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A study of bearing capacity and compressibility characteristics of cohesive soil, reinforced by geogrid and supporting square footing loads has been conducted. The lack of adequate frictional resistance between clay and reinforcing elements was compensated by using a thin sand layer (lens) encapsulating the geogrid sheet. In this way, tensile forces induced in the geogrid were transferred to the bulk clay medium through the sand particles and soil reinforcement was improved Experiments were conduced on two sets of specimens, one set of 1 x 1 x 1 m dimension and the footing size of 19 x 19 cm (series A), and the other set of 0.15 x 0.15 x 0.15 m dimension and the footing size of 3.7 x 3.7 cm (series B). The loading systems for the above specimens were stress controlled and strain controlled respectively. All specimens were saturated and presumably loaded under an undrained condition. The results qualitatively confirmed the effectiveness of the sand lens in improving the bearing capacity and settlement characteristics of the model footing. In series A, the maximum increase in the bearing capacity due to the presence of the sand lens was 17% whereas in series B, the amount of increase was 24%. The percentage reductions in the settlement for these results were 30% and 46% respectively.

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In the first impounding of rockfill dams, additional settlements occur in upstream side in saturated rockfills due to collapse
phenomenon even high rainy seasons can cause additional deformation in the dumped rockfills. Unfortunately these
displacements are not taken into account in the conventional numerical models which are currently used to predict embankment
dam behavior during impounding. In this paper to estimate these displacements, strain hardening-strain softening model in Flac
is modified based on the laboratory tests, in which same impounding process in such dams is considered. Main feature of the
model is reproduction of nonlinear behavior of rockfill material via mobilized shear strength parameters and using collapse
coefficient to display induced settlement due to inundation. This mobilization of shear strength parameters associated with some
functions for dilatancy behavior of rockfill are used in a finite difference code for both dry and wet condition of material. Collapse
coefficient is defined as a stress dependent function to show stress release in the material owing to saturation. To demonstrate
how the model works, simulation of some large scale triaxial tests of rockfill material in Gotvand embankment dam is presented
and results are compared with those from laboratory tests, which are in good agreement. The technique could be used with any
suitable constitutive law in other coarse-grained material to identify collapse settlements due to saturation

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This paper describes a series of laboratory model tests on strip footings supported on unreinforced and geogrid-reinforced sand
with an inside void. The footing is subjected to a combination of static and cyclic loading. The influence of various parameters
including the embedment depth of the void, the number of reinforcement layers, and the amplitude of cyclic load were studied.
The results show that the footing settlement due to repeated loading increased when the void existed in the failure zone of the
footing and decreased with increasing the void vertical distance from the footing bottom and with increasing the reinforcement
layers beneath the footing. For a specified amplitude of repeated load, the footing settlement is comparable for reinforced sand,
thicker soil layer over the void and much improved the settlement of unreinforced sand without void. In general, the results
indicate that, the reinforced soil-footing system with sufficient geogride-reinforcement and void embedment depth behaves much
stiffer and thus carries greater loading with lower settlement compared with unreinforced soil in the absent of void and can
eliminate the adverse effect of the void on the footing behavior. The final footing settlement under repeated cyclic loading becomes
about 4 times with respect to the footing settlement under static loading at the same magnitude of load applied.

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Due to the heterogeneous nature of granular soils and the involvement of many effective parameters in the geotechnical behavior of soil-foundation systems, the accurate prediction of shallow foundation settlements on cohesionless soils is a complex engineering problem. In this study, three new evolutionary-based techniques, including evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR), classical genetic programming (GP), and gene expression programming (GEP), are utilized to obtain more accurate predictive settlement models. The models are developed using a large databank of standard penetration test (SPT)-based case histories. The values obtained from the new models are compared with those of the most precise models that have been previously proposed by researchers. The results show that the new EPR and GP-based models are able to predict the foundation settlement on cohesionless soils under the described conditions with R2 values higher than 87%. The artificial neural networks (ANNs) and genetic programming (GP)-based models obtained from the literature, have R2 values of about 85% and 83%, respectively which are higher than 80% for the GEP-based model. A subsequent comprehensive parametric study is further carried out to evaluate the sensitivity of the foundation settlement to the effective input parameters. The comparison results prove that the new EPR and GP-based models are the most accurate models. In this study, the feasibility of the EPR, GP and GEP approaches in finding solutions for highly nonlinear problems such as settlement of shallow foundations on granular soils is also clearly illustrated. The developed models are quite simple and straightforward and can be used reliably for routine design practice.

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The increase in the computational capabilities in the last decade has allowed numerical models to be widely used in the analysis, leading to a higher complexity in structural engineering. This is why simple models are nowadays essential because they provide easy and accessible understanding of fundamental aspects of the structural response. Accordingly, this article aims at showing the utility and effectiveness of a simple method (i.e. the Load Path Method) in the interpretation of the behaviour of masonry buildings subjected to foundation settlements due to landslide. Models useful for understanding brick-mortar interface behaviour as well as the global one are reported. The global proposed approach is also validated by using Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimization method. Moreover, drawing inspiration from a case study, the article shows that the proposed approach is useful for the diagnosis of crack patterns of masonry structures subjected to landslide movements.

