Wave propagation in an ocean site is an essential research topic in various scientific fields, such as offshore geotechnical engineering, ocean seismology, and underwater acoustics. Previous studies have considered the seabed soil as elastic or poroelastic, ignoring the viscoelastic characteristics of its solid skeleton. Based on the fractional-derivative viscoelastic theory and the modified Biot theory, considering the flow-independent viscosity related to solid skeleton, this paper proposes a generalized viscoelastic wave equation for a fluid-saturated porous medium. The equation has a flexible mathematical form to describe soil rheological properties more accurately through fractional order. On this basis, the total wave field equation of an ocean site, modeled as the fluid-poroviscoelastic-solid media, is established. Then an analytical solution for wave propagation in an ocean site subjected to obliquely incident P and SV waves is obtained, and its degeneration and extension are studied. The proposed method is comprehensively validated through experiment, analytical, and numerical methods. Finally, a parameter analysis is performed to investigate the effects of water depth, seabed properties (including viscoelastic parameters, fractional order and permeability), and incident angle on the seismic response of a poroviscoelastic seabed.

A novel theoretical model is proposed to investigate the torsional response of a pile in fractional-order viscoelastic unsaturated transversely isotropic soil with imperfect contact. This model employs Biot's framework for three-phase porous media along with the theory of fractional derivatives. Unlike previous models that assume continuous displacement at the pile-soil interface, this study uses the Kelvin model to simulate relative slippage between pile-soil contact surfaces (imperfect contact). Incorporating fractional-order viscoelastic and transversely isotropic models to describe the stress-strain relationship, comprehensive dynamic governing equations are derived. Using the separation of variables method, inverse Fourier transform, and convolution theory, analytical solutions for the frequency domain response and semi-analytical solutions for the time domain response of the pile head under semi-sine pulse excitation are obtained. Using numerical examples, the effects of model parameters in the fractional-order viscoelastic constitutive model, pile-soil relative slip and continuity model, and soil anisotropy on the torsional complex impedance, twist angle, and torque are presented.

The pile foundation construction adjacent to an operational subway tunnel can induce the creep effects of the surrounding soil of the tunnel, resulting in the deformation of the existing tunnel lining and potentially compromising the safe operation of the tunnel. Therefore, the Mindlin solution and the generalized Kelvin viscoelasticity constitutive model were employed to establish the theoretical calculation model for the deformation of the adjacent subway tunnel caused by the pile construction. Then, the effect of pile construction on the deformation of adjacent tunnels under different pile-tunnel spacing was analyzed via three-dimensional numerical simulation and theoretical calculation methods and compared with the field monitoring data. The results showed that the theoretical and numerical data are in agreement with the field monitoring data. The theoretical model provides closer predictions to the field-measured values than the numerical simulation. As the distance between the pile and the tunnel increases, both the vertical settlement and the horizontal displacement of the subway tunnel lining exhibit a gradual reduction. In the hard plastic clay region of Hefei City (China), pile foundation construction near an operational subway tunnel can be classified into three distinct zones based on proximity to the tunnel: the high-impact zone (3.0 D). The pile foundation in high-, moderate-, and low-impact zones should be monitored for 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day, respectively, to ensure the stable deformation of the lining.

An analysis for the torsional dynamic response of end-bearing pile foundations embedded in a layered transversely isotropic geomaterial (soil/rock) is presented. The deformation of the transversely isotropic soil or rock is described by the method of separation of variables. The elasticity theory for a viscoelastic medium with frequency independent hysteretic material damping, and the Extended Hamilton's Principle are utilised to derive the differential equations describing pile and soil motions. The differential equations are solved analytically in an iterative algorithm. The accuracy of the analysis is verified with existing studies reported in the literature for pile foundations embedded in a homogeneous and layered soil deposit. The effect of the degree of anisotropy on the pile-soil response - dynamic pile-head stiffness, distribution of pile rotation and torque with depth, dimensionless soil displacement function for various values of pile slenderness and pile-soil stiffness ratios in a homogenous soil deposit is investigated. Design charts of static pile-head stiffness in a homogeneous soil deposit for a wide range of pile-soil stiffness and pile slenderness ratios, and degree of anisotropy are also reported. The effect of soil layering for a pile embedded in a two-layered soil deposit is also studied.

The generation of negative excess pore water pressure (u2) during cone penetration test (CPT) in a given environment represents a deviation from the actual situation, thereby affecting the accuracy of the parameter inversion. Dissipation tests have been conducted to ascertain the dissipation of the u2 over time, which in turn allows for the parameters to be corrected. However, the tip resistance (qc) and sleeve friction resistance (fs) in dissipation process also vary with time, despite its potential impact on the inversion process. In this paper, the evolution of qc and negative u2 with time is successfully obtained through the utilization of indoor CPTs on silt soils. In conjunction with a viscoelastic model, the existence of stress relaxation of qc is demonstrated and the causes of qc decay are analyzed. The detailed conclusions are as follows: (1) The CPT parameters obtained from the dissipation test can be employed to rectify the discrepancy in negative u2 that arises during soil classification. (2) The qc undergoes a gradual decrease, reaching a final equilibrium state during the dissipation process. The stress-time relationship is consistent with the Three-element viscoelasticity model, which represents a stress relaxation phenomenon. The relaxation process can be divided into three distinct phases: fast relaxation, decelerating relaxation, and residual relaxation. The residual stress is found to be correlated with the depth of the soil layer. (3) During residual phase, the loss rate of qc is observed to decrease in a linear fashion with the rate of u2, prior to which the relationship is exponential. As the penetration rate increases, the rate of u2 also increases.

