In this paper, through extensive on-site research of the plain concrete composite foundation for the Jiuma Expressway, the study conducted proportional scaling tests. This study focused on the temperature, moisture, pile-soil stress, and deformation of this foundation under freeze-thaw conditions. The findings indicate that the temperature of the plain concrete pile composite foundation fluctuates sinusoidally with atmospheric temperature changes. As the depth increases, both temperature and lag time increase, while the fluctuation range decreases. Furthermore, the effect of atmospheric temperature on the shoulder and slope foot is more significant than on the interior of the road. During the freeze-thaw cycle, the water content and pore-water pressure in the foundation fluctuate periodically. The pile-soil stress fluctuates periodically with the freeze-thaw cycle, with the shoulder position exhibiting the most significant changes. Finally, the road displays pronounced freeze-thaw deformations at the side ditch and slope toe. This study provides a valuable basis for the construction of highway projects in cold regions.

The biocemented coral sand pile composite foundation represents an innovative foundation improvement technology, utilizing Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) to consolidate a specific volume of coral sand within the foundation into piles with defined strength, thereby enabling them to collaboratively bear external loads with the surrounding unconsolidated coral sand. In this study, a series of shaking table model tests were conducted to explore the dynamic response of the biocemented coral sand pile composite foundation under varying seismic wave types and peak accelerations. The surface macroscopic phenomena, excess pore water pressure ratio, acceleration response, and vertical settlement were measured and analysed in detail. Test results show that seismic wave types play a decisive role in the macroscopic surface phenomena and the response of the excess pore water pressure ratio. The cumulative settlement of the upper structure under the action of Taft waves was about 1.5 times that of El Centro waves and Kobe waves. The most pronounced liquefaction phenomena were recorded under the Taft wave, followed by the El Centro wave, and subsequently the Kobe wave. An observed positive correlation was established between the liquefaction phenomenon and the Aristotelian intensity of the seismic waves. However, variations in seismic wave types exerted minimal influence on the acceleration amplification factor of the coral sand foundation. Analysis of the acceleration amplification factor revealed a triphasic pattern-initially increasing, subsequently decreasing, and finally increasing again-as burial depth increased, in relation to the peak value of the input acceleration. This study confirms that the biocemented coral sand pile composite foundation can effectively enhance the liquefaction resistance of coral sand foundations.

The bearing capacity of offshore single pile composite foundations can be significantly affected by the spatially variable soil properties and the different soil layers installing the pile. The previous research mainly focuses on effects of isotropy or transverse anisotropy spatial variable soil on the bearing capacity and failure mechanism of piles embedded in a single soil layer. The practical sites generally contain multiple soil layers and the soil properties may exhibit strong rotated anisotropy characteristics due to the complex geological movements. However, how the rotated anisotropy spatial variability of soil property affects the bearing capacity of the offshore single pile composite foundation embedded into multiple soil layers remains unclear. This study aims to systematically investigate the effects of rotated anisotropy three-dimensional spatial variability of soil properties on the vertical bearing capacity of the offshore single pile composite foundation embedded into two soil layers. The three-dimensional random finite element is used to simulate the pile-soil response of the offshore single pile composite foundations under vertical static loads. The influence of the scale of fluctuation delta, rotated angle of anisotropy, and coefficient of variation of different soil parameters including elastic modulus E, cohesion c, and internal friction angle phi are investigated. The results show that the COV of E and c have a larger influence than that of phi. The rotated anisotropy of the upper-layer soil generally has a prominent effect on the bearing capacity of the pile compared with the lower-layer soil especially when the horizontal scale of fluctuation is large. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for rotated anisotropy spatial variability in the design of offshore single pile composite foundations.

Rigid pile composite foundation (RPCF) has been widely used in Yellow River Alluvial Plain (YRAP) due to remarkable reinforcement and economical effects. However, current design of RPCF in this area are typically based on saturated soil mechanic principles assuming drained condition, despite the fact that the soil is typically in unsaturated condition. Due to long time water scouring, the silt in YRAP generally exhibits high particle sphericity and poor particle gradation. Even after standard compaction, it is still in a relatively loose state with developed capillary pores. Water content increment induced by infiltration can lead to considerable soil mechanical properties degradations due to matric suction reduction associated with soil micro-structure rearrangement. Consequently, the RPCF will suffer serious bearing characteristic deteriorations, exhibiting additional settlement. In this study, extending unsaturated soil mechanics, initially the influences of matric suction on mechanical properties of YRAP silt were demonstrated. Then total RPCF settlement was calculated as the sum of the compression deformation of the soil between piles in the reinforcement zone and the underlying soil stratum. The former one was estimated through the modified load transfer curve method considering the pile-soil interface behaviors deteriorations with matric suction reduction, while the later one was estimated through the traditional stress diffusion method. The feasibility of the proposed method was validated through a model RPCF test subjected to ground water level fluctuations. Good comparisons on RPCF mechanical behaviors indicate the proposed method can be a valuable tool in the design of RPCF in YRAP under extreme weather conditions.

