Uncertainty Analysis of Creep Behavior of Compacted Loess and a Non-Deterministic Predication Method for Post-Construction Settlement of a High-Fill Embankment

Property of geotechnical materials has inherent uncertainty due to the complex formation process and inevitable test error. However, existing long-term deformation prediction methods for geotechnical structure such as a filling embankment are deterministic, which ignores the uncertainty of soil prop...

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Main Authors: Yi-Li Yuan, Chang-Ming Hu, Yuan Mei, Fang-Fang Wang, Ge Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-04-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/5/1118
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author Yi-Li Yuan
Chang-Ming Hu
Yuan Mei
Fang-Fang Wang
Ge Wang
author_facet Yi-Li Yuan
Chang-Ming Hu
Yuan Mei
Fang-Fang Wang
Ge Wang
author_sort Yi-Li Yuan
collection DOAJ
description Property of geotechnical materials has inherent uncertainty due to the complex formation process and inevitable test error. However, existing long-term deformation prediction methods for geotechnical structure such as a filling embankment are deterministic, which ignores the uncertainty of soil property. In this study, the uncertainty of creep behavior of compacted loess was investigated through repetitive creep tests and statistical analysis. Five different loading levels and two loading modes were considered in the tests. The creep test was repeated 45 times for each condition. Through a statistical analysis for the test results, a modified Merchant creep model was established to improve the accuracy of long-term deformation prediction. An empirical transformation equation between staged loading and separated loading mode of the creep test results was also introduced to improve applicability of the method. On this basis, a non-deterministic predication method for post-construction settlement of loess fill embankment was proposed. Furthermore, the proposed method was applied to the prediction of the post-construction of a 61.5 m loess filling embankment. The measured on-site post-construction settlement value falls within the 95% confidence interval of the predicted range which proves the efficiency and practicability of the proposed non-deterministic predication method. Compared to deterministic methods, the proposed method can describe the predicted deformation in a probabilistic way in the form of contour plot. The proposed method provides a basic approach for the probabilistic design and reliability assessment of filling engineering.
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spelling doaj.art-8dcf95c2cdeb42a3b8030e74d44e673f2023-11-18T00:43:46ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092023-04-01135111810.3390/buildings13051118Uncertainty Analysis of Creep Behavior of Compacted Loess and a Non-Deterministic Predication Method for Post-Construction Settlement of a High-Fill EmbankmentYi-Li Yuan0Chang-Ming Hu1Yuan Mei2Fang-Fang Wang3Ge Wang4School of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology, Xi’an 710055, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology, Xi’an 710055, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology, Xi’an 710055, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology, Xi’an 710055, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology, Xi’an 710055, ChinaProperty of geotechnical materials has inherent uncertainty due to the complex formation process and inevitable test error. However, existing long-term deformation prediction methods for geotechnical structure such as a filling embankment are deterministic, which ignores the uncertainty of soil property. In this study, the uncertainty of creep behavior of compacted loess was investigated through repetitive creep tests and statistical analysis. Five different loading levels and two loading modes were considered in the tests. The creep test was repeated 45 times for each condition. Through a statistical analysis for the test results, a modified Merchant creep model was established to improve the accuracy of long-term deformation prediction. An empirical transformation equation between staged loading and separated loading mode of the creep test results was also introduced to improve applicability of the method. On this basis, a non-deterministic predication method for post-construction settlement of loess fill embankment was proposed. Furthermore, the proposed method was applied to the prediction of the post-construction of a 61.5 m loess filling embankment. The measured on-site post-construction settlement value falls within the 95% confidence interval of the predicted range which proves the efficiency and practicability of the proposed non-deterministic predication method. Compared to deterministic methods, the proposed method can describe the predicted deformation in a probabilistic way in the form of contour plot. The proposed method provides a basic approach for the probabilistic design and reliability assessment of filling engineering.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/5/1118non-deterministic predicationmaterial uncertaintypost-construction settlementcompacted loesscreep behaviormodified merchant model
spellingShingle Yi-Li Yuan
Chang-Ming Hu
Yuan Mei
Fang-Fang Wang
Ge Wang
Uncertainty Analysis of Creep Behavior of Compacted Loess and a Non-Deterministic Predication Method for Post-Construction Settlement of a High-Fill Embankment
Buildings
non-deterministic predication
material uncertainty
post-construction settlement
compacted loess
creep behavior
modified merchant model
title Uncertainty Analysis of Creep Behavior of Compacted Loess and a Non-Deterministic Predication Method for Post-Construction Settlement of a High-Fill Embankment
title_full Uncertainty Analysis of Creep Behavior of Compacted Loess and a Non-Deterministic Predication Method for Post-Construction Settlement of a High-Fill Embankment
title_fullStr Uncertainty Analysis of Creep Behavior of Compacted Loess and a Non-Deterministic Predication Method for Post-Construction Settlement of a High-Fill Embankment
title_full_unstemmed Uncertainty Analysis of Creep Behavior of Compacted Loess and a Non-Deterministic Predication Method for Post-Construction Settlement of a High-Fill Embankment
title_short Uncertainty Analysis of Creep Behavior of Compacted Loess and a Non-Deterministic Predication Method for Post-Construction Settlement of a High-Fill Embankment
title_sort uncertainty analysis of creep behavior of compacted loess and a non deterministic predication method for post construction settlement of a high fill embankment
topic non-deterministic predication
material uncertainty
post-construction settlement
compacted loess
creep behavior
modified merchant model
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/5/1118
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