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23 pages, 8160 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Response of Rectangular Tunnels Embedded at Various Depths in Spatially Variable Soils

by Yanjie Zhang, Houle Zhang and Yongxin Wu

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(21), 10719; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122110719 - 22 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1474

This study investigated the seismic response of rectangular tunnels with various embedment depths considering the spatial variability of soil shear modulus. The spectral representation method was adopted to simulate the anisotropic random field of soil. The excess pore water pressure, the liquefied zone, [...] Read more.

This study investigated the seismic response of rectangular tunnels with various embedment depths considering the spatial variability of soil shear modulus. The spectral representation method was adopted to simulate the anisotropic random field of soil. The excess pore water pressure, the liquefied zone, the ground displacement and the uplift displacement of the tunnel were obtained through the random finite difference method to analyze the seismic response. It was observed that the soil excess pore water pressure ratio under the tunnel gradually decreased and the liquefaction degree reduced with depth increase. The peak value of the liquefied zone range increased with the increase in embedment depth. The mean response of stochastic analysis was smaller than the deterministic calculation results when the tunnel embedment depth was less than 10 m. The maximum tunnel floating displacement obtained from random analyses had the probability of 67.3%, exceeding the value calculated by deterministic analyses when H = 12 m. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earthquake-Resistant Design of Geotechnical Structure)

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22 pages, 8626 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Peculiarities of the HVSR Method Application to Seismic Records Obtained by Ocean-Bottom Seismographs in the Arctic

by Artem A. Krylov, Mikhail E. Kulikov, Sergey A. Kovachev, Igor P. Medvedev, Leopold I. Lobkovsky and Igor P. Semiletov

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(19), 9576; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12199576 - 23 Sep 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2573

Abstract

The application of the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) modeling and inversion techniques is becoming more and more widespread for assessing the seismic response and velocity model of soil deposits due to their effectiveness, environmental friendliness, relative simplicity and low cost. Nevertheless, a number [...] Read more.

The application of the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) modeling and inversion techniques is becoming more and more widespread for assessing the seismic response and velocity model of soil deposits due to their effectiveness, environmental friendliness, relative simplicity and low cost. Nevertheless, a number of issues related to the use of these techniques in difficult natural conditions, such as in the shelf areas of the Arctic seas, where the critical structures are also designed, remain poorly understood. In this paper, we describe the features of applying the HVSR modeling and inversion techniques to seismic records obtained by ocean-bottom seismographs (OBS) on the outer shelf of the Laptev Sea. This region is characterized by high seismotectonic activity, as well as sparse submarine permafrost distribution and the massive release of bubble methane from bottom sediments. The seismic stations were installed for one year and their period of operation included periods of time when the sea was covered with ice and when the sea was ice-free. The results of processing of the recorded ambient seismic noise, as well as the wave recorder data and ERA5 and EUMETSAT reanalysis data, showed a strong dependence of seafloor seismic noise on the presence of sea ice cover, as well as weather conditions, wind speed in particular. Wind-generated gravity waves, as well as infragravity waves, are responsible for the increase in the level of ambient seismic noise. The high-frequency range of 5 Hz and above is strongly affected by the coupling effect, which in turn also depends on wind-generated gravity waves and infragravity waves. The described seafloor seismic noise features must be taken into account during HVSR modeling and interpretation. The obtained HVSR curves plotted from the records of one of the OBSs revealed a resonant peak corresponding to 3 Hz, while the curves plotted from the records of another OBS did not show clear resonance peaks in the representative frequency range. Since both OBSs were located in the area of sparse distribution of submarine permafrost, the presence of a resonance peak may be an indicator of the presence of a contrasting boundary of the upper permafrost surface under the location of the OBS. The absence of a clear resonant peak in the HVSR curve may indicate that the permafrost boundary is either absent at this site or its depth is beyond the values corresponding to representative seismic sensor frequency band. Thus, HVSR modeling and inversion techniques can be effective for studying the position of submarine permafrost. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earthquake-Resistant Design of Geotechnical Structure)

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13 pages, 45369 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seismic Response Analyses of a Large-Span Powerhouse Cavern Considering Rock–Structure Interaction

by Yumei Lv, Lichuan Wang, Yu Chen, Lun Gong and Shibo Li

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(13), 6649; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12136649 - 30 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1629

Abstract

Underground structures in earthquake-prone zones should be designed to withstand both static overburden pressures and earthquake shocks. This paper presents a case study on a large-span powerhouse cavern. With seismic data selected from past earthquake records, lab and in situ tests of the [...] Read more.

