It has been shown after mathematical and mechanical investigation that Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM) can be considered as a method to obtain the necessary condition of Slip Line Method (SLM), and that the solution can be obtained under the condition that F_s=1 and ∂F_s/∂θ=O, where F_s is the safety factor and θ is the inclination of the plane on which the safety factor is defined. Next, the generalized LEM (GLEM) is proposed, dealing with the following points : (1) Triangular or quadrangular blocks can be treated; (2) Safety factors are defined also on interblock planes; and () All types of plastic problems, slope stability, bearing capacity, and earth pressure are identically formulated. Two situations regarding treatment of the moment equilibrium condition are discussed. GLEM is applied to well-known problems. The results agree well with those obtained by theoretical methods. GLEM can be used to obtain the distribution of earth pressure or bearing capacity. GLEM, Iike ordinary LEM, is very effective for the practical problems, but GLEM is more theoretical and it can result in more accurate solutions.

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The design implication of stress-confinement effect of nonwoven geotextile is addressed. The unconfined and confined strengths of a selected needle-punched nonwoven geotextile are used to conduct a comparative design of a granular soil retaining wall based on a limit equilibrium approach. A higher wall may be allowed when considering the confined strength as compared to the unconfined strength. For a selected wall height, confined strength allows for fewer geotextile layers when compared to that designed using unconfined strength. It is recommended that stress-confinement test procedure should be standardized so that confinement effect of some nonwoven geotextiles may be incorporated into an individual wall design procedure.

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In many soil-structure interaction problems, such as reinforced soils, the effect of restrained dilatancy in the interface between the soil and the inclusion plays an important role. In this paper, the restrained dilatancy behavior of an interface is first outlined. A bilinear relation between the shear stress and the shear displacement and a bilinear relation between the increase in normal stress due to shearing and the shear displacement are proposed to idealize such restrained dilatancy characteristics. A model of dilatant joint element is proposed on the basis of simple elastoplastic theory. The response of the elastoplastic joint element under the restrained dilatancy effect becomes prime concern. Therefore, the proposed elastoplastic joint element is analytically examined by a restrained direct shear test of an interface. It is found that our proposed model can represent very successfully the fundamental characteristics of the restrained dilatancy in the interface. Applications of the joint element to the finite element analysis of a field loading and excavation test on a cut slope reinforced by tensile inclusions demonstrate in success the applicability of the proposed elastoplastic joint element to the practical reinforced slope stability problems.

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This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the numerical methods related to geotechnical problems, most of which were reported in papers appearing in Soils and Foundations. The reason why most of the reviewed papers are concentrated in Soils and Foundations is that if we were to include papers appearing in other journals in the field of geotechnical engineering, closely related to numerical methods, .g., Computers and Geotechnics, Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech., etc., we would have to deal with almost all the papers in those journals. Firstly, we present a description of the current status of the numerical methods, and then give a brief review of the literature covering several topics in geotechnical applications. The scope of the review is limited, and thus, the authors do not profess to cover the entire range of literature.

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Based on the recommendations of Berezantzev et al., a new semi-empirical equation for settlement ratio of pile foundations in sand has been derived. The settlement ratios obtained using this equation have been compared with the actual measured values. The comparison indicates that the new equation predicts higher than actual settlement values and is therefore conservative. The new equation is therefore modified in the light of empirical evidence and presented in a generalised form which can be used for square, rectangular, and irregular pile groups. The procedures recommended for the use of the equation in preliminary designs are explained.

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A subloading surface constitutive model for clay is developed along a general theory proposed by Hashiguchi (1986). The novel part concerns introduction of a mixed (i.. composed of isotropic and deviatoric part) kinematic hardening parameter describing translation of the normalyield surface in the stress space to account for the induced anisotropy of clayey soils. The model is judged by comparisons with the element test data obtained for complex plane strain paths with up to two sharp bends.

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By employing an undrained cyclic loading ring-shear apparatus, a series of tests to reproduce the dynamic behavior of the Nikawa landslide induced by the January 17, 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake, is conducted. The test sample is Osaka-group coarse sandy soil taken from the landslide. The initial stress condition acting on a soil element in the sliding surface is applied to the sample. Based on the seismic records monitored at the JR Takarazuka Station, the input seismic wave is synthesized to reproduce the seismic stress acting on the sliding surface. The test results show that the soil failed due to the dynamic loading of the earthquake. The most important results are the excess pore water pressure generation and the acceleration of shear displacement continuing after the main shock. Combined with the grain crushing at the shear zone and the volume reduction in the drained constant-speed ring-shear test, the mechanism of this landslide is interpreted as, shear displacement causing grain crushing in the shear zone and volume reduction, and then resulting in a localized liquefaction phenomenon, "sliding-surface liquefaction". This geotechnical simulation test provides a reasonable interpretation of this highly mobile landslide.

