Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper we consider the Bak, Tang, and Wiesenfeld (BTW) sand-pile model with local violation of conservation through annealed and quenched disorder. We have observed that the probability distribution functions of avalanches have two distinct exponents, one of which is associated with the usual BTW model and another one which we propose to belong to a new fixed point; that is, a crossover from the original BTW fixed point to a new fixed point is observed. Through field theoretic calculations, we show that such a perturbation is relevant and takes the system to a new fixed point  

Mechanical failure of materials adjacent to the production cavity and material disaggregation caused by fluid drag are considered as the most important parameters that affect sand production. In light of such factors, the coupling of two mechanisms-mechanical instability and hydrodynamic erosion-is indispensable in order to model this phenomenon successfully. This paper examines the applicability of a coupled hydro-mechanical erosion criterion for simulating sand production using the finite element method. The porous medium was considered fully saturated. The onset of sanding and production of sand were predicted by coupling mechanical failure and subsequent erosion of the grain particles... 

In this paper, physical modeling tests are conducted to study some aspects of the dynamic compaction method. The loose models are prepared with dry sand. Four cylindrical tampers with different weight and cross section areas are used for compaction of the models and dropped from various heights. Strain gage type total stress measuring sensors are placed at different levels inside the model to measure the transferred vertical stresses due to collision of the tamper with the surface of the models. The typical stress time histories are presented. Improvement depth and crater depth and diameter created on the model surface are studied, among the various parameters affecting the phenomena. Using... 

Investigating the parameters influencing the behavior of buried pipelines under dynamic loading is of great importance. In this study the soil structure interaction of the pipelines with the surrounding soil was addressed using shaking table tests. Wave propagation along the soil layers was also included in the study. The semi infinite nature of the field was simulated using a laminar shear box. The soil used in the experiments was Babolsar coastal sand (Iran). PVC pipes were used due to their analogy with the field. Eight models were constructed with the first four models having uniform base. In the next models, the non-uniformities of real ground were simulated using a concrete pedestal... 

Despite the various approaches in the literature adopted for analysing cone penetration test (CPT), determination of the initial horizontal stress and relative density of a sandy soil during this test has not been tackled yet. In order to propose a new method in this regard, a numerical study of CPT has been performed and the predicted results have been compared with several databases of comprehensive calibration chamber tests. The penetration mechanism has been then fully investigated by presenting different kinds of outputs for the surrounding soil. Finally, an innovative procedure has been suggested for estimating the initial horizontal stress and relative density during performing CPT in... 

Mixture of sandy soil and bentonite clay can be used to seal the sanitary landfills and prevent the spread of leachate. Over time, this mixture may be subjected to different landfill contaminants, including acidic pollutants and shear strength variations. The objective of this research was to study the effects of sulphuric acid pollutant with pH values of 7, 3 and 1 on the shear behaviour and strength of clean sand and sand mixed with bentonite clay using common consolidated undrained triaxial tests. The tests results showed that the presence of acid in the soil pore water changes the shear behaviour pattern of the soil. Acid pollutant decreases the clean sand shear strength. In... 

Cemented coarse-grained alluvium is present in a vast area of Tehran city. Iran including its suburbs. This deposit consists of gravely sand to sandy gravel with some cobbles and is dominantly cemented by carbonaceous materials. In order to understand the mechanical behaviour of this soil, a series of triaxial compression tests were performed on uncemented, artificially cemented and destructured samples. Hydrated lime was used as the cementation agent for sample preparation to model the Tehran deposit. The tests were performed on cemented samples after an appropriate time for curing. The tests on cemented samples show that a shear zone appears as the shear stress approaches the peak shear... 

Laboratory triaxial compression tests were carried out in order to determine the stress-strain and dilation characteristics of geotextile-reinforced dry beach sand. The mechanical behavior of the composite material was investigated through varying the number of geotextile layers, type of geotextile, confining pressure, and geotextile arrangement. In order to study the effect of sample-size on the results, tests were performed on samples with two different diameters. The results demonstrated that geotextile inclusion increases the peak strength, axial strain at failure, and ductility. However, it reduces dilation. Such improvements in the behavior of reinforced sand are more pronounced for... 

