Abstract
With the rapid development of infrastructure construction in western China where hilly and gully areas are distributed, there are lots of large-scale filling engineering in recent years. In the area where collapsible loess is widely distributed, it is inevitable to use loess as filling material. Considering the collapsibility of loess, centrifuge model tests were conducted to study the settlement of loess fill in a valley after construction and subjected to rainfall infiltration. To provide a comparison, a centrifuge model test of loess filling body on a flat ground was conducted, and results showed that the settlement of loess fill during the construction stage is larger than the one at the postconstruction stage, and the unloading rebound deformation caused by decreasing gravity is about 15% of the deformation induced by increasing gravity. Two centrifuge model tests were conducted to study the settlement of the loess filling body in a valley; the varying characteristics of settlement and earth pressure with time at the postconstruction stage and subjected to rainfall infiltration were investigated. Differential settlement in the ground surface was observed at the postconstruction stage, and it was found to become very small under the rainfall infiltration condition. Comparison of the test results showed that insufficient compaction in the lower part of the filling body significantly increases the ground settlement at the postconstruction stage.
Highlights
To satisfy continuous increasing demand of urban space in hilly and gully areas of western China, lots of filling engineering are constructed. e ground settlement induced by self-gravity is an important issue other than the general concerned settlement which is caused by construction disturbance [1] and facility operation [2]
By reading the data obtained from laser displacement transducers installed at the ground surface, the ground settlement of loess fill at whole testing process can be obtained. e varying characteristics of settlement and gravitational acceleration with time are shown in Figure 6. e settlement at ground surface increases as the acceleration increases from 0 g to 100 g, and it decreases as the acceleration is decreased
Two centrifuge model tests were conducted to study the settlement of loess fill in a valley, and the ground settlement, deformation pattern of the filling body, and the earth pressure at construction, postconstruction, and rainfall infiltration stages were monitored and analyzed
Summary
To satisfy continuous increasing demand of urban space in hilly and gully areas of western China, lots of filling engineering are constructed. e ground settlement induced by self-gravity is an important issue other than the general concerned settlement which is caused by construction disturbance [1] and facility operation [2]. E ground settlement induced by self-gravity is an important issue other than the general concerned settlement which is caused by construction disturbance [1] and facility operation [2]. In those areas where loess is widely distributed, stability and settlement control are crucial to the safety and economic issues of large filling engineering. Erefore, it is necessary to study the wetting-induced deformation of loess fill; the obtained results can provide a reference for the design and construction of loess filling engineering. Triaxial and uniaxial compression tests conducted on undisturbed loess demonstrated that the geotechnical properties of loess are dominated by its metastable structure [12]. e shear strength of unsaturated soil was found to increase significantly with the decreasing water content [13], and the yield stress of compacted loess decreases with decreasing suction [14]
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