Approximately 1.6 million tons of gypsum waste plasterboard are produced annually in Japan. As such, it is essential to find an alternative way to reduce the quantities of this waste material to avoid environmental problems and the high cost of disposal in landfill. This paper describes a case study focused on the use of recycled gypsum, which is derived from gypsum waste plasterboard, to improve the strength of soft clay soil for embankment construction projects taken in consideration environmental impacts. Four different recycled gypsum contents ranging from 0 to 10% was investigated. Two different types of cements—Portland and Furnace slag type B—with a content ranging from 0 to 3% was used to develop solidification for recycled gypsum and improve environmental properties. For this purpose, a series of unconfined compression tests were conducted to evaluate strength performance of treated clay. While a series of environmental tests were conducted to explore the solubility concentration of fluorine, boron, and hexavalent chromium in the untreated and treated soil specimens. Furthermore, hydrogen sulfide and pH were investigated. Results showed that compressive strength and unit weight of treated clay soil increased with the increase of recycled gypsum content. The strength obtained in the field for treated soil with recycled gypsum was found to be greater than that obtained in the laboratory. The early curing days for soil-gypsum mixture had a significant effect on strength performance compared to the later days. The additives of recycled gypsum for tested soil swiftly increased the strength. This is a vital property for improvement embankment trafficability that helps to reduce the construction time and cost. The use of recycled gypsum within the investigated limits had no adverse effect on pH value and hydrogen sulfide gas was found to be less than the standard permitted limits. As well, the solubility concentrations for fluorine, boron, and hexavalent chromium were found within the permitted standard limits in Japan. The curing time had a significant effect on the reduction the release of harmful substance elements investigated. Furnace cement type B had the potential to improve the mechanical and environmental functions for soil-gypsum mixture. It is recommended that Furnace cement type B be used as a solidification agent for soil treated with recycled gypsum because it has low cost and it is more environmentally friendly than Portland cement.

View full abstract

Attempts have been made in the past few decades to establish an equivalent void ratio indicative of the effective density state of sands that contain fines. The concept of an equivalent void ratio is most useful when the grain size distribution of the sand/silt mixture is similar to that of binary packing. Due to its grain characteristics and the wide range of compressibility when the fines content changes, correlating the cyclic strength to fines content via the equivalent void ratio for Mai Liao Sand (MLS) is not a straightforward procedure. Earlier studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of relating cyclic strength to state parameters for sands. Using a series of cyclic triaxial test results as a database, the authors demonstrated the effectiveness of relating cyclic strength to fines contents (f_c) through a state parameter for MLS with an f_c ranging from 0 to 30% that takes advantage of the equivalent void ratio. In addition to the density and stress states, the state parameter based correlations indirectly reflect the effects of soil grain characteristics. The drawback of requiring a separate critical state line when f_c changes can be circumvented by using a unified critical state line based on the equivalent void ratio.

View full abstract

Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) is a domestic hub-airport in Japan; however, the increasing number of passengers has brought it close to its capacity. In addition, there has been strong demand for the development of an international-flight network. Consequently, a new runway, called the “D-runway,” was planned and constructed from March 2007 to October 2010. Because some of the D-runway runs through a river mouth, a hybrid structure consisting of piled pier and reclamation fill was adopted. To overcome the geotechnical difficulties in constructing this hybrid structure on the soft clay deposit, various technologies in design and construction were adopted. This paper provides an outline of the project, the ground investigation, and the design of the D-runway structure from a geotechnical engineering view point. From the results of the site investigation, the stratigraphic model at the site was clarified. For the clay layers, a representative depth-profile for each soil parameter was determined. Some local soil properties which tended to be overlooked when only employing an engineering point of view can be appropriately captured by linking the geological and geotechnical information. In the construction of the D-runway, not only the ground improvement technologies (SD, SCP, and CDM) but also the new developed construction materials (the pneumatic mixing of cement treated soil and air-foam treated lightweight soil) were utilized. In the-D-runway project, various technologies used in previous airport constructions were brought together and applied to the ground investigation, design, construction work, and even maintenance. The construction of the D-runway was completed safely, rapidly, and economically, and it came into use on 21 October 2010, on schedule.

