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Numerical modeling and analysis of pullout tests of sheet and geogrid inclusions in sand

University of British Columbia

One way of studying the soil-inclusion interaction in the pullout test is by numerical modeling. Several of the numerical studies available in the literature lack the integration of consistent material characterization as input for the numerical model, resulting in little phenomenological description of the soil-inclusion interface behavior. There is, therefore, a need for an improved evidence-based understanding of the factors influencing the pullout resistance of different inclusions. Accordingly, the main objective of this study was to capture the pullout response of different inclusions, for which extensive laboratory pullout test data existed, through a phenomenological numerical model that uses physically-based parameters. This numerical model is henceforth used in a parametric study to assess the adequacy of the laboratory test data in the literature and ASTM D6706-01 recommendations. The finite difference software FLAC was used to simulate the laboratory response of three sheet inclusions and three geogrids, embedded in a pullout box filled with a uniformly graded sand (Badger sand) and subjected to vertical stresses up to 17 kPa. In the numerical model, the inclusions were represented by an elastic continuum at the center of the pullout box. The sand was modeled using NorSand, a constitutive model that is able to capture the dilative behavior of dense sands. An alternative approach to the usual spring interface is proposed to model the soil-inclusion interaction, where a thin continuum layer following a NorSand behavior is used, and the friction angle changed according to the interface strength of each inclusion. The soil and interface parameters were obtained from a laboratory testing program on Badger sand including triaxial, direct shear and direct simple shear tests. The results of this dissertation yield three principal contributions: 1) plane strain conditions and a stress-dependency of the critical state friction angle prevail in the pullout box; 2) the use of a constitutive model that can simulate dilation to represent the soil-inclusion interface behavior is able to capture the complete pullout response of the different inclusions; and 3) different aspects of ASTM D6706-01 pullout recommendations deserve improvement for a correct interpretation of the soil-inclusion interaction factor.

Text

2018-10-31

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/67739

Civil Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/