Site investigation and in situ tests

Author(s):  
C. R. Scott
1991 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Chang

The stress history as indicated by the profile of overconsolidation ratio (OCR) of a soil deposit is one of the most dominant factors that influence the engineering behaviour of the soil. Its assessment, which is traditionally based on the laboratory oedometer test, is not often satisfactory. The problem arises from inevitable sample disturbance and the high cost of a detailed investigation. These difficulties can be overcome by the use of in situ tests. The field vane test, the piezocone test, and the dilatometer test are three such methods that provide indirect means for the estimation of the OCR for clay deposits. A number of empirical correlations are available for this purpose. Calibration of these correlations against results of site investigation in Singapore and Malaysian marine clays reveals the usefulness of these test methods in profiling the OCR for Recent clay deposits. Key words: clay, in situ test, overconsolidation ratio, preconsolidation pressure, stress history.


2000 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 796-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Schnaid ◽  
J AR Ortigao ◽  
F M Mántaras ◽  
R P Cunha ◽  
I MacGregor

This paper presents the analyses of the results of the site investigation programme carried out at the Kowloon Bay site in Hong Kong. The tests consisted of self-boring pressuremeter (SBPM), Marchetti dilatometer (DMT), and laboratory tests carried out in a granite saprolite, which can be described as a lightly cemented sand. The purpose of this research project is to stimulate the development of methods to interpret data obtained from tests in residual soils. In particular, the work aims to evaluate the analyses of the SBPM data through a curve-fitting technique. Both the loading and unloading portions of the SBPM curve were analysed and the results compared with those from other tests. The advantage of this analysis technique is the possibility of constructing a theoretical curve that reproduces a pressuremeter test from which a set of fundamental parameters can be derived, namely the friction angle, cohesion intercept, lateral stress, and shear modulus. The DMT proved to be a reliable tool that yielded good soil parameters at a small fraction of the cost of the other in situ tests.Key words: residual soil, in situ tests, pressuremeter, Marchetti dilatometer.


1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Sly

This contribution presents a recent review of equipment and field techniques applicable to offshore seabed survey work and site investigation, with particular reference to Canadian interests.During the past decade many advances have taken place in equipment design and in under standing the behaviour of mechanical sampling devices and the inadequacies of data derived from samples physically removed from the site. There has been a significant improvement in the ability of both remote and contact sensory systems to characterize and resolve differences in the physical and mechanical properties of bottom sediment materials, and the use of even simplistic remotely sensed data, if rapidly obtained and processed, offers significant economic advantages. The trend towards greater use of in situ tests will continue.The application of facies concepts, in planning field surveys, may provide opportunities for improved sample recovery, reduced sampling, and greater confidence in data interpretation.Data, comments, and examples refer to a number of Canadian situations, for example, deep ocean studies, shelf studies (such as on the Labrador Shelf, the Scotian Shelf, and the Beaufort Sea), inter-island studies in the Canadian Arctic, and inland studies in the Great Lakes and smaller lake and river systems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Yongzheng Qi ◽  
Zongzhi Wang ◽  
Haoqing Xu ◽  
Zirui Yuan

There were a small amount of obvious offsets at the bearing of bridge piers built on an artificial gentle canal bank terrace and many tensile cracks visible at the surface of the mortar block stones covering the terrace soil in several years following construction. To determine these reasons, a comprehensive site investigation and a wide variety of tests were implemented, which included geophysical tests, in situ tests, laboratory tests, pile integrity detection, and numerical analysis with the finite element method (FEM). The results revealed that the soil of the low-angle slope was the potentially low-expansive clay soil. The reduction in soil shear strength deriving from seasonal wet-dry cycles and river-level variations led to the instability and failure of the low-angle low-expansive soil slope, which triggered the collapses of the soil slope and lots of fractures in the piles of the bridge foundation. The typical characteristics of the instability and failure of the low-angle low-expansive soil slope were tractional detachment and slow sliding.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4743
Author(s):  
Tomasz Janoszek ◽  
Zbigniew Lubosik ◽  
Lucjan Świerczek ◽  
Andrzej Walentek ◽  
Jerzy Jaroszewicz

The paper presents the results of experimental and model tests of transport of dispersed fluid droplets forming a cloud of aerosol in a stream of air ventilating a selected section of the underground excavation. The excavation selected for testing is part of the ventilation network of the Experimental Mine Barbara of the Central Mining Institute. For given environmental conditions, such as temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and velocity of air, the distribution of aerosol droplet changes in the mixture of air and water vapor along the excavation at a distance was measured at 10 m, 25 m, and 50 m from the source of its emission. The source of aerosol emission in the excavation space was a water nozzle that was located 25 m from the inlet (inlet) of the excavation. The obtained results of in situ tests were related to the results of numerical calculations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Numerical calculations were performed using Ansys-Fluent and Ansys-CFX software. The dimensions and geometry of the excavation under investigation are presented. The authors describe the adopted assumptions and conditions for the numerical model and discuss the results of the numerical solution.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2313
Author(s):  
Maria Luisa Beconcini ◽  
Pietro Croce ◽  
Paolo Formichi ◽  
Filippo Landi ◽  
Benedetta Puccini