This study investigates the ground and structural response of adjacent raft foundations induced by largescale surcharge by ore in soft soil areas through a 130g centrifuge modeling test with an innovative layered loading device. The prototype of the test is a coastal iron ore yard with a natural foundation of deep soft soil. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt some measures to reduce the influence of the large-scale surcharge on the adjacent raft foundation, such as installing stone columns for foundation treatment. Under an acceleration of 130 g, the model conducts similar simulations of iron ore, stone columns, and raft foundation structures. The tested soil mass has dimensions of 900 mm x 700 mm x 300 mm (length x width x depth), which is remodeled from the soil extracted from the drilling holes. The test conditions are consistent with the actual engineering conditions and the effects of four-level loading conditions on the composite foundation of stone columns, unreinforced zone, and raft foundations are studied. An automatic layer-by-layer loading device was innovatively developed to simulate the loading process of actual engineering more realistically. The composite foundation of stone columns had a large settlement after the loading, forming an obvious settlement trough and causing the surface of the unreinforced zone to rise. The 12 m surcharge loading causes a horizontal displacement of 13.19 cm and a vertical settlement of 1.37 m in the raft foundation. The stone columns located on both sides of the unreinforced zone suffered significant shear damage at the sand-mud interface. Due to the reinforcement effect of stone columns, the sand layer below the top of the stone columns moves less. Meanwhile, the horizontal earth pressure in the raft foundation zone increases slowly. The stone columns will form new drainage channels and accelerate the dissipation of excess pore pressure. (c) 2024 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Ultra-soft soil is distributed in coastal areas around the world and has poor engineering properties. There is a significant difference in settlement between semi-rigid pile and surrounding soil under embankment load. Based on existing research results, the settlement calculation formula of ultra-soft soil composite foundation reinforced by semi-rigid pile is derived in this paper. Based on the Alamgir displacement model, assuming a three-zone model of pile skin friction with a negative skin friction plastic zone in the upper part of the pile, an elastic zone in the middle part of the pile, and a skin friction-bearing plastic zone in the lower part of the pile, the upward and downward penetrations of pile, and pile-soil slip deformation characteristics are considered. Analytical expressions for settlement calculations of semi-rigid pile composite foundations under embankments were derived based on differential equations for pile-soil load transfer in the unit cell. The influences of pile diameter and the compression modulus of the underlying layer at the pile end on the settlement characteristics of the semi-rigid pile composite foundation are discussed. The results show that the derived theoretical calculation method is in good agreement with the field measurement and laboratory model test results. Ultra-soft soil composite foundations have long settlement stabilization times and large settlement deformations. Penetration deformation occurs at the semi-rigid pile end. The relationship between pile end resistance and pile end piercing deformation is hyperbolic. The compression modulus of the underlying layer has a great influence on pile end penetration. The lower the compression modulus of the underlying layer, the larger the penetration deformation of pile end. The larger the pile diameter is, the smaller the penetration deformation is.

In this study, a series of shake table tests were conducted on saturated sand soil foundations to investigate the seismic response of pile-supported railway embankments under equal and unequal thickness heterogeneous liquefiable soil conditions. The model's failure process, the variations of excess pore water pressure, the bending moments of the pile, and the acceleration response under different seismic intensities were analyzed in detail. Test results showed that the pore pressure increased with the increase of seismic intensity, and the liquefaction phenomenon occurred in the loose sand layer under 0.2 g dynamic excitation. The growth rate and peak value of excess pore water pressure in unequal thickness liquefiable soil terrain were greater than that in equal thickness soil conditions. The maximum bending moment of the pile body exhibits an inverted S-shaped distribution. In unequal thickness soil conditions, the edge piles experience higher bending moments compared to those in terrains with the same thickness. Additionally, the position of the maximum negative bending moment distribution for the central pile underwent a noticeable downward shift. During the loading process, the amplification effect of acceleration was greater in the loose sand layer than in the gravel soil layer, and more significant at the center of the foundation or the subgrade in unequal thickness liquefiable soil conditions. Therefore, the influence of terrain factors on the rise of pore pressure and the distribution of pile bending moments was nonnegligible in the seismic design of pile-supported embankment.

