength (Su) in fine-grained soils is crucial for geotechnical engineering applications. This study aims to assess Su in fine-grained soils through laboratory testing and data analysis by different equations Su Undrained shear strength from field and Based on SPT-N Values. The introduction provides an overview of the importance of Su in geotechnical engineering and highlights the complexity of estimating Su in fine-grained soils. The material and methods section describes the collection of soil samples from Fallujah, which predominantly consist of silty clay and clayey silt. Field investigations were conducted to obtain Su measurements using field vane shear tests. The section also provides details on the field-testing data, including borehole depth, SPT results, consistency, Su, Su from SPT NOVO, and soil description. The laboratory testing and data analysis section presents the results of laboratory shear testing conducted on the collected soil samples. The testing involved determining the undrained shear strength of the soils using appropriate testing apparatus and procedures. The data obtained from the laboratory testing are analyzed to identify trends in Su and soil consistency. Based on the analysis of the data and the results obtained from the laboratory testing, it can be concluded that there is a relatively weak correlation between the undrained shear strength (Su) and the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) N-value. The correlations proposed by Sowers (1979), Kulhawy and Mayne (1990), Reese, Touma, and O'Neill (1976), and Terzaghi and Peck (1967) all show modest R2 values, indicating limited correlation between Su and N-value
The difficulty that faces the geotechnical engineers how to find the alternative and effective method to improve bearing capacity and reduce foundation settlement. Therefore, the skirt is considered one of the methods to improving the shallow foundation bearing capacity on different soil. The mechanism of skirt work is confinement soil below the foundation and decrease settlement of the foundation. Soil engineers are worked to devise this method as an alternative to pile foundation for conventional buildings. This paper reviews most of these studies of skirted foundations with different types of soil including laboratory tests, field tests, centrifuge models, numerical method and theoretical analysis; these studies are used in investigation the behaviors skirted foundations.
Microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a fast-evolving technology for cementing sandy soils, improving ground, repairing concrete cracks, and remediating contaminated land. The current work thoroughly reviews various factors that can impact the effect of the MICP technology on geomaterials. These factors include the type and strain of the microbes, concentration of bacterial solution, cementation solution composition and concentration, environmental factors (temperature, pH level, and oxygen dissolved), and soil properties. It was found that the type and strain of bacteria, concentration of bacterial suspension, pH value, temperature, and the reaction solution properties are the most affecting factors in controlling the characteristics of the produced calcium carbonate, which in turn affects the degree of bonding between geomaterials particles. For an optimal implementation of the MICP in soils treatment, it appeared that for the most commonly used bacterial strains a temperature between 20 and 40 °C, a pH between 6.5 and 9.5, and a cementation solution concentration of 0.5 mol/L, are typically recommended.
Today waste plastic bottles are spread widely throughout our world especially in Kurdistan, an autonomous region in Iraq. These waste products cause many environmental problems and at the same time some soils are weak and need reinforcement using cheap materials such as Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste plastic bottle. Use of waste plastic bottles as a reinforcement of soil is highly recommended to reduce the amounts of plastic waste, which creates a disposal problem. In this study an attempt was made to use plastic fibres produced from waste bottles to reinforce sandy soil. This can solve both environmental and geotechnical problems. In the research, the effect of plastic fibres content as well as fibre length on shear strength parameters (cohesion and internal friction) were experimentally predicted using the direct shear test method so as to improve bearing capacity of weak soils. The results showed that under low normal stress the inclusion of plastic fibres increased both angle of internal friction and cohesion; however, under high normal stress (greater than 100 kPa) the cohesion increased and the internal friction was roughly unchanged. Also, it was concluded in this study that the suitable amount of fibers that can be added to weak soils is 1% of dry weight of sand.