Underground structures in earthquake-prone zones should be designed to withstand both static overburden pressures and earthquake shocks. This paper presents a case study on a large-span powerhouse cavern. With seismic data selected from past earthquake records, lab and in situ tests of the cavern’s geological and geomechanical conditions were performed to analyze the static and dynamic stability of the cavern through the continuum modeling approach. Performance analyses via both 2D and 3D modeling were carried out under seismic conditions and for selected design ground motions. The dynamic response of the surrounding rock mass and of the reinforcement system was detected. The results obtained will facilitate future stability analyses of large underground caverns constructed in the past on the basis of seismic design analyses and input data from post-earthquake records that were recently made available on the site. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earthquake-Resistant Design of Geotechnical Structure)

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12 pages, 12174 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Kinematic Response of End-Bearing Piles under the Excitation of Vertical P-Waves Considering the Construction Effect

by Denghui Dai, Yanjie Zhang, Yunfei Zhang, Zhanbin Wang and Zhenya Li

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(7), 3468; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12073468 - 29 Mar 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1812

Abstract

Under most engineering conditions, soil disturbance due to pile installation may cause soil properties to vary within the region adjacent to the pile in the radial direction. This paper derives a rigorous solution to investigate the kinematic response of end-bearing piles under the [...] Read more.

Under most engineering conditions, soil disturbance due to pile installation may cause soil properties to vary within the region adjacent to the pile in the radial direction. This paper derives a rigorous solution to investigate the kinematic response of end-bearing piles under the excitation of vertical P-waves considering the construction effect. The displacement responses of piles and soil, governed by the dynamic equilibrium equation, are theoretically derived with the separation of variables method. The scattered waves induced by the pile–soil system, which is the key factor of the problem, are decoupled from the total wavefields. Moreover, the friction occurring at the interface of the soil and pile shaft are directly obtained. Thus, the present solution can accurately account for the pile–soil interaction. Comparisons between the numerical results of the present method and the available results are performed. A detailed discussion on the kinematic response coefficient, amplification factor, and soil motion is provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earthquake-Resistant Design of Geotechnical Structure)

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18 pages, 4553 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Influence of a Soft Soil Interlayer on Spatially Varying Ground Motions

by Erlei Yao, Weichao Li, Yu Miao, Lin Ye and Zhaowei Yang

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(3), 1322; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031322 - 26 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2248

Abstract

The existence of local soft interlayer can significantly amplify or attenuate the ground motion and thus might influence the lagged spatial coherency between spatially varying earthquake ground motions. A target site with a local soft interlayer was assumed first, and then two numerical [...] Read more.

The existence of local soft interlayer can significantly amplify or attenuate the ground motion and thus might influence the lagged spatial coherency between spatially varying earthquake ground motions. A target site with a local soft interlayer was assumed first, and then two numerical examples were set. In example 1, linear soil behavior was considered and a large amount of quasi-stationary spatially varying earthquake ground motions were generated by combining the one-dimensional wave propagation theory and the classical spectral representation method. The influence regularity of varying shear wave velocity, buried depth, and thickness of the soft interlayer on the characteristics of lagged spatial coherency was investigated. In example 2, non-linear soil behavior was taken into account and fully non-stationary spatially varying earthquake ground motions were thus generated by using time-varying transfer function and spectral representation method. An overall evaluation was carried out to shed light on the differences of characteristics of spatial coherency between non-linear soil and linear soil cases. It showed that: (i) As the shear wave velocity of interlayer declines and as the buried depth and thickness increase, remarkable reduction of spatial coherency showed up; (ii) the reduction of lagged spatial coherency caused by varying buried depth may be more inclined to concentrate in the lower frequency range; (iii) the non-linear soil behavior can cause greater further reduction of lagged spatial coherency in comparison with linear soil behavior, especially in the higher frequency range; (iv) the troughs of lagged spatial coherency curve tend to be located in the variation range of vibration frequency of time-varying spectral ratio. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earthquake-Resistant Design of Geotechnical Structure)

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17 pages, 6296 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Shear Behavior of Sand–Structure Interface Based on Monotonic and Cyclic Tests

by Pei Zhang, Shijia Ding and Kang Fei

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(24), 11837; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112411837 - 13 Dec 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2587

Abstract

In order to study the shear behavior of the interface between sand and structure, a series of shear tests were carried out using an HJ-1 ring shear apparatus (Nanjing, China). First, through the monotonic shear tests, the loose sand and dense sand were [...] Read more.