View full abstract

In this research, under various conditions, we evaluate the water cut-off performance of H-jointed steel pipe sheet piles (SPSPs) with the H-H joints attaching water-swelling materials which are components of SPSPs for water cut-off in a coastal waste landfill site. Specifically, we research the water cut-off performance when these H-H joints have foreign particles, when they are in a wet-dry cyclic condition, and when the water-swelling material has deteriorated. As a result of this research, it has been found that in any of the above cases, H-jointed SPSPs with H-H joints attaching water-swelling materials are capable of providing water cut-off performance, and meet seepage control work standards as long as they are under less than certain pressure levels to be considered in coastal waste landfill sites. Also, it has been proved that the above conditions do not affect the water cut-off performance of H-jointed SPSPs with H-H joints attaching water-swelling materials.

View full abstract

In-situ static compaction by grouting is routinely used as a countermeasure against liquefaction in loose sandy ground. The surrounding ground's stress changes induced by grout injection are considered to be an important cause for the stabilisation effects, along with some densification of the ground in the bulb's vicinity. The present study investigates characteristics of the stress changes by simulating compaction grouting processes in a geotechnical centrifuge. Detailed descriptions are given of apparatus and experimental techniques specifically developed for conducting miniature injection tests. The observed increases in the horizontal stresses, evaluated in terms of the earth pressure coefficient, K, reflected the influence of grout pile spacing, and were found to be consistent with field measurements except near the surface. The centrifuge tests also allowed the changes in the dominant stress direction within the horizontal planes at the stabilised domain's centre to be evaluated, with the results indicating the dependency of the stress changes upon depth and interactions between neighboring grout piles. The significance of the stress changes in increasing the liquefaction resistance is demonstrated by mapping liquefaction curves against initial stress states through a series of cyclic hollow cylinder simple shear tests.

View full abstract

The paper describes the methodology and results of limit states design calibration for two limit states of Japanese multi-anchor wall (MAW) earth retaining systems: anchor plate pullout and anchor rod rupture due to soil self-weight loading. Bias statistics are computed from measured loads from instrumented MAW structures and in-situ anchor load tests. Two different load models and two different plate load capacity equations are used in the calibrations. A load factor of γ_Q=2.25 is recommended to meet a 3% load exceedance criterion using a new load model by the writers which increases to 3.00 if the current approach recommended by PWRC (2002) is used. A target probability of failure P_f=1% is used in calibrations and is judged to be a reasonable value for the highly load-redundant MAW systems. Resistance factors of 0.80 and 0.95 are recommended for anchor plate and anchor rod rupture limit states using the new load and resistance models proposed by the writers. While the paper is focused on one particular wall system, the reliability-based limit states design calibration approach described in the paper provides an instructive template for limit states calibration of other reinforced soil retaining wall systems in Japan.

View full abstract

The THM behavior of compacted GMZ bentonite has been investigated using a suction-temperature controlled isotropic cell. The results obtained were compared with the existing results on other reference bentonites (MX80, FEBEX, FoCa, and Kunigel-V1). It has been observed that the coefficient of thermal expansion of the compacted GMZ bentonite is 2×10⁻⁴°C⁻¹, similar to the values of compacted MX80 and FEBEX bentonites. The heating tests of the GMZ bentonite also show that the suction is an important parameter that governs the thermal volumetric behavior of unsaturated soils. Unlike temperature, suction has a significant effect on the compressibility parameters. Examination of the mineralogy of various bentonites showed that a good correlation can be generally established between the montmorillonite content and the cations exchange capacity (CEC) or the specific surface area (S). Nevertheless, both the basic geotechnical properties and the swelling potential seem to depend not only on the montmorillonite content but also on other factors such as the nature of base exchangeable cations. The quartz content of the GMZ bentonite is relatively high (11.7%). This could explain its relatively large values of thermal conductivity.

View full abstract

This paper presents a case study on a numerical prediction of the seepage and seismic behaviors of an unsaturated fill slope. In this study, the numerical prediction is performed with a dynamic three-phase (soil, water and air) coupled analysis based on porous media theory and constitutive models. The weak forms of three governing equations, momentum balance equations of the overall three-phase material and mass and the momentum balance equations of the pore fluids (water and air), are implemented in a finite element model. The discretized equations are solved by the fully implicit method and the skeleton stress is also implicitly integrated. The in-situ observation at the target fill slope of the case study has been ongoing since 2006. First, distributions of water saturation in the fill slope are simulated by performing seepage analyses to reproduce the in-situ ground water level in the fill slope. Second, seismic responses of the fill slope during two past earthquakes are simulated, and the numerical method is validated by comparing observed acceleration records and numerical one. Finally, seismic responses of the fill slope during a future scenario earthquake are predicted under different moisture conditions of unsaturated fill. As a result, the following findings were obtained. 1) The shape of the ground water level was partially reproduced from the quite dry fill slope element by using virtual constant precipitation. However, the observation results of moisture distribution above the ground water level were not reproduced. 2) In the validation analyses after two earthquakes, the numerical method reproduced the positions of peak frequency of acceleration Fourier spectra. 3) The numerical results clearly showed that frequency characteristics of the seismic response and the residual displacement of the fill slope were affected by the initial distribution of the degree of saturation in the fill ground.