Mudstone is a common rock in underground engineering, and mudstone with fractures, have the certain self-closing capability. In this paper, we employed experiments and numerical analyses to investigate the mechanism of such a characteristic, and also examined the permeability pattern of mudstone overburdens. The experiments were performed with the MTS815.02 testing system, involving material properties under different water contents and their crack-closing behaviors. The principal task of numerical analysis is to determine the permeability of fractured mudstone layers, working with the COMSOL platform. The experimental results show that the Young's Modulus of water-saturated mudstone is just 2.2% of that of natural mudstone, and the saturated also exhibit a remarkably obvious creep behavior. As the surrounding pressures increase, the permeability coefficient of fractured mudstone decrease exponentially, even dropping by two orders of magnitude corresponding to over 2.0MPa pressures. Based on these experiment outcomes, we can easily infer that rapid or complete fracture-closing is the main reason of permeability drop, and furthermore, both softening and creep are the major factors of self-closure of mudstone fractures, and especially, the softening behavior plays an absolutely fundamental role. The numerical analyses show that either a higher in-situ stress or lower fracture density can obviously become one of the advantageous conditions for fractured mudstone layers to restore towards impermeability. These results are also verified by the engineering observation in Yili No. 4 mine of China. There obviously existed the recovery of water-blocking capacity of overlying strata after a period of time. We hereby recommend this investigation as refences for underground mining or engineering construction involving mudstone.

The large sizes of granular particles lead to their slow diffusive dynamics and significant interparticle friction, bringing enormous difficulty to tune the mechanical properties and processability of the granular materials (GMs). Herein, 1 nm polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) particles functionalized with azobenzene are designed as structural units, and the obtained GMs show unique photoswitchable viscoelasticity. The azobenzene group can undergo a reversible trans-cis conformation switch while the pi-pi stacking among the azobenzene fragments is only favored by the trans-conformation due to molecular geometrical requirements. The POSS units from neighboring assemblies close pack to form microdomains, and the POSS is under confinement by both the supramolecular bonding and the other POSS in the microdomains. The simultaneous breaking of the two types of confinement is difficult and, therefore, the free diffusion of POSS is hindered, leading to the elasticity of the GMs of trans-POSS. For cis-POSS, the interparticle supramolecular interaction is weak and the POSS unit can undergo free diffusion, contributing to their high flowability at room temperature. The photoswitching viscoelasticity of GMs is further used for self-healing and photoswitchable adhesion. This work paves new pathways for the regulation of material viscoelasticity and the design of GM-based smart materials.

Resulting from the dense packing of subnanometer molecular clusters, molecular granular materials (MGMs) are shown to maintain high elasticity far above their apparent glass transition temperature (T-g*). However, our microscopic understanding of their structure-property relationship is still poor. Herein, 1 nm polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs) are appended to a backbone chain in a brush configuration with different flexible linker chains. Assemblies of these brush polymers exhibit hierarchical relaxation dynamics with the glass transition arising from the cooperative dynamics of packed POSSs. The interaction among the assemblies can be strengthened by increasing the rigidity of linkers with the MGM relaxation modes changing from colloid- to polymer chain-like behavior, rendering their tunable viscoelasticity. This finally contributes to the decoupling of mechanical and thermal properties by showing elasticity dominant mechanical properties at a temperature 150 K above the T-g*.

Due to cyclic loading, clays composed of different mineral compositions exhibit non -linear viscoelastic characteristics. This study quantified the effect of the mineral composition on the non -linear viscoelastic properties of clays. Large -amplitude oscillatory shear rheological tests and cryo-electron microscopy tests were conducted on clays containing quartz, feldspar, montmorillonite, and kaolinite (Q, F, Mt., and Kaol). The results indicated that as the clay content in the soil sample increased, so did the value of relative intensity(I3/1), the Lissajous curves shifted from elliptical to rectangular, and the absolute values of the overall non -linear viscoelasticity parameters (NEand NV) were also larger. In addition, its non -linear viscoelasticity was more prominent, supported by the cryo-electron microscopy test outcomes. Montmorillonite played a more significant role than kaolinite in increasing the nonlinear viscoelasticity of the soil samples. The study findings have significant academic and practical value, facilitating an in-depth understanding of the viscoelastic behavior of clays, rheological studies of other types of clay soils, and geotechnical engineering applications.