The monopile-wheel composite foundation is an innovative type of offshore wind turbine (OWT) foundation with good bearing capacity. The foundation is subjected to cyclic loads from wind, waves, and tides, so it is necessary to study its horizontal cyclic characteristics. By introducing cyclic degradation constitutive and Rayleigh damping parameters, numerical models are generated and validated by comparing with laboratory experiment results. The laws of horizontal accumulated displacement of the composite foundation are then explored through changes in the cycle amplitude, number, wheel diameter, height of loading point and pre -vertical load. The main findings are that the composite foundation is more likely to reach a stable displacement under constant amplitude cyclic loading compared to that of monopile. Under transient dynamic response (74 % of the horizontal ultimate bearing capacity), accumulated displacement will increase rapidly regardless of the foundation form. The composite foundation has smaller hysteresis loop area and slower accumulation rate of bending moment. The soil pressure weakening of the monopile mainly occurs in front of the pile, while that of the composite foundation mainly occurs under the wheel. After cyclic loading, the V - H envelopes for the composite foundation contract unevenly inwards. Above these, prediction methods for the cumulative displacement, maximum bending moment and V - H envelopes for composite foundation considering cyclic degradation are proposed.

The bearing and deformation characteristics of embankments with rigid-flexible long-short pile composite foundations (RLPCFs) in thick collapsible loess strata are not yet accurately understood. In this study, a large-scale field experiment was conducted, and screw (long) and compaction (short) piles were employed to reinforce a of the foundation of the Lanzhou-Zhangye high-speed railway in thick collapsible loess. The pile load transfer, foundation settlement, pile-soil stress distribution, and load sharing characteristics were analyzed to reveal the bearing properties of the composite foundation. The results show that negative friction arises along the upper part of the pile, and the neutral points of the short pile and long pile are located at 2/5 and 1/3 down the pile lengths, respectively. The short pile eliminates the collapsibility of the shallow loess and enhances the foundation's bearing capacity. The long pile transfers the load of the shallow foundation and pile top to the deep foundation through lateral friction, which reduces the settlement of the shallow foundation. When the soil arch in the embankment is fully formed, the short pile bears approximately 20% of the load, while the long pile and the soil between piles bear 80%. With the increase in embankment filling height, the load borne by the long pile rises, and the load borne by the soil between piles decreases gradually. The top settlement of the cross- of the composite foundation is distributed in a concave basin shape, and the maximum settlement occurs in the center of the embankment. The parameters of the short pile can be obtained on the basis of the collapsibility grade and bearing capacity of the loess foundation, the length and area replacement rate of the long pile can be obtained based on the settlement control requirements of the superstructure of the composite foundation, and the lateral friction of the long pile can be increased by increasing the roughness of the pile and setting the screw.

With the development of offshore wind power energy, the monopile-wheel composite foundation has attracted wide attentions from scholars as an innovative foundation for offshore wind turbines (OWTs). And in offshore engineering, the local scouring usually tends to weaken the bearing capacity by moving surrounding soil till even become a non-negligible reason for some engineering disasters. To explore this effect of local scour qualitatively and quantitatively, the scouring morphology of the monopile-friction wheel composite foundations under unidirectional flow are obtained by means of CFD. Then, a 3D finite element model is developed to estimate the bearing behaviors and deformation characteristics with the consideration of various scouring conditions. Both internal forces and failure envelopes under H-T combined loads are also obtained through numerical analysis. The results reveal that key scouring parameters significantly affect the bearing capacity and envelopes shrinkage of the composite foundation. In particular, the scouring depth has the greatest effect on lateral and torsional bearing behaviors of 15%-32% and 24%-58%, respectively, followed successively by the scouring angle and extent. And the loading point height has a noticeable impact on the lateral resistance of the composite foundation. The findings provide valuable insights into understanding the load bearing behaviors of composite foundations and their practical application in engineering.