In order to study the shear behavior of the interface between sand and structure, a series of shear tests were carried out using an HJ-1 ring shear apparatus (Nanjing, China). First, through the monotonic shear tests, the loose sand and dense sand were sheared at the steel interface with different roughnesses. The results showed that when the interface was relatively smooth, the shear stress–shear displacement curves of loose sand and dense sand both exhibit strain hardening characteristics. When the interface was rough, the dense sand showed strain softening. The initial shear stiffness of the sand–steel interface increased with the increase in normal stress, interface roughness, or sand relative density. Then, considering the influence of initial shear stress, through the cyclic shear test, this work analyzed the shape of the loading and unloading curves and the development law of cumulative normal deformation, and discussed the change of loading and unloading shear stiffness under different stress level amplitudes and the residual deformation generated during the cycle. The research results showed that loose sand and dense sand generally shrunk in volume during the cycle. The initial loading process was similar to the case of static loading. In the later dynamic loading process, the shear shrinkage per cycle was relatively small and continued to develop. Additionally, it was found that the unloading stiffness of the sand–steel interface is always greater than the initial loading stiffness. As the number of cycles increases, the loading stiffness increases, and it may eventually approach the unloading stiffness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earthquake-Resistant Design of Geotechnical Structure)

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20 pages, 4669 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Seismic Response in Deeply Deposited Saturated Liquefiable Soil Reinforced by Using Subarea Long-Short Gravel Piles

by Junding Liu, Rongjian Li, Shibin Zhang, Weishi Bai and Ze Li

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(23), 11271; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112311271 - 28 Nov 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1801

Abstract

To avoid large deformation, resulting from liquefaction, in inclined and deeply deposited liquefiable soil, it is necessary to design economical and reasonable reinforcement schemes. A reinforcement scheme employing subarea long-short gravel piles was proposed, and it was successfully applied in the embankment construction [...] Read more.

To avoid large deformation, resulting from liquefaction, in inclined and deeply deposited liquefiable soil, it is necessary to design economical and reasonable reinforcement schemes. A reinforcement scheme employing subarea long-short gravel piles was proposed, and it was successfully applied in the embankment construction of the Aksu-kashgar highway. To reveal its underlying mechanism and effect on the seismic performance of the highway, the dynamic responses of natural foundation and two kinds of reinforced foundations were analyzed and compared under this scheme, using the program FEMEPDYN. Results showed that both the seismic subsidence and the excess pore pressure ratios were far less in the foundation reinforced with isometric gravel piles and in the foundation reinforced with subarea long-short gravel piles, compared with that in natural foundation. Therefore, the potential hazards of liquefaction were overcome in these two kinds of reinforced foundations. Furthermore, it was obvious that the shielding region only formed within the foundation reinforced with subarea long-short gravel piles. With the shielding effect, the proposed reinforcement scheme employing subarea long-short gravel piles not only eliminated liquefaction in deeply deposited liquefiable soil, but it also demonstrated an outstanding advantage in that the total length of gravel piles used was greatly reduced compared to the total length in the isometric gravel piles scheme and the interphase long-short gravel piles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earthquake-Resistant Design of Geotechnical Structure)

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14 pages, 9778 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

An Analytical Solution for 2D Dynamic Structure-Soil-Structure Interaction for Twin Flexible Tunnels Embedded in a Homogeneous Half-Space

by Liguo Jin, Xujin Liu, Hongyang Sun and Zhenghua Zhou

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(21), 10343; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112110343 - 3 Nov 2021

Viewed by 2042

Abstract

The interaction between subway tunnels is investigated by using a 2D analytic model of a twin tunnels system embedded in a homogenous half-space. The closed-form analytical solution for tunnel displacement response is derived through the wave function expansion method and the mirror method, [...] Read more.

The interaction between subway tunnels is investigated by using a 2D analytic model of a twin tunnels system embedded in a homogenous half-space. The closed-form analytical solution for tunnel displacement response is derived through the wave function expansion method and the mirror method, and the correctness of the solution is verified through residuals convergence and comparison with the published results. The analysis focuses on the effects of tunnel relative stiffness on tunnel–soil–tunnel interaction. Tunnel relative stiffness has a great influence on tunnel displacement response. For small tunnel relative stiffness, tunnel displacement amplitude can be enlarged by 3.3 times that of single rigid tunnel model. The response of the tunnel–soil–tunnel interaction system depends not only on the distances between tunnels but also on the frequency of the incident wave and the incident angle. The strength of the interaction between the tunnels is highly related to the tunnel spacing distance. The smaller the distance between tunnels, the stronger the interaction between them. When the distance between tunnels reaches s/a = 20, the interaction between tunnels can be ignored. It is worth pointing out that the seismic design of underground tunnels should consider the interaction between tunnels when the tunnel distance is small. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earthquake-Resistant Design of Geotechnical Structure)

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