Effects of Gouge Fill on Elastic Wave Propagation in Equivalent Continuum Jointed Rock Mass

The presence of gouge in rock joints significantly affects the physical and mechanical properties of the host rock mass. Wave-based exploration techniques have been widely used to investigate the effects of gouge fill on rock mass properties. Previous research on wave propagation in gouge-filled joints focused on analytical and theoretical methods. The lack of experimental methods for multiple rock joint systems, however, has limited the verification potential of the proposed models. In this study, the effects of gouge material and thickness on wave propagation in equivalent continuum jointed rocks are investigated using a quasi-static resonant column test. Gouge-filled rock specimens are simulated using stacked granite rock discs. Sand and clay gouge fills of 2 and 5 mm thicknesses are tested to investigate the effects of gouge material and thickness. Comprehensive analyses of the effects of gouge thickness are conducted using homogeneous isotropic acetal gouge fills of known thickness. The results show that gouge fill leads to changes in wave velocity, which depend on the characteristics of the gouge fill. The results also show that particulate soil gouge is susceptible to preloading effects that cause permanent changes in the soil fabric and contact geometry and that increased gouge thickness causes a more significant stiffness contribution of the gouge material properties to the overall stiffness of the equivalent continuum specimen. The normal and shear joint stiffnesses for different gouge fill conditions are calculated from the experimental results using the equivalent continuum model and suggested as input parameters for numerical analysis.

Continuum-Based Approach to Model Particulate Soil–Water Interaction: Model Validation and Insight into Internal Erosion

Resolving the interaction between soil and water is critical to understanding a wide range of geotechnical applications. In cases when hydrodynamic forces are dominant and soil fluidization is expected, it is necessary to account for the microscale interactions between soil and water. Some of the existing models such as coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics–Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM) can capture microscale interactions quite accurately. However, it is often computationally expensive and cannot be easily applied at a scale that would aid the design process. Contrastingly, continuum-based models such as the Two-Fluid Model (TFM) can be a computationally feasible and scalable alternative. In this study, we explored the potential of the TFM to simulate granular soil–water interactions. The model was validated by simulating the internal fluidization of a sand bed due to an upward water jet. Analogous to leakage from a pressurized pipe, the simulation was compared with the available experimental data to evaluate the model performance. The numerical results showed decent agreement with the experimental data in terms of excess pore water pressure, fluidization patterns, and physical deformations in violent flow regimes. Moreover, detailed soil characteristics such as particle size distribution could be implemented, which was previously considered a shortcoming of the model. Overall, the model’s performance indicates that TFM is a viable tool for the simulation of particulate soil–water mixtures.

A Critical Review on the Effect of Particulate Matter (PM) in Air on Public Health

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), particulate matter (PM) contamination causesaround 800,000 premature deaths per year, ranking 13th in the world in terms of mortality.However, several findings revealed that the correlation is much stronger and more complicated thanpreviously believed. PM is an element of emissions comprised of very small, acidic, organiccompounds, metals, and particulate soil or dust particles or fluid droplets. The most consistent airquality component linked to human illness is PM, which is categorized by size. PM is likely to developcardiovascular and cerebrovascular disorders due to the mechanisms of inflammation, overt andindirect coagulation activation, and direct translocation to the systemic circulation. The evidence onthe cardiovascular system that shows a PM effect is strong. Coronary incidence and mortality ratesin populations prone to long-term PM toxicity were significantly higher. Short-term acute emissionsincrease coronary incidence rates subtly within days of the pollution peak.

Advances in Projectile Penetration Mechanism in Soil Media

The penetration to geological shield occurs in many situations at various velocities and scales, for example, meteor-cratering, pile driving, falling of objects from high-rise building construction, and debris/fragments from failed components. The soil media is an efficient energy dissipation system and effective shock protection shield. Impact circumstances are currently getting widespread attention. A lot of research has been done on soil media for impact and penetration. The phenomenon of dynamic penetration in heterogeneous particulate soil medium is very complex and the target soil media under dynamic impact especially under high speed and deep penetration neither behave completely as solid nor as liquid. The topics of recent research interest in the field of penetration to soil media and their significant findings are critically reviewed in the present study. The dedicated review of analytical, empirical, experimental, and computational methods to predict the response of soils media-impacting objects to penetration is presented. The emerging challenges in fundamental research of penetration into soil media are outlined and it is an attempt to formulate the future research directions in the field of soil media penetration.

Experimental Study on the Modulus of Subgrade Reaction for Sandy Soil Improved by Grouting Materials

Many methods have been used for soil improvement at site, one of these methods is grouting. Cement grouted soils consist of particulate soil media and cementation agents. Such soils have been widely used to improve the shear strength and stiffness of weak soils and for preventing of water seepage through soils. The modulus of subgrade reaction may give a good indication about the soil bearing capacity and stiffness. This geotechnical parameter can be measured by using the plate load test. In this study, an experimental work is done to assess the improvement in the stiffness of sandy soils by injection two different cementing agents (cement and colloidal silica). The work includes plate loading tests with two different plate diameters (B= 150 and B= 250 mm). The effects of plate size, depth of the grouted zone (0-B and B-2B) as well as the effect of grouting material type on the performance of the grouted soil are investigated. The results show that the colloidal silica grout is more effective in increasing the modulus of sub grade reaction (ks) than the cement grout. Also, the use of plate with 150 mm diameter gives higher value of (ks) than that of 250 mm diameter. Furthermore, grout injection at depth (from 0 to B) gives a higher value of (ks) than that for deeper grouted zone.

Geogenic CO2 affects inorganic soil properties and the composition of soil organic matter in physical fractions

The presence of geogenic CO2 has been recently identified as a soil-forming factor in soil on mofette sites. Topsoil samples (with a maximum CO2 concentration of 52% at 10 cm depth) were studied along a transect on a mofette site in the NW Czech Republic to further understand the processes within soil and the soil properties induced by CO2 in the soil atmosphere. Geogenic CO2 negatively affected the cation exchange capacity, the ratio of exchangeable Ca and Mg, and the total contents of Al, Mg and Mn. No effect was detected on a chemical index of weathering and the mineralogical composition of the clay fractions, which might be explained by the acidic parent material and the progress of soil development. Diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy indicated that the composition of particulate soil organic matter was partially affected by CO2 concentrations: the higher the CO2 concentrations, the smaller the extent of oxidative transformation and the smaller the abundance of carboxyl groups. In the clay fractions, stabilisation of transformed soil organic matter (SOM) was promoted by exchangeable Al. This study quantifies, for the first time, the correlation between geogenic CO2 and several inorganic soil properties and the composition of SOM in physical fractions.