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A simplified approach for nonlinear analysis of the load-displacement response of a single pile and a pile group is presented using the load-transfer approach. A hyperbolic model is used to capture the relationship between unit skin friction and pile-soil relative displacement developed at the pile-soil interface and the load-displacement relationship developed at the pile end. As to the nonlinear analysis of the single pile response, a highly effective iterative computer program is developed using the proposed hyperbolic model. Furthermore, determinations of the parameters related to the hyperbolic model of an individual pile in a pile group are obtained considering interactions between piles. Based on the determinations of the parameters presented in the hyperbolic model of an individual pile in a pile group and the proposed iterative computer program developed for the analysis of the single pile response, the conventional load-transfer approach can then be extended to the analysis of the load-settlement response of an arbitrary pile in a pile group. Comparisons of the load-settlement response demonstrate that the proposed method is generally in good agreement with the field-observed behavior and the calculated results derived from other approaches.

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In this technical note, a methodology is introduced for reliability calculation of consolidation settlement based on cone penetration test (CPT) data. The present study considers inherent soil variability which influences consolidation settlements results. To proceed reliability analysis, the measured data of a sample corrected cone tip resistance (􀝍􀯧) is detrended using a quadratic trend and the residuals are assumed to be lognormally distributed random field. Realizations of 􀝍􀯧 is generated by using spatial variability of residuals including standard deviation and the scale of fluctuation. The quadratic trend and the generated residuals are then combined to correlate shear and bulk modulus as input consolidation properties for coupled analysis and subsequently consolidation settlement was calculated by using finite difference method adopted in Monte Carlo simulations. The results of reliability analysis are presented describing the range of possible settlements by considering characteristics of uncertainties involved at the particular site. Number of realizations rendering settlements smaller than the allowable settlement must be such that guarantee proper performance or acceptable reliability index.

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The ground improvement using Plastic Board Drain (PBD) in soft soil was undertaken by sand mat formation, PBD installation, preloading surcharge, and removal of surcharge. During this procedure, the sand mat formation induced an initial settlement. However, it was very difficult to estimate that settlement due to PBD installation, which frequently destroyed the instruments installed in the ground. Consequently, the initial settlement was not properly included in total settlement. In this study, the initial settlement was estimated using ground level measurement and cone penetration test. Both predicted almost the same amount of initial settlement. The initial settlement is linearly increased with the depth of the sand mat. The degree of consolidation and the time of surcharge removal were estimated using the settlement included the initial settlement. Correct estimation of initial settlement is very important because it is a critical factor, which affects total settlement and the time of surcharge removal. If the initial settlement is not considered, the preloading surcharge may be overloaded or the time of surcharge removal may be predicted incorrectly. Consequently, the prediction of settlement, which requires to management of construction procedure of the project, may be wrong

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In present research, 17 centrifuge tests have been conducted to study the effect of various parameters such as the number of piles, the distance between piles, gradation and thickness of the granular layer on the load-settlement behavior of a pile raft system. The results showed the importance of granular layer to reduce the settlement of non-connected pile raft system when the roles of piles are to reduce the settlement. In other words when the piles have major contribution on the bearing capacity of pile raft system, presence of a granular layer may increase the settlement.

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Currently, there is no reliable design procedure which considers all aspects of liquefaction effects on shallow foundations. There are many light and heavy structures resting on saturated sand with high liquefaction potential in seismic areas. The aim of this experimental and numerical study is to evaluate the performance of two shallow foundations with different contact pressures in liquefaction. The results of the centrifuge experiment of shallow foundations with surcharges of three-story and nine-story buildings on liquefiable sand are presented in detail. Although entire soil profile liquefied, no liquefaction observed under the foundations. There was a clear difference in settlement mechanisms observed beneath the shallow foundation and in the free-field. The heavy foundation fluctuated more strongly compared with the lighter one. The effect of soil permeability and contact pressure on foundation response was investigated during numerical study. The experiment was simulated two dimensionally using a fully coupled nonlinear constitutive model (UBCSAND) implemented in a finite difference program, FLAC-2D. The results show that settlement of foundations increased with the increase of soil permeability. Trends of excess pore water pressure were captured reasonably by the soil model, but the settlement mechanisms were different. The soil model underestimated total liquefaction-induced settlement of shallow foundation, especially for light foundation.

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It is vital to control the settlement of ultra-high voltage and long span tower foundation because of the difficult construction and strict deformation control. Based on the thinking of deformation compatibility, the mechanical model of deformation compatibility between pile and soil is established. Relying on the long span tower project Lingzhou–Shaoxing ±800 kV DC transmission lines across the Yangtze River, through checking ultimate bearing capacity of existing pile foundation, it can be obtained that the present design foundation can effectively meet the upper 200–220 t load, but it cannot meet the load requirements about 300 t in the construction. The failures of tower foundation mainly display that piles cut into the soil with penetration type in the early condition. With the load increasing, the shallow soil and infrastructure gradually damage with the whole cap sinking, cushion layer destruction and the surrounding soil uplifting. As a result, tower foundation is unable to withstand the effect of upper overload and the whole tower becomes shear failure. The treatment scheme was proposed that it can improve the cushion thickness and strength combined with grouting consolidation to soil around the piles. Thus, the stability of tower foundation improves significantly and settlement was controlled within the permitted range of below 10 mm, which can meet the structure requirements. The results of numerical simulation based on deformation compatibility between pile and soil coincide well with field measured results.