Tunnel lining structures, which are subjected to the combined effects of water and soil pressure as well as a water-rich erosion environment, undergo a corrosion-induced damage and degradation process in the reinforced concrete, gradually leading to structural failure and a significant decline in service performance. By introducing the Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) and the concrete damage plastic model (CDP), a three-dimensional numerical model of the tunnel lining structure in mining method tunnels was established. This model takes into account the multiple effects caused by steel reinforcement corrosion, including the degradation of the reinforcement's performance, the loss of an effective concrete cross section, and the deterioration of the bond between the steel reinforcement and the concrete. Through this model, the deformation, internal forces, damage evolution, and degradation characteristics of the structure under the effects of the surrounding rock water-soil pressure and steel reinforcement corrosion are identified. The simulation results reveal the following: (1) Corrosion leads to a reduction in the stiffness of the lining structure, exacerbating its deformation. For example, under high water pressure conditions, the displacement at the vault of the lining before and after corrosion is 4.31 mm and 7.14 mm, respectively, with an additional displacement increase of 65.7% due to corrosion. (2) The reinforced concrete lining structure, which is affected by the surrounding rock loads and expansion due to steel reinforcement corrosion, experiences progressive degradation, resulting in a redistribution of internal forces within the structure. The overall axial force in the lining slightly increases, while the bending moment at the vault, spandrel, and invert decreases and the bending moment at the hance and arch foot increases. (3) The damage range of the tunnel lining structure continuously increases as corrosion progresses, with significant differences between the surrounding rock side and the free face side. Among the various parts of the lining, the vault exhibits the greatest damage depth and the widest cracks. (4) Water pressure significantly impacts the internal forces and crack width of the lining structure. As the water level drops, both the bending moment and the axial force diminish, while the damage range and crack width increase, with crack width increasing by 15.1% under low water pressure conditions.
Cemented sandy gravel is often used to enhance the foundation soil of engineering projects. This paper presents results of triaxial tests on cemented sandy gravel specimens. We compared 8 cemented specimens and 4 uncemented specimens. The strength, dilatancy, and stiffness behavior of both cemented and uncemented specimens are compared. The strength of cemented specimens is significantly greater than that of uncemented specimens, and the cemented specimens demonstrate pronounced expansion characteristics. The peak friction angle of the cemented specimen shows a linear relationship with the confining pressure: psi = 68.1-18.2lg(sigma 3/pa). To quantify the structural strength of the cemented specimens, a structural damage parameter is introduced based on the differences in mechanical properties between the two materials. The structural damage parameter first increases and then decreases as shearing progresses, and a hump curve function is used to describe this behavior. In the frame of the generalized plasticity, a novel elastoplastic model is established, considering the structural parameter as a factor of the plastic modulus, loading vectors and plastic flow direction vectors. The calculated values fit well with the experimental results. The model can reflect the characteristics of cemented sandy gravel, in terms of stress softening, residual strength, and volumetric dilation. Finally, the model is used to evaluate the deformation of a sluice dam foundation after being enhanced with cemented sandy gravel. The results show that after treatment, both the settlement of the gate floor and the shear deformation of the waterstops can be reduced by more than 10%.
The seismic events in Pazarc & imath;k (Mw 7.7) and Elbistan (Mw 7.6) on February 6, 2023, caused widespread damage and destruction across 11 provinces and districts in eastern T & uuml;rkiye. Despite similarities in construction quality and structural stock characteristics, notable differences in the patterns of destruction between the affected cities have highlighted the need for a more detailed investigation. This study focuses on examining local site effects and seismic behavior in residential areas within the impacted zone to better understand the structural damage caused by these earthquakes. Geotechnical data from the affected cities were used as the basis for conducting nonlinear seismic site response analyses. These analyses, using real earthquake records measured in city centers, explored factors such as liquefaction potential, amplification capacity, and the dynamic behavior of soil profiles under seismic loads. Simulations based on actual earthquake records and soil data provided insights into the causes of structural damage in the affected areas during both seismic events. Finally, an evaluation of site effects on structural damage resulting from both major earthquakes was conducted, offering valuable insights through a comprehensive analysis of the results.