Free transverse vibration frequency analysis of Euler-Bernoulli beams on Winkler foundation (EBBoWF) is a significant part of their analysis for averting failures by resonance. Resonant failure of EBBoWF occurs when the loading frequency exciting the vibration coincides with the least natural frequency. This study aims at using the Stodola-Vianello iteration method (SVIM) for the natural transverse vibration analysis of EBBoWF. Generally, the problem is governed by a non-homogenous partial differential equation (PDE) for forced vibrations, but simplifies to a homogeneous PDE for free vibrations where excitation forces are absent. For harmonic vibrations, and harmonic displacement response u(x, t), the equations are decoupled in terms of the independent spatial and time variables, resulting in a fourth order ordinary differential equation (ODE) in the displacement modal function for u(x, t). The study’s focus is on homogenous, prismatic, isotropic thin beams leading to ODEs with constant parameters. SVIM was used to express the ODE as Stodola-Vianello iteration equations with four constants of integration, determinable via the boundary conditions. Specific application of SVIM to the EBBoWF with simple end supports used exact sinusoidal shape functions and boundary conditions to determine the integration constants. Convergence criterion at the nth iteration was used to find the eigenequation which was solved for the eigenvalues. The natural transverse vibration frequencies at the nth modes were found in terms of frequency parameters . Values of calculated for the first five modes n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and for values of showed that the present SVIM gave exact results compared to other previous results. The exact solutions were obtained because exact shape functions were used in the SVIM equations resulting in satisfaction of the governing equations at the domain and the boundaries.
This paper includes an analysis to asses the behavior of stone columns using the finite element method and to provide bases and information helping geotechnical engineers to design foundations resting on weak soils reinforced with stone column. The axisymmetric quadrilateral element is adopted in the finite element program to simulate the soft soil and the stone column while the one-dimensional element is used to simulate the soft soil and the stone column-soil interface. The nonlinear inelastic stress-dependent model is used to simulate the behavior of the soil and the interface throughout the incremental loading stages adopting nonlinear parameters obtained from triaxial and direct shear stress. The analysis is carried first on a selected basic problem, to clarify the nonlinear of the column, in which a selected geometry, boundary condition, and material properties for both soil and interface as chosen. The rest of the analysis is grouped into the effect of some of the parameters concerning the geometry of the stone column and the material of column and adjacent soil are investigated. It was found that the increase in stone column length and in relative stiffness of stone column material to soil play an important role in increasing ultimate capacity of the stone column and in reducing settlements.
This study investigates the strength performance and microstructural changes of a sandy gypseous soil improved with fly ash-based geopolymer, for shallow and deep applications. Different proportions of geopolymer were added to a natural gypseous soil having a gypsum content of 30% to 40% with different water contents. The fly ash was activated using sodium hydroxide with molar concentrations 8 and 12 molar and sodium silicate. The ratios of the fly ash to the activator were 1 and 2. Specimens were cured for different ages at 30°C. To simulate the field conditions, a number of specimens were immersed in a salt-saturated solution. Materials performance was evaluated at the macro level by performing unconfined compression test and at micro level by performing scanning electron microscopy test. The study showed that an increase in the molar concentration of sodium hydroxide and of the binder ratio improved material’s strength particularly at lower water contents of the soil. Increasing the binder content to about 30% improved the strength by enhancing the bonding between the soil particles. On the other hand, immersing the samples in the salt solution led, in most cases, to breakdown of the geopolymer network, as confirmed by the SEM images. It was concluded that the fly ash geopolymer-soil mixtures under investigation can provide as high as 8 MPa uniaxial strength under no sulfate attack. However, under sulfate attack condition, this strength can decrease to as low as 0.5 MPa. Even under the worst case, the later strength can be just enough to support shallow foundations rested on a saturated gypseous soil.
Collapse of gypseous soils may cause excessive settlement and serious damage to engineering structures. Various improvement approaches, such as mechanical techniques and chemical additions, have been used to reduce the collapsibility of these soils. The odometer test has traditionally been used to assess the collapsibility of the improved gypseous soils; however, because the small size of test specimens, this method may not adequately reflect field conditions. In this research, a laboratory model test of 600 x 600 x 600 mm with a model footing of 100 x 100 mm was developed to measure the collapse characteristics of a gypseous soil. The top layer underneath the footing was improved by compaction, cement kiln dust (CKD), geogrid, and a combination between CKD and geogrid. The top layer was improved at two values of thickness of 50 and 100 mm. The results obtained from this study indicate that the values collapsibility settlement reduction factor for compacted soil and the soil treated with CKD were 75 and 82%, 89% receptively. These values increased up to 95 % when a combination of CKD and geogrid was applied. As discussed herein, the aforementioned treatment methods can effectively be used to improve the collapsibility of gypseous soils.