View full abstract

The uplift behavior of sewage manholes due to liquefaction in a trench is investigated through a series of dynamic centrifuge model tests. The objectives of a series of tests are to study the mechanism of the uplift and to obtain relationships among uplift displacement and factors affecting the uplift. The factors considered in the experiments are the ground water levels, the magnitude of input accelerations, the duration time of shaking, the relative densities of trench backfill and the native ground, the material of native ground, the volume of a trench, the apparent unit weight of a manhole, and the contact conditions at the bottom of a manhole. Test results show that the primary cause of uplift is the reduction of the effective confining stress near the bottom of a manhole due to strong shaking. The magnitude of uplift is found to be strongly correlated with the ground water depth, the intensity of shaking, the shear deformation of the trench, and the contact conditions at the bottom of the manhole. These findings are believed to be useful for engineering practice in the mitigation of the manhole uplift.

View full abstract

The diffusion characteristics of high density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes with respect to hydrocarbons are investigated at temperatures of 22±1°C and 6±1°C. Results are reported for an aqueous solution of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX). The partitioning coefficient obtained from sorption/immersion test is shown to be effectively the same as that from desorption test. Both conventional untreated (HDPE) and fluorinated (f-HDPE) geomembranes are examined and it is shown that a fluorinated layer on the surface of an HDPE geomembrane increases its resistance to the permeation of BTEX penetrants by about a factor of 2.4 at 22°C and 1.8 at 6°C. An Arrhenius relationship is developed that could be used for estimating hydrocarbon permeation at different temperatures between 6°C and 22°C for both the HDPE and f-HDPE geomembranes examined.

View full abstract

A series of elasto-viscoplastic finite element analyses is performed to assess the stress and deformation of the Pleistocene marine foundation due to construction of the 1st phase island of Kansai International Airport in Osaka Bay. Attention is paid to the modeling of permeability for Pleistocene sand gravel layers considering the sedimentation environment because the performance of excess pore water pressure is strongly dependent on the extent of distribution as well as the change of thickness of those permeable sand gravel layers. The concept of “mass permeability” is introduced to model the actual process of dissipation of excess pore water pressure in the field. The mechanism for the propagation of excess pore water pressure is also discussed. Special attention is given to the modeling of the compressibility of the highly structured Pleistocene clay layers, exhibiting already significant visco-plastic deformations even in the quasi-overconsolidated effective stress range. The present numerical analyses are found to describe the large and long-term settlement together with the slow dissipation of excess pore water pressure in the Pleistocene clay and sand gravel layers that actually has taken place in the field. A detailed comparison of the distribution of excess pore water pressure and the differential compression for the individual Pleistocene clay layers shows that the calculated performance can well describe the actual behavior of the Pleistocene deposits due to the construction of the 1st phase island of Kansai International Airport.

View full abstract

A simple and unified constitutive model for soils, considering various effects such as the influences of density, bonding, time dependent behavior and others, is presented in this paper. The elastoplastic behavior of over consolidated non-structured soils under a one-dimensional stress condition is firstly presented by introducing a state variable that represents the influence of density (stage I). To describe the one-dimensional stress-strain behavior of structured soils, attention is focused on density and bonding as the main factors that affect the response of this type of soil, because it can be considered that soil a skeleton structure which is in a looser state than that of a normally consolidated soil is formed by bonding effects (stage II). Furthermore, a simple method is presented which allows for other soil characteristics to be considered, such as time and temperature dependency, and the effect of suction in unsaturated soils. Experimental observations show that the normally consolidated line (NCL) in the void ratio—stress relation (e.g., e-ln σ curve) shifts depending on the change of strain rate, temperature, suction and others (stage III). The validation of the model at stages I and II is demonstrated by simulating one-dimensional consolidation tests for normally consolidated, over consolidated and natural clays. The applicability of the model at stage III is verified not only by the simulations of time-dependent behavior of clays in one-dimensional element tests but also by the soil-water coupled finite element analysis of oedometer tests as a boundary value problem. The extension from one-dimensional models to three-dimensional models is easily achieved by defining the yield function using stress invariants instead of one-dimensional stress ‘σ’ and by assuming an appropriate flow rule in stress space. The details of the modeling in general three-dimensional stress conditions will be described in another paper (Nakai et al., 2011).

