In performance-based design, it is crucial to understand deformation characteristics of geocell layers in soil under footing loads. To explore this, a series of laboratory loading tests were carried out to investigate the influence of varying parameters on the strain levels within the geocell layer in a sandy soil under axial strip footing loading. The results were analyzed in terms of maximum strain levels, strain variation along the geocell layer and the correlation between horizontal and vertical strains. In this study, the maximum observed strain levels for geocellreinforced strip footing systems reached 2.3 % for horizontal (tensile) strain and 1.4 % for vertical (compressive) strain. Furthermore, most strain levels were concentrated within a distance of 1.5 times the footing width from the axis of strip footing. In geocell-reinforced footing systems, the interaction between horizontal and vertical strains becomes a key factor, with the ratio of horizontal to vertical cell wall strains ranging approximately from 1 to 2.5. The outcomes of this study are expected to contribute to the practical applications of geocell-reinforced footing systems.

Tiered geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) walls in transportation engineering are often applied in high-retaining soil structures and are typically subjected to traffic cyclic loading. However, there has been limited research on the dynamic performance of tiered GRS walls. Three reduced-scale model walls were conducted to investigate the dynamic performances of two-tiered GRS walls with different strip footing locations (d/H) under cyclic loading. The test results demonstrated that cyclic loading parameters such as average load P0 and load amplitude PA have a significant effect on the dynamic performance of the tiered walls. However, the change in loading frequency f has a minor effect on the settlement and lateral deformation when the GRS wall reaches a relatively stable state. Under the same P0 and PA, the measured maximum additional vertical stress Delta sigma v,max decreases with the increase of frequency f, whereas minimum additional vertical stress Delta sigma v,min increases. The stress distribution profile along the horizontal direction at the lower-tier wall crest is related to the strip footing location. The bearing capacity of the GRS wall increases and then decreases with increasing d/H within the reinforced zone of the upper-tier wall. The variation magnitude and distribution profile of the lateral deformations are influenced by the d/H and cyclic loading levels, especially for the upper-tier wall. When the strip footing remains in the reinforced zone of the upper-tier wall, potential slip surfaces go deeper as it moves away from the wall face. Finally, a power relationship between the calculated factor of safety and the maximum lateral deformation monitored from model tests for the two-tiered GRS walls under cyclic loading is established.

Compared to the limited performance of other high-efficiency urea products, humic acid urea (HAU) increased the grain yield of winter wheat as well as of summer maize. However, the effect of adding different amounts of humic acid (HA) on the fate of urea and comprehensive economic and environmental evaluations remains unclear. Four treatments (no urea (CK), common urea (U), HAU0.5, and HAU5) were compared in a 2-year winter wheat-summer maize rotation system. Compared to U, the grain yield of HAU treatments increased by 4.48-11.25 %, regardless of crop type, planting year, or HA addition level; this was partly attributable to the increased storage of soil available N, as confirmed by a simultaneous 15N tracing microplot experiment in the first winter wheat season. HAU inhibited the loss of reactive N (NH3 volatilization, N2O emission, and NO3--N leaching loss). The C footprint based on the yield and areas calculations for HAUs was 7.01-13.48 % and 3.53-5.54 % lower than that of U, respectively. Annual environmental damage costs and annual net ecosystem economic benefits were decreased and increased by 14.89 %- 19.11 % and 6.38 %-9.23 %, respectively. Few agronomic and environmental differences were found between HAU5 and HAU0.5, although the former locked more 15N nutrients in the topsoil. This combined experiment using 15N tracer and field lysimeters showed that more nutrients from HAU were absorbed by crops and converted into grains, reducing the environmental risk of greenhouse gas emissions due to the release of unused nutrients from common U into farmland.

Tunneling-induced horizontal strains for buildings with discontinuous foundations are notable and may pose significant risks to the integrity of nearby structures. This paper presents results from a series of numerical models investigating the response of framed buildings on separated footings to tunnel construction in sand. The study examines a two-story, elastic frame with varying building transverse width, eccentricity, and first story height, subjected to tunneling-induced displacements; footing embedment depth and tunnel cover depth are also varied. Results show that tunneling-induced horizontal displacements for separated footings are significant, with greater footing horizontal displacements occurring at deeper footing embedment depths. Building width and eccentricity also influence soil-footing interaction, particularly in determining the values of footing displacements and the distribution of horizontal strains. An increase in footing embedment depth slightly increases shear distortion but significantly increases horizontal strains. The presented modification factors for angular distortion and horizontal strains align well with empirical envelopes, with the horizontal strain modification factor being sensitive to the relative soil-footing stiffness. This research highlights the importance of considering horizontal strains and realistic foundation embedment depth in the damage assessment for buildings with discontinuous foundations due to tunnel construction.

Soft wet grounds such as mud, sand, or forest soils, are difficult to navigate because it is hard to predict the response of the yielding ground and energy lost in deformation. In this article, we address the control of quadruped robots' static gait in deep mud. We present and compare six controller versions with increasing complexity that use a combination of a creeping gait, a foot-substrate interaction detection, a model-based center of mass positioning, and a leg speed monitoring, along with their experimental validation in a tank filled with mud, and demonstrations in natural environments. We implement and test the controllers on a Go1 quadruped robot and also compare the performance to the commercially available dynamic gait controller of Go1. While the commercially available controller was only sporadically able to traverse in 12 cm deep mud with a 0.35 water/solid matter ratio for a short time, all proposed controllers successfully traversed the test ground while using up to 4.42 times less energy. The results of this article can be used to deploy quadruped robots on soft wet grounds, so far inaccessible to legged robots.

