Heavy rainfall-related excavation failures in China during 1994 to 2018: An overview
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors reviewed 170 excavation failure cases occurring during 1994-2018 in China, using a method of descriptive statistics, mainly focused on their statistical failure patterns (temporal distributions of failures, types of failures and types of failed soil strata, etc.) and contributing factors (e.g., heavy rainfall influences and technical factors).
About: This article is published in Engineering Failure Analysis.The article was published on 2021-11-01. It has received 18 citations till now.
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TL;DR: In this article, the results of statistical analyses on a database comprising 592 deep excavations in Shanghai soft clays from 1995 to 2018 were presented, showing the general trends and patterns over time.
Abstract: This paper presents the results of statistical analyses on a database comprising 592 deep excavations in Shanghai soft clays from 1995 to 2018. First, the general trends and patterns over t...
17 citations
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TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper presented the results of statistical analyses on a database comprising 592 deep excavations in Shanghai soft clays from 1995 to 2018, and the major design factors are characterized in a statistical manner.
Abstract: This paper presents the results of statistical analyses on a database comprising 592 deep excavations in Shanghai soft clays from 1995 to 2018. First, the general trends and patterns over time are outlined for seven different excavation methods and seven types of earth-supporting systems. Then, the major design factors are characterized in a statistical manner. Based on analyses of the collected data, the frequency distributions of δhm/He data (δhm = maximum lateral wall displacement; He = final excavation depth) corresponding to each excavation method and each earth-supporting system are presented; furthermore, the correlations of δhm/He with the major design factors are explored. In this new database, 90% of δhm/He data featured magnitudes no more than 1.0%, which frequently lie within 0.10%–0.55%, indicating better performance than other databases worldwide. Via extensive comparisons, both the optimum construction method corresponding to each type of earth-supporting system and the optimum earth-supporting system corresponding to each excavation method for controlling excavation performance were determined. Last, the major design and construction defects as well as natural hazards pertaining to abnormally large δhm/He=1.01−7.27% tracked at 23 individual excavations are identified and summarized. These include excessive excavation duration, long wall exposure lengths, retaining walls toed in soft muddy clays, overexcavation at deep levels, surcharges behind retaining walls, inadequate supporting system stiffness, and intense rainfall; among these factors, walls toed in soft muddy strata are shown to be detrimental to the performance of excavations. For a deep excavation that is to be carried out in sensitive clayey strata, safety redundancy can be enhanced substantially by accounting for the degradation of soil strengths due to construction disturbance and/or rainfall infiltration in design. The findings and lessons from this study will be useful to professionals worldwide in efficiently achieving cost-effective designs and/or making reliable evaluations regarding the performance of deep excavations in soft clays.
16 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, an overview of underground infrastructure failures in China associated with heavy rainfall was conducted, where the authors analyzed the latest rainfall characteristics in China and conducted a review in four aspects, i.e., infrastructure types, involved strata, and temporal and geographic distributions.
14 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper , an overview of 378 underground infrastructure failures in China associated with heavy rainfall was conducted, and contributing factors of the failures were discussed, such as urbanization, climate and geological conditions were key factors.
13 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this article, a global database of 2,626 rainfall events that have resulted in shallow landslides and debris flows was compiled through a thorough literature search, and the rainfall and landslide information was used to update the dependency of the minimum level of rainfall duration and intensity likely to result in shallow landslide and debris flow established by Nel Caine in 1980.
Abstract: A global database of 2,626 rainfall events that have resulted in shallow landslides and debris flows was compiled through a thorough literature search. The rainfall and landslide information was used to update the dependency of the minimum level of rainfall duration and intensity likely to result in shallow landslides and debris flows established by Nel Caine in 1980. The rainfall intensity–duration (ID) values were plotted in logarithmic coordinates, and it was established that with increased rainfall duration, the minimum average intensity likely to trigger shallow slope failures decreases linearly, in the range of durations from 10 min to 35 days. The minimum ID for the possible initiation of shallow landslides and debris flows was determined. The threshold curve was obtained from the rainfall data using an objective statistical technique. To cope with differences in the intensity and duration of rainfall likely to result in shallow slope failures in different climatic regions, the rainfall information was normalized to the mean annual precipitation and the rainy-day normal. Climate information was obtained from the global climate dataset compiled by the Climate Research Unit of the East Anglia University. The obtained global ID thresholds are significantly lower than the threshold proposed by Caine (Geogr Ann A 62:23–27, 1980), and lower than other global thresholds proposed in the literature. The new global ID thresholds can be used in a worldwide operational landslide warning system based on global precipitation measurements where local and regional thresholds are not available..
1,114 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors studied over 500 bridge failures in the United States between 1989 and 2000 and found that the most frequent causes of bridge failures were attributed to floods and collisions, with most failures occurring during the bridge's service life.
Abstract: Over 500 failures of bridge structures in the United States between 1989 and 2000 were studied. The age of the failed bridges ranged from 1 year (during construction) to 157 years, with an average of 52.5 years. The most frequent causes of bridge failures were attributed to floods and collisions. Flood and scour, with the major flood disaster in 1993, contributed to the frequency peak of bridge failures (almost 53% of all failures). Bridge overload and lateral impact forces from trucks, barges/ships, and trains constitute 20% of the total bridge failures. Other frequent principal causes are design, detailing, construction, material, and maintenance. Comparison made among three periods of similar studies (1977–1981, 1982–1988, and 1989–2000) revealed almost similar trends, with most failures occurring during the bridge’s service life. Also, human-induced external events occurred frequently in all three periods, but were most dominant in the first and third periods. Technological advances in information sys...
714 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, an accident root causes tracing model (ARCTM) tailored to the needs of the construction industry is presented. But it does not address why the accident occurred by identifying possible root causes by complementing these techniques with theories of accident causation and theories of human error.
Abstract: Construction accident investigation techniques and reporting systems identify what type of accidents occur and how they occurred. Unfortunately, they do not properly address why the accident occurred by identifying possible root causes, which is only possible by complementing these techniques with theories of accident causation and theories of human error. The uniqueness of the construction industry dictates the need to tailor many of the contemporary accident causation models and human error theories. This paper presents an accident root causes tracing model (ARCTM) tailored to the needs of the construction industry. ARCTM proposes that accidents occur due to three root causes: (1) Failing to identify an unsafe condition that existed before an activity was started or that developed after an activity was started; (2) deciding to proceed with a work activity after the worker identifies an existing unsafe condition; and (3) deciding to act unsafe regardless of initial conditions of the work environment. In ...
576 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the main natural and human-induced hazards characteristic of karst environments, with specific focus on sinkholes, floods and slope movements, are reviewed, and summarized the main outcomes reached by experts regarding the assessment of environmental impacts and their mitigation.
565 citations
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TL;DR: The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) is one of the most developed, dynamic, densely populated and concentrated industrial areas in China and plays an important role in China's economic and social development.
163 citations