The 2023 storm Daniel hit areas of Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey and Libya, leading to severe flooding phenomena. One of the severely affected areas was the Thessaly Region in central Greece, which was subjected to extreme precipitation, with historic record rainfalls. This paper presents an overview of the observed damage to the built environment (buildings, bridges, slopes, etc.) and the resulting soil response or soil-structure interaction phenomena associated with the severe flooding caused by storm Daniel. To assist readers, reported cases of damage and supporting evidence (such as photos, rainfall level, etc.) are introduced in an interactive map of the affected area, illustrating the spatial effects of this severe storm on the built environment.
On 6 February 2023, two significant seismic events occurred in the southeastern region of T & uuml;rkiye. The seismic activity, which was perceptible in numerous countries beyond T & uuml;rkiye, resulted in a considerable number of fatalities. A considerable number of individuals lost their lives and were rendered homeless as a result of the disaster. Two of the most significant factors contributing to the occurrence of these tragedies are the magnitude of the earthquake and structural deficiencies. The present study is concerned with a detailed analysis of these two factors. This study initially considers the seismicity of the region where the earthquakes that occurred on 6 February 2023 took place, as well as the seismic characteristics of these earthquakes. Subsequently, the findings of the field studies conducted in Hatay, Ad & imath;yaman, Kahramanmara & scedil; and Malatya, the cities where the earthquakes caused the most destruction, are presented. The objective of the field study is to ascertain the collapse patterns, structural damages and the factors influencing these damages in reinforced concrete structures in the region. The primary causes of damage to structures can be attributed to several factors, including the presence of a strong beam-weak column mechanism, the soft story-weak story mechanism, the pounding effect, the short column damage, the long cantilever and overhangs, the short beam damage, the buckling damage, the torsion effect, the quality of the materials, the insufficient transverse reinforcement, the compressive failure due to over-reinforcement, the corrosion effect, the damage to reinforced concrete shear walls, the infill wall damage, and the damage caused by the soil and foundation system. These causes have been evaluated and recommendations have been formulated to prevent structural damage.
Apples have been constantly damaged in collecting, transporting, and processing, leading research focus on apples' mechanical-structural damage behavior. To research apples' mechanical-structural damage behavior during collision, a dropping collision damage testing device was self-established, with PLC control, data acquisition-processing, in situ high-speed observation. The effect of impact material, drop height, impact orientation on apple deformation and bruise area was investigated with self-established device, considering three typical kinds of apples. The results indicated that apple dropping collision can be divided into two stages: dropping down contact deformation stage and recovering contact deformation stage. Three kinds of apples demonstrate the largest deformation and bruise area when the impact material is steel and acrylic plate. The deformation is similar when apples collide with soil and foam, apples have no bruise area when the impact material is foam. The correlation between apple deformation, bruising area, and drop height was established, reflecting the relationship between drop height and apples' mechanical-structural damage behavior. Yellow Marshal apple deformation is the largest compared to other two kinds of apples under the same collision condition. Red Fuji apple bruise area is the largest compared to other two kinds of apples. The largest bruise area of Yellow Marshal apple and Guoguang apple are in apple transverse, and Red Fuji apple is in apple top. The study can provide basic theoretical and practical guidance for apples postharvest work.
