Seismic Active Earth Pressure of Limited Backfill with Curved Slip Surface Considering Intermediate Principal Stress

The traditional method for seismic earth pressure calculation has certain limitations for retaining structures under complex conditions. For example, when the soil width is small, the results obtained by the traditional method will be much larger. Therefore, this paper assumes that the soil slip surface is a logarithmic spiral. Based on the plane strain unified strength theory formula, while also considering the soil arching effects and tension cracks, the analytical solutions of the lateral earth pressure coefficient and the active earth pressure under the earthquake action were deduced. The mechanism and distribution of seismic active earth pressure with limited width were discussed in terms of some relevant parameters. The results indicated that the seismic active earth pressure presented a “convex” nonlinear distribution along the retaining structure. As the contribution of the intermediate principal stress increased, the strength limit of the material was effectively utilized, and the earth pressure was reduced by 22.96%. The resultant force increased as the horizontal seismic coefficient increased. However, this effect was no longer evident when the wall–soil friction angle was close to the internal friction angle. The resultant force action point increased with the wall–soil friction angle, and it should be noted that ha>H/3 was true when δ/φ0>0.55. Finally, by drawing a comparison with previous studies, we verified that the method proposed in this paper is reasonable and can provide a new idea for subsequent 3D seismic earth pressure research.

Simplified Calculation Method for Seismic Active Earth Pressure of Translational Retaining Wall considering Soil Arching Effect

At present, most seismic earth pressure theories have the limitations of complex derivation process and difficult solution. To solve these problems, considering the deflection of small principal stress caused by soil arching effect, the central arc soil arch was approximated to two inclined linear soil arches, which can greatly simplify the derivation process. Firstly, by improving the combination of differential thin-layer element method and pseudostatic method, the theoretical formulas of seismic active earth pressure intensity, resultant force size, and resultant force action point under translation mode (T mode) were derived and were verified by experimental results. Then, the influence of soil internal friction angle, wall-soil friction angle, and seismic coefficient on seismic active earth pressure theory was analyzed. The results show that the seismic active earth pressure is nonlinearly distributed, and the seismic horizontal coefficient has a greater influence than other influence factors. The theoretical results can provide reference for the seismic design of retaining wall.

Smoothness preserving layout for dynamic labels by hybrid optimization

Stable label movement and smooth label trajectory are critical for effective information understanding. Sudden label changes cannot be avoided by whatever forced directed methods due to the unreliability of resultant force or global optimization methods due to the complex trade-off on the different aspects. To solve this problem, we proposed a hybrid optimization method by taking advantages of the merits of both approaches. We first detect the spatial-temporal intersection regions from whole trajectories of the features, and initialize the layout by optimization in decreasing order by the number of the involved features. The label movements between the spatial-temporal intersection regions are determined by force directed methods. To cope with some features with high speed relative to neighbors, we introduced a force from future, called temporal force, so that the labels of related features can elude ahead of time and retain smooth movements. We also proposed a strategy by optimizing the label layout to predict the trajectories of features so that such global optimization method can be applied to streaming data.

Machinability of Scots pine during peripheral milling with helical cutters

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a fast-growing wood that has been widely manufactured into various furnishing products. To improve the machinability of Scots pine, the cutting force and surface roughness during peripheral milling with helical cutters was assessed via an orthogonal experimental design. Experimental results revealed that the resultant cutting force is positively related to the depth of cut, but negatively correlated with inclination angle of cutting edge and cutting speed. However, surface roughness first declines and then increases with increasing inclination angle, and it also shows an increasing trend with the increasing depth of cut and decreasing cutting speed. Furthermore, the depth of cut significantly contributes to the resultant force and surface roughness, while both the cutting speed and inclination angle have insignificant impacts on the resultant force and surface roughness. Finally, the optimized milling parameters were determined as 62° inclination angle of cutting edge, 45 m/min cutting speed, and 0.2 mm depth of cut, and these parameters are proposed for the quality finishing of Scots pine machining.

The Effects of Floor Structures on the Masonry Walls of Multistorey Building

In this contribution, the determination of loading forces in the joint of the floor structure and masonry is presented. The point is a subject being accompanied by designing multistorey masonry buildings.The problem of this apparently simple assignment is not so much a calculation of values from characteristic loading of both floors and walls or an actual numerical calculation of masonry carrying capacity, but a correct stipulation of the resultant force location at the spot under the floor structure.In the paper, the resting types of reinforced concrete floor structure on the masonry, influences on the resultant force magnitude, its position to the mid-masonry and consequences for the masonry construction design. The resting examples of floor structures, exhibitions of calculation, and schemas are given. Auxiliary tables and charts to specify the moments in the head of masonry were made up. In conclusion, a recommendation to the optimal span of floor structure destined for masonry construction is stated.