View full abstract

A simple and unified model to describe some features of soil behavior in one dimensional condition is presented in another related paper (Nakai et al., 2011). In the present paper, this one-dimensional model is extended to describe not only the soil features explained in the related paper three-dimensionally (3D), but also to explain other soil features found in multi-dimensional conditions, such as shear behavior considering the influence of intermediate principal stress on the deformation and strength of soils, and the positive and negative soil dilatancy. Firstly, the first step in extending any kind of one-dimensional model to a three-dimensional one is explained in detail: the significance of t_ij concept and its stress invariants (t_N and t_S) is explained and compared with the idea of ordinary stress invariants (p and q) used in the Cam clay model. Then, the advanced elastoplastic relations (stages I to III) in the one-dimensional condition presented in the related paper are re-formulated as three-dimensional models—e.g., a model for over consolidated soil, a model for structured soil and a model which considers time-dependent behavior. The three-dimensional models for over consolidated soil (stage I) and structured soil (stage II) are formulated so as to coincide with the subloading t_ij model developed by Nakai and Hinokio (2004) and by Nakai (2007), respectively. The validity of the models in stage I and stage II is checked by simulations of various shear tests for sands with different void ratios and for over consolidated and natural clays under drained and undrained conditions. The model in stage III is verified by simulations of shear tests with different strain rates, and by simulating creep tests and others, not only for normally consolidated clay but also for non-structured and structured over consolidated clays under drained and undrained conditions.

View full abstract

When the performance function is an implicit numerical model, geotechnical reliability analysis can be challenging due to the coupling between the deterministic numerical evaluation and reliability analysis. Previously, the kriging method was used in geotechnical engineering for modeling the spatial variability of soil properties. In this paper, we illustrate a first-order reliability analysis method based on a kriging approximation of the deterministic numerical model. The key idea in this method is to first calibrate a kriging model to approximate the deterministic numerical model, and then to evaluate the failure probability based on the kriging model. As any stand-alone software for deterministic geotechnical numerical analysis can be potentially used to generate samples for calibrating a kriging model, it can then be ultimately used for a reliability analysis. As such, this method provides a practical way for practitioners to perform reliability analysis based on existing deterministic geotechnical software. The effectiveness of the suggested method is illustrated through a pile foundation example, a shallow foundation example, and a slope example in which the performance functions do not have explicit forms. The kriging method is used here as a tool for interpolating and approximating deterministic numerical models. The present paper does not address any type of spatial variation of soil properties.

View full abstract

On February 9 2010, the landslide dam formed in the Kashmir earthquake that occurred on Oct 8 2005 at Hattian Bala in Pakistan was breached after incessant rains. The authors had been involved in a research project to monitor the long-lasting change of the landslide mass at regular 6 monthly intervals since June 2008, and they noticed that air-exposed pieces of sandstones and mudstones of the landslide mass had disintegrated and crumbled due to slaking that dated back to the breach. The change in the landslide mass shape observed between June 2008 and November 2009, did not seem so significant except for a 300 m-long gulley that appeared all of a sudden at the toe of the mass during winter time from 2008 to 2009. Displacements from GPS-measurements conducted in June and November 2009 showed that the crest part subsided by about 10 cm while the toe part heaved slightly up where the overflowed water fell into the eroded gully. A field survey was conducted over the breached landslide dam in April 2010, two months after the breaching event. A severely eroded breach channel was observed along the spillway, which was excavated immediately after the formation of the dam. Given the chronological change in precipitation of the catchment area of Hattian Bala obtained from the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite data, the dam is considered to have been breached due to the overtopping of water over the landslide mass of slakable nature. The slakable nature of the material is discussed through both standard slaking tests and advanced unconventional direct shear tests on prepared specimens. Significant creep deformation and a reduction in their peak strength were observed as the slaking developed in the specimens, suggesting that the slakable nature of the mudstones might have been responsible for the breach of the landslide dam.

View full abstract