Volume 34 (2012): Edition 4 (October 2012)

This paper presents a detailed study of a selected small scale model test, performed on a sample of surrogate granular material, retained by a rigid wall (typical geotechnical problem of earth thrust on a retaining wall). The experimental data presented in this paper show that the deformation of granular sample behind retaining wall can undergo some cyclic changes. The nature of these cycles is not clear - it is probably related to some micromechanical features of granular materials, which are recently extensively studied in many research centers in the world. Employing very precise DIC (PIV) method can help to relate micro and macro-scale behavior of granular materials.

The article presents back analysis to estimate geotechnical parameters of fill layer. The agreement between field measurements and theoretical calculations was examined. Displacements of a cantilever CFA bored pile wall were monitored. The inclinometric measurements were taken directly after pile construction and according to excavation process. Over 200 calculation series were performed, with changing fill parameters. The calculations employed the actual geometric and material parameters of the pile wall, as well as geotechnical parameters of layered soil. The parameters estimated through back analysis were the angle of internal friction and Young’s modulus of fill layer. In the case discussed, pile wall cap displacement was the response of the system, and soil medium parameters were the input data. The agreement between theoretical calculations and inclinometer measurements was assessed in accordance with two functions. The measured horizontal displacements of excavation support structure assumed different values at the two inclinometer sites analysed. Back analysis results for these sites are approximately convergent for a final excavation depth.

The proposed concept of building storage reservoirs in mountainous Podkarpacie area will decidedly influence flood situation of this region and will decrease the extent of losses caused by the arising of landslides. A suitable geological structure allows for cheap construction of reservoirs. Dislocations and fault fissures are filled with weathering materials because of their mineralogical structure, i.e., swelling minerals cause self-sealing of the bottom. A lack of water-bearing layers eliminates uncontrolled outlet of water to the ground.

The construction of cut-off walls is a common solution applied in such disciplines as land reclamation and landfill containment. Most commonly the construction of vertical barriers is based on cut-off wall mono or diphase technology with the use of bentonite-cement mixture as a filling material. The content of the paper is focused on groundwater flow and transport numerical modeling conducted on landfill areas where vertical bentonite barriers were constructed. The modeling process was conducted with the use of FEMWATER software which employs analysis based on finite element method. There are two examples of the software application presented in the paper which concern such case studies, i.e., reclamation of Radiowo and Łubna landfill sites. These examples are provided to prove that the appropriate investigation of ground conditions as well as definition of initial and boundary conditions and correct selection of material parameters to be fed into the software, are crucial for the overall modeling process. Moreover, the comparison of results obtained from the numerical modeling and the groundwater monitoring on site is presented for one of the case studies.

Screw displacement pile technology is relatively new and is still being developed. A specific characteristic of those piles is their very considerable influence on soil properties during the installation, which renders classical bearing capacity calculation methods insufficient. Some methods for calculating the bearing capacity of screw displacement piles have already been presented in literature, for example, by Bustmante and Gianesselli [2], [3], Van Impe [17], [18], Maertens and Huybrechts [15], Ne Smith [16] as well as Basu and Prezzi [1]. This paper proposes a new method of calculating the bearing capacity of screw displacement piles in non-cohesive soil which is based on CPT results. It has been devised as a result of research project No. N N506 432936 [11], carried out in 2009-2011. At 6 experimental sites screw displacement pile static loading tests were carried out together with CPTU tests of the subsoil. The results allowed us to establish soil resistances along the shaft ts as well as under the pile base qb and their correlations to the CPT soil cone resistances qc. Two approaches, both adapted to the general guidelines of Eurocode 7 (EC7) [20], were proposed: a classical approach and the second approach with load transfer functions application.

In the last three decades an interest has grown in prediction of soil stiffness. In case of dense cohesionless soils or natural overconsolidated cohesive soils the working strain to which soil stiffness is referred to covers the range 0.01-1.0%. On the basis of results of comprehensive experimental worked based on advanced triaxial tests results two formulae for Young’s modulus distribution accounting for strain range were derived for fine dense sand and heavy overconsolidated sandy clay. The formula for sand accounts also for stress level. In case of overconsolidated sandy clay, stress history, in the form of yield stress, is also accounted for.