Numerical Investigation of Nozzle Jet Flow in a Pelton Microturbine

The characterization of flow through Pelton hydro turbines allows the optimization of their operation and maximization of energy performance. The flow in the injector of Pelton turbines and in the free jet area (the area from the injector outlet surface to the runner bucket inlet surface) is influenced by several parameters: the geometry of injector components (nozzle and injector spear), the injector opening, and the turbine head. The parameters of the free jet flow (velocity distribution, pressure distribution, and jet spread) are reflected in the turbine efficiency. The research presented in this paper focuses on the numerical characterization of flow in the injector and the free jet of a Pelton microturbine. Three injector geometries were considered, with different nozzle diameters: 13.3 mm, 14.4 mm, and 16.3 mm. For each of these geometries, the flow was analyzed for five values of turbine head (H = 15 m, H = 20 m, H = 25 m, H = 30 m, H = 35 m) and six values of injector opening (S = 3 mm, S = 6 mm, S = 9 mm, S = 12 mm, S = 15 mm, S = 18 mm). The results of numerical simulations were used to plot injector flow-rate characteristics and injector force characteristics (the resultant force on the injector spear and the resultant force on the injector nozzle). The highest influence on the flow rate variation is given by the variation of turbine head, followed by the variation of the injector opening and the variation of the nozzle diameter. Increasing the nozzle diameter accentuates the variation of the flow rate versus the turbine head. The variation of axial velocity and pressure in the free jet is presented for four sections parallel to the outlet section of the injector. The injector openings that generate the highest values of velocity/pressure on the runner inlet surface are highlighted. The results allow optimization of functional parameters for increasing turbine efficiency and optimizing the design process of Pelton microturbines.

Effect of Increasing Spindle Speed at a Constant Chip Load on Cutting Force Behaviour of Hastelloy X

Cutting force is vital in machining nickel-based superalloys due to their excellent mechanical properties, thus creating difficulty in cutting. In the current scenario of metal machining, milling processes require high spindle speed and low chip load, which result in a low cutting force. However, low chip load not only result in low cutting force but also result in a low material removal rate (MRR). It is contrary to the ultimate high-speed machining (HSM) goal, which is to improve productivity and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, the emergence of an approach for achieving simultaneous low cutting force and high MRR is crucial. This paper presents the effect of increasing spindle speed at a constant chip load on the cutting force of Hastelloy X during half-immersion up-milling and half-immersion down-milling. In both half-immersions, the simulation results and experimental results are in good agreement. The percentage contribution of feed force, normal force and axial force to the resultant force can be arranged descendingly from high to low as axial force > normal force > axial force. Moreover, feed force, normal force, axial force and resultant force have a U-shaped behaviour. The spindle speed of 24,100 rpm and a chip load of 0.019 mm/tooth were found to achieve both low cutting force and high MRR.

Seismic Performance of Deposit Slopes With Underlying Bedrock Before and After Reinforcement by Stabilising Piles

The seismic performance of stabilising piles used to reinforce underlying bedrock in a deposit slope is a complex soil-structure interaction problem, on which there is limited design guidance on the optimum use of a single row of rock-socketed piles to reinforce such slopes. Two centrifuge shaking-table model tests at a geometric scale of 1:50 were conducted to ascertain the dynamic responses of the underlying bedrock deposit slopes without and with the use of stabilising piles during an earthquake. Multi-stage seismic waves with various peak accelerations were applied from the bottom of each model. Under seismic excitation, the differences in the response accelerations between the deposit and bedrock increase significantly with the increase in amplitude of the input seismic waves. The two are prone to uncoordinated movement, which leads to slope instability. Setting stabilising piles reduces the crest settlement and angular deformation and changes the natural frequency of the slope crest. The presence of the rock-socketed stabilising piles can bridge the uncoordinated movement of the bedrock and the overlying deposit to some extent. According to the mobilised pile bending moment, shear force, lateral pile-soil load distribution, and pile displacement, the dynamic response characteristics of stabilising piles under continuous multi-level seismic excitation were analysed. The resultant force arising from a distributed load increment on the piles caused by an earthquake is mainly concentrated in the upper part (the point of action of the resultant force is 1.54m below the slope surface). With increases in the peak ground acceleration (PGA) of the input motion, the resistance of the bedrock in front of the stabilising piles increases; moreover, with the increase of PGA, the peak resistance under the bedrock surface of the stabilising piles gradually moves downwards. This finding indicates that the strong seismic motion significantly changes the embedded working state of the stabilising pile.