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American Society for Testing and Materials

Statistics and Data Analysis in Geology

Discrete particle simulation of particulate systems: A review of major applications and findings


 The spectral ratio between horizontal and vertical components (H/V ratio) of microtremors measured at the ground surface has been used to estimate fundamental periods and amplification factors of a site, although this technique lacks theoretical background. The aim of this article is to formulate the H/V technique in terms of the characteristics of Rayleigh and Love waves, and to contribute to improve the technique. The improvement includes use of not only peaks but also troughs in the H/V ratio for reliable estimation of the period and use of a newly proposed smoothing function for better estimation of the amplification factor. The formulation leads to a simple formula for the amplification factor expressed with the H/V ratio. With microtremor data measured at 546 junior high schools in 23 wards of Tokyo, the improved technique is applied to mapping site periods and amplification factors in the area.

Ground Motion Characteristics Estimated from Spectral Ratio between Horizontal and Verticcl Components of Mietremors.

A review of the recent advances on the treatment of industrial wastewaters by Sulfate Radical-based Advanced Oxidation Processes (SR-AOPs)

Simulation of excavations in jointed rock masses using a practical equivalent continuum approach

Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) of cyclic behavior of granular material has been attempted to understand liquefaction behavior of sands. A series of cyclic biaxial tests in both undrained and drained conditions with constant stress and strain amplitudes were performed on assemblage of loose and dense systems. Tests are conducted on monodisperse (uniform) and polydisperse (well graded) samples. From this study, it has been shown that DEM can simulate the cyclic behavior of sands very satisfactorily. Characteristic features, i.e., occurrence of large plastic strains and changing over from contractile to dilative behavior beyond the phase transformation angle, anisotropy of reduced strength on the extension side etc are very well reflected in numerical simulations. Liquefaction of loose assemblage seems to be mainly due to continued and cumulative loss of co-ordination number under each cycle as there is a reversal of loading direction and hence a continuous reorientation of fabric. There is no cumulative loss of co-ordination number in dense states because the stress ratios are mostly higher than the phase transformation level where the fabric has reached a limiting orientation. Micro mechanical explanations to the macroscopic behavior of the disc assemblage under cyclic loading are presented in terms of the force and fabric anisotropy coefficients.

Discrete element modelling of cyclic behaviour of granular materials

Due to its complex honeycomb structure, the numerical modeling of the geocell has always been a big challenge. Generally, the equivalent composite approach is used to model the geocells. In the equivalent composite approach, the geocellsoil composite is treated as the soil layer with improved strength and stiffness values. Though this approach is very simple, it is unrealistic to model the geocells as the soil layer. This paper presents a more realistic approach of modeling the geocells in three-dimensional (3D) framework by considering the actual curvature of the geocell pocket. A square footing resting on geocell reinforced soft clay bed was modeled using the ``fast Lagrangian analysis of continua in 3D'' (FLAC(3D)) finite difference package. Three different material models, namely modified Cam-clay, Mohr-Coulomb, and linear elastic were used to simulate the behaviour of foundation soil, infill soil and the geocell, respectively. It was found that the geocells distribute the load laterally to the wider area below the footing as compared to the unreinforced case. More than 50% reduction in the stress was observed in the clay bed in the presence of geocells. In addition to geocells, two other cases, namely, only geogrid and geocell with additional basal geogrid cases were also simulated. The numerical model was systematically validated with the results of the physical model tests. Using the validated numerical model, parametric studies were conducted to evaluate the influence of various geocell properties on the performance of reinforced clay beds.

Three-dimensional numerical analysis of geocell-reinforced soft clay beds by considering the actual geometry of geocell pockets

This paper presents the results of laboratory model tests and numerical studies conducted on a square footing resting on geocell reinforced sand and clay beds. Using suitable scaling considerations, a model footing size was arrived from the prototype raft foundation. Commercially available geocells made up of polyethylene having an equivalent pocket diameter of 0⋅25 m and aspect ratio of 0⋅6 were used in the experimental investigation. Clean sand was used to fill the geocell pockets in both sand and clay bed tests. Test results of unreinforced, geocell reinforced, and geocell reinforced with additional planar geogrid at the base of the geocell cases are compared separately for sand and clay beds. Results reveal that the use of geocell increases the ultimate bearing capacity of the sand bed by 2⋅4 times and clay bed by 3⋅2 times. Provision of the planar geogrid at the base of the cellular mattress arrests the surface heaving and prevents the rotational failure of the footing. Moduli of subgrade rea...

T. G. Sitharam

Papers

Simulation of excavations in jointed rock masses using a practical equivalent continuum approach

Discrete element modelling of cyclic behaviour of granular materials

Three-dimensional numerical analysis of geocell-reinforced soft clay beds by considering the actual geometry of geocell pockets

Experimental and numerical studies on footings supported on geocell reinforced sand and clay beds

Experimental and numerical studies on protection of buried pipelines and underground utilities using geocells