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This paper outlines a mathematical description of the stress dilatancy behaviour of granular materials which accounts for stress level and void ratio dependencies. The consideration of these aspects has important implications in the modelling of granular material behaviour. In fact, granular material mechanical response is largely dominated by the evolution of dilatancy, fabric and void ratio histories. The starting point in this study is the well established Rowe's theory which is revisited and ultimately modified by introducing a factor linked to governing state parameters in order to describe the complete behaviour of granular materials during deformation. Numerical simulations of triaxial tests on granular materials at different void ratios and stress levels are herein presented to illustrate the model.

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A method for analyzing the uncertainties involving the use of empirical relationships in design is developed. It is applied to evaluate the reliability of the relationship s_u(mobilized)=(measured), whereby the pertinent uncertainties are analyzed using extensive laboratory and field observed data. On the average, the relationship s_u(mobilized)= (measured) is unbiased and the error implicit in the relationship is about 15%. When cone values are used to infer s'_p, additional uncertainties on the mobilized undrained strength will incur resulting mainly from the calibration uncertainty between σ'_p and the cone values. Alternatively, vane tests may be performed to infer the mobilized strength using Bjerrum correction factor. Results show that uncertainty level associated with using the vane tests is smaller than that using the cone values, provided that similar scatter is observed between measured vane and cone values at a given site. However, prediction of the mobilized strength is even more accurate if direct measurements can be made on the preconsolidation pressure. The proposed probabilistic method also assesses the benefit of additional tests besides comparing the accuracy of using various soil parameters for predicting mobilized undrained strength. Such information is essential for planning cost-effective site characterization program.

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Two new partially saturated tricyclic ring systems, , a, 7, , 9, 10, 10a, 11-octahydro-11-oxodibenz [, ] oxepins (a and ), and -thiepins (4a and 4) were synthesized. Compounds 4a and 4 were desulfurized to give a pair of isomeric 2-methylbenzoylcyclohexanes (10a and 10). Deuterated 4a and 4 (11a and 11) were prepared starting from butadiene- (12). The stereochemical features of a (trans), (cis), 4a (trans) and 4 (cis) are compared with those of 10a, 10, 11a and 11 on the basis of proton nuclear magnetic resonance data.

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The characteristic mechanical activities of the smooth muscles found in all organs of the body are highly variable and depend mainly on the spatial arrangement of the muscle cells and the stroma: mass, orientation, relationships, links, constraints, which are deployed in various configurations. These structural features are examined here for their mechanical relevance, in light and electron microscopic views of several muscles of viscera and blood vessels, in a selection of mammalian species. Smooth muscles are incompressible and therefore maintain constant volume. They do not have available space and any movement of a part requires displacement of another part. Most of them have no terminations or points of attachment, and in hollow organs such as intestines, blood vessels and uro-genital tract they usually form structures closed onto themselves, such as rings or bag-like containers In these situations, changes in the size of the lumen is achieved very efficiently by a concentric inward enlargement that accompanies muscle contraction. The longitudinal arrangement of collagen blocks an elongation of small blood vessels upon contraction, further enhancing the efficiency of lumen reduction. In other muscles, links between layers and special arrangements of the stroma allow both shortening and elongation of a tubular organ to occur. The mechanics of smooth muscles has many characteristic features (some unique, some shared with those of hydrostats, some at variance with other muscles) and histological data are a contribution to our understanding of these properties.

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All the cells of rat detrusor muscle fall into one of five ultrastructural types: muscle cells, fibroblasts, axons and glia, and vascular cells (endothelial cells and pericytes). The tissue is ~79% cellular and 21% non-cellular. Muscle cells occupy 72%, nerves ~4% (1/

axons, 2/ glia), and fibroblast >% of space. Muscle cells (up to µm across and ~600 µm long, packed to almost 100,000 per mm²) have surface-to-volume ratio of 2.4 µm²/ ~93% of cell volume is contractile apparatus, .1% mitochondria and 2.% nucleus. Cell profiles are irregular but sectional area decreases regularly towards either end of the cell. Muscle cells are gathered into bundles (the mechanical units of detrusor), variable in length and size, but of constant width. The musculature is highly compact (without fascia or capsule) with smooth outer surfaces and extensive association and adhesion between its cells. Among many types of intercellular contact and junction, digitations are very common, each muscle cell issuing minute finger-like processes that abut on adjacent cells. Sealed apposition are wide areas of specialized contact, possibly forming a chamber between two muscle cells, distinct from the extracellular space at large (stromal space). The innervation is very dense, virtually all intramuscular axons being varicose (including afferent ones). There are identifiable neuro-muscular junctions on each muscle cell, often several junctions on a single cell. There are also unattached terminals. Fibroblasts (involved in the production of collagen), ~1% of the total number of cells, do not make specialized contacts.

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