Protecting the environment is essential because a healthy ecosystem purifies air and water, maintains the soil, regulates the temperature, recycles nutrients, and provides food. However, when nations experience fast growth, they pay the utmost attention to their development and disregard the environmental and development-related consequences. The BRICS economies are examples of nations that have achieved high economic growth rates while polluting their environment via industrial expansion. Hence, this study aims to scrutinise the effects of forest rent, agricultural production, economic growth, and energy consumption on BRICS economies' carbon emissions and ecological footprint from 1995 to 2017. We adopted panel spatial correlation consistent least-squares dummy variables (PSCC-LSDV) estimation and panel quantile regression (PQR) techniques to perform the above-mentioned comparative analysis. The first-hand empirical consequences revealed that agricultural production, renewable energy consumption, and financial development condense the carbon discharge, and the rest of the variables trigger the carbon emission. In addition, GDPC, forest rents, non-renewable energy consumption, and domestic investment damage the environmental prominence by instigating an ecological footprint, whereas the remaining variables oblige to moderate the ecological footprint. Finally, this study recommends rigorous policies to mitigate pollution emissions to help reinstate environmental eminence.

The aim of the present study is to assess the impact of rotational anisotropy on the undrained bearing capacity of a surface strip footing over an unlined circular tunnel on spatially variable clayey soil. The finite-difference method (FDM) is utilised to perform both deterministic and stochastic analyses. The Monte Carlo simulation approach is used to estimate the mean stochastic bearing capacity factor (mu Npro) and probability of failure (pf) of the entire system. The responses are evaluated for different geometric and spatially variable parameters and the strata rotation angle (beta). The failure patterns and the required factor of safety (FSr) corresponding to a specific probability of failure (e.g. pft = 0.01%) are determined for various parameters. The results obtained for the rotational anisotropy (beta$\ne \;$not equal 0) are observed to be significantly different from those for horizontal anisotropic structure (beta = 0), and considering only the horizontal anisotropic structure may lead to the overestimation or underestimation of the response of the structure.

This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the accuracy of high-frequency (HF) earth meters in measuring the tower-footing ground resistance of transmission line structures, combining simulation and experimental results. The findings demonstrate that HF earth meters reliably estimate the harmonic grounding impedance (R25kHz) at their operating frequency, typically 25 kHz, for a wide range of soil resistivities and typical span lengths. For the analyzed tower geometries, the simulations indicate that accurate measurements are obtained for adjacent span lengths of approximately 300 m and 400 m, corresponding to configurations with one and two shield wires, respectively. Acceptable errors below 10% are observed for span lengths exceeding 200 m and 300 m under the same conditions. While the measured R25kHz does not directly represent the resistance at the industrial frequency, it provides a meaningful measure of the grounding system's impedance, enabling condition monitoring and the evaluation of seasonal or event-related impacts, such as damage after outages. Furthermore, the industrial frequency resistance can be estimated through an inversion process using an electromagnetic model and knowing the geometry of the grounding electrodes. Overall, the results suggest that HF earth meters, when correctly applied with the fall-of-potential method, offer a reliable means to assess the grounding response of high-voltage transmission line structures in most practical scenarios.

Soil-water characteristics, which vary with hydrological events such as rainfall, significantly influence soil strength properties. These properties are crucial determinants of the bearing capacity of foundations. Moreover, shear strength characteristics of soils are inherently spatially variable, and considering them as homogeneous parameters can result in unreliable design. This paper presents a probabilistic study of the two-dimensional bearing capacity of a strip footing on spatially random, unsaturated fine-grained soil using Monte Carlo simulation. The study employs the hydro-mechanical random finite difference method through MATLAB programming along with FLAC2D software. The undrained shear strength under saturated conditions is modelled as random fields using a log-normal distribution. The generated random values are then made depth-dependent by correlating them with matric suction. Initially, matric suction is assumed to be under a hydrostatic condition and decreases linearly with depth to zero at the groundwater level. Afterward, unsaturated soil is subjected to rainfall with different durations, resulting in the non-linear distribution of matric suction and, consequently, the mean value of undrained shear strength in depth. The results showed that rainfall infiltration impacts the strength characteristics of near-surface heterogeneous strata, leading to significant effects on the bearing capacity and failure mechanism of footing.

The increasing environmental impact of traditional cement production necessitates the exploration of sustainable alternatives in construction materials. This paper investigates corncob ash (CCA), an agro-waste by-product, as a viable substitute for cement in several construction and building material applications such as concrete, masonry, geopolymer materials, and soil stabilization. A comprehensive review of existing literature reveals that CCA enhances the mechanical properties of these materials, such as compressive strength and durability, and significantly reduces the carbon footprint associated with conventional cement production. The findings indicate that incorporating CCA improves workability and resistance to aggressive environmental conditions, positioning it as a promising material for sustainable construction. Furthermore, the paper identifies gaps in current research, particularly concerning long-term performance and standardization of testing methods. Future research directions are proposed, including optimization of processing techniques, life cycle assessments, and real-world applications, to fully leverage the potential of CCA in promoting environmentally friendly construction practices. Overall, this study underscores the critical role of CCA in advancing sustainability within the construction industry.