Assessment of tunnelling-induced building damage is a complex Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) probelm, influenced by numerous geometric and material parameters of both the soil and structures, and is characterised by strong non-linear behaviour. Currently, there is a trend towards developing data-driven models using Machine Learning (ML) to capture this complex behaviour. Given the scarcity of real data, which typically comes from specific case studies, many researchers have turned to creating extensive synthetic datasets via sophisticated and validated numerical models like Finite Element Method (FEM). However, the development of these datasets and the training of advanced ML algorithms present significant challenges. poses significant challenges. Reliance solely on parameter domains and ranges derived from case studies can lead to imbalanced data distributions and subsequently poor performance of models in less populated regions. In this paper, we introduce a strategy for designing optimal high-confidence datasets through an iterative procedure. This process begins with a systematic literature review to determine the importance of parameters, their ranges, and dependencies as they pertain to building damage induced by SSI. Starting with several hundred FEM simulations, we generate an initial dataset and assess its quality and impact through Sensitivity Analysis (SA) studies, statistical modelling, and re-sampling in statistically significant regions. This evaluation allows us to refine the model's input space, seeking scenarios that mitigate output distribution imbalances. The procedure is repeated until the datasets achieve a satisfactory balance for training metamodels, minimising bias effectively. Our findings highlight the success of this approach in identifying an optimal and feasible input space that significantly reduces imbalanced distributions of output features. This approach not only proves effective in our study but also offers a versatile methodology that could be adapted to other disciplines aiming to generate high-quality synthetic datasets.
An earthquake of Mw = 7.0 occurred on October 30, 2020, in the Aegean Sea near Samos Island, which caused severe structural damage in Bayrakl & imath;, Izmir (T & uuml;rkiye), located around 70 km from the epicenter. To investigate the source, path, and site effects, ground motions recorded in Western Anatolia are simulated using the stochastic finite-fault method based on a dynamic corner frequency approach. The input model parameters are calibrated using the recorded motions at selected 10 stations within an epicentral distance of less than 100 km. The soil amplifications are modeled using horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios and generic amplification factors. At most stations, including a few within Izmir Bay, amplitudes and frequency contents are modeled closely. Minor discrepancies within particular frequency bands can be attributed to insufficient representation of the local site effects. Finally, distributions of observed and simulated felt intensities are found to be consistent.
T & uuml;rkiye is located in an earthquake-prone region where almost all of its population resides in risky areas. In the past 100 years, there has been a strong earthquake every two years and a major one every 3 years. This study investigates the impact of four recent earthquakes, that occurred between 2020 and 2023, on reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. The first, Sivrice-Elaz & imath;& gbreve;, struck the eastern part of T & uuml;rkiye on January 24, 2020, with a moment magnitude of Mw = 6.8. The second, the Aegean Sea, hit the western part of the country on October 30, 2020, with an Mw of 6.6. The third and fourth are the February 6, 2023 dual Kahramanmara & scedil; earthquakes with Mws of 7.7 and 7.6, which struck the eastern part of T & uuml;rkiye approximately 9 h apart. Immediately following these earthquakes, a technical team investigated each of the damaged areas. This study summarizes their findings on RC buildings. It was discovered that the majority of the collapsed or severely damaged RC buildings were constructed before 2000. The main reasons for this included technological limitations, specifically on producing high-quality concrete, as well as a lack of public policies and enforced laws in the construction sector to maintain an acceptable international standard. Furthermore, the damage patterns of buildings from these four earthquakes indicated poor workmanship, low material quality, improper structural framing, a common appearance of soft and weak stories, the inadequate use of shear walls, and defective reinforcement configuration. The significance of soil studies and the enforcement of building inspections are also discussed, along with the earthquake codes. The study concludes that the maximum peak ground accelerations from the dual Kahramanmara & scedil; earthquakes were almost triple the code-prescribed values. Therefore, it is recommended that the current mapped spectral acceleration values be revised and that buildings constructed before 2000 should be prioritized while determining their structural performances.
This study examines the structural characteristics and post-earthquake damage status of 2790 buildings in Antakya downtown after the Kahramanmara & scedil; earthquakes.The study reveals how structural features, especially building typologies, construction year, number of floors, ground, and load-bearing systems, affect damage status of buildings.Damage levels resulting from the earthquake were documented, and the causes of these damages were identified.Comparisons and analyses clarify the possible vulnerability and risk status of these structures, based on studies conducted before the earthquake.This study emphasizes the importance of post-earthquake structural analyses, damage assessments, and supports future building projects and measures to be taken against earthquake risks.