The dependence of undrained behavior of silty sand on initial state of stress and direction of principal stresses with respect to vertical (ff) is assessed under generalized loading paths using hollow cylinder apparatus. During applying shear load, value of intermediate principal stress parameter (b) is held constant and ff value is increased from zero to the aimed value and held constant. Specimens are consolidated, both, isotropically and anisotropically to evaluate the effect anisotropic consolidation on the behavior of these soils. The wet tamping method was selected to prepare specimen. Shear loading was carried out under strain-controlled condition to capture post-peak strain-softening... 

Appreciation of stochastic Loewner evolution (SLEκ), as a powerful tool to check for conformal invariant properties of geometrical features of critical systems has been rising. In this paper we use this method to check conformal invariance in sandpile models. Avalanche frontiers in Abelian sandpile model are numerically shown to be conformally invariant and can be described by SLE with diffusivity κ=2. This value is the same as value obtained for loop-erased random walks. The fractal dimension and Schramm's formula for left passage probability also suggest the same result. We also check the same properties for Zhang's sandpile model. © 2009 The American Physical Society  

A constitutive model is developed for a cemented gravelly sand. The model is based on the separation of the cemented soil to the uncemented part and cemented bonds and combining the mechanical behaviour of each part using consistency and energy equilibrium equations. The uncemented part was modelled using the Pastor et al. (1985) model for sands. A new model was developed and proposed for the cemented bonds. Combination of these parts resulted in the modelling of cemented soil behaviour with a very good consistency both in drained and undrained conditions. The pore pressure in undrained conditions and the volumetric strains in the drained state were also modelled successfully using this... 

In this paper the framework for a constitutive model which is developed for a cemented gravely sand is presented. The model is based on separation technic namely the separation of the behavior to the uncemented soil and the cemented bonds. They are combined in a manner to satisfy the deformation consistency and energy equilibrium equations. The uncemented soil behavior is modeled using a modified model originally proposed by Pastor et al. (1985) for sandy soils. Also, based on the results of the experiments, a new model for the bonds is developed. Combination of these two parts results in the modeling of the behavior of cemented gravely soils in drained and undrained states  

In this paper the relation between dissipated energy and pore pressure is studied using 1 g shaking table test results. Toyoura sand is used for the physical models. Both one and two dimensional variable phase loadings are applied to the models. Shear work was calculated using accelerations and displacements and normalized to the mean effective stress. Pore water pressure was also normalized to the vertical effective stress. The results show that the pore pressure has a unique relationship to the shear work no matter whether the shaking is one or two dimensional. The results also show that the generated normalized pore pressure is independent of loading type and confinement. © 2006 Taylor &... 

The shear behavior of a cemented gravely sand that can be considered as the representative of Tehran alluvium has been studied using triaxial equipment. Artificially cemented samples were prepared using gypsum plaster as the cementing agent. The plaster was mixed with the base soil at the weight percentages between 1.5 and 6. The critical state concepts were used to illustrate the mechanical behavior of tested soil. © 2005 ejge  

Liquefaction of loose and saturated soils during earthquakes and strong ground motions has been a major cause of damage to buildings and earth embankments as well as other civil engineering structures. In order to evaluate the liquefaction potential and steady state characteristics of gravely sand of south west Tehran, a subsoil exploration program conducted dividing the region into 10 zones. In each zone of 500 m × 500 m a borehole of 20 m deep was drilled. SPT was performed at one meter intervals in each borehole and a total of 200 samples were recovered. Soils of similar grain size distribution have been considered to have similar steady state characteristics,therefore consolidated... 

A series of consolidated undrained triaxial tests were performed in order to understand the behavior of a gravely sand. The material was selected from Tehran alluvium and is classified as gravely sand in the Unified Soil Classification System. Critical state concepts were used for interpretation of the behavior of the soil. The critical state line in q - p′ space was reasonably unique. However, it was not possible to define a unique critical state line in e -ln p′ space. The overall scatter, in the critical state line for the gravely sand studied, was ± 0.04, in terms of void ratio. Two reasons can be identified for this scatter. The first reason is the inevitable error in void ratio... 

The objective of this paper is to predict the effect of hydrocarbon contamination on the shear strength parameters of sand by using various machine learning platforms. Multilayer perceptron, support vector machine, random forest, gradient boosting method, and multi-output support vector machine were methods used to predict the hydrocarbon contamination impacts on the internal friction angle and cohesion of contaminated sand. Random forest exhibited the best results for cohesion, whereas, for the friction angle, the gradient boosting method outperformed other approaches. Moreover, the multi-output support vector machine yielded better results than those pertaining to a single support vector...