The evaluation of the shear behavior of masonry walls is a first fundamental step for the assessment of existing masonry structures in seismic zones. However, due to the complexity of modelling experimental behavior and the wide variety of masonry types characterizing historical structures, the definition of masonry’s mechanical behavior is still a critical issue. Since the possibility to perform in situ tests is very limited and often conflicting with the needs of preservation, the characterization of shear masonry behavior is generally based on reference values of mechanical properties provided in modern structural codes for recurrent masonry categories. In the paper, a combined test procedure for the experimental characterization of masonry mechanical parameters and the assessment of the shear behavior of masonry walls is presented together with the experimental results obtained on three stone masonry walls. The procedure consists of a combination of three different in situ tests to be performed on the investigated wall. First, a single flat jack test is executed to derive the normal compressive stress acting on the wall. Then a double flat jack test is carried out to estimate the elastic modulus. Finally, the proposed shear test is performed to derive the capacity curve and to estimate the shear modulus and the shear strength. The first results obtained in the experimental campaign carried out by the authors confirm the capability of the proposed methodology to assess the masonry mechanical parameters, reducing the uncertainty affecting the definition of capacity curves of walls and consequently the evaluation of seismic vulnerability of the investigated buildings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Christian Overgaard Christensen ◽  
Jacob Wittrup Schmidt ◽  
Philip Skov Halding ◽  
Medha Kapoor ◽  
Per Goltermann

In proof-loading of concrete slab bridges, advanced monitoring methods are required for identification of stop criteria. In this study, Two-Dimensional Digital Image Correlation (2D DIC) is investigated as one of the governing measurement methods for crack detection and evaluation. The investigations are deemed to provide valuable information about DIC capabilities under different environmental conditions and to evaluate the capabilities in relation to stop criterion verifications. Three Overturned T-beam (OT) Reinforced Concrete (RC) slabs are used for the assessment. Of these, two are in situ strips (0.55 × 3.6 × 9.0 m) cut from a full-scale OT-slab bridge with a span of 9 m and one is a downscaled slab tested under laboratory conditions (0.37 × 1.7 × 8.4 m). The 2D DIC results includes full-field plots, investigation of the time of crack detection and monitoring of crack widths. Grey-level transformation was used for the in situ tests to ensure sufficient readability and results comparable to the laboratory test. Crack initiation for the laboratory test (with speckle pattern) and in situ tests (plain concrete surface) were detected at intervals of approximately 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm and 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm, respectively. Consequently, the paper evaluates a more qualitative approach to DIC test results, where crack indications and crack detection can be used as a stop criterion. It was furthermore identified that crack initiation was reached at high load levels, implying the importance of a target load.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 121-137
Author(s):  
Michele Fabio Granata

The case-study of a steel bowstring bridge set in a marine environment and highly damaged by corrosion is presented. The bridge was built in 2004 and was repainted for corrosion protection in 2010. Despite the recent construction and the maintenance interventions, many structural elements like hangers are highly damaged by corrosion with decreasing performance in terms of serviceability and ultimate limit states. A deep investigation was carried out in order to assess the bridge and to establish the necessary retrofit actions to be carried out in the near future. In-situ tests reveal the reduced performance of the original steel in terms of strength and corrosion protection, together with the inefficiency of the successive maintenance interventions. The paper presents assessment of the bridge and retrofit measures, including replacement of the hangers and galvanization through thermal spray coating technology, in order to increase its service life. The results of the investigations and the intervention measures are outlined and discussed.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1131
Author(s):  
Soonkie Nam ◽  
Marte Gutierrez ◽  
Panayiotis Diplas ◽  
John Petrie

This paper critically compares the use of laboratory tests against in situ tests combined with numerical seepage modeling to determine the hydraulic conductivity of natural soil deposits. Laboratory determination of hydraulic conductivity used the constant head permeability and oedometer tests on undisturbed Shelby tube and block soil samples. The auger hole method and Guelph permeameter tests were performed in the field. Groundwater table elevations in natural soil deposits with different hydraulic conductivity values were predicted using finite element seepage modeling and compared with field measurements to assess the various test results. Hydraulic conductivity values obtained by the auger hole method provide predictions that best match the groundwater table’s observed location at the field site. This observation indicates that hydraulic conductivity determined by the in situ test represents the actual conditions in the field better than that determined in a laboratory setting. The differences between the laboratory and in situ hydraulic conductivity values can be attributed to factors such as sample disturbance, soil anisotropy, fissures and cracks, and soil structure in addition to the conceptual and procedural differences in testing methods and effects of sample size.


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